Hi everyone! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Karen.  I am a graduate student seeking certification and my master's simultaneously and I think I'm just about finished with classes.  Then, of course, there's student teaching.

I currently work as the education director for the Columbia Art League, so that keeps me pretty busy.  It's mostly an administrative job, but I do have a regular group of homeschooling students that I teach every week, so I will most likely refer to those experiences for the purposes of this class.

As an artist, I'm really inspired by nature, mysteries, ritual, and history.  As a person, I'm preoccupied with truth and finding the connections between seemingly disparate things.  I like thinking, conversing over food and drink, my husband, my cats, and sleeping as often as my life will allow.  If there's anything else you need to know, just ask!

I'm looking forward to taking this journey with all of you!

The 12 Qualities Great Teachers Share

As I read this article, right away I was relieved to see the author say that you don't have to jump around the room to demonstrate a passion for teaching; that a teacher's passion can be quieter.  I often worry that I don't have enough (or the right) "energy" for teaching and when I try to fake the outrageous, over the top effervescence, I just feel so drained by it.  But having a good think - nothing is more refreshing to me than a good think or a deep conversation.  My favorite teachers were those who were comfortable with long pauses and rich silence as well as heated debate and animated conversation.  I admit, though, that I think I'm still struggling with my presence in the classroom and creating the tone that is comfortable and natural for me.  My educational experiences in a private catholic school were much more structured, disciplined, and quiet than what I typically see in schools today, where a much higher chaos level seems to be the norm.  I'm just not quite sure how to change my students gears when they step into my room and set the right tone, and maybe that's because I'm not confident enough in my own presence yet.  I'm kind-of rambling away with this one point here, but it got my attention right away.

I also thought that understanding the role of school in a child's life and that so much learning (both positive and negative) happens outside the classroom was an interesting point.  Sometimes I wish that there were more that we could do to help prepare and guide students in "real life, and that teaching those skills and lessons was valued as highly as all the other content objectives.  Sometimes I feel like, what are we teaching these kids for if we can't help them to be better decision makers, more empathetic, more reflective, more confident, etc.?  It's every bit as important as the subject matter.  Maybe more so.  

On a final note, I simply wanted to share that for some reason, as I read the last line of #7 about reflection, my subconscious initially interpreted the print to say "(reflection) can be a ritual", rather than "it can be brutal".  When I realized this little cognitive blip, the dissonance was just too much to ignore.  I started thinking about how satisfying the ritual of reflection is for me.  Personally, it's where my meaning is made.  It's where I see the connections between things I had previously thought unrelated.  It's how my memories take on significance.  For me, it must be a ritual in order for me to make space for it in my life, and even if I'm reflecting on my mistakes and failures, I could never think of it as brutal, only as coming of age.

Please feel free to read and comment.  My "educational lineage" will be coming along tomorrow.  I need the day to make art.  Peas y'all!