Opening Minds: Chapters 7-9

I have enjoyed participating in cyberPD as a means to reflect to participate in a collective response/reflection/conversation about Peter Johnston's Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives. Laura Komos is hosting the last section of the book. The conversation is already well underway as it started Wednesday. Johnston's thoughts are also featured on Stenhouse's summer series this week. I highly recommend his post as well as the others in the series.

My thoughts on chapters 7-9...

Development Links
While reading the book I have been thinking a lot about implications for my 6th-8th grade classroom as well as college courses that I teach, specifically a development class that I will be teaching this fall. Last fall as I was teaching it for the first time, I began to align some of the previous assignments with InTASC Standards as play a role in our university's re-accreditation process. In Standard #1: Learner Development, the following areas are highlighted: cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical. One obvious shift in wording is the lack of specifically highlighting moral development. I am not sure why that is the case, but as a result, I brushed over it rather than going in depth with it.

I have been thinking about it a lot this year though, wondering if it was one of those areas that just because the standards do not specifically highlight it does not mean that I should not focus on it in class. I think that the rationale might be that it is woven into some of the other areas; however, it also seems like having it under umbrella terms rather than its own specific category can deemphasize the importance.

While reading chapter 7, Moral Agency: Moral Development and Civic Engagement I continued my thinking about this aspect a lot. When talking about the current context of education emphasizing academics, Johnston stated, "Whether we like it or not, children are acquiring 'character' and dispositions toward civic engagement (or not) as we teach them about history, literacy, math, and science. Their moral development doesn't just stop because we choose not to think about it" (p. 81).

Reading the book has come at a perfect time as I have been reflecting on how I will shape the development course this fall, what to keep, what to change, what to improve from last fall. Johnston's words have really helped me think about the course. I mentioned in my initial reflections that I would be reading aloud some excerpts to my class. I will definitely be sharing aspects related to moral development, such as:

• "Morals are largely normative. We learn what to attend to and what to ignore--what we value--and how to act. What we choose to discuss with children and how we discuss it shapes these norms" (pp. 82-83). 
• "Routinely raising for discussion issues of fairness in the world and in the classroom establishes a norm: It is something that we care about in the community" (p. 83). 
• "[...] but the extension to equity and race played an important role beyond helping the children to generalize and remember. It increased their moral reach--the breadth of individuals to whom our moral commitments extend" (p. 84). 
• "[...] the teachers's response framed as a request with a logic emphasizing the consequences for others, offers a more symmetrical relationship. While not eliminating the teacher's authority, it offers a moral choice that relies less on subordination" (p. 87). 
• "We tend to view conflicts in the classroom as simply distractions from academic learning, so we try to eliminate them as quickly as possible by invoking our authority as teachers. This might get us back to academics more quickly, but at the cost of reducing the moral authority and commitment of the students" (p. 91). 

Of course, there were other quotes that stood out to me, and I will be reading them in the context of a bigger section, but the quotes above provide a snapshot into what I thought was so powerful about his thoughts. Students in my development class this fall will continue on to a practicum and coursework in the winter and spring, both including a classroom dynamics course each term. Development really lays the foundation for how teachers set up the classroom community and the decisions they make. I want them to have Johnston's words tumbling around in their minds as they move forward in the program. 

Teacher Links

As a teacher, I continue to think about implications for better understanding my students and the impact that the words I choose and the way I set up the classroom has on them. Of course, everything that I mentioned above as being thought provoking for pre-service teachers has implications for my own teaching. The conclusion of chapter 7 stated, "These are the threads that we are morally bound to weave into classroom life. They are a foundation for democratic living" (p. 92). I like that image once again of threads, of thinking about how over time we set the tone for what we value. In chapter 6, I also appreciated that Johnston talked about the threat of stereotype impacting students who tend to envision themselves through a fixed mindset when it comes to testing. 

I loved the emphasis in chapter 8 on the power and role of thinking together. Through reading different workshop resource, I have already been thinking about the power of oral rehearsing and social interactions more in depth for the last few years of my career. Johnston once again extended my existing thoughts. As with other sections of the book the way that he wove in research studies to illustrate points was powerful. He has a way with sharing studies and highlighting why the findings are so beneficial. Needless to say, in this chapter, I have many notes in the margins. 

In chapter 9 I noted how Johnston is always thinking about the long-term, the impact of how we set up our classrooms on the futures of our students. This is so vital in education, supporting a vision for looking beyond standardized test scores into thinking about what really is important. Reading Johnston's words reaffirms the importance of this mindset. I especially loved Johnston's thoughts about inspiring students to be teachers in their worlds and how this links back to democratic thinking. He stated, "Imagine the implications of twelve (or eight) years of this instruction as these children become parents and teachers" (p. 112). I found the section Teaching for Economic Survival as particular powerful (starting on page 113). Once again this links beautifully with workshop mindsets, such as the saying teach the writer, not the writing. Johnston's words made me think of another layer of teaching students as people vs. content area. 

Concluding Call To Action

I smiled when I got to the last line of the book. I thought of the implicit ...What are you going to do about it? As such, he helped me to continue my thinking about my role in the grand scheme of the world of education, thinking about how my day to day actions will impact much more than my students lives as readers and writers. 

Opening Minds Chapters 4-6

This is my second post reflecting on chapters 4-6 in Peter H. Johnston's Opening Minds from Stenhouse as part of  the #Cyber PD. You can join the conversation at Jill Fisch's blog.

This year one of my research goals in the classroom will be to intentionally focus on opportunities for discussions related to reading and writing because of insights from my students during dissertation interviews. As ideas for enhancing what students identified as being aspects of class that motivated them as readers have been tumbling around in my mind, it was natural that Johnston's ideas with such a focus on words would inspire me to refine my thinking.

Globally, I am thinking about the concept of the teacher's influence on the classroom culture and the tone we set with our words. I loved this quote, "This feedback is not given by the teacher, but it is surely grounded in the kind of feedback the teacher gives," (p. 35). Our words and actions on a day to day basis send messages to students about what we value, as well as our expectations. Through the classroom examples, I thought about the teacher's role in stating expectations, modeling expectations (both explicitly through minilessons and implicitly through day to day choice of words), and providing scaffolding for students to work toward language and interaction expectations.

I especially loved the focus on students developing agency and whether our words support working toward that narrative or are counter-productive. It will be beneficial to go back to quotes like this again and again to reflect on the impact of my words and to critically examine whether there are aspects that do not work toward what I want, "When we make personal judgments of children, whether through praise or criticism, we teach them to do the same. They learn to judge themselves and others. They develop a sense of contingent self-worth--that they are able, good, and worthy when they are successful" (p. 39). While reading I have been jotting down notes so that I can create my own cheat sheet with ideas from the book, which has prompted me to think about my language in various facets of my life. The book definitely has me rethinking comments such as I am proud of you. Johnston continued to drive this message home for me as he continued to talk about the impact on multiple aspects of children's lives, including their resilience (p. 40). While reading, I could not help but think about how his suggestions complement workshop philosophy well. That basic foundation is there, but now it is about fine tuning on the word level in order to maximize the impact of instruction.

As educators, it is important to continually remember how we define the purpose of education. When Johnston stated, "We need to help them become lifelong teachers as well as lifelong learners" (p. 50), it made me think about how it is much more common to think about and hear others highlight the learner side. It makes perfect sense to also consciously focus on the teaching side, which complements aims of democratic schooling well. As I think about how I will demonstrate an appreciation for and welcome an analysis of different perspectives, highlighting the benefits of uncertainty, Johnston provided me with a lot of ideas to reflect on and shift my language to align. I also thought of other books that I have wanted to read to support my continual thinking in this area, such as Socratic Circles.

I look forward to learning and growing with others as I map out plans this summer and then revisit to reflect throughout the school year.

Opening Minds Chapters 1-3

Returning to Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives by Peter H. Johnston after reading the first four chapters in March was on my summer to read list. Last night seeing Katie Keier's post about the #cyberPD conversations about the book was a perfect opportunity to pick it back up. Below are some of my reflections of the first three chapters, and you can see Cathy Mere's blog for a compilation of others' thoughts. As soon as I publish this post, I am excited to head over there and read through different lenses and join the conversations.

On page 1 I made a note in the margin, "Can already see why others read his Choice Words multiple xs." As I re-immersed myself in Johnston's thoughts I could feel the energy building. With lines like, "As teachers we choose our words and, in the process, construct the classroom worlds for our students and ourselves," (p. 1) I found myself seeing the power of coming back again and again. I remembered loving the first chapters back in March but it was even more powerful than I recollected. I thought about Katie's mentions of reading his Choice Words every summer. I can envision a new summer tradition for myself to re-energize with his words.

While reading, I was thinking about myself as a teacher, as well as a parent (my reflections last night prompted my slice for today). I was thinking about the range of influences on the children's lives with which we come into contact in order to understand our role in influencing the narratives of their lives or the potential need to overcome influences of narratives toward fixed learning. While reading Johnston's thoughts about fixed vs. dynamic learning theories, I think of so many connections - to workshop philosophy, to conversations about democratic education, to literature such as Fullan's about teachers as professionals, to Ali Edwards' nudges to explore and create enjoying the process without being solely focused on the final product.

I am thinking about the importance of on-going dialogues among staff to remind each other about the language we are using and the messages we send with the way we influence the culture of our schools. Specifically I am thinking about being intentional about the language I use with workshop mini-lessons, including sharing experiences about myself as a learner and focusing on the process of not allowing fear about the outcome of attempts to get in the way of learning or visions of the future. I am also thinking about book clubs and inquiry questions related to reading to focus on the dynamic nature of learning and growing.

I also thought about implications for older learners. Next fall, I will be teaching one course as an adjunct, development. I am planning on reading some excerpts for setting the tone for theories of learning and perceptions that kids have. I want them to have Johnston's ideas tumbling around in their  minds as they get ready to engage in a Kidwatching Kit assignment.

Johnston makes me think about myself as a teacher, as a pre-service teacher educator, as a parent, and as a learner. The implications of his words are vast. Johnston stated, "I help you make productive choices, because the language we choose in our teaching changes the worlds children inhabit now and those they will build in the future," (p. 7). I am excited to continue on with the rest of the book, ready to be continually inspired...