Chapter 1: Pretty much outlined Cushman's rationale and structure for the book. I'm thinking about the phrase she coined: The strive of it. There's a lot there. Do we see our students striving, just for the sake of this kind of persevering work? I'm sure plenty of kids do. What about those who don't? When they don't - do we look to them or to ourselves? What do we do to help this strive?
Hope that we can keep this going……. Share your practice, your questions!
laurie
I always hesitate to show my students work by famous graffiti artists because I don’t want to condone or seem to condone the defacement of private property. I do love it though. One of our students recently made a stencil; the technique used by many graffiti artists, and painted it onto a board (not the preferred surface). As I watched him expertly manipulate the X-acto knife, I harkened back to the book we are reading and thought about how much practice and dedication it took to master the skill he used. Miller and I do not teach that skill. This kid saw artwork that spoke to him and figured out how to do it on his own with all of the steps that Cushman’s students outline as “what it takes to get good”.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I am not finding anything particularly profound in Cushman’s book so far, but I have only made it half way through and it looks like she ramps up in chapter seven and I am looking forward to that. I will have more to contribute when I read the rest of the book.
Not sure I understand "the strive of it." Does that mean practice with passion and purpose? One of the kids was quoted as saying: "If you are getting the answer without really realizing why it's important, it's empty." I think our I.B., A.P. and even our AVID students are capable of perceiving the importance of their studies. They are motivated students with goals. Remember when you were young? I knew I would never use much of what I learned in Trig or Algebra 2 again in my life (and I was right). But I was determined to do well in those classes and they had importance to me because I was competitive academically and college bound. It's our non-college bound students whom we lose -- perhaps because our curriculum does not address their interest or needs. This isn't really rocket science. We need to bring back trade schools.
ReplyDeleteAlso, don't you think that some of the things young people have a passion for outside of school are BECAUSE they are outside of school. Cognitive development involves more than guided practice under the careful supervision of adults. It involves exploration, trying new things, making one’s own mistakes and learning from them, asserting independence, autonomy. For adolescents to progress, these things must necessarily happen away from adults.
Plus, I’m not sure it’s a good thing when a 14 year old describes his passion as architecture. Really? Dominant culture imposing its bias. “Train every day, then you will see.” Better than selling drugs, right? Not sold on Cushman’s fire-lighting just yet. But then, I tend to over think things in a socio-economic context.
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ReplyDeleteI like hearing students' own words about inspiration, and it makes me wonder if we should have our students investigate the heart of motivation. I think such an exercise would complement what some Freshman teachers are already doing with the EPIC Project.
ReplyDeleteI don't find Cushman's insights particularly deep, but that may be because she is touching on many different aspects of inspiration and gathering a large (and perhaps shallow) pool of ideas. However, I have been reflecting on one concept briefly outlined in the first half.
Anne already touched on what Cushman refers to as "the big picture," when students embrace the importance of a given pursuit and find meaning in it beyond just being told they have to do it. I do think Anne is correct that some students are more wired to believe academic studies are relevant to their lives. They may want to go on to college or may have parents who expect this of them. Their grades may have become a repository for high self-esteem, and may encourage in them the competitive drive to achieve. However, not all of those students are intellectually searching, or imaginitive, or particularly excited by learning. Their "big picture" may be relatively small in the sense of doing what is expected of them, or achieving based on a narrow idea of success.
That is why I aim as a teacher to inspire students beyond the rationale of college or financial security, even though those are obviously real considerations. I am always challenging myself to find the big picture, so being asked by a student why we are doing a certain activity or reading a specific novel, or reading AT ALL, for that matter, is a welcome question. It shows me that kids are not just operating on auto-pilot or taking for granted that everything I tell them to do has value. I want them to question the rationale and the big picture because otherwise, there is little hope that they will experience the full benefit of the activity or learn to think critically.
It's not easy to tap into the true big picture, but for me it involves examining the larger society and asking important questions about the context in which literature is read. If literacy is a prerequisite in any viable democracy, what are the consequences of not reading, both personal and societal? How do our values emerge from a careful reading of both fiction and non-fiction, and how can the reading we do in high school inform the way we live our lives in and beyond high school?
I know that many students are turned off by the academic rat-race, but I worry that grades, high stakes tests and competitive institutions are largely to blame for this. I really believe that literature is relevant to everyone, regardless of academic gifts or professional aptitudes, but I think kids give up the moment they associate reading with failure.
Nobody can really be open to joyful curiosity when the ego is in the way; even those kids who are achieving on a surface level may be missing out on a deeper oneness with learning. I try to give my students a sense of basic security that they can be wrong or uncertain, that they can even come to relish all the possibilities in uncertainty and not feel like it is a testament to their stupidity. But this feels like swimming against the tide of conventional pedagogy. Sometimes it seems my students are hung up on points and grades as though they were a drug, and it saddens me the way this "drug" has replaced real learning.
Fires in the Mind –Notes and Questions with Thornhill
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What I got out of this chapter is that students need to take intellectual and creative risks. It is our jobs as educators to provide the structure and guidance to help students take those risks. Students need to have time to explore themselves and feel comfortable in the classroom setting. If the students feel comfortable and safe, they are not afraid to take risks.
As educators, we too always have things to understand. Education and motivation are a puzzle we help put together for each student. It’s individualized and takes getting to know your students.
What are some creative ways to get to know our students and how do we identify what motivates them?
Chapter 2
I like how this chapter touches on training ones mind to challenge. Challenging oneself is not easy and not something that every student understands how to do. As educators, we need to be creative and thoughtful about finding ways to help students discover how to challenge themselves and push themselves towards success. The company of peers and peer support is great for learning strategy, sometimes, students can explain things to each other in a way that we may not be able to. Peers, in the right setting, can collaborate and challenge each other. Its motivation!
How do we know when we are pushing a student too much? You never want a student to “shut down”. How do you keep an eye on all peer group work?
I am through Chapter 8, and I have to say that I am having trouble with the suggestions for 'homework'. The population that I serve is not going to do homework if they do not see a grade attached to it. Also, their main areas of need across the board are writing mechanics and reading comprehension, which both take repetitive practice. In the past, when I have solicited suggestions for meaningful practice, I have been met with very little response. Even when I have set up exercises where they are to come up with their own questions and meaningful activity, less than 25% do. I work with very reluctant learners.
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