What makes the difference?

Everyone talks about making a difference. Sometimes, people compare apples to apples and ask, "what makes the difference? what is the difference?"

In the teaching program, I often run into this same question. On many days, I have to ask myself, "what is the difference between these two methods? What makes the difference between a good teacher and a great teacher?" or:

"How is what I'm doing any better or worse than what other teachers are doing? What is the difference?"

Credibility.

Teaching Source: Quite simply, the levels of scrutiny that a teacher may receive is in direct contrast to who the teacher is and that teacher's standing at any particular school. That is to say, a teacher of many years receives none, while a new teacher is under a watchful eye.

Credibility stems directly from the source. A teacher of many years maintains higher levels of credibility by simply being there and teaching safe, mistake free lessons.

Therefore, when I ask what makes the difference between a good and great teacher, the traditional answer will likely bring up these aspects of the profession. Because of the hierarchy in teaching (the pecking order, whatever you want to call it), the difference is not necessarily in the product of teaching, but rather the stance of the teacher.

Where am I going with this? I'm not too sure. I feel like, after viewing different classes and seeing different lessons taught, experience isn't necessarily a great indicator of the product or the engagement. Experience might serve a purpose in lesson planning or coordinating meetings, but maybe not in creating student engagement.

One thing that I am quite sure of, however, is that student teachers have absolutely no credibility in the classroom. As such, our opinions and experiences are often taken lightly or completely discounted (specifically when being paired with those of experience and power). If I could give advice to future credential students, it would be to tread lightly... so much so that you're not even sure if you're moving forward. I was told that, in this program, I could experiment, take risks, and try out new things.

Not so.

This is tough for many of us, but especially myself. When I go swimming, I don't like to enter the pool via the ladder. I know I can swim, I don't feel the need to take my time, I'll get in the pool and learn the strokes, improve my abilities and improve my style. Why should I have to take so much precaution when entering the pool?

I like to cannonball off the diving board. And so, I believe it is the cannonball, that certain aim to take risks, that might very well be the difference.

Red Trolley video....SIDEWAYS (courtesy of mary)

the PACT

It's time to video tape. Booya. Student Teaching has been nothing like I expected. I guess every day can't be an inspirational group discussion/lecture/activity, but at the same time, I'm starting to wonder if this is my profession. I just recently taught a lesson a "great" lesson.v I was given tremendous accolades by my guide teacher. I was told that, when looking for new teachers, administrators look for educators that can teach a certain style, and that my most recent lesson was a great example of this structure and style.

It was a wonderful compliment, to be sure, but also very deflating. Teaching out of a textbook, using a very structured and scripted lesson plan, is not who I am as a teacher and as a student. It is not where I want to be as an educator 5, 10, 15 years from now. I have no desire to teach facts. I don't believe it is very important for the students to know the minimum age requirements to be a member of the House or the Senate. The "facts" are not as important as the "process" of learning. Students need to learn how to think, how to build ideas and arguments, and how to develop these ideas into something more.

The lesson I taught was a great lesson from a traditional standpoint. However, I could see the lack of interest in the students' eyes, the lack of connection to the material, and the complete absence of THEIR voice in the subject matter and the lesson. Of all the classroom observation I've done at both the middle and high schools, I've noticed that students rarely have a voice in the classroom. What kind of teacher would I be if I were to be satisfied with teaching an excellent lesson from a structured point of view?

The kids love spontaneous teachers (whether they will admit it or not), and that is the kind of person I am. I love coming into school with 20 ounces of coffee pumping through my veins and having fun. For me, everything about the forced structure in public schools seems to kill the spirit of learning.

Time to get down from my soap box. It's a beautiful Saturday. I'm gonna ride.

Up and Down, Around and Around

The credential program has been two parts disheartening and two parts helpful. Each day is a new day bringing a new mood swing, new experiences and a new set of challenges to overcome. It's been especially difficult to stay on top of my personal life when everything in my "professional" life is in constant motion and is constantly working against my own actions. It has been more than a challenge to stay motivated and creative in an atmosphere that is not conducive to creativity and individuality.

Students and teachers don't really seem too much bothered by my presence in the classroom, yet I'm having a hard time finding my place, my stride, and my rhythm on a day to day basis. In the middle school, I had a schedule, a plan, a structure. It has been tough to find the same things at the HS. The students, however, are amazing, and every day I've been very grateful to have the opportunity to interact with them, to learn from them, and to teach them a thing or two (I'm able to do that, you know).

Leading the chase at the Island View Classic, 2010

The bike racing, as usual, has been keeping me somewhat sane. Let's take a look:

No results to speak of

No primes to show for the effort

Been riding more than ever

Okay, so maybe things haven't been going to plan. I had been bragging about a cat. 3 upgrade through the entire winter break/off-season (if you can call it that, with the teaching and school), but things are not coming together at this point in time. It has been nice to see my friends and riding buddies having success, and it has been nice to find a new level of fitness and experience more racing, but I'd really like to have some results of my own. I suppose I'll just have to keep training.

So the Santa Barbara race weekend came and went, as they all do. Some guy from UCLA keeps ruining all my races. Not in the traditional sense; he and I are by no means battling. He is much stronger than myself. No, he continues to ruin my races by generally saying things that are either rude, foolish, or both. I'm not one for smack talk in bike races, especially between racers of different abilities. We're talking about a guy who lapped the entire field to take the win at a notoriously tough early season criterium, and me, half student teacher-half average bike racer. It's a matter of interaction.

Everyone I've met in the collegiate racing scene is upbeat, chill, and generally fun to talk to. Before the race, afterwards, even during, most guys know what is going on, especially considering that we're in the B category. But this guy, God Bless him, says things like, "come on SDSU, help chase. quit blocking SDSU. what's the deal? are you guys going to chase?" Sorry buddy, but if you haven't been paying attention, we have a guy who's been in the break for the past 25 minutes. If you have no cool information, fun facts, or good jokes, don't talk to me.

So we move on. The racing was fast and crash free. The crit was fast and fun as myself, Logan and Dan worked extremely hard for Eric in the break. Unfortunately for E-love, the wind picked up like a mother, and a break of two could not stay away. We sprinted for 11th, 4th and 12th respectively. Elove got a standing ovation for his work off the front, as I've been told. The road race on Sunday was a blur. A short, 11 mile lap with one punchy 4-5 minute climb was to be repeated 4 times. Logan got away. I held on. After the break was decided (Logan had to deal with UCLA guy, thankfully) the group had some good laughs, and kept the tempo steady, ensuring that Logan would be credited with at least a 4th. E-love sat in the pack like a champ. Even through the attacks on the final lap, he was money.

"you gonna attack on the climb?"

"no, I think i'm gonna try for the field sprint." epic.

So Logan got his 3rd and, of course, Eric took a sweet victory in the field sprint to give him 4th. I was somewhere in there, happy to have finished in the bunch and to have been competitive. Awesome times.