Questions for Reflection
Our new Head of School asked us today to do some reflection, around forty minutes, on our vocations as teachers, giving us a list of ten questions he has adopted from the materials of some chap named Jim Stenson. I'm going to post the ten questions as material I can work on in the future, as well as the answer I gave to the first question. If Jim Stenson, or whoever owns his work, feels I am transgressing on his intellectual property by posting these questions in a group, I hope he will let me know so that I may rectify the situation.
Here are the questions:
1. Do I have a sense of "vocation" about my teaching career? Do I strive to be an excellent professional, enjoying (as Aristotle put it) "the full use of one's powers along lines of excellence"?
2. How do I expect each of my students to change for the better, and for life, as a result of my professional service? How am I working to improve their character strengths of sound judgment, sense of responsibility, tough-minded perseverance, self-mastery, and heart (i.e. compassion & magnanimity)?
3. To look at it another way, what am I doing to help them internalize lifelong attitudes and habits essential to their later success and ethical uprightness – integrity, powers of sustained effort, realistic self-confidence, regard for others’ rights, respect for learning and intellectual accomplishment, a spirit of service and collaboration, ideals of professionalism, etc?
4. Do I foster a sense of collaborative accomplishment (“We…”) in our classwork? How do I convey a sense of progress to them – namely that they are growing steadily in some powers that will benefit them and others throughout their lives? Do I help them project their lives forward toward the challenges of the next 50 years?
5. Do my students know what is expected of them? Are my rules reasonable, clear, and fair? Am I quick to admit mistakes and make apologies where necessary, showing that I value truth and justice above my pride?
6. Do I reflect deeply about the strengths, unsuspected gifts, and possibilities of each student, especially those in the middle of the class who are often overlooked?
7. Do I try to maintain reasonably frequent contact with the parents of each student and see this as an essential part of my professional service?
8. What works would I recommend to parents and gifted students who wished to know more about my field of interest?
9. Do I make every effort to see the good in each student? When discipline is required, do I consider that its first and foremost aim is to form students and not necessarily to punish them?
10. As part of my professional advancement, what attempts have I made to learn more about my subject matter, pedagogical trends or the psychology and development of young men? Have I attended conferences or workshops, made site visits to other schools, taken graduate courses or simply set aside time for discussion with my colleagues?
Here are the questions:
1. Do I have a sense of "vocation" about my teaching career? Do I strive to be an excellent professional, enjoying (as Aristotle put it) "the full use of one's powers along lines of excellence"?
2. How do I expect each of my students to change for the better, and for life, as a result of my professional service? How am I working to improve their character strengths of sound judgment, sense of responsibility, tough-minded perseverance, self-mastery, and heart (i.e. compassion & magnanimity)?
3. To look at it another way, what am I doing to help them internalize lifelong attitudes and habits essential to their later success and ethical uprightness – integrity, powers of sustained effort, realistic self-confidence, regard for others’ rights, respect for learning and intellectual accomplishment, a spirit of service and collaboration, ideals of professionalism, etc?
4. Do I foster a sense of collaborative accomplishment (“We…”) in our classwork? How do I convey a sense of progress to them – namely that they are growing steadily in some powers that will benefit them and others throughout their lives? Do I help them project their lives forward toward the challenges of the next 50 years?
5. Do my students know what is expected of them? Are my rules reasonable, clear, and fair? Am I quick to admit mistakes and make apologies where necessary, showing that I value truth and justice above my pride?
6. Do I reflect deeply about the strengths, unsuspected gifts, and possibilities of each student, especially those in the middle of the class who are often overlooked?
7. Do I try to maintain reasonably frequent contact with the parents of each student and see this as an essential part of my professional service?
8. What works would I recommend to parents and gifted students who wished to know more about my field of interest?
9. Do I make every effort to see the good in each student? When discipline is required, do I consider that its first and foremost aim is to form students and not necessarily to punish them?
10. As part of my professional advancement, what attempts have I made to learn more about my subject matter, pedagogical trends or the psychology and development of young men? Have I attended conferences or workshops, made site visits to other schools, taken graduate courses or simply set aside time for discussion with my colleagues?
posted by J. R. R. Hawking | 1:53 PM
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