PodcastSample


 * 1) ** Using course readings and discussion please prepare a script for a podcast that answers the following question. What are three things you can commit to doing in your practice as an educator that will effect positive change in your school climate? **

media type="file" key="My Commitments.mp3" In my opinion true change comes slow, good change even slower. Therefore in thinking about my practice, I keep in mind that snowballs all start with one snowflake, and that I want to begin slow next year. I am excited to reaffirm my beliefs, to contribute to positive growth in education, and to help our next generation of teachers develop.
 * 1) The first change I hope to make next year is to better balance historical exploration with personal exploration in my EDU 125 course. As I read Palmer’s work I am struck by his exploration of living with paradox. In the past I was choosing between history of education or personal exploration of what it means to be a teacher. In order to do this I plan to spend time on both aspects, and give more space to allow for personal exploration of this profession. I want future teachers to understand the context of the profession they are entering though an appreciation of the history, but I also want to help them develop personal agency to effect change in this field. By giving more time to exploring personal ideas and opinions I hope to help future teachers think about the way in which they can both participate in, and make change in this field.
 * 1) The second shift I will try make is to recommit myself to relationships as the foundation of education. Noddings says that “a caring relation is, in its most basic form, a connection or encounter between two human beings” (p.222). I believe that these sorts of relationships must be cultivated through collaboration to ensure that they occur. In order to establish a caring framework I plan to ask students to engage in activities that will promote more conversation. First, I plan to have students peer comment on blogs, in addition to my commenting on them. I hope that this will accomplish two things – first it will allow students another place to share, and second it will allow for a written conversation where some students might be more comfortable sharing than in a classroom dialogue. I also hope that this mini-conversation will help to promote better classroom discussions. I have struggled in the past with the paradox Palmer describes as creating a space that “honors the ‘little’ stories of the students and the ‘big stories’ of the disciplines and tradition” (p.302). I hope that by asking students in pairs to share and listen to each other’s little stories I will be better able to keep a discussion going that remains centered on the big stories of the tradition of education. In this sense I feel I will be better cultivating a balance between the professional and personal elements of the teaching profession.
 * 1) Finally the third change I hope to make is in helping my students negotiate the transformation from student to teacher. In doing this I hope to help students see that teaching is an act of social justice. By bringing caring attitudes to the profession, and being willing to engage with students I hope students will challenge the current conditions in schools. Similar to the ideals of Freire, I believe that education is about more than just the transmission of knowledge, I believe it is a place for cultural norms to be questioned and inequities to be acted upon. I hope to instill in my students, the future teachers, a desire to make education better for all students. In order to do this I plan to select open and honest readings that will force students to challenge their own experiences and opinions.