Reading Reflection 5 - Jacque Teague: Change Agent

What efforts will I make to change public education? I suppose that remains to be seen. I’m sure that my understanding of how I can make a difference and what ways I will want to make a difference will change over the course of my career. My environment and experiences will likely impact these decisions as well. However, I am certain that I will respond in progressively larger ways to feelings of discontent or discomfort I experience in reaction to the way I am or am expected to teach my students. I responded positively to the inquiry method of teaching math in the Postman and Weingarnter chapter. I know that I will attempt to incorporate activities and experiences for my students that try to engage them in constructing meaning for themselves rather than being fed it. The more I observe different math teachers, the more I realize that this is not often done in math classes. While I certainly respect the skill that veteran math teachers bring to explaining complex concepts to students clearly and providing them with guided practice in applying these concepts in a very appropriate sequence, I do not often notice an inquiry approach being used. I suppose that in this way, I will be implementing change in my classroom, no matter how small the scale of that change. As suggested in the Fullen and Hargreaves chapter, I will also enact small changes by seeking opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and receive feedback from them. I will also strive to create variety in my classroom and not become stagnate in my implementation of lessons. I will try to add to my variety of approaches by reading professional journals for ideas and by taking risks on ideas I have, even though they may not work well the first time around. Most importantly, I will not ignore my inner voice, as Fullen and Hargreaves put it. Even when I want to ignore it, my personality will not allow it. I take pride in knowing that I am doing my job well and I am too reflective of a person. I know that I will not be able to blame lack of meaningful learning on state standards or unmotivated students or lack of time. I have to admit that I sometimes wish I could. Instead I am more likely to put pressure on myself to be more creative in my instructional approaches. I am not a loud voice, but I am a consistent soft one that is more comfortable making changes in small steps, in my own classroom and through my collaboration with a couple of colleagues. Maybe as I gain more experience and clout at my school, I will be a soft voice that others begin to listen to and I will be able to make bigger changes that impact more students.