What can you relate to in this story? If this is an example of a self-study, how would you define a self-study? Did you notice how pp. 56 & 57 are kind of like an entry in TWS section 1?
Looking back, I was a somewhat ignorant person. I would say "that's gay," and not really realize the effects that it could have on another student. I was ashamed when I realized how hurtful that could be. It took my sister to make me realize my words. She had 2 very close gay male friends that she went to homecoming and prom with on different occasions. I held nothing against a person for being gay, and I didn't realize what I was saying until she brought it to my attention. I have many gay friends, and one in particular in undergraduate school that really opened my eyes to the type of person he was. He was so caring and understanding when I spoke to him about the words. He said that he brushed them off when people said them because he knew that who he was was not defined as gay. He was very well-rounded and that was not the only quality he possessed. I have become more aware of the words I say, and how those words can hurt others. I choose to be different and bring attention to the fact that these words and even actions can be hurtful.
I think a self-study is pretty self explanatory. You have to self-reflect about what you could improve upon. You have to think of the many instances that have molded you into the person that you are now, and you have to be willing to change based on experiences.
A self -study is a reflection on the different qualities you have, good and bad, and realizing how you got there and how you can improve yourself. There are a variety of ways a person comes to be a certain way, but the important thing is that they realize it and look for ways to improve themselves.
This article was easy to relate to because it brought up examples from teaching and memories from when I was in school. There will always be those group of kids that bully others and seem to dictate the class, but, like the article expressed, these students might not know they are hurting someone's feelings and causing damage to their self-esteem. At some point, everyone has made a comment that has unknowingly hurt someone, but what matters is that we become aware of the consequences are words can cause. To help stop ignorance in the classroom it is important to use examples or ideas of people who do not fit the stereotypical roles. For example using a homosexual couple as an example during economics, like the article did, or using an example of a woman as a CEO of a company. The more the students hear these things, the more questions they will ask, and the more they will understand about people who they think are different from them. Although it seems like a small step, it will eventually cause a change if it is expressed enough in the classroom.
Unfortunately, I can totally relate to the way he was in high school. I guess the whole 'us vs. them' mentality is so strong during the teenage years that everyone wants to be 'in' with a certain group. Being 'in' a certain group usually leads to mocking and chastising those who aren't 'in.' My high school crew was very similar to the one he talks about in the article. We were all smart enough to not have to try very hard and could waste our time and efforts on being negative towards others (and sometimes each other).
Some of what we did was in good fun -in fact most of it was. But there were definitely times when we crossed the line from joking sarcasm to meanness. I think a lot of people are this way going into college, and hopefully most of them -like myself -realize what a jerk they are sometimes and learn to be more tolerant and accepting of others.
This is a good example of a self-study because he really looks at his life. Not just his current state, but his evolution towards his current state. After understanding where he has been, he can help others avoid the same mistakes he has made.
Like Lee, I too could have probably been the one writing this article. He was exactly the way that I was in high school. I hung out with a certain group of guys and we always sat together in class. Just as the author and Lee pointed out, we were smart enough to not have to work very much which gave us more time to goof off. It seems like this is a much more common ritual for guys in high school rather than girls. Girls have their groups of friends as well, but this ritual of guys hanging around and picking on people (and each other) seems to be a much more frequent occurrence.
I really began to see myself change after my freshman year in college, it just began to seem so hurtful and ignorant to talk about people. I am still very much the same guy in that I like to joke around and goof off as much as possible, but I always try to be respectful of everyone around me.
A self-study is just that; a study or reflection of yourself. In a true self study we should try to use our past experiences and knowledge to keep others from repeating our mistakes.
I think people should conduct self-studies on themselves regularly...hahahaha...I had to. Anyway, I reflect often on experiences that have either caused me to have certain opinions or emotions about something or on experiences that have molded me into the person I am. I think that's a big part of self-study, reflection.
Another part is pondering how you can improve yourself. That can include anything and everything. How to more appropriately react to something and what you could be doing to offend someone and how to stop it. Basically, self-awareness is a big part of self-studies too
A self-study I believe after reading this chapter. It is basically a self reflection of yourself, when you look at yourself and you learn from your own actions. This chapter really took me back to high school and even reminded me of my students at the middle school. You can always find a group students that act as bullies to everyone else. i honestly believe that these students often do not realize that they are hurting someone elses feeling. They do not realize their fun is at the expense of another student. I think that if we help these student's realize the consequence of what they are doing to other students they will change. It may not be overnight but I think that they will change throughout the course of the year with our guidance.
It was the writer of this chapter that made my high school years horrible. I just wanted to be quiet little claire and do my work and be on student council and play soft ball and tennis and kids like that man made high school for me hard and worse than a lot of your experiences. Every thing about me was a target: 504 program, parents, weight and it didn't stop there. Well enough reliving those days. I love the idea of a self study. And, if it wouldn't have been for myself and the belief that I would some day escape every terrible thing that was high school that kept me alive. There are different times in our lives that it is good to examine what we are doing and where we are going. Reading this I thought that I should make my students do self studies. I am not sure how honest or intraspective their work would be- but the self study would be an opportunity, if they were in to it, to see some of the effects their decisions they are making in their lives. Also I think that it would show them that there is a life after high school and it is not the end all be all!
The purpose of the self study I'm conducting is to identify areas of teaching where I'm weak, so I can work on them while I'm practicing on someone else's student. I can't really identify with the author's position, per se, but I did used to have a very bad habit that I had to correct. I always used to tell people to "shut up". I usually said it jokingly, but I never thought that I would ever hurt someone's feelings by saying it. One day, after my husband and I started living together, I told him to shut up, and he got mad! We had this huge conversation about it, and I realized how offensive it was to silence a person in that way, especially in a country fresh out of a military dictatorship! After hearing kids say it to one another in school, I realized how mean and angry it sounds. I am really bothered when people say "shut up"; although, I must admit, I've let it slip a couple of times myself.
I like Claire's idea of maybe letting students conduct a self study, but I am not so sure that they would be honest in their reflection either. If they did take it seriously, it could be a great way for them to see not only where they have been in life, but where they see themselves 5, 10, or 15 years down the road. I am going to give this idea some more thought and maybe I will let my students do this at some point.
That is a wonderful idea, letting students conduct there own self study. I think that it would really benefit them in the future. Although I agree with CJ they may not be completely honest in their reflection. I think that if we guide them through the self study then maybe it would be efficient A self study is a great idea not only for students but for us as teachers. We need re evaluate ourselves, to figure out who we are. We should conduct these on ourselves every few years. I think it would benefit us and our students.
Self-studies for students is a great idea, but I wonder how many of them would even realize what they are doing or saying is wrong. I would be really curious to see how much they have grown even in four years of high school. This could be a great activity for a senior class (of course younger would benefit as well).
Teachers could easily benefit from self-studies as many others have said. It is important to continually reflect about what you have done and said as a teacher to change our ways in the future.
Back to Christy's comment. When I started dating my husband I realized how the saying "get over it" was so offensive. I used to tell people to "get over it" all the time...especially to my sisters who liked to whine a lot (and still do). But, my husband has always believe that you should work your problems out to have a truly healthy life. He was told his entire life to "get over it" from friends and family when he was trying to work problems or situations out and when I would tell him that something would snap and it would really hurt his feelings. I was the one person he had to work problems out with to be able to forget about a problem or argument that we were having. It had always offended him that people growing up didn't think his feelings or situations were worth talking about and working through. Now I make it a huge point in my life to let him talk things out with me and I never say "get over it" to him.
It reminded me of highschool because most high schoolers are very self-involved and feel they don't have much time to listen to others....because they want to do most of the talking. I believe that listening to people helps you to identify the type of person you are and helps you to conduct your own self reflection. I know it does for me.
Claire, you idea has inspired me. I will definitely do a self study at some point with my class. I think allowing the students to do a self-study is a great idea. High school is such a busy time and there is so much to think about that students are rarely contemplative enough to consider if what they are doing is constructive or not. Just pushing them to do a little bit of reflection and think can go a long way I think.
I also liked Claire's idea of doing a self-study in the classroom. However, I believe Christine makes a valid point; would younger high school students really realize what is hurtful about some of the comments they make in class? It would be interesting to see if or how much their views changed over the four years they are in high school.
Although I think the more self-aware a person is the more helpful a self reflection exercise would be- it is easy for me to think of ways to help my students see the value in a self study. I thought that by doing a self study with them would be a good way to help them along. Also, I think that having them do one at the beginning of the year, as suggested, would also be beneficial in conjunction with them completing one closer to graduation. The same could be done for the beginning and end of a class.
There was a lot that I could relate to with this story. I notice things all the time about kids that I don’t quite click with in the classroom. It reminds of kids that I went to high school and how I interacted with them. I wasn’t one of the mean kids; I was shy and sort of a nerd. In my first period class of my student teaching I see the exact scenario that he describes going on in my class, but it is with girls. There are these two girls that constantly just make fun of this other special needs girls just to get attention and to make everyone laugh. I address it when I am around to witness it, but I might need to take a more proactive approach to it like the guy in the chapter did.
A self-study is when you reflect on your teaching habits, your interactions with students, and your feelings about those interactions to see how you can grow as a teacher.
I think, if you do a self-study, you have to be willing to be honest about the information you find out about yourself. Through my self-study I've found that I am TERRIBLY disorganized, which is not something I tend to believe about myself, but it is true. My disorganization led me to look like I didn't know what I was doing once or twice, but I definitely learned that to be a teacher, you have to always stay on top of things.
I wasn't sure a high school student would honestly be able to do self assess, but I was pleasantly surprised when I gave my TWS students a self-assessment survey, and they answered it honestly. My host teacher is always saying something like, "When presented with facts and fairness, students usually tell the truth." So, I felt good about getting honest answers from them because they felt comfortable enough with me to be honest.
I think that it is important for teachers to continually conduct self-studies. We always have room to grow, and I know that there are lots of things that I have learned about my own teaching by doing the self-study that I am working on right now.
I also liked Claire's idea of having students in your class do a self-study. This could especially be good in getting your students to work on their writing skills. You could have the students journal everyday at the beginning of class, and then at the end of the semester they could read over their journal and write a reflective paper about what they have learned about themselves and how they have grown.
Boys are far more aggressive with asserting their social dominance when it comes to the world of high school in a very public way. As far as the actual author of this story in my own self-comparison, I wasn't exactly a loner, but I tended to float between different social groups--for better and for worse. It was for better because I got to learn about myself and how other people around me operated as more of an outside force, and the disadvantage being that I was unable to get truly close to any one group. Sure, I hung out with plenty of people outside of the school halls, but I wasn't always the first one called for such gatherings.
When it comes to popularity and gang/group mentality in high school, be it males or females, it has always been my theory that you can divide social lines by two major groups, and not actual popularity. You have the Academics. You have the Athletics. In my high school and from my experience, anyway, if kids were really good and legit in academics, they were popular. Those that were really good at sports, of course, were popular. If you weren't all that smart or all that athletic... you were relatively screwed to adopt. The exception is always the Jester--those that are able to be humorous enough (be it in a clever or immature way) to get away with not being ostricized and were generally accepted. I was far from class clown, but I always perceived myself as being quirky enough to be amusing and to survive. There were sure moments of "suck", though, and I do think that applies to any level of popularity.
Going back to my earlier post, I forgot to mention about my opinion of the author of the article--I believe that kids like that are used to the attention through all those years of schooling, that they are almost trained in not feeling any consequence or guilt in their bad, self-esteem crushing behavior. Having the popular group and picking on others can become such habit by the time of high school that they don't realize how what they say may affect others. Perspective often isn't gained until outside of that zone of habit, being able to filter the things we do or say once out of the intense microscope of sociability that is high school.
Now, ready for this next nugget? ...I totally agree with Claire! As a bellringer activity, my students have a journal entry with three to four topics a day, with the final topic always being "free write." While this is more of a self-reflection than a self-study, I think the students are subconsciously realizing more about themselves in the process. I'm glad Christy was able to get honest answers in their self-assessment. High schoolers sometimes have the habit of being honest when it might be inappropriate or unwanted. Honesty to create validity is what I'd be most concerned with. We can always be our own worst critic at times, but when we are aware others might read it, some integrity in their answers can occasionally be lost.
I would say that this is a formalized self-study: written up, researched, documented, and the like. We all study ourselves on a daily basis, though we may not write it up. When the bell rings and the students file out, or when we're in the car on the way back from the school day, we all wonder about what went well or what didn't. That, succinctly, is self-study: asking ourselves what went well [in anything in life--scholastic or otherwise] and what we could do to improve what didn't go well.
As for the latent movement by several above to have the students conduct studies on themselves, I would imagine that, if we want the studies to have impact, we'd have to let the students keep them. I would want the kids to put down the hardest-hitting stuff, of course, and the best way to ensure that they do that is my never seeing it.
As mayoral as I've always attempted to be, I suppose my story is somewhat analogous to Alex's in that I never did stay in one clique too long. Later on, though, especially in high school, I could get short with those whom I believed to be revelers in their own ignorance. I never was one to openly ridicule like the author of the article, but I was one to roll my eyes and walk away in plainly evident disgust, which in my naivete was ridicule enough. Rarely do I see this aspect of my personality in my current students, but I do hope one day that they'll realize that the people they can learn from are the ones to hang out with.
Looking back, I was a somewhat ignorant person. I would say "that's gay," and not really realize the effects that it could have on another student. I was ashamed when I realized how hurtful that could be. It took my sister to make me realize my words. She had 2 very close gay male friends that she went to homecoming and prom with on different occasions. I held nothing against a person for being gay, and I didn't realize what I was saying until she brought it to my attention. I have many gay friends, and one in particular in undergraduate school that really opened my eyes to the type of person he was. He was so caring and understanding when I spoke to him about the words. He said that he brushed them off when people said them because he knew that who he was was not defined as gay. He was very well-rounded and that was not the only quality he possessed. I have become more aware of the words I say, and how those words can hurt others. I choose to be different and bring attention to the fact that these words and even actions can be hurtful.
ReplyDeleteI think a self-study is pretty self explanatory. You have to self-reflect about what you could improve upon. You have to think of the many instances that have molded you into the person that you are now, and you have to be willing to change based on experiences.
A self -study is a reflection on the different qualities you have, good and bad, and realizing how you got there and how you can improve yourself. There are a variety of ways a person comes to be a certain way, but the important thing is that they realize it and look for ways to improve themselves.
ReplyDeleteThis article was easy to relate to because it brought up examples from teaching and memories from when I was in school. There will always be those group of kids that bully others and seem to dictate the class, but, like the article expressed, these students might not know they are hurting someone's feelings and causing damage to their self-esteem. At some point, everyone has made a comment that has unknowingly hurt someone, but what matters is that we become aware of the consequences are words can cause. To help stop ignorance in the classroom it is important to use examples or ideas of people who do not fit the stereotypical roles. For example using a homosexual couple as an example during economics, like the article did, or using an example of a woman as a CEO of a company. The more the students hear these things, the more questions they will ask, and the more they will understand about people who they think are different from them. Although it seems like a small step, it will eventually cause a change if it is expressed enough in the classroom.
Unfortunately, I can totally relate to the way he was in high school. I guess the whole 'us vs. them' mentality is so strong during the teenage years that everyone wants to be 'in' with a certain group. Being 'in' a certain group usually leads to mocking and chastising those who aren't 'in.' My high school crew was very similar to the one he talks about in the article. We were all smart enough to not have to try very hard and could waste our time and efforts on being negative towards others (and sometimes each other).
ReplyDeleteSome of what we did was in good fun -in fact most of it was. But there were definitely times when we crossed the line from joking sarcasm to meanness. I think a lot of people are this way going into college, and hopefully most of them -like myself -realize what a jerk they are sometimes and learn to be more tolerant and accepting of others.
This is a good example of a self-study because he really looks at his life. Not just his current state, but his evolution towards his current state. After understanding where he has been, he can help others avoid the same mistakes he has made.
Like Lee, I too could have probably been the one writing this article. He was exactly the way that I was in high school. I hung out with a certain group of guys and we always sat together in class. Just as the author and Lee pointed out, we were smart enough to not have to work very much which gave us more time to goof off. It seems like this is a much more common ritual for guys in high school rather than girls. Girls have their groups of friends as well, but this ritual of guys hanging around and picking on people (and each other) seems to be a much more frequent occurrence.
ReplyDeleteI really began to see myself change after my freshman year in college, it just began to seem so hurtful and ignorant to talk about people. I am still very much the same guy in that I like to joke around and goof off as much as possible, but I always try to be respectful of everyone around me.
A self-study is just that; a study or reflection of yourself. In a true self study we should try to use our past experiences and knowledge to keep others from repeating our mistakes.
I think people should conduct self-studies on themselves regularly...hahahaha...I had to. Anyway, I reflect often on experiences that have either caused me to have certain opinions or emotions about something or on experiences that have molded me into the person I am. I think that's a big part of self-study, reflection.
ReplyDeleteAnother part is pondering how you can improve yourself. That can include anything and everything. How to more appropriately react to something and what you could be doing to offend someone and how to stop it. Basically, self-awareness is a big part of self-studies too
A self-study I believe after reading this chapter. It is basically a self reflection of yourself, when you look at yourself and you learn from your own actions.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter really took me back to high school and even reminded me of my students at the middle school. You can always find a group students that act as bullies to everyone else. i honestly believe that these students often do not realize that they are hurting someone elses feeling. They do not realize their fun is at the expense of another student. I think that if we help these student's realize the consequence of what they are doing to other students they will change. It may not be overnight but I think that they will change throughout the course of the year with our guidance.
It was the writer of this chapter that made my high school years horrible. I just wanted to be quiet little claire and do my work and be on student council and play soft ball and tennis and kids like that man made high school for me hard and worse than a lot of your experiences. Every thing about me was a target: 504 program, parents, weight and it didn't stop there.
ReplyDeleteWell enough reliving those days.
I love the idea of a self study. And, if it wouldn't have been for myself and the belief that I would some day escape every terrible thing that was high school that kept me alive. There are different times in our lives that it is good to examine what we are doing and where we are going. Reading this I thought that I should make my students do self studies. I am not sure how honest or intraspective their work would be- but the self study would be an opportunity, if they were in to it, to see some of the effects their decisions they are making in their lives. Also I think that it would show them that there is a life after high school and it is not the end all be all!
The purpose of the self study I'm conducting is to identify areas of teaching where I'm weak, so I can work on them while I'm practicing on someone else's student. I can't really identify with the author's position, per se, but I did used to have a very bad habit that I had to correct. I always used to tell people to "shut up". I usually said it jokingly, but I never thought that I would ever hurt someone's feelings by saying it. One day, after my husband and I started living together, I told him to shut up, and he got mad! We had this huge conversation about it, and I realized how offensive it was to silence a person in that way, especially in a country fresh out of a military dictatorship! After hearing kids say it to one another in school, I realized how mean and angry it sounds. I am really bothered when people say "shut up"; although, I must admit, I've let it slip a couple of times myself.
ReplyDeleteI like Claire's idea of maybe letting students conduct a self study, but I am not so sure that they would be honest in their reflection either. If they did take it seriously, it could be a great way for them to see not only where they have been in life, but where they see themselves 5, 10, or 15 years down the road. I am going to give this idea some more thought and maybe I will let my students do this at some point.
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful idea, letting students conduct there own self study. I think that it would really benefit them in the future. Although I agree with CJ they may not be completely honest in their reflection. I think that if we guide them through the self study then maybe it would be efficient
ReplyDeleteA self study is a great idea not only for students but for us as teachers. We need re evaluate ourselves, to figure out who we are. We should conduct these on ourselves every few years. I think it would benefit us and our students.
Self-studies for students is a great idea, but I wonder how many of them would even realize what they are doing or saying is wrong. I would be really curious to see how much they have grown even in four years of high school. This could be a great activity for a senior class (of course younger would benefit as well).
ReplyDeleteTeachers could easily benefit from self-studies as many others have said. It is important to continually reflect about what you have done and said as a teacher to change our ways in the future.
Back to Christy's comment. When I started dating my husband I realized how the saying "get over it" was so offensive. I used to tell people to "get over it" all the time...especially to my sisters who liked to whine a lot (and still do). But, my husband has always believe that you should work your problems out to have a truly healthy life. He was told his entire life to "get over it" from friends and family when he was trying to work problems or situations out and when I would tell him that something would snap and it would really hurt his feelings. I was the one person he had to work problems out with to be able to forget about a problem or argument that we were having. It had always offended him that people growing up didn't think his feelings or situations were worth talking about and working through. Now I make it a huge point in my life to let him talk things out with me and I never say "get over it" to him.
ReplyDeleteIt reminded me of highschool because most high schoolers are very self-involved and feel they don't have much time to listen to others....because they want to do most of the talking. I believe that listening to people helps you to identify the type of person you are and helps you to conduct your own self reflection. I know it does for me.
Claire, you idea has inspired me. I will definitely do a self study at some point with my class. I think allowing the students to do a self-study is a great idea. High school is such a busy time and there is so much to think about that students are rarely contemplative enough to consider if what they are doing is constructive or not. Just pushing them to do a little bit of reflection and think can go a long way I think.
ReplyDeleteI also liked Claire's idea of doing a self-study in the classroom. However, I believe Christine makes a valid point; would younger high school students really realize what is hurtful about some of the comments they make in class? It would be interesting to see if or how much their views changed over the four years they are in high school.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think the more self-aware a person is the more helpful a self reflection exercise would be- it is easy for me to think of ways to help my students see the value in a self study. I thought that by doing a self study with them would be a good way to help them along. Also, I think that having them do one at the beginning of the year, as suggested, would also be beneficial in conjunction with them completing one closer to graduation. The same could be done for the beginning and end of a class.
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot that I could relate to with this story. I notice things all the time about kids that I don’t quite click with in the classroom. It reminds of kids that I went to high school and how I interacted with them. I wasn’t one of the mean kids; I was shy and sort of a nerd. In my first period class of my student teaching I see the exact scenario that he describes going on in my class, but it is with girls. There are these two girls that constantly just make fun of this other special needs girls just to get attention and to make everyone laugh. I address it when I am around to witness it, but I might need to take a more proactive approach to it like the guy in the chapter did.
ReplyDeleteA self-study is when you reflect on your teaching habits, your interactions with students, and your feelings about those interactions to see how you can grow as a teacher.
I think, if you do a self-study, you have to be willing to be honest about the information you find out about yourself. Through my self-study I've found that I am TERRIBLY disorganized, which is not something I tend to believe about myself, but it is true. My disorganization led me to look like I didn't know what I was doing once or twice, but I definitely learned that to be a teacher, you have to always stay on top of things.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure a high school student would honestly be able to do self assess, but I was pleasantly surprised when I gave my TWS students a self-assessment survey, and they answered it honestly. My host teacher is always saying something like, "When presented with facts and fairness, students usually tell the truth." So, I felt good about getting honest answers from them because they felt comfortable enough with me to be honest.
I think that it is important for teachers to continually conduct self-studies. We always have room to grow, and I know that there are lots of things that I have learned about my own teaching by doing the self-study that I am working on right now.
ReplyDeleteI also liked Claire's idea of having students in your class do a self-study. This could especially be good in getting your students to work on their writing skills. You could have the students journal everyday at the beginning of class, and then at the end of the semester they could read over their journal and write a reflective paper about what they have learned about themselves and how they have grown.
Boys are far more aggressive with asserting their social dominance when it comes to the world of high school in a very public way. As far as the actual author of this story in my own self-comparison, I wasn't exactly a loner, but I tended to float between different social groups--for better and for worse. It was for better because I got to learn about myself and how other people around me operated as more of an outside force, and the disadvantage being that I was unable to get truly close to any one group. Sure, I hung out with plenty of people outside of the school halls, but I wasn't always the first one called for such gatherings.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to popularity and gang/group mentality in high school, be it males or females, it has always been my theory that you can divide social lines by two major groups, and not actual popularity. You have the Academics. You have the Athletics. In my high school and from my experience, anyway, if kids were really good and legit in academics, they were popular. Those that were really good at sports, of course, were popular. If you weren't all that smart or all that athletic... you were relatively screwed to adopt. The exception is always the Jester--those that are able to be humorous enough (be it in a clever or immature way) to get away with not being ostricized and were generally accepted. I was far from class clown, but I always perceived myself as being quirky enough to be amusing and to survive. There were sure moments of "suck", though, and I do think that applies to any level of popularity.
Going back to my earlier post, I forgot to mention about my opinion of the author of the article--I believe that kids like that are used to the attention through all those years of schooling, that they are almost trained in not feeling any consequence or guilt in their bad, self-esteem crushing behavior. Having the popular group and picking on others can become such habit by the time of high school that they don't realize how what they say may affect others. Perspective often isn't gained until outside of that zone of habit, being able to filter the things we do or say once out of the intense microscope of sociability that is high school.
ReplyDeleteNow, ready for this next nugget? ...I totally agree with Claire! As a bellringer activity, my students have a journal entry with three to four topics a day, with the final topic always being "free write." While this is more of a self-reflection than a self-study, I think the students are subconsciously realizing more about themselves in the process. I'm glad Christy was able to get honest answers in their self-assessment. High schoolers sometimes have the habit of being honest when it might be inappropriate or unwanted. Honesty to create validity is what I'd be most concerned with. We can always be our own worst critic at times, but when we are aware others might read it, some integrity in their answers can occasionally be lost.
I would say that this is a formalized self-study: written up, researched, documented, and the like. We all study ourselves on a daily basis, though we may not write it up. When the bell rings and the students file out, or when we're in the car on the way back from the school day, we all wonder about what went well or what didn't. That, succinctly, is self-study: asking ourselves what went well [in anything in life--scholastic or otherwise] and what we could do to improve what didn't go well.
ReplyDeleteAs for the latent movement by several above to have the students conduct studies on themselves, I would imagine that, if we want the studies to have impact, we'd have to let the students keep them. I would want the kids to put down the hardest-hitting stuff, of course, and the best way to ensure that they do that is my never seeing it.
As mayoral as I've always attempted to be, I suppose my story is somewhat analogous to Alex's in that I never did stay in one clique too long. Later on, though, especially in high school, I could get short with those whom I believed to be revelers in their own ignorance. I never was one to openly ridicule like the author of the article, but I was one to roll my eyes and walk away in plainly evident disgust, which in my naivete was ridicule enough. Rarely do I see this aspect of my personality in my current students, but I do hope one day that they'll realize that the people they can learn from are the ones to hang out with.
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