Like many of you, love fun words. To me, using them seems like some sort of small pleasure in my day. I don't really tell anyone I get a little giggle inside everytime I use one of these words, but they probably wouldn't understand like a group of writers would. I first discovered the word paradigm back in freshman year at Wartburg during a Humanities-type required class. This concept was hard for me to grasp then, but I have been a part of my own paradigm shifting ever since. Thomas Kuhn wasn't interested in slow changes (The Winds of Change, Maxine Hairston, 1982). Instead he was passionate about using theory and practicality together to create science solutions to ongoing problems. Ignoring there is a problem doesn't get the work done, leaving thinking static.
There are certain things I strongly believe about teaching, but I can never say it will stay the same forever--my philosophy has changed from "textbook" teaching in college to "real" teaching in a third grade classroom of my own. Kids don't want to hear about what I believe, they want to know how to use the manipulatives to make a quadrilateral or if spelling is really important on the assignment. As my philosophy of teaching paradigm continually shifts, I have to be careful not to simply throw out the old thoughts/methods as outdated. Instead, I have to reflect and research to keep my teaching current for the students in my classroom. Maybe my being an outsider by doing lots of read alouds and writing with students, instead of test prep, will help someone else consider their practices. There will always be new methods in teaching, but what is popular at the time isn't always best if it works against my beliefs about an aspect of teaching.
Closing thought: Hairston posed crucial questions
eternally plaguing writing teachers--
What is the basic flaw in the traditional paradigm for teaching writing? Why doesn't it work?
(and I would add) How do we change writing for students to make it more neccessary for them?
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Your point from Kuhn about using practicality and theory together in the classroom is well-worth considering for those of us who are still pre-service. I know our classes are filled with a lot of theory talk, a lot of discussion about the importance of culturally-responsive education, language, etc., but it's also vital at every step to ask ourselves "how would this look in a classroom?"
ReplyDeleteThe sad truth of that question is, without the experiences of teaching first hand, we cannot know. But what you said about moving from 'textbook' to actual teaching is encouraging, while the transition may be jarring; it is worth the struggle!
I agree that thinking needs to constantly change. I'm hoping that this new paradigm will focus on what now seems obvious to me- there is no perfect way to teach any subject. Teachers have to be constantly reflecting and changing
ReplyDelete-Alex Rummelhart