MAC - Week 2 Reading - Perfect :)

For the most part, this week's reading aligned very well my philosophy of life. Thanks to my fabulous parents, I have always seen the cup as "half full" and obstacles as merely another challenge. In saying that, you would think that my parents were still together and that life was always rosy for me. Quite the contrary...they got divorced when I was 8. While there is much more to the story, I'll just say that I have seen a few obstacles in my day. However, my parents believed I was an "A" from the moment I was born. Failure was merely another opportunity to learn. If you fail, just don't do it that way again. :)

Generally speaking, I am always perfect. My outlook on life has served me well as I face the challenges of life. Without practice seeing the good in everything and working through or around obstacles, I may not have been able to handle the affects of my husband's traumatic brain injury and the impact that it has on him and on our family. But, he is healing....and he came home. There are always negative things in life, but why focus on that? Who wants to set their sights on paths of darkness when there is so much light all around us. Life is what we make it...not what happens to us. :)

I will say that I differ from the text with respect to the A. In spirit, I believe that I was doing the same thing in my classroom, but I don't think that the author would agree. Obviously, in the current education system, giving everyone an A is unacceptable. I also work with teenagers and teach Algebra I and II (not every teenager's favorite course). So, motivation was key. I never wanted students to be afraid to fail in my class. In my opinion, if you're going to fail....fail fast...then learn something and move on. :)

If you never fail, then you never risked anything. Back to the classroom....In the first week of class, I typically gave a problem that very few (if any) students could answer. Then, I ask "Who is brave enough to raise their hand if they have no idea what the answer is?" The result is very entertaining. Two or three hands immediately shoot up (the class clowns that have always claimed that they're stupid or just hate math). Those hands are followed by the more hesitant, middle of the road, students as they look around the room to see who else may not know the answer. Eventually, most (if not all) hands go up. And, I exclaim with a big grin..."See, you're not the only idiot in the room! " My students know my personality, and know that I'm not truly talking down to them in any way. They realize that it's ok to not know the answer. Also, I always have students say, "But you make it look so easy." To which I respond, "I hope so....I've been doing these same problems for years. Thank God I'm finally getting the right solutions! This is the first time you've ever seen this...it takes practice." :)

I disagree that grades are merely a way to compare students. In my course, the letter grades have always been a representation of the student’s level of mastery of the course content. However, in the spirit of this week's reading....My goal is to eradicate fear and break down barriers to learning. To do so, you must let go of any preset notions of the students and meet them on their level. You can't break down obstacles if the students don't let you see where the obstacles lie. I disagree that the grades are a way to compare students. In my course, the letter grades have always been a representation of the student’s level of mastery of the course content. Zander (1995) states, “Since the teacher’s job is to help her students chip away at the barriers that block their abilities and expression, she aligns herself with the students…, and lets the standards maintain themselves” (p. 36). I just took out “to whom she has given an A.”

I look forward to reading more!