Post #1: Cris Tovani "Why Do I Have to Read This?" Chapter 2 Analysis
In Chapter 2 - Wedgies, Drunken Bears, and the Stress of Shortsighted Planning, Tovani presents a number of intriguing points in relation to curriculum, student engagement (and causes for disengagement), and the concept of always staying ahead. For the last two years of college, I have read dozens of education-related of texts. So, the terms "curriculum" and "student engagement" are not foreign. However, what separates Tovani from the rest of these educational books is that Tovani not only incorporates his own teaching experiences into his philosophies, but she also digs beyond the surface to help unlock deeper meanings.
The first section that really caught my attention is labeled, Students Disengage Because They Have... on pages 24-26. In this section of text, Tovani explains that the knee jerk reaction for teachers when asked if they can influence boredom is "no." Tovani then goes on to detail that we as teachers make and plan the lessons, therefore if students are bored, it is our job to fix it. This spoke volumes to me because it is so easy to assume that students are bored because they do not enjoy or understand the content that is being presented. While that may be true to some degree, we as teachers can alter this by dissipating the content in ways that are creative and will harbor student engagement and opinion. The final bit in this section that really stood out to me is when Tovani states, "... we have to figure out how to harness the time we spend outside of class in order to influence student engagement during class" (Tovani, Pg. 27). With that said, student engagement is not always just going to happen. The truth is, we will need to spend time outside of contracted hours to construct ways to engage and inspire learning and engagement, because if students are not engaged, students will not learn, and we would not be doing our job to the best of our ability.
Furthermore, the other section in Chapter 2 that caught my eye is labeled, Curriculum Is More Than the "Stuff" We Teach on pages 31-33. As an education major, I probably hear the word "curriculum" more than any other word. We have been taught that we are required to teach my specific curriculum standards from our districts and states and everything in between. However, Tovani explains that our curriculum is more than the content we teach our students, but also how we present, organize, and interact with both our content and our students. This interconnected perspective on curriculum is really interesting to me because I never thought how organizing specific groups of students, for example, is part of curriculum or how our specific instructional methods play a role in formulating our curriculum. This section truly broadened my view on how curriculum is so much more than just "content information" and knowing this will surely influence and impact my future teaching methodologies.
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ReplyDeleteHi Blake, great reflection! I also wrote about how curriculum is more than just the content but also the method in how it is presented. It really was eye opening because I think it elevates the mode of education and shows how it is just as important as content knowledge. It is something I knew, but before it was put into those words, it was not something I was consciously thinking about for future lesson plans. I planned to make my classes as fun as possible, but I think seeing curriculum in this light really put what I should do into perspective. We really are going to impact what our future students learn, and it is not going to be because of what we teach, but how we teach it.
ReplyDeleteHi Blake. I really liked your emphasis on the teachers role in keeping students engaged. While some students might find certain lessons more engaging than others, it is still important that as teachers we recognize what works well and what doesn’t to guide our future lessons. Engaging students is not always a simple task, especially since students have many different preferences and learning styles. This brings in the importance of reflection and experience to develop our lessons to engage as many students as possible. Your explanation of a curriculum being more than just content is also very important. The content means nothing if it is not communicated in an effective way. Understanding this is a great way to grow as an educator.
ReplyDeleteHi Blake. I really enjoyed how you started off with the student engagement section of the text. I liked how you went in depth to explain why a student might be "bored." It is true that is it up to the teacher to make the content engaging for the student, like you said it can be boring sometimes but it is ultimately up to the teacher. I also enjoyed your last paragraph where you talked about the curriculum. I liked how you talked about how teachers are more than the curriculum they teach, teacher do so much more and is often times overlooked. Overall, you really showed your understanding of the Tovani's Chapter 2
ReplyDeleteHi Blake, I really enjoyed reading your reflection, it was extremely insightful. The section that speaks about boredom just demonstrates that our job as teachers is much more than just teaching the curriculum. It is so easy to have the toxic mindset of, "I taught the material, it's up to the students to pay attention,". Being a teacher requires more than just doing the bare minimum, it requires extra hours, extra dedication, patience and an abundance of compassion. This aids us in creating lesson plans or crafting strategies to keep the student more engaged in classroom learning. I just feel like this part of the section just emphasizes the student-teacher relationship and communication needed to help a student become successful even if it is in a subject that they don't like.
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