blogpost 1: class survey

1. Coreen Schaefer, University Heights, coreengorbett@gmail.com

2. Coreen

3. I will begin looking for a full-time teaching job in the public districts this upcoming year.  I am licensed in PreK-3 with the 4/5 Generalist Endorsement, 4-9 English, and 7-12 English.  I would love to teach English/Language Arts in grades 5-10.  Those are my favorites!
4. We have three children, Selah (just turned 3!) and twins Hadley and Will (6 mo.)  I keep a public blog at http://roundshoulders.blogspot.com/, where I share stories about our family, education, good books, cool stuff, etc.  I love to write, and it's helped me to keep that alive in the midst our very busy life!  I also like taking walks, 'Real Simple' recipes, traditions, npr, and road trips.

5. A non-threatening atmosphere and a respect for dialogue.  I'm a very transparent person, as long as I feel supported and cared for, intellectually and otherwise.  Luckily, I trust most people and this usually isn't a problem for me!  :)

6. I am an active class participant, because I believe that we all must work together to create the curriculum and class atmosphere --- and also because it's how I learn!  I have always learned most through active discussion.  I work on a deadline, and I will often complete the work the night before.  I think sometimes this is judged as "procrastinating," but it's how some of our brains work best!  Like I always tell my students: If you come prepared on the day the assignment is due, I don't care how you work!  I am very aware of my learning styles: I am a discussion mate, a writer, and a project-doer.  I like to read, but I learn more from class discussions afterward.  I also don't mind a good lecture, but learn more from considering classmates' perspectives too.  When I can't do something, I re-read the instructions; if that fails, I ask for help from a classmate; if that fails, the professor.  I love to learn and my opinions are very fluid; I am not easily convinced by propaganda, but I am easily convinced by solid, thoughtful arguments and experience!  It's important to stay open and current, especially in education!

7. No --- if something comes up with my family, I will let you know ahead of time by e-mail!  We are blessed to have lots of help, though, so this will likely not happen.

8. My experience at Gilmour changed my life.  I always felt stifled and mostly unchallenged in public middle school (...though don't so many of us feel this way? A real problem!)  At Gilmour, we worked through every difficult topic you could imagine by way of discussion, either informally, through Socratic Seminar, or in respectful, text-based debate.  My brain was on fire every day --- it was so inspiring!  To this day, it's how I learn best and frankly, I think it's how a lot of students should learn best.  Discussion and critical thinking is KEY!  It's what makes us human!  We need to re-inspire our students to sit around a table and face each other, talk respectfully and honestly with others about issues that matter, learn from different perspectives, and change the world!

9. My perspectives are shifting.  For awhile, I was an advocate for the accountability movement.  I am not a fan of unions; they nearly destroyed my family's business, and I believe in education, they do not have children at the heart of their politics.  I was for anything that worked against tenure, especially as a young teacher who couldn't find a job!  But I am tired of the recent attack on teachers.  I think it is our job as teachers to "fight the good fight" and not whine and complain about what we can't change.  But at the end of the day, I think teachers are, indeed, up against 1000 variables, a looming one being the fast-paced and/or intellectually-negligent lifestyle of today's families.  A teacher can only do so much, and much of what they are doing likely does not show up on standardized tests.  My greatest concern right now is developing an accountability system that truly focuses on making the curriculum and classroom practices more thoughtful, inspired, and vibrant -- instead of an accountability system that blames teachers and punishes students.

10. We need to (1) look at the real world of "Race to the Top" and "accountability" today, (2) study it, (3) brain storm how to reform that system, but in the meantime, inspire teachers to use standards as a baseline and imagine a curriculum more rooted in critical thinking, writing, annotated reading, dialogue, and project-based learning.  We need to avoid (4) judging each other's experience, be open to thinking outside of the box, be practical but dynamic, and most of all, we need to remember what makes children want to learn: a curriculum that is challenging, but fun; will make them proud to talk about with others; and one that focuses on that present moment.  Students don't care about which standards they've just met or how this lesson will help them "in the future"!  They care about what makes them excited NOW!

11. How have your educational philosophies changed over the years?  What triggered that?