Week 2: Class blog #2

Reading the first three chapters of the book (The Art of Possibility by Zander, B and Zander, R.S.) I found myself shaking my head in agreement. The part about thought process and the "Give Them An A' chapter really hit home. In my new job as an 8th grade teacher I have found so many students that are so worried about making a mistake and so stuck in past failure that they doubt the knowledge that they have. Many students will not answer questions because they are afraid of being wrong which makes it difficult to get a feeling for how they are doing until assessments are done. The whole idea from the first chapter was very enlightening. Realizing that my students may not see the potential, may not be able to see out of the box, makes me want to develop my lesson plans to such a higher level. It is so hard to break out of old habits that I almost have to teach them so they do not realize they are learning or what they are achieving. The book also caused me to reflect on my own thought patterns and what was helping, or in some cases deterring me from achieving at a higher level. This journey has given us a lot of tools and a lot of ideas but if I (we) don't step out of ourselves and use them it would be a shame. I am intrigued by the possibility of giving everyone an A. I found the letters from the students told us everything we needed to know abot whether the idea was a success. My reply: I see the same thing in Kindergarten. I have students that are afraid to answer questions or participate in class discussions for the fear that they may be wrong. I don't think it's a learned behavior, but rather a lack of confidence at this point. I encourage them that there are no wrong answers, and their is reason for their answers that we would all like to learn.