ACTION FOR #7: Practice Democratic Principles Spring 2010

Practicing democratic principles is an important part of teaching as teaching are role models for hundreds of kids throughout their careers. Actually, its probably more like thousands. As role models, teachers need to be aware of the diversity in the world, and take an active part in understanding those who are different.
In order to practice democratic principles, I decided to attend different GSWA events in order to better understand the struggles of women. GSWA is the Goshen Student Women Association, and they often put on very enlightening events such as the Healthy Bodies Week, the Michiana Monologues, and the GSWA chocolate house. I attending all three of these events and was very glad that I did. Previously, my knowledge of women's struggles was fairly limited. In school I learned the history of the women's movement to obtain equality under the law, but I have not been very aware of their continued struggle to have laws upheld, changed, or even the personal struggle that every women faces because of society and culture.
The Healthy Bodies week convocation that I attended focused on the pressure that women face to eat correctly, to stay thin, and to constantly diet. The goal of the convocation was to advocate for loving one's body exactly how it is instead of being pressured into not eating desert by other well wishing people.
The Michiana monologues was an event that I found particularly thought provoking and enlightening. The monologues were stories submitted by women in the Michiana area, and read, or performed by other women. It was a powerful experience as the stories combined a mix of laughter and raw truth to help me understand the personal struggle that women face. One story that was read was a detailed account of a rape that will be forever burned into my head.
The GSWA chocolate house was a similar experience in that one of the females read two poems that she had written. The first described her frustration at the constant catcalls that she, and other women, received on a daily basis in Washington DC, but also occurs pretty much anywhere she goes. This was not a reality that I was not aware of, but in the smallest sense can relate to. Growing up in Bogota, Colombia, having blue eyes was simply extraordinary, and I was constantly stopped by people who asked me about my eyes and how great they were. It got old very fast, to the point where I wouldn't look up at people as I walked by them, hoping that they wouldn't see my eyes. While this is just a fraction of what this women experienced and wrote about in her poem, it helped me understand her frustration much better. She also wrote a poem about just wanting to be able to take walks at night, which was also fantastic.
After attending these events, I feel like I am more aware of what women face one a daily basis that I don't even have to think about. The unfairness of it all is very evident. I am unsure how I want to incorporate the things that I have learned in the classroom. As far as content, math doesn't really allow for discussions on equality and gender differences. This experience for me as a role model, however, will help me, with relationships outside of the classroom and discussion inside the classroom, to advocate for women's rights and talk about the more hidden struggles of which students and teacher's need to be aware.

Action 6 - Recharging my Battery Spring 2010

There is nothing quite like sitting down and reading a really good book. I enjoy reading all sorts of different books, and have been reading for as long as I can remember, though less so since I've come to college. To recharge my batteries as a teacher, I decided that I should read inspirational books about teaching. On a whim, I picked up abook on this topic: "Why I teach: Inspirational True Stories From Teachers Who Make a Difference" written by Esther Wright, M.A. I decided to read inspirational books about teaching because I think that the reason many teachers get burned out is that they get caught up in the negative part about teaching: the constant struggle with the students, lesson planning, grading, feeling unappreciated, etc. Reading these stories will remind me why I want to be a teacher, and the affect that I want to have the my students lives. Instead of being bogged down by the negatives, inspirational reading will keep me focused on my goal and give me energy as a teacher.

Because I needed to develop a plan for recharging my batteries and staying physically, spiritually, professionally, and mentally energized I decided to read a portion of this book every week. Through observations, I am currently at the High School for about 5+ hours each week. For this reason, I think that a good strategy is to have a weekly way to recharge and remember why I want to be a teacher. Because each of these books is split up into short stories, it was easy to read a story or two each week. I had originally planned to share several of the stories that really inspired me or that I really connected with, but that is not possible. The "Why I Teach" book was full of inspiring stories. From extremely poor kindergartners to a 50 year old women taking college classes to get a teaching degree, this book covers a broad variety of students and teachers. Each story is inspiring in its own way and covers difficult topics such as death and Tourettes Syndrome. It is impossible to simply sum up the lives of the students and teachers described here. Only the lessons, which are that love, compassion, and passion can lead to amazing experiences where both the students and teacher's lives are touched forever. Reading this book every week left me excited to begin my career as a teacher and to start pouring myself into my students. Unfortunately, none of the stories in this book were about high school Math teachers, which only serves to inspire me to create my own.
Since I finished the book, I picked up a second inspirational book entitled: "Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul: Stories to Open the Hearts and Rekindle the Spirits of Educators" by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, which I will use to recharge my battery, and stay motivated to teach.