I suppose, in more ways than one, that I have to accept the simple fact that just because one can do something doesn't mean that one can effectively teach someone else how to do it. Most of the time I think that if someone excels at a particular skill then it should be rather simple to pass those ideas and, by virtue of those, the inherent skills that come along with it, but, WRONG. It's a very basic thing to explain something to someone - an idea, a concept, directions, but to actually break the information down, in a way that the "student" can understand it and then, to check for understanding, only to realize that it's not there and then the whole process has to start all over, but in a different way, you know, it's exhausting because the teaching and the learning never really find an end. They just continue to roll over one another until you've either gathered so much useless information that you have nothing else to say about a subject or until you lose interest in what you're doing to the point where you just go "Fuck it" "Moving on." I guess it just comes down to the type of teacher that you are or the type of personality you have, or both really.
I try to imagine the base necessity of a student who doesn't understand something the first ten times that I try to teach it. I figure if I can reach that particular student, then I'm going to reach those who get it one the first, second and so forth tries, up to ten and for those who need even more than ten tries, I offer up other ways in which they can explore the material. For those who get it on the first pass through, well, they have a whole lot more autonomy over where they are headed in the following few weeks and they can work accordingly. To me, teaching a college class is inherently easier in a lot of ways than it is trying to go over Linear Regression in Algebra with Nick or teaching units of measurement to Ty. I have to account for how they learn as much as what they are learning. I have to do that in my classes too, but those students are grown (well, we like to think that their brains have fully developed - most of them have) and that we don't have to spend as much time on the social/emotional development of them since they are already "adults" so to speak. A child, even a teenager, requires a framing of the information in such a way that it speaks to them on THAT day, in that moment. I've seen my own kids struggle to comprehend a concept as they are hunched over their homework like decomposing zombies, grunting from time to time, asking for sustenance to get them through the hard times. But, I tell them to go to bed and get up in the morning or leave it until the next night and, given who and how they are the next day, BAM, they get it. I think we should all and would all do best to remember that. After all, we are all teachers on the most basic level...
I spent a handful of hours doing research today on Special Education Law and the more I read, the more I wanted to read. Now that probably wasn't the case when I was in college and I had to forcibly read something that I wasn't in the mood for or that I didn't think applied to me like Homer or Aristotle. But now, the tasks that I set out for myself in regards to learning are all things that I WANT or need to learn because they are personally relevant and interesting and helpful. Although my students may not yet see that, I hope that they will begin to understand that there is purpose behind everything that we do, but because they didn't choose it per se, they can't always see the point.
I think it's so important to validate and to support the idea that learning is a daily, ongoing process and just because you don't go to "school" or "work" at a job outside of the home, that learning isn't taking place. Students have such a rich and extensive knowledge about so many different things that I can't help but wonder that if they had the chance to plot their own curriculum in each subject, if they wouldn't be even more successful than ever before. Of course, some of them wouldn't - they would just assign "A's" to themselves and to everyone else and that would be the end of it. But most of them would get it I think. Most of them would look at the material and really attempt to master it. Critical thinking, after all, requires that innate level of thinking about your thinking.
I remember sometimes staring in the mirror at my reflection while brushing my teeth or putting on makeup (who has time or wants to do that anymore), and kind of thinking to myself that I didn't even recognize my face, that it looked strange to me, foreign... it was as if I were looking into someone else's eyes, considering, evaluating. I like to think that students do the same, particularly writing students, particularly my writing students. I don't know, maybe I should just give them all "A's." I'd have a lot more free time anyway...Going to sleep now.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Say Cheese!
This one is a rant; a diatribe against the incessant "posing" that is happening constantly and seemingly, everywhere I go. I am caught amidst groups of people who, at any moment's notice, stop what they are doing, right in the middle of doing it so that they can pose for a picture of what they are doing?!? Now, logic was not my "best" subject in school, so if someone could offer a quasi-logical explanation for this behavior, I would be willing to at least listen. Parents and teenagers seem to be the WORST offenders ever; I have literally seen parents stop the play of their children, in the middle of a joyous, rambunctious endeavor, only to have them pose, imitating the very scene that they were just engaged in so that they can take a photo of it??? I see children turn and instantly fake smile the second that the parent calls out a name or says "Smile" because they have been trained to do so; they stop, turn, smile, throw their arms around one another, wait for the "Ok, I got it" comment and then they turn back to what they are doing? I've also seen teenagers stop in the middle of an activity so that they can run to get their phones, invariably to document the moment that they have stopped living so that they can go get their phones to document it???? And, it's not just one photo or one Selfie or whatever the fuck those narcissistic, perfectly angled self portraits are called in this instant; it's like a photo montage of the memory as it is occurring; now all it needs is a freaking soundtrack to go along with it.
Where do I begin to explain what is wrong with people who stop living so that they can show others how they live? This is in fact a huge problem that I continue to have with things like Facebook. I don't have Instagram or Twitter or Snapchat or "Look at me I'm an attention whore.com" page, but because I do use Facebook and because I like that I can stay connected with many people who I probably wouldn't otherwise, I can't completely shut that one down. But what I can say is that, when people post photos incessantly of other people "mid" living their lives, there is something stagnant about the entire situation. The life has just been taken out of the live moment. "Wait, hold still..." yes, but, how do you know what would have happened next had you not forced them to stop and pose? This "lifus interruptus" has created a whole new sense of "self" or lack thereof. I really hope to God that people aren't taking selfies and using their instagram page during truly meaningful moments like having sex... I'm not talking about recording your endeavors for future viewing, that is old school, I'm talking about blatantly photo documenting the moment before it has a chance to become an engraved part of your consciousness. Why should I bother to remember the details of anything - I have a photo! Reliving a precious moment or a tantalizing experience is closing your eyes and feeling everything that goes along with it, not looking at a photo on your phone and holding it up for the world to see. That implies a need for validation, a hyper desire for that little red thumbs up that you see when someone "likes" something that you've posted. Let's face it, everyone likes to see that little red thing - it's fun to read other people's comments and such, but you know deep down that it doesn't matter who likes it or who doesn't... it only matters that it matters to you. Sure, it's rewarding when close friends and people who you love say hey I really LIKE what you are doing and I'm proud of you, but most people I know don't live their lives so that other people can give them the thumbs up - that's just an added bonus, a pat on the back and that's always nice to get. BUT it seems like more and more, people are taking these photos and videos and posting them for that reason alone! They are not even doing it for themselves but instead so that they can take that moment and draw even more attention to themselves.
People are going to misread what I've said here, but that is always going to be the case whenever I write something down. From this angle, the words say this and from this angle, this... an example... when Ty, the now 7 year old was about 9 months old, we went to Family Fun Time and then to the park after where Thalia met us, now, she may not remember this, but Ty, being the ever precocious child that he was and still is, saw a HUGE pile of newly generated mud. Without even the slightest hesitation, Ty proceeded to the mud and began to poke it and put his hands in it and next thing you know, he is sitting in it, laughing, squealing, throwing the mud - letting it fly in his hair and on his face and on everything around him. He giggled and got it in his mouth and laughed with that whole body, all encompassing laughter that only babies and toddlers can... I swear, I stood there for a full 10 minutes just letting him play, laughing along with him until tears started to roll down my face. Just the joy of him enjoying something so simple and so seemingly random - it is one of my favorite memories from his "babyhood." Now, I'm not going to lie, Ty would love to see that video today - he would get such a kick out of watching himself at that age, but in that moment, it was all about him, and me and Thalia and Jackson, watching and laughing and being disgusted by the sight of him eating some of that mud and, quietly, Thalia took just one photo which she later gave to me and which now hangs on a cupboard in the kitchen and, it is one of my favorite photos of Ty. She didn't stop his play or shout his name or try to get the perfect shot. She just aimed, shot and captured that crazy little guy doing his thing. Does this example negate my argument? It really doesn't, because as much as I love that photo and I do and so does Ty, we love to experience that memory together even more. I describe it to him and he laughs and asks questions and I am reminded that we both really lived that moment; we shared it. Stories and sharing ideas are a huge part of what makes us human, not selfies where the camera is positioned in exactly the right way. Photographs are lovely and wonderful and ... art forms, but the sharing of moments is even more so. The constant interruption of these moments continues to perpetuate a generation of people that are "piecemealed" together. They don't read books, they use Sparknotes. They don't ride bikes, they play cycle video games.
We are a fractured people, a broken society - interrupted and disjointed by blasts of information and an incessant need to be recognized by others. Maybe that's the way it will always be because we are fallible and we do seek the approval of others, particularly of our peers, but, does that mean that there is no way to create some kind of a balance? Technology offers us options, but that is all they are with social media and implements that are "additional," just because they are offered doesn't mean you have to take them. Wait, I think that is the argument that the DARE program used when they talked about why you shouldn't do drugs...
The thing is, we aren't perfect, we don't look, act or behave perfectly and our visual recordings shouldn't reflect an absence of our weaknesses, our frailty or, our humanism. Rather, they should reflect those moments that are disjointed and, quite frankly, "wrong." Why else would shows like America's Funniest Home Videos be so popular?!? We like to see imperfection and mistakes, maybe more than we like to see everything done smoothly. We like to laugh and to make fun, but we want that to be genuine and in the moment. I saw a teenage girl the other day, riding a strand cruiser behind two of her friends who were in front of her, each of them on his own skateboard and she was "monologuing" into her cell phone while recording them on their skateboards... the bike was wobbling and, I'm not going to lie, I had a moment where I was hoping she'd smash right into something so I could yell, "Get off that fucking phone and ride your damn bike!" but alas, she righted the bike and there was no physical harm done. No harm done... well, that's debatable.
Where do I begin to explain what is wrong with people who stop living so that they can show others how they live? This is in fact a huge problem that I continue to have with things like Facebook. I don't have Instagram or Twitter or Snapchat or "Look at me I'm an attention whore.com" page, but because I do use Facebook and because I like that I can stay connected with many people who I probably wouldn't otherwise, I can't completely shut that one down. But what I can say is that, when people post photos incessantly of other people "mid" living their lives, there is something stagnant about the entire situation. The life has just been taken out of the live moment. "Wait, hold still..." yes, but, how do you know what would have happened next had you not forced them to stop and pose? This "lifus interruptus" has created a whole new sense of "self" or lack thereof. I really hope to God that people aren't taking selfies and using their instagram page during truly meaningful moments like having sex... I'm not talking about recording your endeavors for future viewing, that is old school, I'm talking about blatantly photo documenting the moment before it has a chance to become an engraved part of your consciousness. Why should I bother to remember the details of anything - I have a photo! Reliving a precious moment or a tantalizing experience is closing your eyes and feeling everything that goes along with it, not looking at a photo on your phone and holding it up for the world to see. That implies a need for validation, a hyper desire for that little red thumbs up that you see when someone "likes" something that you've posted. Let's face it, everyone likes to see that little red thing - it's fun to read other people's comments and such, but you know deep down that it doesn't matter who likes it or who doesn't... it only matters that it matters to you. Sure, it's rewarding when close friends and people who you love say hey I really LIKE what you are doing and I'm proud of you, but most people I know don't live their lives so that other people can give them the thumbs up - that's just an added bonus, a pat on the back and that's always nice to get. BUT it seems like more and more, people are taking these photos and videos and posting them for that reason alone! They are not even doing it for themselves but instead so that they can take that moment and draw even more attention to themselves.
People are going to misread what I've said here, but that is always going to be the case whenever I write something down. From this angle, the words say this and from this angle, this... an example... when Ty, the now 7 year old was about 9 months old, we went to Family Fun Time and then to the park after where Thalia met us, now, she may not remember this, but Ty, being the ever precocious child that he was and still is, saw a HUGE pile of newly generated mud. Without even the slightest hesitation, Ty proceeded to the mud and began to poke it and put his hands in it and next thing you know, he is sitting in it, laughing, squealing, throwing the mud - letting it fly in his hair and on his face and on everything around him. He giggled and got it in his mouth and laughed with that whole body, all encompassing laughter that only babies and toddlers can... I swear, I stood there for a full 10 minutes just letting him play, laughing along with him until tears started to roll down my face. Just the joy of him enjoying something so simple and so seemingly random - it is one of my favorite memories from his "babyhood." Now, I'm not going to lie, Ty would love to see that video today - he would get such a kick out of watching himself at that age, but in that moment, it was all about him, and me and Thalia and Jackson, watching and laughing and being disgusted by the sight of him eating some of that mud and, quietly, Thalia took just one photo which she later gave to me and which now hangs on a cupboard in the kitchen and, it is one of my favorite photos of Ty. She didn't stop his play or shout his name or try to get the perfect shot. She just aimed, shot and captured that crazy little guy doing his thing. Does this example negate my argument? It really doesn't, because as much as I love that photo and I do and so does Ty, we love to experience that memory together even more. I describe it to him and he laughs and asks questions and I am reminded that we both really lived that moment; we shared it. Stories and sharing ideas are a huge part of what makes us human, not selfies where the camera is positioned in exactly the right way. Photographs are lovely and wonderful and ... art forms, but the sharing of moments is even more so. The constant interruption of these moments continues to perpetuate a generation of people that are "piecemealed" together. They don't read books, they use Sparknotes. They don't ride bikes, they play cycle video games.
We are a fractured people, a broken society - interrupted and disjointed by blasts of information and an incessant need to be recognized by others. Maybe that's the way it will always be because we are fallible and we do seek the approval of others, particularly of our peers, but, does that mean that there is no way to create some kind of a balance? Technology offers us options, but that is all they are with social media and implements that are "additional," just because they are offered doesn't mean you have to take them. Wait, I think that is the argument that the DARE program used when they talked about why you shouldn't do drugs...
The thing is, we aren't perfect, we don't look, act or behave perfectly and our visual recordings shouldn't reflect an absence of our weaknesses, our frailty or, our humanism. Rather, they should reflect those moments that are disjointed and, quite frankly, "wrong." Why else would shows like America's Funniest Home Videos be so popular?!? We like to see imperfection and mistakes, maybe more than we like to see everything done smoothly. We like to laugh and to make fun, but we want that to be genuine and in the moment. I saw a teenage girl the other day, riding a strand cruiser behind two of her friends who were in front of her, each of them on his own skateboard and she was "monologuing" into her cell phone while recording them on their skateboards... the bike was wobbling and, I'm not going to lie, I had a moment where I was hoping she'd smash right into something so I could yell, "Get off that fucking phone and ride your damn bike!" but alas, she righted the bike and there was no physical harm done. No harm done... well, that's debatable.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Round 2...
Ok, I will give this another go... I was going to forego the blog, but, given a break, I realized that it's just a part of me now and, just like everything else in my life, I can't hide from the reality of it. And so, a new onslaught of considerations for your consideration I guess. But really, I write this for me. Incidentally, I post this link on FB because friends have asked me to, but it feels pretentious to me - a "look at me" quality about it that I don't really care for... So, if you would like to read my incessant ramblings as frequently as I will create them, please do me a favor and follow the blog... You can do it anonymously, he'll, I'd be embarrassed to admit I read it too, but to each HER own.
So, follow don't lead this time or lead, follow, lead or do the hokey pokey or whatever floats your boat, but please be prepared for the insidious nature of the writings to soon follow... Got your attention there didn't I?
Let the games begin once more... Yvette
So, follow don't lead this time or lead, follow, lead or do the hokey pokey or whatever floats your boat, but please be prepared for the insidious nature of the writings to soon follow... Got your attention there didn't I?
Let the games begin once more... Yvette
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