I found the paper, "On Becoming a Reflective Teacher," by Carl. A. Grant and Kenneth M. Zeicher, helpful and relevant despite its being written forty decades ago. The education system has come a long way in terms of integrating students with learning differences, encouraging girls in STEM subjects, but it still has inherent biases that give credence to the authors' arguments. I had a slight issue with the rather heavy-handed delivery for a paper promoting independent thought, but their key principles on reflectiveness resonated strongly with me.
The principles of reflectiveness - open-mindedness, responsibility and wholeheartedness are, for me, ideals to strive for throughout our lives. I have anxiety which can lead to a rigidity in how I respond in certain situations. I find I can be openminded in "safe" situations, but when I'm feeling overwhelmed, I tend to react with a certain rigidity, and I am less able to be receptive to the situation. Having teenagers has helped me become more aware of this challenge (and many others), and so I resonated with what the authors said about being open; especially reflecting afterwards is just as valuable, if not possible during the situation. The "hidden curriculum" made me conscious about how careful we need to be in what we may bring into our classrooms with our conversation or teaching choices. I also appreciated the note they made about not just forming our own philosophies and beliefs, but using our time in the program to be open to, and learn from, our peers' beliefs. My main takeaway from the article is that that we need to always be willing to question our thoughts, actions and beliefs so we can stay connected to the ever-changing needs of our students.
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