Course: Curriculum
550 - Narrative
Lisa Messier Pikul
Summer Session II -
Professor Bogad
July 2019
Narrative Title:
Who am I? A Journey of Self Discovery Looking through an
artistic lens
Project: I am
setting up a Blog Site for Students, to create a medium for educational reflection,
peer communication, and self-discovery, through use of various modes of
self-expression - to include the Arts
& Humanities
I started my journey toward getting my master’s degree two
years ago with the initial idea of getting it in Art Education. I was losing the gusto that I had for the
classroom because of all the administrative autonomy and abuse of power being thrust
upon us. The city was in a constant state
of confusion and politics was somehow suffocating. I took a sabbatical and began to investigate
my educational options in the field of art.
I was eager to get back to my own passions instead of feeling
unappreciated and existing in the battlefield trenches of the never-ending
student behavior issues with no student or parent accountability. Teachers
were, and still are, being held accountable and responsible for the shortcomings
of every student with little to no support from the administration. We are all expected to be highly effective, but
only the select teachers are given the new technology. Others are left to their
own devices. Just like the students, the
playing field was not even, and we were all being expected to perform to the
highest standards. It was, and still is,
discouraging to say the least. Teachers
don’t teach because they like the battle, but because they feel they can bring
something unique to the table for the children. I thought long and hard about the choice of
Art Ed, and overcame the rising feeling of guilt because it was something that
I would be doing primarily for myself, and no other reason. A guilty pleasure you could say. Like Simon
Sinek, maybe I was just looking for my why.
Well, I had no sooner settled my mind into that decision, when I found
out my name was selected from a lottery to be in the new ESL cohort offered to
only 12 inner city teachers from Providence.
I did not want to abandon my art idea, but the offer to join this cohort
of learners, and help a different group of students who would greatly benefit
from the incorporation of the arts sounded like it might be the answer I was
looking for.
Like today’s students, I find myself struggling to find
meaning and significance in my education. I started to see things from the
viewpoint of my students. What did any
of this have to do with ME, anyway?
The signs of the significance problem extend beyond the classroom scenes
captured in Wesch’s
video. I believe, like Wesch, that we are all cut out for learning, and
that it is the very thing that makes us human.
Perhaps it is just that we are not making our instruction meaningful
enough to inspire a student to fit in.
That is a problem. I believe
there are many roles for everyone, and it is up to us as educators to create an
environment for the students that stimulate growth. I believe that if we cultivate a safe place for
self-expression, to role play, try on a new hat, and to encourage each other to
investigate and experiment in self-discovery, then learning will inevitably
happen. I believe It is through
intrinsic motivation that we all thrive.
If something captivates our interest, we will devour information about
it. We will flourish. If we don’t get it all at first, we will pick
ourselves up and try again. We need to
know that mistakes are okay, and that it is part of the learning process. Even in college we need to know this. It is because of our passion for what we aspire
to learn that makes this so poignant. If it doesn’t work out at first, we did
not fail, but merely did not succeed yet.
My years of past experience have felt like a constant push
for excitement and creativity, because if we cannot bring that feeling into the
classroom, we cannot expect to have it mirrored back. I have felt the conflict of creativity versus
conformity within the four decorative walls of my classroom. For years the administration would come
around with a clipboard checking off on our abilities and levels of
conformity. I had built a puppet theatre
in my classroom large enough for students to engage in shows of puppet poetry
and different genres to create shows for themselves and also to put on for the
younger grades. It was a highlight for
everyone. Other fourth grade students
wished to be in my classroom. We made our own puppets with socks of every size
and color. We embraced
individuality. Some used yarn for hair.
Some had gray hair, curly hair, short hair, no hair even. We had puppies, kittens, and babies. Some puppets had glasses, others stylish
clothing and hats. These puppets had voices, developed personality and three
dimensional characters that suddenly came to life. Some were loud and funny, others timid and
quiet. Some puppets would only come out
from behind the curtain with a puppet friend who was there for support. It was
engaging and it was such fun! Real
learning takes place when we are creating for a purpose, and sharing what we
learn with others. We learned about
story elements, and character, setting, and theme. The
stories, the poems, and the songs we sang were created with enthusiasm for an
audience that the students prepared for with pride and with care. Why? Because there was ownership and a sense
of community with what we had built together. Eventually, I was asked to take
it down because the other fourth grade classes didn’t have this and it did not
conform to the programs we were using. We were sad. It was crushing to the culture and climate of
my room. In his TED TALK: Education’s Death Valley, Sir Ken
Robinson talks about Critical Pedagogy and principals under which children
flourish. They are diverse and need to tap into their own individuality. They are curious and need to keep that spark
of excitement and imagination. They need
the appropriate culture and climate to awaken and develop their own powers of
creativity. I believe, as Ken Robinson
does, that students need a mentor to stimulate, provoke, and engage them with
equal inclusion of the arts and humanities.
Ironically, I am going back to that same school teaching the
same grade level on the same team in which I taught fifteen years ago. I am going in with a broader, stronger
background for my new students. Everyone
will fall somewhere on the spectrum from Immigrant to Native whether it be oral
language, written language, or the language of technology. Being somewhat of a techno-traditionalist as Scott
Noon’s 4 Tier Model of Teacher Training would indicate, I would like to
incorporate more online learning for our digital natives, thus pushing myself
to become more of a techno constructivist to meet the needs of my students. It is challenging for me because I am what Mark
Pensky refers to as a digital immigrant who was born in the sixties. I find it astounding that I graduated with a
Bachelor’s degree in Education using only a word processor in my final
year. The rest was done on an electric
typewriter. Now I am embracing a new
challenge with a blog site.
I am choosing this project because I will be teaching the
ELA portion and having two classes in rotation this year. I need to incorporate more technology for organizational
purposes, and also to have the classes more independently interactive. I intend to have my students all blogging
this year on a site that I am setting up for them with a place to discuss
reading and writing, poetry, and also a place to record live poetry, rap
lyrics, songs, and speeches. I also
intend to add in a place to upload pictures of artwork, sketches, and other
student recommended artistic talents to share.
There should be something there that inspires everyone, and a place that
everyone is comfortable and welcome.
Being media literate as well as competent is something I
intend to teach with the blogging site. It is a vital point that Boyd
emphasizes because it is important to know how to use the technology that you
are accessing and to know how to analyze, evaluate, and question the
information we “google.” I also intend
to use some of the questions that students post in their blogs for intended
group discussion. Not all thoughts that
are posted for comment will be saved for online use only. We will bring some to small group or possibly
morning meeting as conversations for more face-to-face interaction. I agree with Sherry
Turkle that the need for human interaction with eye contact and sharing
with others has a value in who we are, and connecting with the peers in the
classroom. Nothing can replace good
conversation with all the nuances of tone and intonation.
Having to reinvent and rediscover yourself time and again is
almost a prerequisite for a successful career in the field of education. Just because you have an aha moment that
changes your whole perspective doesn’t mean there won’t be an even bigger, more
challenging quest waiting for you to encounter.
Life is like a stage, and each play production holds a new class of
students with whom you must work to produce a new show. Whatever role they may choose to play,
creates a new cast of characters that need to learn to communicate
together. A new class: a new show. Maybe a grade change; maybe the play
changes. Every new cast of characters, maybe younger or
older, brings before you a wealth of experience, and for some, it may be their
first curtain call, others their final curtain, but for the teacher… the stage
is yours.
My Blogger.com for grade 4 students will be set up for two
classes in order to keep organized in a digital world, using my new
technological expertise, and for the students to have a place to hand in work,
reflect on Reading, share comments, and connect with one another through
blogging.
It is my hope that students will enjoy their technology
experiences and connect or find something to relate to in the Arts and
Humanities. I will have an area for
uploading pictures, sketches, artwork, painting, etc. I also intend to connect or have a section to
link in oral communication for singing, rapping, speeches, etc. Something for everyone to contribute to, and
for all to enjoy! The success of this
project is important to me because the intent of it is to develop an organized
place where all students can go to feel accepted, share creatively, and be a
part of something meaningful that is bonding.
A sense of comradery and community that touches who they are in some
way.
Self-Assessment Presentation
Self-Assessment Narrative
