Ryan Griffin

Fall 2010

Reflective Teaching Assignment

Student Profile: Morgan

A sophomore at a relatively rural public high school, I chose this student because of her
talkative and easy-going demeanor. An African-American who spoke up in class, she seemed to
have a really good head on her shoulders and I was interested in what she would have to tell
me. As a reader, she was already at a post-high school level and could talk comfortably about
classics like ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ As a writer, she was clear in style
and rich in substance. She was a very impressive and talented student.

My first conversation with Morgan took place during the middle of a wasted Newspaper class
period which had been fumbled by our unprepared cooperating teacher. I was walking
aimlessly between the tables when I noticed a copy of the novel “Howl’s Moving Castle” sitting
next to her computer. I commented on it, letting her know that I’d heard of the novel but had
not read it, and asked if she had seen the film adaptation. She said that she had, and I asked
her if she preferred the novel over the film or the film over the novel. She responded that she
loved the films of Miyazaki but that she still preferred the novel, which is the way she almost
always feels about books that get adapted into movies. I affirmed her sentiment and
complimented her on being a fan of Miyazaki. From there we began to talk about our favorite
foreign films. She brought up Lars von Trier and told me that “Dancer in the Dark” was one of
her favorite movies. I was floored and responded by recommending ‘Amelie,’ which she had
already seen, and finally resorted to talking about Bergman and my own collection of Swedish
and French films.

When I sat down with her to discuss what, in her mind, made a meaningful and successful
teacher, she had specific teachers in mind that she said had made a significant impact on her.
She told me about a math teacher she had had her freshman year who had consistently
connected the class content with the day-to-day lives of the students. She said that the best
teachers are the ones who can talk to students about the future and explain why it is important
to learn what it is that we’re supposed to be learning. She said that this particular teacher had
inspired her to work hard to achieve her professional ambitions and that he acted as a constant
encouragement in talking to her openly about the adult world and all the responsibilities and
expectations that come with it.

Teachers that can talk openly about what being an ‘adult’ feels like are the ones that can really
get through to their students, but the responsibility to be a model for them at that point
becomes that much greater. The potential for inspiration is much higher when you can see
students eye to eye, but the opposite is also true, and this is why so many teachers are terrified
to really open up to their students. That type of vulnerability is necessary for excellent
teaching, but many teachers are not emotionally mature or well-grounded enough for that type
of teacher-student dynamic.

Though her favorite teacher had been in Math, Morgan was very interested in literature. I
spent a few moments standing in front of a bookshelf with her, and I occasionally picked up a
novel, found a passage, and handed it to her to read while I stood there smiling. This girl read
just about everything that was assigned to her and much, much more. You could tell this by
reading her writing, too. Her skill was tremendous for a high-school student. I felt as if she
would have been a stand-out student in a classroom of mine, but it was clear that her
motivation was already deeply engrained in her identity and that she would continue to
succeed without my pushing or prodding. I could have so many stimulating discussions with her
that would surely help her along her way, but she is already well on her way with or without
me. It would be wonderful to have classrooms with individuals like Morgan, but I’m fully aware
that students like this are extraordinary and exceptional.

Student Profile: Priyanka

A senior at a relatively rural public high school, I chose this student because of her quiet but
compelling demeanor. An Indian-American who seemed rather shy and reserved, she had a
bright smile and a good attitude, and, though it took a little bit of warming up, I knew that she
was the type of student who would offer me sincere encouragement. As a reader, Priyanka was
skilled, but I could tell that she was a less literary individual than Morgan had been. Her writing
was not bad. It had a nice flow to it, but her newspaper articles were a little bit more fluffy and
less striking than Morgan’s had been. She was a smart girl, and she had a real spark to her. She
wasn’t completely engaged with her academic pursuits, though, and I don’t think that this was
in any way a bad thing. She did what she needed to do, but her priorities didn’t revolve entirely
around her grades.

In this way, she was an interesting contrast from the other two students who represented
opposite extremes on the academic spectrum. She had good grades and seemed to have a
healthy, balanced mindset. What was interesting, though, was that she gave off the sense of
wanting to be, more than educated, entertained. For her, good education had to be infused
with a sense of entertainment. When I think of Priyanka, I see her in Yearbook class with a
camera in her hand and this curious smile on her face, snapping pictures of people around the
room and trying to sneak photographs of me while I was turned or interacting with another
student. When I would approach her, though, to see the pictures she’d taken, she’d pull the
camera close to her and shake her head with a sense of good-humored self-deprecation.

Priyanka’s favorite teacher had been a social studies teacher from her sophomore year. She
explained that the reason why she remembered him so vividly is because of how he was able to
make learning feel fun. She said that he had had a great sense of humor and that he had
frequently acted out historical scenes that they were studying and that they still stick with her
to this day because of it. Morgan and Priyanka both specified that good teachers have to be
laid-back without losing authority or respect. They both expressed a frustration for uptight
teachers that nit-pick trivialities and treat classroom management like a chore. Priyanka clearly
affirmed that students will never respect their teachers until those students feel as if the
teachers are respecting them first.

Priyanka said that she kept up with the reading for her schoolwork, but only occasionally read
for pleasure outside of the classroom. She seemed like the type of student who would be
willing to read something out of class if a teacher she really liked recommended it to her, but
she didn’t seem too driven in and of herself to spend much time in a library unless she was
required to do so. Her academic writing was not bad, but it wasn’t inspired either. She said she
didn’t really write much unless she had to, but I got the sense that, if she were to find
something worth writing about, she would have been able to do it very well. This is probably
true of every single student, and I take this lesson profoundly to heart. She may not have been
an academic superstar, but she was a satisfactory student, and she was smart and motivated in
other ways. She talked a lot about getting out of her community and exploring what the world
had to offer. It was pleasant and encouraging to speak with her.

Student Profile: Monique

A sophomore at a relatively rural public high school, I chose this student because I knew it
would be challenging, and it was. An African-American who rarely responded to teachers and
peers, Monique spent most of the class periods with her head on the desk or aimlessly
browsing the Web with glazed, unfocused eyes. Since the first two students I’d chosen were so
amiable, I wanted a contrast. Monique was clearly unmotivated and depressed, and I wanted
especially to know what she thought a teacher could do to help encourage or motivate
someone like her.

Talking about reading and writing was very difficult for us. I was not able to read anything that
Monique had written, and she was unable to list for me any reading she had done either in class
or out. I initially approached her to help her with a Government project. She was paying no
attention to anyone, but as I walked past her she asked me if I could clarify the assignment for
her. I sat down and tried to walk her through what was expected of her, but she seemed to pay
little attention to what I was saying and, instead, saw my sincerity as an opportunity to open up
to someone. She told me that she was tired, and that all the students were tired, and that she
did not understand the assignments and that the teachers didn’t do a good enough job of
explaining the assignments. She told me that school started too early, and asked if there was
anything that could be done to get school to start later so that everybody wasn’t so sleepy all
the time. I showed her as much compassion as I could, but I was at a bit of a loss as to how to
really engage with her at that depth. I tried to return to the project at hand, but she was so
obviously disengaged from it that I stopped trying to force anything.
I had a good dynamic with her, no doubt, and I believe that our interaction was meaningful
despite its discouraging content. When I tried to help her with her assignment, she reacted as if
she was not used to anyone taking the time to walk her through what she needed to do. She
seemed to be surprised that I was giving so much effort, and she responded immediately by
opening up about her poor grades. She could sense my desire to help her, and she reacted to
me by defensively giving me her reasons for falling behind. Looking back, I wish that I had
seized that window of opportunity to try to share with her something inspirational. But, as it
was, I sincerely empathized with her without really helping her in a tangible way.

When Monique spoke, she sounded sedated. I asked her what she wanted out of a teacher,
but I got the sense that she didn’t feel as if any teachers had much of anything to offer her. She
was clearly dispirited, and her view on teachers was that most of them were out to get her.
Even the ones that were not, however, she saw as impotent and lacking the ability to help her
or change her situation in any way.

She did say, however, that she wished that teachers would spend more time explaining and
actually doing the work themselves so the students could all see what was expected of them.
From what I saw of her classroom, little modeling was being done and a lot of the students
were left confused and on their own. So I sympathized whole-heartedly. But Monique’s
problems transcended the classroom, and I felt like, more than anything, she needed a friend to
care about before she could possibly give a shit about something as dry as a lecture on the
branches of government. I tried to bring it home and make it relevant, but Monique was
already too distant. I would have needed much more time with her.

Conclusion

For Morgan, transparency and connecting the classroom with the future were the keys to
successful education. For Priyanka, being laid-back and entertaining was important in order to
make the classroom environment feel comfortable enough for learning to take place.
Monique’s need for boundless compassion and hands-on, consistent encouragement was the
most haunting of all the lessons that I learned. Everything that was touched on by the students
reflected certain passages from Burke that have stuck with me, especially with regards to
openness and respect. Also, the conversations we’ve had in class have many times touched on
the importance of making the content relevant to student’s daily lives and future.

Speaking with these students re-affirmed everything that I believe to be true about what makes
a meaningful educator. It also brought home the feeling of frustration that comes with
realizing how difficult it is to connect to every student who is sitting in your classroom. Some
students need so much more discipline than others. Some students need so much more
encouragement than others. There are general principles and I believe I have a good handle on
them, at least in theory. Hopefully soon I will have a good handle on them in practice.
Nonetheless, students like Monique provide a challenge when interacting with students like
Morgan in the same learning environment. They’re both part of the same community, so I
don’t believe they should be separated. But what they need from me in terms of my abilities
are about as different as night and day. Finding a balance in the classroom where you’re able
to connect to students on both sides of the spectrum in terms of motivation and skill level is
really going to be the most difficult part of teaching. I feel confident that in one-on-one
interaction I can get through to students regardless of where they’re coming from or where
they feel they’re going. But to handle an entire class of adolescents who are all on different
levels from one another and to find a way to connect to all of them from the front of the
classroom is impossible. Still, the students I interacted with gave me confidence that, as long as
I continue to follow my sense of what these kids want and need from me, I should be on my
way to being a successful and meaningful educator.