Sunday, February 7, 2016
February 9... Practical Wisdom and the Life of an Educator
Have you done much thinking about how and whether the professional responsibilities of educators go beyond the classroom and school? Does the idea of practical wisdom (from the Schwartz and Sharpe reading) jibe with your idea of what it means to be a teacher/counselor? Do you see any connections between these questions and last week's discussion about the relationship between the private and public parts of an educator's life? Note: you don't need to address all of this, the blog prompt is simply intended to get you thinking about what we've read and discussed...
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Schwartz and Sharpe’s concept of practical wisdom reminds me of driving a car. Driving involves following a set of “rules of the road” that you have to learn in order to receive your license. However, beyond knowing these rules, a person also develops a sense of how to drive in particular conditions, how to respond to the moments of other drivers, and how to interpret the idiosyncrasies of the local routes. Practical wisdom seems essential to any area of life that has both “written” and “unwritten” rules and that requires intuition as well as explicit logic to navigate. Social interactions are similar in that they can involve many unstated dynamics. I don’t see why “practical wisdom” wouldn’t also be an important part of teaching. I like how Schwartz and Sharpe describe “practical wisdom” as having goals that you seek to implement rather than just having rules that you seek to follow or mistakes you seek to avoid (although following rules and avoiding mistakes can also be important.)
ReplyDeleteI have conflicted feelings about how the idea of “practical wisdom” might be applied to teachers. On one hand, I think teachers do have responsibilities to students and to people in general that may extend beyond what is stated in their job descriptions. Teachers should have goals that they try to achieve if they are going to view their profession as form of service. However, I worry that teachers might be expected to do more work without extra pay or to solve problems they are not prepared to solve without extra training and support. The belief that teaching is a calling and that teachers should naturally (especially if they are women) do whatever they can for the sake of the children can derail the empowerment of teachers. Finally, I would be concerned that “practical wisdom” might become conflated with the kind of “common sense” we spoke about last class. Personal ideas about what constitutes “practical wisdom” needed to be tested through experience and examined through dialogue with others and through consideration of ones own biases.
Brittany Milteer
ReplyDeleteEducators' responsibilities go way beyond the classroom and school. Not only do they have classroom responsibilities, such as developing and planning for lessons or drafting up a major unit plan for a core subject; but they have the responsibility of carrying themselves accordingly in public, being viewed or possibly judged by people in the community, and the overall view that they have to be professional. As most people would agree and know, educators are unpaid for all of the work they are expected to do outside of the classroom. It is not just a 5 day work week from 7/8 AM to 2/3 PM with weekends and summers off. It is the constant planning throughout each day all year long, the constant thought of making sure the students are prepared for their upcoming test and exams so they meet the standards; it's a 24/7 job all year long for educators. A true teacher teaches because they feel that it is their calling, what they are meant to do. Most teachers want to teach their students the basics while exciting them about learning and overall becoming a better person, however, teachers are constantly feeling helpless with the mandates of standardized testing. This is where teachers face issues because there are sets of rules to oversee this procedure, however, a set of rules or guidelines does not and never will explain EVERY situation. It's just not possible. Educators do have to have practical wisdom, but it comes over time. To have practical wisdom educators have to have the will and the skill.
The professional responsibilities of being an educator goes far beyond the classroom and school, it stretches throughout every aspect of your life. Teachers are to make sure that they are always upholding their professionalism in every scenario because you never know who is watching (including yourself). Teachers need to be careful about where they are seen or how they are acting or what they are wearing every single day. But this comes with the job and I get why. Teachers are role models and a part of the prestigious educational institution that must uphold all of the various appearances just as if they were the president of the United States. What also comes with the job is experience and learned practical wisdom. Sometimes what the institution says or wants us to do isn’t always the right thing to do. It isn’t only about the rules or incentives, it is about doing the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do. As stated, practical wisdom combines will and skill, thus it must be cultivated within the major institutions in which we practice to ensure that it will be there when we need it most. A good practitioner of any caliber must know how to perceive the situation, deploy the appropriate feelings about it, deliberate what is appropriate in the circumstances, and act on it. This doesn’t just come with experience; it comes with knowledge on the subject. We are born to be wise, so nurture this wisdom and stop destroying it.
ReplyDeleteJordan Lee
ReplyDeleteI believe that the professional responsibilities of educators go well beyond the classroom and school. Teachers spend countless hours outside of school preparing materials, creating lessons, grading papers, finding resources to use, etc.. I also feel that the professional responsibilities of teachers reach beyond just curriculum and preparation for class time. I feel that teachers are responsible for holding themselves respectfully in the community too. In my opinion, teachers have to be careful of how they act in public. Every time you leave your house, you have the potential of seeing a parent, coworker, or student of yours. It is important monitor your appearance and behaviors when you are out in the community (what you are wearing, if/how much you are drinking, the language you use, etc.). Teaching as a profession puts you in the public eye a lot and I think it is often overlooked the professional responsibilities that come with that, in and out of the classroom.
Reading about Schwartz and Sharpe’s description about practical wisdom was interesting pertaining to teaching. As we have discussed and all know, people do not go into the education field for wealth. I feel that most teachers, or at least I hope, feel that they can better the lives of children and make a difference. So I feel that most teachers have the “will” discussed in the text and we are working on our skills, and will continue gaining them through our experiences.
This quote from the text stood out to me and aligns with how I view practical wisdom “a wise practitioner wants to do the right thing not because of some monetary reward or punishment but because it is what being a good teacher demands.”
Educators’ responsibilities definitely go beyond the classroom and school. I’m sure many of the people in our class have even experienced this first hand. Educators are always writing lesson plans, reading student work, and reflecting on their own teaching when they are not in school. I’m not sure there is a day when a teacher isn’t taking on a professional responsibility outside of the classroom. Not only do our responsibilities relate to the “educational” aspects of our job, but they relate to the idea of being a respectable member of the community. I do feel it is important for a teacher to have respect for themselves and the people around them. That being said, I see nothing wrong with a teacher going out for a beer on a Friday night with some friends. Much like we discussed in class, I do believe there is a line that should not be crossed when it comes to our behaviors and actions in the community.
ReplyDeleteSomething that stood out to me from Practical Wisdom was the idea that there is no “recipe, formula, or set of techniques” that teach a person to be wise. I agree with the text in that “skills are learned through experience.” As a teacher, our experiences often shape how we teach. This made me think about the discussion we had on learning to teach solely through experiences, which we know, does not make a “well-rounded” teacher.
Amanda Kern
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe that the responsibilities of teachers goes far beyond the classroom. Teachers are held to a standard not only in the classroom in school but also in the community. In schools teachers are expected to remain professional and be a role model for students. Your trusted to be inspiring, educating, and be an example by parents who have trusted you to be responsible for their child 5 days a week. I think by not holding this standard while outside of school, we are disrespecting our profession, students and their parents. I think it's important as a teacher to not put yourself in situations where you wouldn't want parents to see you or see pictures of you later. We are choosing to enter this profession not for the money but for our love of children and I think thats something we should always remember while in and out of the classroom.
Savannah Crowder
ReplyDeleteAs educators we are going to be doing a lot outside of the classroom. During our time when we are not teaching, we will be lesson planning, organizing, preparing activities, and reflecting. We will be focused on teaching even during our free time. In addition to all of the prep for the class and lessons, we will be expected to fit a role model image in our daily lives. In a class the other day, we discussed how it is important to not share too much about our lives, because students may share that information with their parents, and if their parents don’t agree on something you do (ex: having a baby before marriage, living with partner, being homosexual, etc.) it can negatively affect how parents view you (which can cause students being taken out of classes, etc.). Our images outside of the classroom are important because you never know when you may run into a parent, coworker, administrator, or student. As future educators we should be aware that our images are important in our jobs, and that we can still be ourselves, we just have to make sure it doesn’t affect how we are viewed as professionals (just as you would with any other professional job).
I agree with the idea of practical wisdom (from the Schwartz and Sharpe reading) in that it is learned and built through experience. I believe that situations that we are faced with will help us grow in our practical wisdom. I can relate this to teaching because I believe that how we grow as teachers is based on experience. We construct our teaching philosophy through our experiences and we learn from both good and bad situations.
Erica Sudduth
ReplyDeleteOur responsibilities as teachers go beyond the classroom and the school. I believe that we must always act as if a parent, student or another teacher is around when we are out in public. We are to be seen as professionals in our daily lives, in and out of the school.
Amanda Matthews
ReplyDeleteTeachers do not stop being teachers when they leave the classroom. Our responsibilities stretch far beyond the confines of our classrooms. Therefor, we cannot stop being professional when we are not physically at work. Although our personal lives should be just that, personal, it does not work like that in this profession. We are taking care of peoples children and if we do something that makes them question our morals, they may stop trusting us.
Practical wisdom can relate to last weeks discussion because some things are difficult to just sit down and teach, they are learned through experience. A lot of the situations we talked about in class are not things we would typically learn in a classroom setting, but we will learn our own values as a professional once we are out teaching in schools.
Paige Michanco
ReplyDeleteBeing a teacher does not stop once you step foot outside of your classroom or school. Teachers are constantly doing work that involves lesson planning, reflecting, responding to parent emails, etc once they get home each and every day. As far as acting one way in the classroom and another in the community, teachers need to uphold a professional manner at all times. I think it's totally fine for teachers to go out on a Friday night and enjoy a drink or two. However, there is a fine line in how you act while doing so.
What stood out to me in the article was the quote "What am I to do"--right here and now. It goes on to say that a wise person does not speculate about what is right, they just do it. To me, this made a lot of sense. As a future educator I know that I need to maintain professionalism at all times, and that isn't something that I have had to question.
Mary Krevonick
ReplyDeleteI agree that the professional responsibilities of educators go far beyond classroom and school settings. It is inevitable to teach character traits alongside curriculum as an educator. Character traits, as mentioned in the Shwartz and Sharpe article, play a critical role in public schools when discipline procedures are in effect. For example, Chesterfield County Public Schools have “Core Values,” which include honesty, responsibility, accountability, and respect. Even when I was in elementary school, if a student broke a core value through lying, cheating, etc., the student was instructed to write about the core value broken and how to be a better student. To be proactive, CCPS gives out “Core Value Student” awards to reward exceptional behavior. While these procedures work on a larger scale, I have seen various examples of teachers instilling character traits like generosity, humility, loyalty, etc. through the use of literature, role play, and real-life situations.
Andrew Cramer
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that morality could be referred to as a skill. I had reasoned that a person’s morals were a part of their personal character traits, one either had morals or they lacked them. I can see how a person with the moral skill, but lack of will is viewed as an amoral person. It also works when they lack the moral skill, but they have the will.
I have a real issue with giving incentives for doing what is morally correct. It insinuates that one cannot be trusted to do the right thing and must be bribed in order to get them to act accordingly. If I were in a profession that gave direct incentives for doing what was morally correct, I would feel that I was in an unprofessional organization and worked with a bunch of unscrupulous misfits.
Anytime a person works with children and can be viewed by children as a role model, they have a responsibility to act appropriately. This does include behavior beyond the classroom, but there is a wide gap between misbehavior and elevated expectations to live virtuous life. For instance if a parent is watching a little league baseball game and hollers at the umpire they are viewed as a spirited fan. If a teacher hollered out at the same public event it may be looked upon as questionable conduct. The masses seem to be much more forgiving if a blue collar worker has a shady second job or a minimal lapse in judgment off duty hours. When it comes to a schoolteacher’s behavior beyond the classroom they are not willing to forgive even the slightest misjudgment.
When I watch a reality TV show and I hear the words “ I take care of my kids” it makes me laugh because they are implying that they are doing something special. Doing what is expected should not be rewarded, but a zero tolerance is unrealistic.
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ReplyDeleteMaddy Kilgore
ReplyDeleteFor certain responsibilities I had always known they went beyond the classroom such as planning and grading. I know that as teachers we will still be thinking about our students and about lessons even when we leave the school building, which is sometimes different then a lot of professions. I hadn’t given much thought to the behavior expectations and responsibilities of conduct outside the school. Now that I have I definitely think there are expectations for teachers to hold the same professionalism inside the classroom as outside the classroom. I understand that and think as a professional we should be conscious of our behavior because we did choose to work with children and have a big influence over their lives. However, I do think many things of our life should be private and not put under a microscope. Teachers are humans and we will make mistakes but we also have the freedom to live our lives as we want like everyone else. There is almost a double standard that teachers must be “teachers” everywhere we go but I think it should be totally normal for a parent to see a teacher out having a drink and not suddenly question their judgment and ability to be a teacher. Yes, there are certain things that are normally under the illegal category that are too far and should be questioned if a teacher is doing them but that standard should be the same for lawyers, doctors, etc. What seems crazy to me sometimes is that parents don't seem to be held to the same high standard teachers are when it comes to maybe morality or public behavior or even what they do in their private life. Yes there is social services that steps in when the situation is harmful for the child but no one is judging a parent for going to a Bachelorette party and doing silly things but like we talked about in class when a teacher is discovered to have partaken in the type of events that go on she was judged and questioned if she was a good teacher basically.
Emily Meade
ReplyDeleteI think all teachers can agree that professional responsibility goes way beyond the classroom and school. Lesson planning/preparing, grading, evaluation of yourself, thoughts of if a child is receiving the basic and academic needs they require and in turn acting on it, etc. are all things that are done outside of the regular school day (all of which require the main component: practical wisdom). Choosing to be an educator is a commitment to do what it takes in AND outside of the classroom to help your students succeed. All too often that goes unnoticed, and people mistake educators for people who only work on the student schedule, with the unfair advantage of a summer break. I often find myself arguing this infuriating image, as most of my classmates do too. Educators spend countless hours of their “private” lives working to better the education and lives of their students. Why do we do that? We have practical wisdom.
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ReplyDeleteThe responsibilities of a teacher most certainly go beyond the classroom and school. In the public eye, teachers are monitored at their every action, judged as a moral role model for students at any given hour of the day. Anyone who feels called to be a teacher does so because they want to make a difference in their student’s lives, but I think that in order to make the full impact we desire as teachers we have the responsibility to initiate the changes we want to see in education. We want to serve as good moral role models but what about also serving as good citizens who advocate and follow through with the changes they want to see? I think this is a problem teachers are aware of but feel powerless to change.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that teachers lack the passion, zeal or heart to sense that education is not where it should be or even to fight for student's equality to education, but that we don’t know where to start or have given up after feeling that our voice is not heard. ln our feelings of helplessness, it's easier to listen to what current culture tells us to do instead of making every effort for the changes we want to see. I think many teachers are discouraged with where education is and instead they find a school who provides them with their ideal teaching circumstances or switch careers, but what about the rest of the schools that do not have ideal circumstances, who are not accredited, do not receive the funds they needs, are in need of great teachers and are struggling with moral and political corruption?
Jamie Whittaker
ReplyDeleteI do believe that a teacher’s professional responsibilities go beyond the classroom. There is always a chance that you may run into a colleague, parent, or even a student outside of school and you need to hold yourself to the same professionalism that they’d see in the school. Teachers are also entitled to having fun in their private life outside of school. Pictures or accounts of such things should be kept to yourself and off social media. I know several teacher friends on Facebook that do enjoy a night out but if any pictures are posted they are very tame (just holding a beer).
One quote from the Practical Wisdom article that stood out to me was, “A practically wise person doesn’t merely speculate about what’s proper; she does it.”
Corinne
ReplyDeleteBetween the reading and our in-class discussion, the best way to explain professionalism in teaching is that there are a lot of rules but not a lot of incentives. Some might say that summer, winter, and spring break count as our incentives, but those people are clearly not nor have ever been teachers. The private lives of teachers are so restricted and regulated, especially when compared to the private lives of other professionals, that teachers cannot even express excitement about having the day off on a personal twitter account without it becoming an issue. The problem here is that, along with most other female-dominated professions, people do not see teachers as complete human beings. A teacher who wants a snow day could not possibly be a mother who wants to spend time with her own kids or family. Rather, she is a heartless monster who will take any chance she gets to avoid having to babysit other people's kids and probably only got into teaching so she could have summers off anyway. A teacher who wants to have a drink after work isn't unwinding after a long day. She's a poisonous alcoholic who will probably encourage young kids (girls) to engage in such unladylike behavior as well. Honestly, it reminds me of working in food service. I once received a complaint that I didn't look “happy enough”, and even had a female coworker get fired for a lack of cheerfulness. When it's 6am on a Thursday, people should be grateful that I am right there, ready to hand them a fresh toasted bagel. Or an education. The bagel is a metaphor.
This is not to say that a teachers private and professional lives aren't intertwined. If a teacher was using twitter to make fun of her students on a public forum then yes, she should be reprimanded. If a teacher keeps getting DUIs as a result of drinking after work, she should be reprimanded. But the obsession that parents, administrators, and even people outside of the school system have with how teachers choose to spend their free time is ridiculous.
Ashley Slater
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt, teachers are held to a different standard compared to other professions. The job of a teacher goes way beyond the classroom. Teachers are role models. When I think of a good teacher, I think of one who attends their student’s soccer games, dance recitals, and any other after school activities. They are there for their students as much as possible. Social lives are strained due to the amount of planning/work the profession requires. And all of this goes without pay, because it is beyond the classroom expectations. To be a good teacher, professionalism is something that needs to be valued.
Teachers develop practical wisdom overtime. The experiences we have shape what kinds of teacher we will be. Although there are rules and guidelines that are mandated by the schools, teachers often follow their intuition and do what is right to them based on the scenario presented. This to me is good practice, even if it means “breaking” the rules set by the school.
Christeena C.
ReplyDeleteThe professional responsibilities of educators definitely go beyond the classroom and school. The job of an educator can never be accomplished during an eight hour working day. During a typical school day, my focus and priority are the students, so I am talking to students about issues non-stop. I have to put my educational planning on the backburner because their needs come first. In the counseling world, I am constantly finding new initiatives that will help decrease behaviors, enhance learning, and also find new ways to help students deal with their social/emotional issues. This requires networking with teachers and other professional which may not take place during the school day. A great deal of work happens at home and attending appropriate professional development workshops. Educators are persistently working to make sure they fulfill their duties. For most, this is a passion, and I believe that educators will do what it takes to make sure their students succeed academically and in other domains of their lives.
Maureen Boster
ReplyDeleteOur professional responsibilities as educators for sure go beyond the classroom and school. This is not a 9 to 5 job or a job with weekends or summers off. We are constantly thinking about the next lesson, grading papers, trying to do what is best for all of our students. There is also the stigma of teachers who have to be a certain way, a certain look and act a certain way. You never know who you will see out, parents, or students. If you are acting a certain way parents might think differently of you and then not want their student to be placed in your classroom. If you see students outside of school and you are doing something “not teacher like “ they might think differently of you. These students look up to you and expect you to be a role model. We talked about this in class and I do think this is crazy. It is your personal life and you shouldn’t have to constantly be this role model or worry if someone will see you.
Schwartz and Sharpe are right in the sense that most teachers teach and love to teach because it is their calling and they feel the need to make a difference and impact the lives of others.
Allie Bryan
ReplyDeleteI found this article very easy to read, but confusing to disseminate. I felt like they went back and forth about teachers having or not having practical wisdom. I'm still not sure what they were getting at, but I found the idea of practical wisdom interesting. Practical wisdom is akin to what I consider maturity. It is the patience to step back and fully consider all elements of a situation and react accordingly. I agree, that rules and conventions hamper a teacher's ability to assert their practical wisdom. I suppose they may be hinting to the tensions we alluded to in class, the struggle to enforce structure, while allowing teacher and student freedom. It seems counter-intuitive to allow teachers complete control with no regulation, but finding that balance is fraught with obstacles along the way.
Stephanie Furnish
ReplyDeleteI find it frustrating that other professions hold teachers to a standard of constant professionalism when I think every career-driven person in any profession should maintain a sense of professionalism at their jobs and during their time off. As a businessman/woman, you could run into a potential client, business partner, or whomever, and they should also maintain professionalism instead of raging at a bar on the weekends. As a professional in any job, a sense of professionalism on the job and outside of your home is important for every, not just educators. We are much more connected to our students today with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others, and it is important to not post risqué, inappropriate, crude photos and comments, as it would be for any professional.
I understand that everyone has their college years and their bachelor/bachelorette years, and practical wisdom isn’t embedded in our personalities the moment we’re born, however, it’s necessary to realize what is and isn’t appropriate for the public eye to see if you want any career working with adults, business partners, or children. Not to say that teachers and counselors can’t have a private life, but it’s frustrating that the private lives of these professionals are always the ones being blown up. What about bankers? What about insurance companies? What about social workers? What about police officers? What about county government employees?
I think this particular question is rally hard to answer, depending on where you’re coming from or how you think the question is intended. I think that as educators we do have responsibilities outside of our classroom but I think of this in a sense of doing programs, career workshops, tutoring, taking classes, etc. I think these things are important, so you are constantly learning more and more as an educator and learning how to make yourself a “better” teacher. However, on the other hand I don’t think “teachers” need to be this cookie-cutter type of person. I think you should be more careful about what your post and the decisions that you make outside of the classroom, but if I want to go out and have a good time with friends, why should being a teacher stop me from doing this or “behaving” a certain way the majority of the public thinks that you should. I have found this a lot when I go out, people don’t see teachers having this sense of freedom, and my question is why?
ReplyDeleteI think a teacher's professional responsibilities outside of the classroom extend to whatever directly impacts their classroom and their students. For instance, going out for drinks with your friends on weekends is fine, but if you're coming in every Monday morning hung over, it's starting to encroach upon the classroom.
ReplyDeleteWhen we're talking about teachers' responsibilities outside of the classroom, a lot of attention is put on teachers' behavior in their life. I would argue that we need to be more concerned about teachers' connections with their students' lives, and the lack thereof. I will never forget Jonathan Kozol talking about how he'd visit his students' houses in the evenings to get to know their families better. I don't know how this would manifest today, where a home visit would be a lot less welcome, but I think the spirit of the gesture is still important, and certainly more so than worrying about teachers' private lives.
Our conversation in class following these points was an interesting one. If anything it has gotten me thinking more about how teachers are judged in a certain way, many times being under a larger microscope than other professionals. It seems like our society expects certain behavior from certain professions, and sometimes even encourages it. Certain businesses or as Andrew described more blue collar professions are not seen in the same light as teachers who are given the task of molding young moral beings. The conversation regarding parents is also an interesting one. Is a parent held responsible if they are modeling behaviors at home that are not acceptable in schools such as profanity or violence?
ReplyDeleteI also like the conversation about behaviorism and as Andrew also described, being rewarded for doing what you should be doing as a moral being to begin with. What kind of message does this send to students and does it have an effect on will and skill? I also wonder how Kurt’s democratic experiment affected his students after they left his class? Did it challenge them to be better people based on their single rule of respect and all that was under that umbrella? The punishment and incentive topic is a tough one, especially for students who are grasping the notions of what is considered right and wrong. It is tricky that in education sometimes it is those who are “problem students” via behavior or accomplishment are singled out or the focus of efforts when there are many who are doing right and succeeding but fly below the radar. Sometimes educators have to focus on the most pressing issues. A school or institution can get a bad reputation based on a tiny percentage of what is considered a problem, even if a majority of things are going well. Whether that is good or bad, or how schools get through the years I am not sure. I do not necessarily know where I am going with this, but these are included with the thoughts concerning the discussion.
I also agree with the fact that teachers' responsibilities lie outside of the classroom as well as inside the classroom. Be as it may we have a huge weight to carry upon our shoulders. We carry the responsibility of our students, school, and community. We are to show that we have the stuff.
ReplyDeleteI personally do not like that mentality. I want to be able to enjoy my own free time. I understand that I am judged for my actions as of now, as a student and a regular individual, and some may not like my personal characteristics to follow me into my professional field, even if I refrain from whatever acts people may deem unprofessional. Teachers are people too, and they don't need to walk like mortal celestial beings that are then treated poorly for two completely unrelated traits. I don't know, things like this get my blood boiling and I need to figure out how to do something about it. ---Chelsea A.