Most recent public comments by Heather Moscat Nash https://nowcomment.com/users/42088 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847565 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847565 My concern would be that there are SO MANY good ideas out there! As seen during the pandemic as a classroom teacher, my supervisor and those above her and up the food chain found new websites, articles, ideas, and projects to try nearly every day. They tried out new and engaging platforms and programs to inform us of their findings, recording themselves being goofy in videos as they experimented with technology they now wanted us to try out. They fully expected these 'newsies' to be integrated into our plans. Meanwhile, we as teachers did not have the luxury of research as we were trying to navigate this new type of online teaching while the families of our students struggled. To Clemencia's point in Paragraph 3 concerning time in which to cover curricula, as well as my response, this would be another choice to make. And would it pass muster with my supervisor? Or would I have to go to war to get something new added in to try? With an already bursting-at-the-seems curriculum that never quite seems to be gotten through, is it really worth it? (Of course it is!!! But still...) And if it is implemented, can it really be given the time and attention as expended during the research completed for this piece? Or would it need to be boiled down to a several-day study with a product at the end to justify its relevance? And in doing this, that authentic kernel that could pop into a bag of community popcorn becomes just another checked box, or "maybe next year" that never quite happens. I don't want to sound pessimistic as I really am ever the optimist! But I am also a realist and know that there is so much good that needs to be implemented, but something has to give in order for that change to take place. Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:21:01 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847550 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847550 I think that sometimes in today's methods, the initial kernel of truth and authenticity gets lost in buzz words and what is "supposed to be." Admin, supervisors, teachers, etc. - adults - make their own interpretations and foist them on the students for the betterment of society. But if our students were ACTUALLY listened to first, the adult powers-that-be would be schooled. The conversations held in innocence BEFORE the 'instruction' of the children hold the answers the adults are trying to "teach" them. Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:52 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847549 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847549 Sun, 10 Jul 2022 23:51:00 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847548 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847548 Sun, 10 Jul 2022 23:40:57 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847547 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847547 On any given day during my preps in the library, students would pour over the past editions of yearbooks. They searched for their current teachers, as students and/or earlier versions of their teaching selves. They looked at the raiment of decades past; they gleaned information about prior generations and tried to reconcile it with today. All of their searches stemmed, however, from searching for a specific teacher they'd obviously heard they could find in one of many years archived. Sun, 31 Jul 2022 15:42:21 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847546 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847546 The majority of my students were from Spanish-speaking countries, and each country was vastly different from the next. At first, pride in one's country took precedence and a hierarchy was sought. With immediate understanding established that we were all in this together and respect in ALL aspects was expected, a true community formed with the differences being celebrated. We all learned new things on a daily basis, from different words to different names for similar foods, and customs both similar and different. My more recent arrivals to the US were more apt to share and not try to compete while those either born in the US, or having been here longer were more apt to make heritage a competition. By the end of any given school year, each class was a tight community that often crossed class boundaries to include anyone who was in one of my classes. Sun, 10 Jul 2022 23:27:58 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847545 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847545 I did life maps with my classes and they really enjoyed it. However, when it came time to share, they were reticent to do so as the information they included was very personal. Perhaps it was because it was the beginning of the school year and they hadn't really yet built that class rapport. But if done later on in the year, the purpose of engaging with oneself for the purpose of writing would have been defeated. Sun, 10 Jul 2022 23:15:23 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847530 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847530 Sun, 10 Jul 2022 23:09:22 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847529 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847529 If WE model our vulnerabilities, those in our purview will feel safe to do so, also. NOTHING in a classroom can happen - learning or otherwise - without trust. With trust comes buy-in. Schools these days try to fit too much into too small a bag. They have to focus on the reading and writing of the curriculum because of course they do! But then they try to add soft skills and other aspects to the curriculum and it becomes just too much to cover. In this instance, the teacher is left to decide what to get to and what to leave out. In my experience, whichever is done seems always to be wrong and leads to teacher apathy and then burn-out. Another piece of this, on a different note, is the label. "Community Building" sounds like something you would see in an office on an old TV show, colleagues getting together to catch one another through trust falls in a wilderness setting. My HS kids would laugh me out of the room if I pitched this buzz word! My ELLs would take it literally and look at me in confusion. However, do it authentically, as I think everything should be done, and it WILL catch; everyone wants to belong. Sun, 10 Jul 2022 23:06:58 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847527 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847527 I'm glad the author acknowledges both the "democratic ideals" AND the possible "tensions." Far too often, it seems that the floor is open to ALL thoughts, only to have someone with a divergent view be attacked for sharing it. Then when others have a divergent view, and they've seen what could happen if they share, the classroom unwittingly becomes "of one mind," even through there are other views. I know discussions I've had in past classes - open and honest - could NEVER happen in today's classroom. Sun, 10 Jul 2022 22:58:15 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847525 https://nowcomment.com/documents/319504?scroll_to=2847525 Half was for "Present Pets" and the other, "Passed Pets." It began when the beloved dog of one of my kids passed away and she was devastated. Soon, others were bringing in pics of their pets, as well. Someone asked if they had to have passed, and that was when we created the two sides. What started as a tribute morphed into a wall of love for four-footed family members, as well as some fish! It was almost the original cat and puppy videos, just still-life! Sun, 10 Jul 2022 22:49:37 -0400