Stepping Stones

My friend Jasmine is a brand new teacher, recently graduated from OISE, at the University of Toronto. We have started a bit of a conversation as she gets her blog up and running. She posed some questions to me that ties into so many of the writers and bloggers I am following. I’m not sure where to start with answering her query so for now, I’m just pointing her in a few directions that may further her explorations. Here is her post that grew out of a experiences at her graduation ceremony.
Friday was the final day of classes at OISE, ended with an awards ceremony to celebrate exemplary teachers and education faculty and students. This leads me to wonder, what did we value in educators ten years ago and has that changed? Do we truly value change or is the Culture of Teaching monolithic when it comes to public practice? And if it is (and in many cases, I have found that it is), WHY? What are we so attached to? If teachers promote innovation in curriculum, shouldn’t we also promote innovation in our own philosophies and practices? A faculty advisor with whom I worked commented to me that OISE’s pick of award candidates almost invariably did equity work. Was it, he asked, an indication that OISE would put more emphasis on equity within its own ranks and practices? And how do we promote equity more effectively in all our teachers?

This is my first response to her questions. I will add more as I ponder the question further.

Some very weighty questions posed. I like them, don’t have a significant answer, however, I’m not sure you really need an answer. From my perspective, innovation in teaching practices is an explosion that web 2.0 has set off. To be an educator, your role as expert learner becomes more the norm because you are absorbing the changes occuring in the world and community and assisting your students do the same. It’s a different landscape than the traditional teacher - learner model. There are many excellent writers who are in conversation and writing about your questions Jasmine. David Warlik is one of the key people I read. Have a look at these 2 links:

David Warlick - Curriculum is Dead-Teacher as Tour Guide
David Warlick - My New Heros - Elementry School Teachers:
Here is Christopher Sessums latest post that I think relates to your questions. I really like his writing as so much of it bears direct relevance to my work at the Community Resource & Learning Room.

Creativity and Education: re-visioning teacher education

I liked this post from Clarence Fisher at his blog - Remote Access.

“The role of the teacher in the network is to build relationships around the world that create authentic learning. Kids would rather present their work to the world than to just their classmates. Shows fan fiction. On this site, you get reviewed. Asks, how many of you have 103 reviews of your work on the Internet?”

I posted not long ago about how if I was looking for a new title, one to replace teacher, it would be “network administrator.” As a teacher, my job has fundamentally changed. I connect kids with content. Both with places to access content, and to present their content. I connect kids with other kids and their learning, their thoughts and ideas. I put kids in contact with an audience in order to motivate them, to drive them forward in their thinking, to allow their viewpoints and world views to crash up against those of others. It is vital.