Dispositions

In the end, I do not believe dispositions can be taught. I think they are something that all people are born with, and can possibly improve with time. For example, there are people that naturally command respect when they walk into a room, and everyone present can "feel" that. Whereas over time, one can improve on this and gain respect through their actions. To me, dispositions are traits that are instilled in every person at birth and its up to them to control them in a sense. Everyone has some sense of creativity in them, its up to each individual to express their creativity. To improve dispositions I think we just need experience. They seem like traits that can only be improved through experiences such as being in the classroom. Someone can tell you how to deal with difficult situations or come up with creative ideas, but only with time and experience will you get better with performance. I heard that Drake's education department spends nearly if not more than half of the time out in the field. I believe that is what would really prepare teachers in regards to dispositions. It gives the teacher opportunities to struggle, be resilient, attempt to teach and create lessons, gain the respect of students and reflect on their experiences. Sitting in an education class and listening to someone tell you how to do it isn't nearly as effective (its constructive learning at its finest).

Resilience

All teachers need a measure of resilience. The profession of teaching can be ruthless and grueling; dealing with difficult students, teaching the same curriculum or subject repetitively, or just dealing with small nuances in class. One of my biggest fears about going into teaching is having to deal with difficult students. Children can be extremely smart and know exactly what buttons to push and how to push them. I recently watched the "Ron Clark Story" (a great movie btw) and in one scene Clark loses control and slams a students desk, then walks out. Ideally situations like this would never arise, but the reality is that they do and teachers must be able to control their temperament and regain control. When I watched this I began to wonder if I got that hot headed, what would I do? I do not think I would be able to return the next day as he did. I'm not sure what that says about me and teaching; I guess I need to improve my resilience.
As for the question on how to prepare our teachers for stressful situations like this, I believe its less of a question of preparation and more about selection. If we replicate the education system in the Nordic countries (there was one mentioned in class that only allows students in the top 10% into the education field) I think it will limit future teachers to those who are extremely dedicated and hard working. I believe that both of these qualities are directly related to resilience. It shows that you are persistent and will work through good times and bad. I'm sure there are several issues with this, such as we may overload the student-teacher ratio, or we may lose numerous great teachers who are very caring but may not excel academically, but I believe we could find ways to work around these. Also I think it would greatly improve the education field not only in resiliency but overall.

Humility

The timing could not be better for this topic. The last time I was wrong was this past weekend; and I was definitely wrong. I guess its more correct to say that I still am wrong. A friend of mine was drinking at a party and her actions reflected. She never truthfully did anything wrong, but it just began to bother me. Eventually I started talking to her about it and things escalated quickly, which was no one's fault but my own. I said things that I should not have, and we have yet to made good following this. It is worse because we fight so often, its almost as if we are dating, which many people think we are...but are not. I definitely was wrong in getting mad about this, I just cannot help but stirring drama and fighting, even without reason. I feel so childish when reflecting on this...The worst part is I cannot bring myself to admit my errors and make amends because I am immature and weak; and I hate myself for it. There is a lot more to our relationship which I do not want to get into, but only acknowledge that this is completely my fault. I realize that ideally and correctly I need to talk to her about this and admit I was in the wrong. However It will take time for me to work this out and admit to her that I was wrong, for deeper reasons than I am willing to discuss.
I feel that humility is very important in the classroom because a teacher must be able to admit when they are wrong. If a teacher is wrong and refuses to admit, the students will recognize this and whether they realize it is because of ego, it will affect their respect towards the teacher. When you know someone is wrong and they refuse to acknowledge this, it only divides the two parties. Humility strengthens relationships; relationships that are necessary in te classroom for effective teaching.
I believe that in general humility is a very strong characteristic of mine and that the fight I talked about earlier is an isolated case. I recognize that I need humility in this situation and in time it will come. I also recognize that at times I do struggle to deal with being wrong. Truthfully, in regards to this subject, I believe I will be prepared when I begin teaching or when I need it in my life.

-Mike

Collaborativeness

Collaboration is very important between teachers so as to create effective courses. Also it allows teachers to understand what will be covered in other classes and get a better idea of what they are working with first of all but also what to teach. Without collaboration teaching may not evolve and improve. It also provides ideas and inspiration. Teachers have the option of incorporating what they choose, but collaboration can help further ideas and opportunities.
In order for a team or group to be effective the members must be able to work together. You do not even need to like working with one another or for that matter like each other. In order to be highly successful I feel you do need that element of chemistry and ability to get along. Individuals however do not benefit a team. It is like the US Olympic basketball teams of the early 2000's. They won a few games simply because of their level of talent over most other countries. They could not however win gold until they all got together and began working together for a common goal. They put aside their individual talents and emphasized team play, which resulted in gold in the most recent games. For successful teams each member must be able to and willing to work with one another, and this easily transfers to the classroom. I feel it is important to incorporate collaboration into the classroom for variety; kids enjoy working with their peers.
I struggled with this topic because it is hard for me to find differences in collaboration and group work in regards to classroom use and learning. In my mind there is a definite difference, but I cannot find how to put it into words. I felt that collaboration was a group of people working towards a common purpose. But then I thought what is the aim of group work? It seems the same. To find an answer I began reading other blogs, and definitely feel that I have found the answer. The difference is a matter of choice. Group work can be assigned regardless of whether the students want to work together for one reason or another. Collaboration is a mutual desire to work together on soemthing. The aim of group work is learning, whereas the aim of collaboration is achieve something, and learning occurs as though it is "along for the ride" in a sense.

-Mike

Free post: Accountability

One issue that has really bothered me through this course so far is the debate on accountability. In class we discuss how the US is falling behind in test scores and the schools are not competing on the same level as schools in other countries. The only resolution we raise in class is a need for higher accountability. While this may not be the correct answer, until we find it, I agree that we do need to place more emphasis on accountability. The issue comes in when we discuss testing. To me the most efficient (maybe not the most effective) measurement of accountability is testing. However, in class several people complain that there is too much testing, and that the tests we have to take are too repetitive and/or too rigorous. For instance more than one person has complained that they did not pass the PPST test by 1 point or because of one section or another, or that these tests are just like all the standardized tests we have had to take all of our lives. Open your eyes; thats called being held accountable! We cannot claim that we need more accountability, yet the teachers of our future sit in class and complain that tests are too hard and that we should not have to take so many of them. maybe I am missing something in regards to how to hold our students and educators accountable, but to me these prospective teahers are just being hypocritical, and need to figure out where they stand before any of us should be given responsibility of molding the children of our future.

-Mike

Efficacy

I believe self efficacy and respect are closely related in teaching. A teacher with little self awareness and confidence will have trouble earning the respect of their students. A teacher that has little confidence may come off as incompetent and a student will not want to learn from them because they will feel that they already know more than the teacher. I have faced this scenario in my education, and I struggled to give the teacher the time of day because it feels as though you are being told what to do by someone less mature or less qualified than yourself. I believe you must work hard to be a respected teacher, and to create a successful class environment. With anything in life, not just teaching, you must put work into anything you try to accomplish in order to achieve it satisfactorily. As for the question of "how to develop these attributes" I do not think there is a correct answer. I struggle with this, and if I didnt, I would gladly tell you my secret. I think it is different for each person, and some people naturally have higher self efficacy than others. Of course people can increase their self esteem and confidence and I believe it is related to successes. Find something you are good at and can succeed at. Every time you are successful you will see your self as more competent and increase self respect. As a teacher I think it is important to help students with low self esteem by presenting oppurtunities through schoolwork to succeed and reaise their self esteem. Like I mentioned however I do not think there is a recipe for success for every single person. But I will keep looking...

-Mike

Inventiveness

After watching the video about creativity in schools, I agree with Ken Robinson that there is not enough emphasis on creativity for today's students. There should be more appreciation for creativity, however it is much more difficult to evaluate than traditional learning styles. Most creative work is subjective; one person may think it is very well done and some else may think it is trash. Also, many students feel that they are not creative, myself included, and some students who can come up with ideas out of thin air, which could lead to students feeling that school is unfair. Therefore I feel many teachers are deterred from incorporating creativity into the classroom. On the other hand I think there is still opportunity for creativity at school. Students can take art classes or add on to class projects.
I feel that creativity is a very important skill for the 21st century. For many careers we will have to be able to think outside of the box, or do something extraordinary. Even though I feel that creativity exists in today's schools, I feel that there could be much more emphasis placed on it to help prepare students for the real world. Students also have to take it into their own hands and make the most of opportunities to be creative.

-mike