For our final project on this book, we were asked to consider four questions that relate to the purposes of Educ. 530:
How do I learn?
How can technology promote learning at the individual and group level?
How can technology enhance my ability to connect in a global society?
How can technology be leveraged in today’s classroom?
Although The Courage to Teach was not directly aimed at any of these questions, the book contained much to consider about education, in general, and thus about these topics, as well.
With regard to the question of how I learn, I found one of Palmer’s exercises particularly thought-provoking in this area. He suggested that teachers find an analogy or metaphor to describe their own conception of their role as a teacher by filling in the blank in the following sentence: “When I am teaching at my best, I am like a ______________.” (p. 148-149) He states that his own image of himself as a teacher is that of a sheepdog moving students from pasture to pasture as they feed. For myself, I have realized, that both as a teacher and a learner, I would consider myself something like a spider: weaving webs of understanding and connection between people and ideas.
The questions about technology seem, at first glance, to have little relevance to this book. It is not a how-to manual for using technology in the classroom or even a theoretical discussion of the place of technology in the classroom. However, Palmer’s consistent theme throughout the book is that the specific methods used by teachers are less important than the teacher’s own self-understanding and ability to connect with the students and subject matter (in fact, in the Introduction, he notes that “Technique is what teachers use until the real teacher arrives” (p. 5)). However, within this framework, it is clear that technology fits beautifully into place.
Technology is the glue that holds us together, in modern society: email and text messages, twitters, snapchats, instagrams, and the internet all serve to help us connect with each other. In that way, they will certainly enhance learning and connections within the modern classroom and outside of the classroom, as Palmer advocates.
Additionally, technology is an ideal way to make a classroom subject-centered. Technology makes it possible to bring any subject we are studying into 3-dimensional view for our students and keep it front and center as they explore every possible aspect of that subject by using technology to its full extent. Palmer’s examples of student-centered education had medical students interacting with actual patients from the beginning of their education and had social science students considering a simple grid comparing race and income from every angle for an entire unit. Technology can certainly be used to duplicate and even enhance these experiences by allowing teachers to bring a diverse range of subjects directly into the classroom. Thus, for a history class, a simple photo found on the internet can be used to help students put themselves into the shoes of another person. Or, for an English teacher, a paragraph of text displayed before the class can be used as the jumping-off point for a deep discussion of the human condition.
The Courage to Teach was an inspirational and thought-provoking book. It both gives support to teachers in their own spaces and challenges them move beyond those spaces to a deeper understanding of themselves, a deeper connection with their students, and a new way of putting the subject of study at the center of a classroom inquiry. Accordingly, this is a valuable book for educators and for those who care about education. It does not offer easy answers, but rather a life-long journey of learning. But, in return, it promises an authentic education to both teachers and students.
How do I learn?
How can technology promote learning at the individual and group level?
How can technology enhance my ability to connect in a global society?
How can technology be leveraged in today’s classroom?
Although The Courage to Teach was not directly aimed at any of these questions, the book contained much to consider about education, in general, and thus about these topics, as well.
With regard to the question of how I learn, I found one of Palmer’s exercises particularly thought-provoking in this area. He suggested that teachers find an analogy or metaphor to describe their own conception of their role as a teacher by filling in the blank in the following sentence: “When I am teaching at my best, I am like a ______________.” (p. 148-149) He states that his own image of himself as a teacher is that of a sheepdog moving students from pasture to pasture as they feed. For myself, I have realized, that both as a teacher and a learner, I would consider myself something like a spider: weaving webs of understanding and connection between people and ideas.
The questions about technology seem, at first glance, to have little relevance to this book. It is not a how-to manual for using technology in the classroom or even a theoretical discussion of the place of technology in the classroom. However, Palmer’s consistent theme throughout the book is that the specific methods used by teachers are less important than the teacher’s own self-understanding and ability to connect with the students and subject matter (in fact, in the Introduction, he notes that “Technique is what teachers use until the real teacher arrives” (p. 5)). However, within this framework, it is clear that technology fits beautifully into place.
Technology is the glue that holds us together, in modern society: email and text messages, twitters, snapchats, instagrams, and the internet all serve to help us connect with each other. In that way, they will certainly enhance learning and connections within the modern classroom and outside of the classroom, as Palmer advocates.
Additionally, technology is an ideal way to make a classroom subject-centered. Technology makes it possible to bring any subject we are studying into 3-dimensional view for our students and keep it front and center as they explore every possible aspect of that subject by using technology to its full extent. Palmer’s examples of student-centered education had medical students interacting with actual patients from the beginning of their education and had social science students considering a simple grid comparing race and income from every angle for an entire unit. Technology can certainly be used to duplicate and even enhance these experiences by allowing teachers to bring a diverse range of subjects directly into the classroom. Thus, for a history class, a simple photo found on the internet can be used to help students put themselves into the shoes of another person. Or, for an English teacher, a paragraph of text displayed before the class can be used as the jumping-off point for a deep discussion of the human condition.
The Courage to Teach was an inspirational and thought-provoking book. It both gives support to teachers in their own spaces and challenges them move beyond those spaces to a deeper understanding of themselves, a deeper connection with their students, and a new way of putting the subject of study at the center of a classroom inquiry. Accordingly, this is a valuable book for educators and for those who care about education. It does not offer easy answers, but rather a life-long journey of learning. But, in return, it promises an authentic education to both teachers and students.