Today's class felt incredibly welcoming. The comfortable atmosphere made the activities were so communal and relaxing. It was so heartwarming to see everyone working on their 5-strand and 7-strand braids, twisting the ropes, and excitedly fashioning a kite. Instead of the competitive environments we are used to, I felt so proud of everyone's creations and appreciative knowing how much work each person put in to their project!
Sharon Kallis' point on "happily [divesting] the responsibility of taking care of ourselves" stood out to me (page 21). Despite being aware of our inabilities to survive without specific technologies, her explanation of outsourcing highlighted the choice we made to prioritize comfort over effort. For some reason, it made me feel really uncomfortable to be so aware of our inevitable dependences (which is a good thing!). Sharon's outline of the situation elucidated the shift in priorities and potential consequences that could occur without enough effort to change, which was something I really resonated with. Given the evidences of human-impacted climate change, I think it's crucial that we make achievable adjustments to reconnect to natural, local methods wherever possible. I also liked that her concept of backsourcing is simple enough to have nurtured discussions in classrooms, and a grassroots movement towards supporting that independence could be very powerful.
Throughout the reading, I was really surprised at how many different groups of people were able to connect and benefit from the UBC Orchard Garden. It felt amazing to link my limited experience in the garden to the experiences of students from many other disciplines, faculty members, global and local visitors, artists, generations, small communities, and professionals. Usually, a classroom experience is shared by students of the past and present, but the beauty of the learning garden was that this "classroom" experience gets to be shared by people from so many walks of life.
1) Does this article 'speak to you' as a new teacher candidate in Vancouver in 2023, even though it was written in a different time and place? What in this article reaches or touches your life and ideas as a teacher candidate, and why? What seems dated or irrelevant, and why?
The notion of being a reflective teacher was summarised really well in the article. I agreed with the categorization of open-mindedness, responsibility, and wholeheartedness, and I feel like that has not changed for teachers. In fact, those are still highlighted points in our current teacher education program, which goes to show how timeless those characteristics are in this profession.
As a result of last year's current events, towards the end of the video, I thought, "Why does a man described as an 'ordinary everyday' teacher, share with Taylor Swift the fact that they both have an honourary doctorate from NYU?" That was answered by Frank McCourt himself, who coincidentally answered, "ordinary teachers don't get honourary doctorates." In a wonderful discussion with Andrew and Jacky, we settled on the following differences between an ordinary teacher and Frank McCourt: mastery of teaching requires mastery of connection, a fine line exists between comfort and stagnancy, lesson plans do not make great teachers, and great teachers teach humans- not students.
