Chapter 3 Blog Post

This chapter is a bit more intriguing in that we are given more examples of innovators.  My troubling spot is that none of them are truly from a public school back ground all the way.  In this era of accountability, the schools are very afraid to do something that may or may not have a concrete outcome.  PBL is messy and really should not have many concrete grades to assess our student learning.  We as educators don't really know how to do that.  As I am a from the cookie cutter era in which I was never taught by anyone who used anything that was different, I have a hard time being creative or innovative or teaching others to be so.  I do try to encourage my own two children in whatever way they want to be creative whether it is playing a cello or buying a go-pro or not spending time with my own friends so that I may encourage my daughter to try a new recipe.  I am way more innovative with my own children than I am in my classroom.

I constantly find myself in a quandry in my classroom over how to be creative.  I have been afraid to try something new and different because I don't like being "called out" by my administrator for a rowdy classroom or not enough "evidence" to support the grade.  I need as much encouragement as my students do when it comes to trying new things in and out of the classroom.  PBL has helped me to see more opportunities and to "broaden" my teaching scope by trying something new.  So far the administration has left me alone in my classroom but they still expect to collaborate with other teachers who do not want to do PBL or do not want to learn about it.  How can I collaborate when we are not teaching the same way?

Alas, I am feeling the need to move out of the classroom.  I cannot be effective any more and I am often more discouraged than encouraged by those around me.  Many administrators forget how much work it takes to be a teacher and I have no idea what it takes to be an administrator but I do try to remember what its like to be a student and a teenager.  Nobody wants to sit and be lectured to in all reality but it is still my job to get the information to the students.

Students can learn for themselves if nurtured and taught to do so.  Encouragement in all realms is the best source of inspiration.  No one learns in an environment of negativity and discouragement.  All the students in this chapter found a way to be inspired and were encouraged by their parents and most found another adult who was willing to invest in them.  We can all be that adult for someone.