Blogpost 7

"Greatness in teaching…requires a serious encounter with autobiography

Greatness in teaching requires getting over the notion that its sets of techniques or methods… Lots of folks write adequate lesson plans, keep order, deliver instruction — are lousy teachers.

Greatness in teaching engages students, interacts with them, draws energy and direction from them, and offers reasons to plunge into classroom life. 

-Bill Ayers, p. 97

I’m at a loss for how to approach this lesson, these readings. I want it to be meaningful and relevant to each of you and to the complex lives you bring every day. During the lesson, you should feel compelled to be fully present and engaged in the learning experience… Hmmmmm…^+#)~%@*&???

What does Ayers mean by the metaphor of building bridges? Bridges from where to where?  Is there a pattern? (Yes, there is a pattern) If so, can you extend the pattern with two pertinent examples?"

"Building Bridges" to me means building a student-teacher relationship. In order to do this, the teacher must find common interests with the students and really get them to trust him or her. The students have to feel comfortable with the teacher and feel like they can go to their teacher for help no matter what. I think that it is good for the teacher to have a relationship with the students outside of just classes; find common interests with them, such as sports, music, television shows, etc. and get them to trust them. When I was in high school, I had relationships with my teachers outside of the classroom setting and I felt very comfortable with them and knew I could go to them for help. I wasn't shy in asking for help because I knew that they were always willing to help me succeed. The teacher must make it known to the students that they are here to teach them and help them grow as students, that they only want the best for them and that they are willing to do whatever it takes to help them succeed. Yes, they will push you and set up many obstacles, but once you overcome those obstacles and know you can do it, you will feel much better about yourself knowing that you can do it. Bill Ayers gives us a few examples of what it means to "build bridges". One example, is giving the students a challenge to actually build a bridge for their class pet, a turtle. The students all work together in building a bridge for this turtle and the teacher is there for support and to help them when need be. The other example was the adult literacy class. This class empowered the adult students to change the community they live in to better their lives and the lives of others in the community. They all worked together to make this possible, just like the students did in the turtle example. The pattern, by making small changes in ourselves to benefit the class as a whole, motivates everyone to work for the common goal. It is essentially teamwork. As simple as that may sound, it is not. They all have to work together and bond in order to make something possible, which in both of the examples, they did.