Double Journal Entry #5

"In an ideal classroom everyone treats what is to be learned with a reverence that generates mutual respect among teachers and students" (Woodruff 2001, 192)

I chose this quote because I think respect within the classroom is a very important thing to accomplish. There are always going to be those certain students who don't respect the teacher and the teacher's way of teaching, and there are also going to be those students who feel that the teacher does not respect them. I believe communication is a factor in these problems. I am a strong believer that there needs to be an open line of communication in the classroom. I have always been one to want to be honest with everyone. I have been in situations where being honest with someone may hurt their feelings or tell them something they don't want to hear but as long as you can send the message the right way its better to be honest than to lie. I will always be honest with my students and I expect the same from my students. I want my students to respect me and if they ever feel like I did them wrong, then I want them to feel comfortable enough to talk to me about it and we can figure out a solution. As of now, I am in a Kindergarten class for my clinical and the teacher teaches them respect on a daily basis. We discuss not talking while someone else is, raising our hand to speak, treating others as we want to be treated, and keeping our hands where they belong. This is where it all starts. The students are very polite and for the most part, a great group of students. There are more boys than girls in this classroom so of course it gets a little rowdy but they are smart, capable students. Even though these students are so great, they still have to be reminded daily to be respectful and they know what being respectful means. By the time the end of the school year comes around, I know they'll be ready to move on to first grade and act like first graders.

Reverent listening in teaching is the awe and wonder, knowledge, modeling, respect, and transcendence of teaching. To be a reverent teacher, one must awe and wonder at their subject area. This teacher loves the subject they teach and feels like they were put on earth to teach it. This teachers is so passionate about their subject it spreads to their students. A reverent teacher also has knowledge of not only their subject matter but of their students as well. This teacher listens to what their students have to offer and is open to suggestions. The teacher will fit what is being taught to the needs of his/her students. This teacher can use his/her imagination to make the subject come alive for those students that need it. This teacher is also a leader and provides examples to his/her classroom. "One cannot connect and model until he or she has listened and learned about what others need, desire, and dream." (Reverence and Listening in Teaching and Leading 2781) A leader listens to what their students have to say and incorporates that into what needs to be done. A leader can also teach respect. A reverent teacher needs to teach students that we respect each other because that is how humanity is. Respect is not something that is earned, we should just respect others because we want to be respected. We respect by listening to one another and communicating. Finally, a reverent teacher should be transcendent. A teacher should teach good habits, and practice these.

This supports culturally responsive teaching because us as teachers needs to be able to listen to our students to see where they are coming from. We want to know our students and their backgrounds so we know how to teach them and we can identify with them. Teachers need to be able to understand their students and their situations to be able to teach them in the best way possible.

"Reverent listening is not to be confused with humiliation and domination by others who force us to listen,and even less so, with the kind of incompetence that wants to be told what to do"

I took this quote as how the teacher expects us to be quiet and listen but when we are younger, we just want to talk and visit with our friends then the teacher has to "yell" and tell us we "need" to be quiet and pay attention. I was never a student who was "yelled" at to be quiet because I was there to learn and I knew that but being a teacher candidate now, I see those students who just want to talk and all the teacher wants is respect. That is what a teacher is there to do, we are there to teach and the students are there to learn. This reverent listening is all about the respect of listening to one another and knowing what is appropriate and when.

I had a great science teacher while here at college, I'm sure we can guess who this is, that I felt like was a reverent teacher. She really listened to our ideas and what we had to say. She accommodated her lessons to help us and she was really passionate about her subject matter. I learned to love science because of her and I felt like she truly cared about each and every one of us. I know I had a really hard time last year and one week was especially worse than the others and I failed a test that week. She came up to me and asked me what had been going on because she knew that wasn't me. She told me if I ever needed her, she was there to help and her door was always open. The next test, I passed with an A. She came up to me then and made sure to congratulate me and tell me "Much Better!". I knew I could talk to her about anything and I respected her and she returned the respect as well.

I think factors that contribute to a "toxic" school culture would be the teachers that demand respect. Respect shouldn't be demanded. It is just given and sometimes students need to be taught how to give it. I also think when teachers don't listen to the needs of their students, things can turn toxic. Some schools can be all about the high-stakes testing and will focus on what that entails instead of letting the students have some time to express themselves through their other classes such as art, music, or PE.

"One cannot connect and model until he or she has listened and learned about what others need, desire, and dream." (Reverence and Listening in Teaching and Leading 2781)
I will use this quote again in my blog because I think it is a very important one that every teacher should use in their philosophy of teaching. Students need to be heard. Its as simple as that. A teacher may have to change their lessons in order to accommodate the needs of his/her students and that is okay. We as teachers want what is best for our students.

http://www.sugardoodle.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5357

I really enjoyed this activity. I think students need to be praised at first for being so polite. This would help remind them to be polite all the time.