I fear the process of "two steps forward and one step back." We will innevidably try new teaching techniques and some will work fantastically while other attempts will fall flat. I wish it were a perfect world where we could use constructivism all the time in every classroom, but that is too idealistic.
My greatest fear is that we will pour our time and hearts out to the students in this project, but will be hindered by their parents, or administration, or society in general.
After our conversations on Friday, my greatest fear is what education will be like for Payton, Emma, Megan, Abby, David, Addie, and the rest of our children if we don't start to make changes.
I shared with my group on Tuesday that every parent-teacher conference night, I have parents who share how I have impacted their student, changed their life in some way. I often wonder when that happened. I scan through the last couple weeks of classtime wondering what I did, what I said to make such a statement true. My greatest fear is that I stop making an impact...or worse, miss an opportunity with a student.
My greatest fears echo much of what I hear from my peers. What if a fail? What if this doesn't change anything? What if it changes for the worse? What if we aren't successful? It is overwhelming if you bog yourself down in the negatives, but healthy to realize there are concerns and fears. We just need to keep them in their appropriate place.
I fear that all this time and effort is going to go into this project and it is going to be difficult to apply this into a math classroom. This is going to be a dramatic change that only some students will be willing to try.
I always fear that, despite all the time and effort I put into a new activity, it will totally fall flat once I try it in the classroom. Of course, this has never (totally) happened to me in over 10 years of teaching!
Time is my biggest fear! I am so excited about the changes that could and will take place but I don't know if I will be able to find the time to put everything I can into it. I do not want to fail myself and the rest of the group. I feel honored to even be with this incredible group of educators and I don't wan to let anyone down.
I worry about the time outside of the class. We all have a lot going on. Can I possible put energy into this when there are other things going on. My other fear is about change in education. Some of the people that brought about the most radical changes in the world of thought were called crazy or worse. I just fear that this is a fad or just another swing of the educational "pendulum".
I have to agree with a few other posts - I am most worried about time. One of my biggest frustrations with teaching is that I know how much more I could do if there were 50 hours in a day, and I wish that I could do it all. I'm also trying (not very successfully) to have a life outside of school, and I want to give all that I have to this project without becoming totally burned out by November!
My fear is of the unknown. I think we all have questions as to where this can go, what it will do, how it will change the face of our teaching practices and education in general. I worry about time too; but hey, we all get it done somehow, don't we? Even more so, I fear that I'll question myself and my abilities; but I am optimistic that every person in this group will push me and we can all gain something beneficial from this venture we are about to embark on.
My biggest fear is time, but I threw that away. In the past, I have become excited about new things, put forth my great intentions, and then dropped the ball. Kids, workouts, other new ideas, grading, planning, cooking dinner, etc seem to get in my way. My hope is that we have more time in our group to really put stuff in p[lace so that next fall when I have a student teacher, I can really move forward.
My greatest fear is that too many of us will cave in to the pressures placed upon us externally by those who don't understand the project or don't have the patience to find out first. This is when we will need each other the most and it will reveal we have new work to do. But I also believe there is no finer group to meet such challenges!
My greatest fear is the amount of time that I currently have to give to this class. It is also scary to think that I might have to change some of what I currently do.
That education is creating lazy, conformative students who will soon be adults!
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteAbout this project and all it entails, not life in general.
I fear the process of "two steps forward and one step back." We will innevidably try new teaching techniques and some will work fantastically while other attempts will fall flat. I wish it were a perfect world where we could use constructivism all the time in every classroom, but that is too idealistic.
ReplyDeleteMy greatest fear is that we will pour our time and hearts out to the students in this project, but will be hindered by their parents, or administration, or society in general.
ReplyDeleteAfter our conversations on Friday, my greatest fear is what education will be like for Payton, Emma, Megan, Abby, David, Addie, and the rest of our children if we don't start to make changes.
ReplyDeleteI shared with my group on Tuesday that every parent-teacher conference night, I have parents who share how I have impacted their student, changed their life in some way. I often wonder when that happened. I scan through the last couple weeks of classtime wondering what I did, what I said to make such a statement true. My greatest fear is that I stop making an impact...or worse, miss an opportunity with a student.
ReplyDeleteMy greatest fears echo much of what I hear from my peers. What if a fail? What if this doesn't change anything? What if it changes for the worse? What if we aren't successful? It is overwhelming if you bog yourself down in the negatives, but healthy to realize there are concerns and fears. We just need to keep them in their appropriate place.
ReplyDeleteI fear that all this time and effort is going to go into this project and it is going to be difficult to apply this into a math classroom. This is going to be a dramatic change that only some students will be willing to try.
ReplyDeleteI always fear that, despite all the time and effort I put into a new activity, it will totally fall flat once I try it in the classroom. Of course, this has never (totally) happened to me in over 10 years of teaching!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest fear is that I won't follow through. Yet somehow, I don't think this group will let that happen.
ReplyDeleteKristin, not a chance. We'll support you every step of the way with whatever you decide will work in your classroom.
ReplyDeleteTime is my biggest fear! I am so excited about the changes that could and will take place but I don't know if I will be able to find the time to put everything I can into it. I do not want to fail myself and the rest of the group. I feel honored to even be with this incredible group of educators and I don't wan to let anyone down.
ReplyDeleteI worry about the time outside of the class. We all have a lot going on. Can I possible put energy into this when there are other things going on. My other fear is about change in education. Some of the people that brought about the most radical changes in the world of thought were called crazy or worse. I just fear that this is a fad or just another swing of the educational "pendulum".
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with a few other posts - I am most worried about time. One of my biggest frustrations with teaching is that I know how much more I could do if there were 50 hours in a day, and I wish that I could do it all. I'm also trying (not very successfully) to have a life outside of school, and I want to give all that I have to this project without becoming totally burned out by November!
ReplyDeleteMy fear is of the unknown. I think we all have questions as to where this can go, what it will do, how it will change the face of our teaching practices and education in general. I worry about time too; but hey, we all get it done somehow, don't we? Even more so, I fear that I'll question myself and my abilities; but I am optimistic that every person in this group will push me and we can all gain something beneficial from this venture we are about to embark on.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest fear is time, but I threw that away. In the past, I have become excited about new things, put forth my great intentions, and then dropped the ball. Kids, workouts, other new ideas, grading, planning, cooking dinner, etc seem to get in my way. My hope is that we have more time in our group to really put stuff in p[lace so that next fall when I have a student teacher, I can really move forward.
ReplyDeleteMy greatest fear is that too many of us will cave in to the pressures placed upon us externally by those who don't understand the project or don't have the patience to find out first. This is when we will need each other the most and it will reveal we have new work to do. But I also believe there is no finer group to meet such challenges!
ReplyDeleteMy greatest fear is the amount of time that I currently have to give to this class. It is also scary to think that I might have to change some of what I currently do.
ReplyDelete