In the second paragraph of The Art of Teaching Writing the author touched a nerve with her discussion about the classroom environment: "I have finally realized that the most creative environments in our society are not the kaleidoscopic environments in which everything is always changing and complex. They are, instead, the predictable and consistent ones--the scholar's library, the researcher's laboratory, the artist's studio. Each of these environments is deliberately kept predictable and simple because the work at hand and the changing interactions around that work are so unpredictable and complex...[emphasis in the original]
How different was my classroom! What chaos!
My failure to establish such consistency and simplicity was due in part to the fact that I was hired late in the year right after exiting my graduate teaching program. I had little time to plan out the year and felt fortunate if I was two or three weeks ahead. However, as I read the article, I reflected upon my early life and how little structure there was in my own home. I felt safer in school than I did there and, perhaps, because school was more predictable.
I appreciate the imperative of deliberately establishing consistency and stability in my own classroom.
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So true.....I think of how many of my students don't even know how to manage time....theyu don't eat together as a family, meals in the car, late at night or not at all...no set bedtime or morning routine....structure and consistency in the clssroom is a luxury for most kids today.
ReplyDeleteThis was also an ah-ha moment for me the first time I encountered it: Allow my students' writing to provide the creativity I desired in my classroom. My job was to set up the atmosphere that would allow their own creativity to shine through, rather than to be masked by my attempts the create it for them.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you Timothy. Although, your strugles in your life. You are the one who can inspired us to be a good teacher.
ReplyDeleteI organized my class differently after reading Ruby Payne's work on Children of Poverty. My students have told me they feel safe in my classroom and always know what to expect. It is reassuring. There is also much creativity and thinking. It is always a fine balance!
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