Posted by Cathy Taggart --Previous Message--
on November 14, 2005, 2:46 pm, in reply to "Pentecost 2005: a Great Day for Families!"
Thank you Margaret for your kind words. It's really good to know not only that people read what I've written, but also that there are people "out there" who feel the same way. In fact, I used to be a teacher many years ago, so I can identify with what you are saying. Anyway, thanks again, and keep up the good work with your students!
CATHY
: Re: Pentecost 2005: a Great Day for Families!
: by CATHY TAGGART
:
: http://www.kevinbates.com/reflections/pentecost2005.htm
:
: Cathy,
: I loved reading what you had to say about
: children and parenting.
: I am a teacher and found this paragraph
: especially meaningful for teaching:
: "and, perhaps most important of all, we
: were affirming them, not for fulfilling an
: adult’s expectations of them (which seems to
: be what the “experts” mean by giving
: positive reinforcement) but just for being
: themselves."
:
: Today in teaching there has been so much
: more emphasis from certain quarters on
: defining detailed curriculums and on testing
: to rank children. And all of this proceeds
: from a viewpoint that children are empty
: vessels we need to fill up, and that they
: are passive recipients of all our knowledge.
:
: I think I actually achieve my greatest
: success as a teacher when I encounter a
: child who is a passive learner and I
: "turn them around" to become more
: active and self-directed. Then, instead of
: underachieving in the classroom, doing the
: minimum they can get away with, they change
: and initiate so much more of their own
: learning. The whole classroom is a much more
: lively, enthusiastic and energetic place
: when this happens.
: Margaret
:
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