Starting to think about my currere made me think on and on and on. Then it occurred to me that this was all right. After all, I am by far the oldest in the class and have exposed myself to travel and have been introduced to lots of people, so I do have much to say that has “molded” me. I will touch on what I believe are the most significant experiences of my journey called “life” to this point. Then I will explain how they created the way I approach students along with the effects of my contact with these students. Hopefully these stories will show the care, compassion, empathy I have for my students and the passion to struggle with them as I help and watch them grow in subject, self and making their world more human.
–Shy, quiet (until 50); watch, listen, learn
–Father, door stepper—very people/family oriented, 2 heart attacks (shh!), nosebleed
–Mother, large family, Quaker/Methodist; word is my bond—depression & business
–Began work @ 9, …met wife @ 7,…..experimental academics classes @12,…then ill 30 days, no tutor (felt behind, playing catch up ever since, even today)
–Sohio owner; 1973 KSU, grant to continue, but broke and tired
–EFCO travel ext., mgr. (built house-hope to move in; co. downturn, turnaround, left)
–COH took me away, travel ext. in Ohio, (exceed hrs/goals/rehire 15)…3 months to go, 2 college, sp. hearing and muscle, what’s big deal, Enron?
–Worked hard to be best at job (internal competition of self, could not care less about competition against others. My low self-esteem made me work hard, self-critical, but I credit it for making me grow and achieve. Survivor.
–Sales (only quest. is intention of person quest. me, my integrity-I quit),
–New business to teacher to KSU (fight state, wrestle KSU, PERSEVERE), mistake after 2 years, I don’t think so. Comment to KSU, to State (boss)
–Praxis, “speak the language”…SHS evaluation
–Not registered with ODE, “we forgot—for 4 years!”
–Heroes, Ford and Edison, did for others
–Martin Luther King funeral; Uncle Arthur at southern church; honorary degree
–Underdog, always felt different even though have many, many lifelong friends, my friends considered one that likes to work alone—I do, but w/people near. I am driven by personal need. I need to be needed. The greatest life altering experience for me was/is becoming a father. Nothing has given me greater satisfaction for life than being part of this experience. No doubt, this is why I find teaching such a passion of mine. I hope that being able to help other young people get off to a good start, with a long happy, productive life for themselves and those around them. Thus starts this journey.
–What’s that in your bellybutton? Oh, precious life.
–You’re growing too fast 8-16, and in life (always get job, never relive 3, 5, etc)
–Quality vs. quantity; travel-see extremes, expose to life, discuss tolerance of others-meningitis people’s ignorance vs. lack of knowledge).
–Son said, “If I die now its ok………………..
–Good and bad administrators, need both so you know what to aspire to be like, ULS scholarships—18 & 48, (do your best, do what is right, you choose direction; lucky you learned early—said plans U of A
These are a few of the life experiences that had made me listen “to the radio station I do.” In reflecting on these items, I try very hard to think about what I want my students to learn. How do I pick the best subject to discuss, reflect, and inquire about? This also gets parents involved with discussion from their children (anything said in class will go further). I worry about saying the wrong thing.
The students help keep you young in your ideas. They keep you focused, less cynical. This path of life has made me have a deep respect for people, not things. It has made me tolerant to ideas new to me. It has required me to learn the fine line between subject and class discipline and an open, reflective inquiring environment. Life has made me care for the underdog that tries as much as the brilliant child does. I look at issues more fairly. My life has helped me get students involved in national contests, community service, and positive self-growth and given me a chance to do something important.
I make sure I develop relationships and study students case-by-case. I ask questions, very openly (professionally) while demanding respect. A disciplined atmosphere, open and flexible for discussion. Of my students, I require respect, discipline, and manners, social and financial responsibility, as well as individual reflection. I stress the importance of them being a life-long learner. The students must develop their skills through subject knowledge and do a finished project. The self and social skills are developed as a privileged fun part of my class.
Through these efforts, the students learn their multiple intelligences, or learning methods. They learn to listen and tolerate others ideas and lifestyles. They see the need for questioning and open inquiry. I encourage building self-esteem, excitement, and community into their lives.
We discuss work ethic, attitude, character, as well as financial and social responsibility. Our goal is a good life for all of you and me. My classes have gone from losers to achievers. We have a higher-level student involved as a role model for marginal and at-risk students. Class size have grown significantly as well as support for my projects—curriculum.
My continuous study plan involves a new class designed for after school that can be developed around a “curriculum of my choice” giving me strength in its design and implementation. The class will be a home building class organized using the 3S curriculum. I have chosen twelve students that will represent the school population well and that have excellent character and work ethic skills.
The goal of this house building class curriculum is for the student to be able to understand the complete process of building a home from land procurement, codes, design, and actual construction using a scale model kit.
The criteria for evaluation will include the students’ ability to demonstrate understanding of the process by sharing in class lectures, paper exams, a personal portfolio, and instruction of a scale model home using proper building techniques. Discussions will be observed where students tell of personal growth during the process as well as group discussions on the possible implications of their learning on the larger community.
The design of the course will focus around students presenting lectures, each discussing one chapter in the book. Students will be a foreman on one each of the building construction procedures. Students will discuss options of methods or design in the construction process by group participation involvement. Students will prepare a report on their concept/understanding of the building process success. Students will prepare a personalized report discussing self-growth. The students will work together to prepare a presentation to be given orally on the impact this knowledge could have on a community involvement/betterment project.
The project will be reviewed before, during and after by the principal, assistant principal and chosen colleagues for required adjustments and shared knowledge of the 3S process. The support built from this group will be used to share with the larger community through direct communication at a board meeting, with individual business leaders and local newspapers.
The teacher will continue to actively participate in and encourage start-up of 3S workshops. The teacher will attend workshops and develop a mini-library of reading material about the curriculum wisdom paradigm for sharing with interested supporters. The teacher will be responsible also for keeping current on the building subject matter.
The teacher will actively build support for successful implementation of this process in other “standardized” subjects. The teacher will promote (market) the 3S plan by speaking directly to groups of administrators, colleagues, and the community to promote understanding of, and continuation of a 3S curriculum wisdom paradigm.
While I say, “market” this plan, I mean exactly that. That is reality. Many are open to these ideas and will support them, if we inform them of our plan, and ASK for help.
(Side note; I was able to change the next-door class from some one that negatively discussed one of my community projects as “it make the rest of us look bad” to one of understanding why this needed to be done. He now reaches out to his students to develop “self” and has a project that is being raced nationally by his students. A real change of attitude greatly supported financially by the community. Also, a result of our 3S projects, a local resident wants to start a $100,000 scholarship fund for the industrial arts students—something unheard of before.)
Probably the most important statement in my paper is this one, received by someone very close to me:
“All this learning doesn’t mean a thing unless we get outside and use it. If we stay in a classroom, we learn to speak a language few understand, we get stale, and we accomplish little.” (RAP 7/06)
