Friday, May 06, 2005
Narrative of Craft --
Probably, the most immediate craft I know and have learned is writing. My dad is *not* a fountain of wisdom, and, thus, he hasn't taught me much. In thinking about what I've learned from my friends, I can't think of anything I would consider a craft. I think teaching is a craft, and I have learned this, but mostly through trial and error, not the education classes I have taken.
To me, craft is a mix of talent, skill, imagination, and creativity. As a verb, or an action, "to craft" something suggests a deliberate, thoughtful and creative quality. My grandmother used to knit, and I consider what she created as craft. SHe used to make me sweaters, scarves, and mittens. They were god-awful ugly, but they were made with love and care. She began each of these projects with a pattern and end product in mind, and then made choices, purposeful choices, to make the thing come to shape.
Teaching is much the same. I learned teaching primarily through the weight of all the teachers I've had in my experience as a student. I learned something from the good ones and the bad ones. I still learn. Sometimes I try on a new teaching hat for a while and see if it fits well, and if it doesn't, I take it off and put my old ratty baseball cap back on, first shaping the rim, then brushing the dust off.
The first teacher I remember as having a real impact on me was Frau Uscola. She was my 9th grade German teacher. I think her gift was in seeing each student as an individual. She made you feel special. She also gave us freedom. She treated us like adults. Teaching is a people business, and a great deal of learning to be a good teacher comes in learning how to relate to and treat people, the content knowledge and pedagogy comes much later.
In terms of pedagogy, Mark Christensen showed me that a teacher can teach best with his or her mouth shut. By example, he showed me that a teacher's job is to set up situations in which students can teach themselves. He spoke volumes without ever opening his mouth. The irony of this situation is that Mark has the most commanding voice I've ever heard. He speaks powerfully, with depth, but rarely; however, because of this, when he speaks, students listen.
Content knowledge is a given, and I absorbed this from every teacher I've ever taken, and every student I've shared a class with.
Now, as a teacher, I realize you have to have a vision, see the big picture, and have an end goal in mind. Teaching, like woodworking or knitting, is not a haphazard activity -- you must plan. I think the hardest thing I had to learn was looking for the big picture. Painting the big picture forces you to know and understand where you want to go, and then you plan and plot the waystops along the way.
Probably, the most immediate craft I know and have learned is writing. My dad is *not* a fountain of wisdom, and, thus, he hasn't taught me much. In thinking about what I've learned from my friends, I can't think of anything I would consider a craft. I think teaching is a craft, and I have learned this, but mostly through trial and error, not the education classes I have taken.
To me, craft is a mix of talent, skill, imagination, and creativity. As a verb, or an action, "to craft" something suggests a deliberate, thoughtful and creative quality. My grandmother used to knit, and I consider what she created as craft. SHe used to make me sweaters, scarves, and mittens. They were god-awful ugly, but they were made with love and care. She began each of these projects with a pattern and end product in mind, and then made choices, purposeful choices, to make the thing come to shape.
Teaching is much the same. I learned teaching primarily through the weight of all the teachers I've had in my experience as a student. I learned something from the good ones and the bad ones. I still learn. Sometimes I try on a new teaching hat for a while and see if it fits well, and if it doesn't, I take it off and put my old ratty baseball cap back on, first shaping the rim, then brushing the dust off.
The first teacher I remember as having a real impact on me was Frau Uscola. She was my 9th grade German teacher. I think her gift was in seeing each student as an individual. She made you feel special. She also gave us freedom. She treated us like adults. Teaching is a people business, and a great deal of learning to be a good teacher comes in learning how to relate to and treat people, the content knowledge and pedagogy comes much later.
In terms of pedagogy, Mark Christensen showed me that a teacher can teach best with his or her mouth shut. By example, he showed me that a teacher's job is to set up situations in which students can teach themselves. He spoke volumes without ever opening his mouth. The irony of this situation is that Mark has the most commanding voice I've ever heard. He speaks powerfully, with depth, but rarely; however, because of this, when he speaks, students listen.
Content knowledge is a given, and I absorbed this from every teacher I've ever taken, and every student I've shared a class with.
Now, as a teacher, I realize you have to have a vision, see the big picture, and have an end goal in mind. Teaching, like woodworking or knitting, is not a haphazard activity -- you must plan. I think the hardest thing I had to learn was looking for the big picture. Painting the big picture forces you to know and understand where you want to go, and then you plan and plot the waystops along the way.
