Saturday, March 19, 2011
If Holden Caulfield Were in My Classroom
This is one of the few new books on my list - one that I hadn't read previously. I wanted texts that would blow your mind. Now I'm halfway through this book and it's blowing MY mind, which is pretty hard after all I've seen and heard. I can't decide if this teacher is a genius or insane or both. I'm certainly getting a glimpse into a classroom unlike any other I've ever seen, which is cool. I should be through with it by March 22 if anyone wants to borrow it.
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If your intent was to blow our minds, consider this choice a resounding success. I finished this a while back, and sort of sat blankly after I finished it, unsure of what I had just read.
ReplyDeleteI hope I am able to take away something from the book, because some points really hit home. I like his philosophy of truly getting to know students by "only wanting to know what they don't want to tell you". Whether you take the side of "crazy" or "genius", there's no denying that he is gutsy, especially considering from what I can tell, at least the case studies in the books are already the ones he should seemingly be the most gentle around.
I know it took place in a private school, but even then, it seems shocking that everything in the book is true and all the students' stories are reprinted verbatim. Coming from poli-sci, the whole idea of a year-long student government grounded in a student constitution was a high point---while I recognize that I will likely never have the amount of time to devote to one venture in the same way Schein did, he still displayed balance, arguably treating them as both the children that they were and the adults they were to become simultaneously. Not much was discussed regarding the actual class-time, which he argues is not nearly as important as helping the kids know themselves---that sounds like something you hear all the time and think nothing of it, but when I read it in this book, I believed it; it made perfect sense and seemed like a new, original concept, even though it is one that people often mention.
I haven't managed, or even stepped foot, in a classroom yet; my biggest challenge, in my opinion, is likely going to be forming some kind of connection like this with students. When Schein talks about having to dismantle boundaries and making the kids step out of their comfort zone, I also read that with the acknowledgment that I am going to be forced to do the same thing (not to the level that this Mad Scientist took it, but definitely enough to forge a connection.) I am a very reserved person and teaching is a very outgoing profession, and while some people just aren't cut out for it, I can't say that having never stepped outside of my own personal comfort zone.
So here goes...
Mr. Stein wanted to create a learning environment where his students could learn, hone their unique talents and interests, become self and socially aware, feel like they had some control over their lives, were able to delve into the underlying psychological motives for their actions to alter their behavior, and effectively create better literary art. By knowing themselves and each other he hoped they would be able to better understand the human condition of which they, their classmates, and their audiences were a part and create more insightful art as a result. Writing is inherently personal, communal, and public. Authors create from their own life experiences, experiences that every person can connect to in some way, and publish their work for anyone to share. Thus personal experiences become universal and communally felt. To write we must know ourselves, know our audience (when to push and when to back off), and realize that everyone feels some of the same things—our perspectives and diction may be unique but our feelings are to some extent the same.
ReplyDeleteToo many times in literature and creative writing classes the focus is on the mechanics or the “uniqueness” of the art. The shared experience is sometimes lost in the individual experience. One student writes about a certain theme and anyone who writes a similar story in class is seen as a creative interloper infringing on a unique “pre-owned” topic. Or conversely teachers lament that “there is nothing new under the sun” and fatalistically throw up their hands—it’s “all been done before” and anything students create is just a fresh coat of paint on an old fence. In both approaches the personal motives for writing are too often ignored, on one hand because they are subsumed by the importance of “innovative art” and on the other because they are moot points in a redundant subject matter.
Without personal introspection students can’t fully engage themselves with their art, create fully-realized characters, or relate to their audiences. They won’t be willing to take chances, expose themselves to pain, ridicule, workshops, or create visceral pieces. Writing isn’t always about happy subjects and while suffering does not always create art, some pieces of art can cause the artist to suffer—it is during these moments of uncertainty and emotional rawness that the artist must be willing to unflinchingly examine and share their motives for public perusal without losing themselves in the process. Students have to be aware of their own identities and motives in order to achieve this balance.
Question: What are some of the ways and activities that can help students connect with themselves and their art?
Just finished this book today. I'm sorry if I appear to be really slow on this whole reading thing. I am actually almost done with a lot of it, but it's hard since this is the only month I have with absolute free time, haha.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, have to say, I enjoyed this book. Wasn't my FAVORITE, but I did enjoy it. I truly loved Bernie's "matter of fact" teaching style and how he said he became an educator (not teacher) because he hated school growing up and discovered that education is personal. It just really inspired me that he believes this.
So here is my answer to #2:
2. If you could create a school of your own design, or if you had the chance to redesign education in this country, what ideas would you use from this piece?
a. Personally, I love the idea of a courtroom set up to help solve the problems that students have with one another. This isn’t the first time that I’ve heard of the court system set up. I am a big fan of Saved by the Bell, and my favorite teacher on the show, Ms. Bliss, used this method one time to teach her students about the consequences for their actions, but also helped teach them about the court system. Bernie does the same thing here and it proves extremely successful. He doesn’t dictate his classroom, but he gives the children the democratic power to rule the way the class runs, under his supervision of course. And in return, he learns more about his students and overall helps them succeed and move past their difficulties.