This caused me to reflect more upon Jacques' question about the
math teachers who didn't incorporate students' lives into the math
lessons as often writing teachers have.
I suggest to Jacques that he ask the teachers what their goals
are in teaching what they are teaching. Often, teachers teach for the
following year's curriculum. (In fact, I just had a doctoral seminar
wherein the instructor often had us _practice_ an assignment, because
"You are going to have to do this next year." I did not find myself
being a successful student in that class. However, the instructor
believed clearly that I was being given help, albeit unasked for, that I
would find useful for the following year.
In my experience with elementary school teachers, they are doing
exactly what they are supposed to be doing.
In Timothy J. Lensmire's excellent book, he notes the
difficulties faced with time restraints. I imagine that part of it was
the artificial scheduling of writer's workshop for 45 minutes a day.
Start at, say, 10:45, stop at 11:30. Punctually. Because the students
have to be at lunch at 11:35, or at gym or music, art, computer. The
school bus schedule is often the final control for when school is held.
And of course there are all of the pull-outs (special education, special
reading, physical therapy, occupational therapy, English as second
language, the list runs on.) which interrupt the flow of any classroom.
School reform is too often presented as a recipe list. If the
teacher will only do this, this, this and this - all research based on
what _exemplary_ teachers do, then, so goes the claim, school reform will
be accomplished.
The questions that Gordon Wells asks in today's posting - Wed. 20
Dec 95 - "What sorts of identity are being formed in the different
classroom activity settings?" or "... what is meant by 'learning'" "What
sorts of disposition for participation in what sorts of activity?"
For me, a classroom teacher, wonderful questions, because I have
to begin to look at _my_ classroom within its fundamental contexts.
I have watched exemplary teachers teaching in classrooms of
minority students (inner city black / hispanics) and noted that they did
not use authoritarian instructional methods, but instead, within their
own classroom created a community of practice in which everyone was
included - there was no student negotiation there, they were expected to
participate - everyone was successful as, to again quote Gordon, "an
integral part of participation in an activity system (Engstrom) or
community of practice (LPP)..." So, I respectfully disagree with Lisa
Delpit's proposal. However, I think that she is reflecting a much
greater issue, which is that Black Culture with the American Education
system as a whole gets terribly short shrift, and that for blacks to be
successful, who they are needs to be reflected within the community
practice of all schools.
An aside: There has been much written about Teacher as
Researcher. What I have found is either university professors
researching an individual elementary or high school teacher, and then
reporting out. Or, a an elementary or high school teacher (usually a
grad. student too) researching their own practice (as in Lensmire). But
I haven't read anything about a university/college professor researching
their own practice of teaching within the university/college setting.
Any suggestions here?
Phillip
Phillip White
Cotton Creek Elementary - Westminster - CO
pwhite who-is-at carbon.cudenver.edu