This presentation was given at Las Vegas at the NCTE on November 17, 2012
My Education Mission
Being a leader in the field of education means that I must begin with a missional attitude and a philosophy which has an upwardly focused worldview. The development of this statement and my philosophy stems from a passion which has its roots in difficult life experiences and an early life without a relationship with God. The beauty of my continued goal of staying focused and sometimes falling “forward,” is that I “KNOW for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) This verse makes all the random broken pieces of my life make a beautiful mosaic for which I may not understand, but I can trust will make sense to Him.
Eight years ago I put together a leadership plan, and continuing to refine it and making it relevant is crucial. Therefore, I revisit this and make it useable for my upcoming school year.
MISSION STATEMENT
Encourage everyone I face daily (Hebrews 10:24)
Endeavor to facilitate a lifelong love of learning (Luke 2:39-52)
Enrich others’ lives through my inspiration and experiences (1 Cor 1:26-31)
My Personal Philosophy
Every child has a light within.
Every person is created in God’s image.
God does not make junk.
My personal philosophy of education is critical in how I approach guiding and leading children along the path of growth. Because my idea of the perfect teacher is one who inspires learning and critical thinking, and she also needs to impart the required essentials. However, no fruit will blossom in the child if he/she doesn’t feel affirmed and loved. This means passion, tons of love, empathy, and grace is required of the teacher. Certainly, this is a monumental order for anyone in any profession on a daily basis. However, anyone considering this profession needs to realize that it is not just a job, but a life-giving ministry for which one must have a deep passion. Children are our future, and so the effort is worth it! Before I dive into my worldviews, however, which are personified in the classroom, I must give a background as to how they developed.
Growing up, I never thought I was being groomed for the teaching profession. Having a mother in the field and being encouraged to choose a lucrative career by both parents, prompted me to stick to a business degree. I went to business school and majored in marketing. I truly disliked the business world life because it created an internal emptiness, but I loved the marketing side because it dealt with people and their experiences. This was the road I was on for almost ten years. What came from this was an evident maturity and the ability to critically think about real-life skills which I could not have received had I jumped right into the classroom. But, as previously mentioned, what also developed from ten years in the field of sales and marketing, was a lacking in my heart. Daily, I would come home exhausted and dissatisfied. Here I was increasing the company’s bottom-line and making a hefty paycheck as I “helped” people receive products they may or may not have needed. It was gratifying for a short time, and deep down I knew I was helping, but I was focused on the wrong output. During these barren years, I also was introduced to having a life with Christ, and I accepted Him as my personal Savior and the LORD of my life. I had no idea what this meant professionally, but I knew I needed to make changes from the input I received and the output I delivered in my daily life. As I transferred into the field of education, I found a deep desire to be a light for youths in the school system because these little “lights” are our future leaders. Had I not had these experiences, coupled with my new life in Christ, my educational philosophies would have been less real to me since I had not lived what I now truly believe.
100% COMMITTED
In order to live my mission statement, I must be daily FILLED. Guiding these “mini-lights” requires a 100% commitment to Christ. Why? Because commitment is more than belief but ACTION upon that belief. “A totally committed Christian is a person who confesses that, amidst the manifold and confusing voices heard in the world, there is one Voice which supremely wins his full assent, uniting all his powers, intellectual and emotional, into a single pattern of self-giving.” (23) Trueblood notes that the VOICE of Jesus Christ supersedes all other voices in one’s head, and once the Christian has made this primary commitment, although difficulties still exist, the person starts to know the joy of living for a larger purpose and his/her actions reflect such belief. This gives me wisdom, peace, and the ability to make it through those tough times. Since I am filled daily, I can be AVAILABLE to be a vessel of truth, wisdom, and guidance. As a teacher, the importance of my job continues to increase in areas of need. It is no longer about teaching students the three “R”s. It is so much more, and I need to be foundationally sound in order to remain a rock for these kids.
MISSION 1: ENCOURAGEMENT (Hebrews 10:24)
The beliefs I hold stem from the fact that I love learners, education, and the life of teaching. There exists an old adage, “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Is this biblical? To make an analogy: Can a relationship with Christ be built without the knowledge that GOD truly loves me? “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high,and how deep his love is.” (Eph 3:17-19) Since I am aware, now, I have to model this in my teaching and approach to kids. Education is about looking beyond the child’s intellect, and seeing the whole child. Education is about providing students with opportunities to be challenged and still succeed. The importance of personal relationships is the foundation for ethical conduct in the education field. Why is this so important? Again, learners learn in a caring environment. I went into teaching to care for people. What I get as a serendipity is successful students, not only academically, but relationally. Parker Palmer (1998) says that, “We teach who we are.” ( p.1) We teach people, not subjects. Every child that cannot find an adult to connect with in a school is a child we have failed, and every child we have given a meaningful relationship to is a success to be savored. Why is this so important especially now? For years now, the dismal issue is the removal of parents from the home. Many households are headed by a single parent or both parents are needed to supply salaries just to survive. Whatever the reason, for many hours each day there is unfortunately no one at home. Students are no longer arriving at school ready to learn the basics, or the three “R”s. This, in turn, gives the teachers an extra role: To be nurturers.
MISSION 2: ENDEAVOR (Luke 2:39-52)
Part of my calling is the need to impart a love of learning. Jesus was a role-model in the love of learning and the gift of teaching. His passion for His ministry and His ability to impart wisdom is a role model for me. Sure, I need to teach English content, but more importantly, the plan God has set out for me is helping this next generation be passionate about what THEY love and passionate about the love of learning and growing. I am incomplete as a teacher if I am committed only to what I am teaching and not to my student as a WHOLE person. The content I teach will mean nothing unless I can engage my students and help them see connections. Jesus always taught in parables to help the student make connections to his/her own life. In other words, he never just TOLD his disciples. He had the disciples critically examine the issue and apply it to his/her own life. This means it’s vital that my teaching allows the students HOW to think about the content, and not necessarily just give them answers.
Another skill Jesus used to help his disciples learn was story-telling. Patterning, or learning through narratives helps connections as well, and since most learners are visual, it gives the learning personal meaning. Dan Pink (2006), in his book, The Whole Mind, did massive studies on the brain and what skills are necessary for success. They are much different than they were back in the Agricultural and Industrial Ages where physical strength and endurance were key. Then, the Information Age called for linear, logical, analytical reasoning (left-brained skills). This age, he calls, “The Conceptual Age”, however, will demand right side invigoration, developing skills, such as creativity, empathy, and intuition.
MISSION 3: ENRICH (1 Cor 1:26-31)
Learners need to take ownership of their learning so they feel empowered. My influence on this is of the utmost importance, because I’m not only teaching students to be skilled in school, but in the ability to be a fruitful and character filled citizen. Certainly my growth in this area was due to God choosing “the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Cor 1:28) I cannot boast from how God has used me, but I can empower others to be individuals with my inspiration. God wants all to be so “no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Eph 4:14) He wants all of us to grow and be come wise in our thinking. One of the ways I do this is helping the kids with their power of the written word. I need students to see their value and to own their abilities. When they write, I can help them with their personal thoughts and passions which they have cemented on paper. I also help students as they are partners in assessing of their work. Whatever it is, students feel empowered when they are part of the learning process. My goal is that my influence and experiences will help the students be more empowered to be stronger, wiser citizens and leaders for the future. Also, if they are empowered to be individuals and critically think, they are more apt to make wise choices without being influenced by a “group-think” or peer-pressured mentality.
Encourage…..Endeavor……Enrich…..These three embody my mission daily. I believe that all children possess a light within as they achieve their full potential following the educational path. They must be given the basics. It is my hope that, as I impart the knowledge needed, I will also manage to inspire and motivate my students to seek additional learning as well as the ability to think more critically. Hopefully, also by showing them they are cared for, they can have fun in their own personal search. This is inevitably a challenge, but one that I look forward to every day.
REFERENCES
Palmer, Parker (1998), The Courage to Teach. Jossey-Bass.
Pink, Dan (2006). A Whole New Mind. Riverhead Trade.
Trueblood, Elton (1961), The Company of the Committed. Harper and Row.
A Call for VERBS!
A Call for VERBS! Breaking down the Common Core Standards
Next time you write an email or construct a sentence for some writing purpose, look at your sentence. A sentence can offer a moment of peace, explode with energy, or lifelessly fade by the wayside. What is the difference? THE VERB.
VERBS are the ENGINE of your sentence.
Verbs basically fall into two classes: “passive” and “active.” Passive verbs are just that. Shy, unassuming, they allow the subject of the sentence to take charge. (Example: The ball is being thrown by me. (verb= is)) vs.: I threw the ball. (The verb (threw) takes control and moves the sentence producing a powerful statement). Do you know you can virtually eliminate adverbs by using powerful active verbs? (See? I just used an adverb to illustrate. I could have said, “ You could minimize the use of adverbs….”)
It is a skill writers perfect to maximize power and lessen word count; it’s a skill to teach my students. When I say, “OK, let’s rock this paper with POWER verbs,” they may know the meaning of a verb, but not truly understand the function of it in a sentence.
Challenge # 1.
Year after year, I promote students to have more “VOICE” in their writing; or perhaps it is dynamic “WORD CHOICE”; Sometimes, I zone in on their “FLUENCY” and beg for a variation of sentence structures and lengths. I can beat my head against the wall all year, but without proper knowledge of sentence construction and the function of words, nothing will ever improve their writing. As I have taught now for about a decade, and focusing on writing as a form of learning and expression, I’m faced with seeing the students’ difficulties with organization, coherence, and revision. News flash: It is not getting any better! WHY?? What has changed in the past 25 years?
Challenge # 2.
As an Arizona English Language Arts teacher, I was always struck by the lack of attention to grammar in the English Language and Literacy standards. As a public school teacher for eight of these ten years, grammar was only focused on as a form of conventions deeply hidden within the Writing Standards. It wasn’t even in any of the Strands of Reading. The Reading Strands dealt with Informational Text, Literary Text, and Functional Text. For the Writing Strands, they dealt with the Stages, Traits and Genres. Within the Traits, as mentioned above, is the Trait of Conventions. This is where one would find some proofreading standards. But that was the extent of the stress on grammar knowledge. Moreover, grammar was not a tested skill. (Teachers threw it out based on time constraints as well) Sadly, if students cannot think through a sentence and how it is structured, their writing will never improve. Grammar is the function of language and works together with reading and writing. We see grammar in action whenever we read; we apply and practice it in our writing.
With years of being able to rattle off standards, strands and sub-strands from the Arizona State Standards, I have been delving into, digesting, and soaking in the Common Core Standards. Forty-five states (including Arizona) and three territories have adopted the Common Core Standards and are now using them in the classroom. The Common Core for ELA includes Reading of Literary and Informational Texts, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Media and Technology, and (thankfully) Language. This is not to say school districts are using them to the fullest potential, crossing curricular practices, but it is beginning to take effect.
While Reading is the process of gaining and integrating new knowledge, WRITING is the process of producing new thoughts from their knowledge and experience. Moreover, writing is clarity of thought. Writing is given a portion of the spotlight in the Common Core standards, but this time, I see a new LIGHT: Attention to VERBS!
Conventions of Standard English
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1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. |
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a. Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences. |
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b. Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice. |
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c. Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood. |
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d. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood. |
(Source: Common Core Standards; English Language Arts and Literacy)
Let me give some background on why this is not only vital but so refreshing:
It was discovered that the teaching of grammar alone is like teaching what a dollar bill is but not giving the function or use of it in daily life. It’s meaningless. Lynn Sams discussed this in her article on Grammar and noted that structure and meaning need to be discussed together. It is no wonder why direct instruction in grammar had no impact upon writing. “Quite simply, the grammar instruction in these studies was not related to writing. It merely taught prescription (usage and rules) and description (noun, verb, prepositional phrase), the naming of parts.” (57) So, instead of working to incorporate grammar into instruction, teaching of the basics of grammar was thrown out.
This can be likened to football. I know very little about the game. I can sit and enjoy it, know when a player scores, but in terms of understanding the plays and how they work, I’m clueless. Now, if I were to play the game, I would be lost, making many mistakes, but seeing my way through with a lens of little knowledge. This is basically why our students’ writing has not improved in twenty-five years. They can know bits and pieces, but can they write a sentence, understanding the fundamentals and the functions of the players (parts of speech)? After time, their plays are elementary and never advance; until
they understand the function and the rules, their writing stagnates.
When I want to strengthen the WRITING of my students, I can’t give them a protocol of including stronger verbs if they know not the function nor various usages of this glorious grammar bite.
To illustrate the power of verbs, here is a list of the verbs used in the Common Core Standards:
Acquire Adapt Analyze Apply Approximate Articulate Assess
Audit Calculate Categorize Chart
Clarify Classify Collaborate Collect Combine Compare Compete Compose Compile Compute Conceptualize Conclude Connect Contrast Cultivate Correlate
Concur Conduct Construct Create Critique Debate Decide Decipher Decode Deduce Deduct Defend Define Delineate Demonstrate Depict Derive Describe Design Detect Determine Develop Devise Diagram
Dictate Discuss Discover Dissect Dispute Display Document Download Dramatize Edit Elaborate Employ Envision Establish Examine Execute Exemplify Exhibit Explain Explore Express Extract Evaluate Focus Gather Generate Graph Group Hypothesize
Identify Illustrate Imagine Implement Infer Inform Inquire Inspect Integrate Interact Interpret Invent Investigate Judge Justify Locate Map Manipulate Model Modify Monitor Observe Organize Outline Paraphrase Participate Perform Perceive Plan Portray Practice Predict Prepare Present Pretend
Process Produce Publish Qualify Question Rank Reason Recall Recite Recognize Relate Reproduce Research Respond Restate Retrieve Review Revise Rewrite Select Stimulate Solve Study Summarize Support Survey Translate Transform V erify Visualize Write
Our writing skills speak volumes about our intellect. So, next time you write that email, see if you used a powerful active verb. Start writing with more attention to this, and your writing will sparkle. It all started with the simple understanding of a part of speech called a VERB.
Thank you Grammar.
References:
Sams, Lynn. How to Teach Grammar, Analytical Thinking, and Writing: A Method That Works. English Journal, January 2003