“One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. ” Carl Jung
I have been thinking about our class discussion this past Thursday, and I believe the diverse set of opinions on what the teacher’s role is was very interesting. As a result, of emerging digital technologies teachers are much more accessible to students and vice versa. I see this as a tremendous benefit for both student and teacher. However, there seems to be some support for teachers to be keep a distance from students for the sake of ““respect” and “appropriateness” . Facebook, twitter, blogging, email are only some new forms of communication. These new technologies provide those teachers who truly care about their students the opportunity to go above and beyond as great teachers always have, regardless of technologies. It is my opinion that unfortunately not all teachers are of this nature, and sadly some( thankfully very few) are teaching for a paycheck it seems. We have all experienced having these types of teachers at some time or another in our lives. These were the instructors who just went with the motions of lecture and homework, you seemed to be just a name on a piece of paper to keep record of. Now, I’m sure these instructors are not necessarily bad people in fact they could be great individuals, but the point is, are they great teachers?, do they see their students as more than a statistic to meet?, or a curriculum to complete, I don’t know.
Thinking back to my academic life I have been blessed to have been taught by a great number of amazingly talented and dedicated teachers. My teachers went above and beyond their job description to make sure I understood something, to understand me, to understand where I was coming from, and as a result they were better able to teach me. If pedagogy must adapt to the times it is teaching, then it would seem that ignoring or not taking advantage of (course blog, e-mail, facebook or twitter) can soon divide great teachers from the not so great.
Jesse from our class discussion your students are very lucky to have you, and don’t change because I’m sure your are making a much more impact on their lives then you’ll ever know.
When I first raised the issue of privacy in our discussion of social networking tools and programs, I had no idea I was stepping into a minefield. Nor was it ever my intention to question anyone's integrity or commitment to teaching. This discussion should never have gotten to the point of a polemic.
ReplyDeleteWe need to step back a bit. An open discussion between professional colleagues requires listening to all sides without passing judgement. To talk in terms of good teachers who care versus bad teachers who insist on respect and appropriateness is to miss the point entirely, polarize the discussion and offend those of us who first raised the issue.
In any relationship, a responsible and caring adult must consider boundaries -- and most particularly when one has power over the other, e.g., teachers, priests and parents.
I have learned a lot in this class, some of which is eye opening -- such as the responsible use of social networking tools in the classroom. I did not mean to imply that I advocated not using them (although I most decidedly felt this way when I first began this class)but I feel it is very appropriate and even necessary to raise issues of privacy and boundary setting with social networking. Primarily because I want to know how to use them responsibly in the classroom myself.
Moreover, since this discussion has been moved to the personal realm let me add a bit about my credentials: I have successfully raised two daughters to adulthood weathering many crises. (I almost said "successfully raised alone" but realize with great humility that after my husband passed away suddenly I had the continuing support of my family, my friends, my church and my community. It truly does take a village.)
And I have taught both children and adults in various settings for the past 25 years or so. I enjoy the respect, love and trust of my children and hopefully many of my students.
Interesting quote from Jung, Bertha. It rings true for me.
ReplyDeleteI think it's possible to hold all of the points of view expressed in class at the same time, as Jane suggests. While it doesn't make sense to ignore contemporary forms of communication (I'm reminded of how 25 years ago neither I nor my friends wanted a telephone answering machine because we thought it would be too invasive, and then, once we had them, were disappointed that we didn't get more calls) it also makes sense to be wary of the possible dangers inherent in those technologies (those same answering machines enabled some friends to receive abusive phone messages from ex-boyfriends). I always think of that poor middle school girl who was harassed to suicide by the mother of one her classmates who posed as a boy online to form a relationship with her then break-up with her.
Humaira's example of using facebook as a method to distribute classroom assignments is very instructive here. Delivering curriculum to students on a Web site where they will already be is a powerful act. In this context to prohibit student access to fb seems insane. One could certainly cross a line on fb, and it is also easier to be misinterpreted online than in person because of the lack of social cues. We need to learn how to use these tools rather than simply ignoring them.
It seems, as Tom noted the complexity of the class conversation, about teacher-student relationships and social networking has a great deal to do with our cultural concept of authority and the conventions of boundaries that are complicated as Cameo pointed out by laws made to control the fringe but enforce control through example on all of us to the point where we live in daily awareness of predators thanks to tabloid and local news.
ReplyDeleteBy being afraid of technology can cause a huge gap... The teachers that seem unwilling to adapt are the ones that have students falling behind because there is NO connection. These teachers want the students to only adapt to their styles and methods without adapting to their students' needs and learning styles... It seems very hypocritical to me. Not every student learns the same way and there cannot be a textbook model to teach all students. I am not saying that I am adapting to all students, but I am trying my best to. There are still some that will fail, that is the reality... but those numbers of students failing have significantly lessened.
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