Freire’s “True Word” Conclusion—Or Beginning…
This same day, a student handed me a card in which she wrote, "Thanks for giving me the freedom to speak my mind."
The next day, two students threw me a little farewell party to end the semester--two students who hated my class a month ago.
The last day of class, a student thanked God he never had to have me again. "Now I can FINALLY get an 'A'!"
A semester of mixed reviews.
As part of their final project, my students had to identify a community problem and design an intervention to combat said problem. A majority of the students rose to the occasion and shined brilliantly. Others refused to abandon their failing streak. What was reassuring to me is that most of the students that rose to the occasion were some students who finally decided to abandon their failing streak. These students attacked this assignment with a fervor I had not seen in them all semester.
Several mothers called me the weeks leading up to the presentations to let me know, "I have never seen him/her work this hard on anything!"
With a wide grin on my face, I know I have tapped into something by asking my students to analyze their own worlds and become agents of change. Two groups have actually moved forward with the administration to implement their programs for change in our school--one is a youth-led book club and the other is a peer mediation group.
At the end of this semester, there's a mix of successes and failures--on my part. I was able to reach some students and unable to reach others. But I don't feel defeated--with the quality of work they brought me, I couldn't possibly feel defeated. An awareness has been awakened. A sense of self has developed. An anger has morphed into passion for some disengaged youth.
Posted in DemEd in Real LifeStudentsYouth LeadershipTeaching on Jan 31, 2010 - 08:46 PM
"You're the worst teacher ever!" The last words of a ninth grader I had kicked out during final presentations.This same day, a student handed me a card in which she wrote, "Thanks for giving me the freedom to speak my mind."
The next day, two students threw me a little farewell party to end the semester--two students who hated my class a month ago.
The last day of class, a student thanked God he never had to have me again. "Now I can FINALLY get an 'A'!"
A semester of mixed reviews.
As part of their final project, my students had to identify a community problem and design an intervention to combat said problem. A majority of the students rose to the occasion and shined brilliantly. Others refused to abandon their failing streak. What was reassuring to me is that most of the students that rose to the occasion were some students who finally decided to abandon their failing streak. These students attacked this assignment with a fervor I had not seen in them all semester.
Several mothers called me the weeks leading up to the presentations to let me know, "I have never seen him/her work this hard on anything!"
With a wide grin on my face, I know I have tapped into something by asking my students to analyze their own worlds and become agents of change. Two groups have actually moved forward with the administration to implement their programs for change in our school--one is a youth-led book club and the other is a peer mediation group.
At the end of this semester, there's a mix of successes and failures--on my part. I was able to reach some students and unable to reach others. But I don't feel defeated--with the quality of work they brought me, I couldn't possibly feel defeated. An awareness has been awakened. A sense of self has developed. An anger has morphed into passion for some disengaged youth.
Tags for this entry:
freedom,
problem solving,
video,
choice,
community-school interactions,
presentation,
self-motivation
comments
Eman Ahmed
Very Impressive!! The kids did an amazing job coming up with solutions and interventions to dissolve issues that are faced in their communities. This was an excellent way to differentiate instruction and involve the community!
on Feb 02, 2010 - 12:34 AM
They all did a great job. The one that impressed me the most was the Non-English speaking one. She did a great job, made me want to jump in and help with the program.
on Jan 31, 2010 - 11:00 PM