Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach

professionals or active in the Parents Association. In retrospect, my feelings about being
nurtured here may well have been because I was in this special group. What I am discover-
ing now is that this experience is not available to everyone, and it can be. I took my regular
track classes on a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to see an Egyp-
tian exhibit. It was the first time a teacher had taken a class to the city in 3 years. Other
teachers told me: “Don’t take those kids into the city,” “They are going to leave you,” and
“Someone will break something.” I told my class that if they screw up this time, they will be
the group that screws it up for everybody. You know, we went to the museum, had a great
time, and they were so great.
I want to end with some advice I try to keep in mind for myself.

1. When students are doing something wrong in class, I do not just let it go. They need to
   have demands made on them if they are going to rise to expectations. But on the other
   hand, I do not just sit there and admonish them. I take them out of the room and we talk.
   The key is to treat students with respect.


2. I did some cooperative learning and it did not work. Instead of blaming the students, I
   tried to figure out what I did wrong. I decided to make the activity more structured so
   the students would learn how to work in cooperative groups. Rule 2 is do not blame the
   students when the problem is the way you are organizing the class.


3. Sometimes, I find myself getting into a preaching mode in class and I have to stop myself
   from talking too much. Anytime I get thirsty, I know I am talking too much and I stop my-
   self. I always try to figure out ways to get them involved in the lesson. When they are in-
   volved, that is when they are learning.

I guess this final point means it is time for all of you to get involved in discussion, because
that is when we are really learning.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION—NICHOLE’S JOURNEY

Questions to Consider:

1. Do you think Nichole made a mistake teaching in the school she attended as a teen-
   ager? Explain.


2. Nichole believes that she has an advantage being successful with her students because
   she is African American; however, she emphasizes that that is only the beginning. “If
   you are boring students to death, if you do not respect them, it does not make a differ-
   ence if you are Black or white.” Do you agree or disagree with Nichole’s view? Explain.


3. At the end of the essay, Nichole offers three lessons she learned during her first year of
   teaching. Which lesson do you consider most important? Why?
   4.Knowing Nichole from this essay, if you were a parent, would you want her to teach
   your children? Why?

I Know I Can Get My Message Acrossby Ken Dwyer

Ken Dwyer grew up and attended school in a small, rural farm community in New York State. He
has taught in urban settings, programs for “at-risk” youth, a rural African village, and an affluent
suburban community. Ken believes that a teacher’s ability to know students and earn their re-

ORGANIZATION 143