"On Listening to What the Children Say"

I really enjoyed this article; I thought is posed a view of looking at what children in a different way. In particular, I really like this statement, "The key is curiosity, and it is curiosity, not answers, that we model... When we are curious about a child's words and our responses to those words, the child feels respected."

I think that modeling curiosity is one of the most difficult things to do in a classroom. At least, thats what I have seen in high school classrooms. High school kids have been trained by there peers that it is not "ok" to be curious in science. Its uncool. I believe that younger elementary and pre-school kids have completely uninhibited curiosity. They have natural curoisity that needs no inspiring; that is where the teacher needs to become masterful in directing the students' energies and curiosity. That can be a handful, in and of itself!

During my student teaching, I had one class that was so curious about everything, that they asked so many questions that it was difficult to get my lessons done. They asked the most wonderful questions! However, I did find it difficult to relax and listen to what they were asking at first. I was so stressed out about covering the curriculum, that I often asked the kids to hold their questions until after class (where the student never asked the question) or I half -heartedly listened while I quietly panicked that I was not covering the curriculum. (FYI: This is why general science or physical science classes are HORRIBLE! You can not cover an entire unit on earth history in 4 weeks. Just to let you know. Oh, and the kids learn nothing. I have heard this straight from many students! And that's my soap box for the day...)I slowly started to realize that little by little my students were becoming disengaged with the material and stopped asking questions. I was so bummed! I loved the fact that they asked questions, even though it stressed me out.

Thats when I started to learn how to balance curiosity and the curriculum and the importance of listening. I started truly listening to my students and you could see their confidence and interest grow exponentially. My curriculum got covered and my students were engaged in the material.

So here's my dilemma...when students are not naturally engaged and curious, how do you get them to be curious? Especially at the high school level when curiosity is bad? I am certainly not afraid of revealing my inner dork in front of my kids (oh yeah, I am THAT science teacher that tells the bad science jokes) and I had foolishly hoped that that would be enough to get my kids curious. Maybe this is where I can apply the 5E learning model and better inquiry activities and get my kids thinking and working hands on, not just re-affirming principles they already saw in the book. How indeed does one get their students curious?

Reaction to "The Campfire Effect"

To begin, I thought this was a good article with profound positive results. However, it left me feeling slightly disheartened. Unlike the preservice teacher students in Arizona, I do not feel adequately prepared to teach ELL students. In many of the courses I have had, we have discussed the ideaology behind ELL and Bilingual programs, the characteristics of ELL students, and the importance of recognizing and respecting other cultures. I do not disagree that this all important information, but I feel unprepared in how to assess and provide activities for ELL students. I have heard textbook fulls of multiculturalism, but I still do not feel ready to actually teach ELL students.

On pg. 1 of the article, the authors stated, "For this paper, we contend that changing beliefs is the first step in improving the instructional environment and educational achievement for this undeserved population." I think this is a great statement. Teachers and non-teachers a like need to understand what it is like to be an ELL student. However, I feel that we have been working in this "first step" for far too long. Academic reform needs to actually happen. And, as a preservice teacher, I would like greater instruction in how to assess and help ELL students acquire English.

Now here is another question: are there effective methods to teach ELL students content and English? Fail proof, tried and true lessons, assessments, and activities? Is it then even possible for teacher education programs to fully prepare teachers for ELL students, or is this something we need to learn by doing?