Professional Book Response 2

What was learned:

I further chapters, the author talks about The Hidden Wholeness: Paradox in Teaching and Learning. At which point he discuss the fact that the nature of the human self is paradoxical: for every gift or strength we possess, there is a corresponding weakness or liability so there is a good balance that can be seen this way. He also speaks about the fact that we as teachers need to embrace opposites and appreciate paradoxes. There are a few that he say that should be applied in out teaching and learning spaces are the space should be bounded and open, the space should be hospitable and "charged", and the space should welcome both silence and speech. He goes on to talk about the fact that community is very important in the classroom and the fact that to teach is to create a space in which the community of truth is practiced as well as truth being the eternal conversation about things that matter, conducted with passion and discipline.

Golden line:

Our task is to create enough safe spaces and trusting relationships within the academic workplace–hedged about by appropriate structural protections–that more of us will be able to tell the truth about our own struggles and joys as teachers in ways that befriend the soul and give it room to grow.

        Questions:

Is it more important to have a community in your class, or with the school community as a whole?

How should a teacher begin to explain to their students that they are trying to build a certain community in the classroom? Do you address it with the class at all? Does it just happen with practice?

How do you as a teacher figure out the king of community you would like to create in your classroom?

Strategies for creating community in classroom

1. Make Learning Relevant

2. Create a Classroom Code of Conduct

3. Teach Positive Actions

4. Instill Intrinsic Motivation