That really is a great fieldnote from Barb, Carrie. My students and I have
been struggling
together with the issue of how much help when (its a core theme in our
practicum work
organized around the notion of a zoped) so I, too, would appreciate
permission to use it
in class.
mike
On 2/8/07, Lara Beaty <larabeaty@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Carrie, I really like the piece and would like to share it with a
> fieldwork class of mine where we are working on using journals as
> places for reflection as well as documentation. More importantly, this
> captures many of the issues about power and solidarity that I'm trying
> to analyze and that I struggle with in my relationships with students
> as well as my children.
>
> There is a struggle between Barb and Annalee and within each of them
> that reflects the power they actually have and that they wish to have.
> Annalee desperately wants to master the task of opening the door
> herself; she wants autonomy and competence, and the two really are
> inseparable. Barb struggles with her role as the powerful one--the
> authority--not only, I think, because of the hurried NY lifestyle but
> because of an agenda set somewhere that walking down hallways and
> opening doors are trivial, and she's "supposed to" set an agenda that
> will socialize this child into the world of adults. Barb so beautifully
> recognizes some aspects of this. She sees that this task is not trivial
> for Annalee and that building solidarity was more important. Barb uses
> her own power as the teacher to give Annalee the power to set the
> agenda. I think that what Barb accomplishes is to convince Annalee that
> she's on her side, not because she knows what's best, but because she
> wants to collaboratively set agendas and accomplish tasks. She
> transforms a power struggle into a moment to learn about cooperation.
> Barb changed as she stepped outside the role of teacher/adult as
> typically scripted and Annalee changed as she discovered that some help
> could be accepted without diminishing her role in an activity.
>
> Maybe all this is obvious, but I'm grateful for the chance to describe
> it in the terms I'm thinking with.
>
> Best,
> Lara Beaty
>
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