Chapter One
1a. On page 10 of this reading assignment, Tomlinson states that“teachers who are willing to establish ties with students discover new depths of truth each day...” What does this mean to you?
Establishing ties with students to actually get to know them will allow you to learn something new about them each day. This helps students relate to you so when they need you, they will come talk to you.
1b. On page 10 of this reading assignment, Tomlinson says, “… we teach responsively when we understand the need to teach the human beings before us as well as to teach the content with which we are charged. … [It] is important to begin with the conviction that we are no longer teaching if what we teach is more important than who we teach or how we teach.”What does this mean to you?
If we just teach to teach, then there isn't any point to teach. The reason I want to teach is to make a difference in students' lives. If I begin to focus on what I am teaching and the tests the students need to take, then I lose the reason I wanted to teach in the first place. Who we teach and how we teach them should be priority over what we are teaching them.
Chapter Two
2a. What does the following phrase mean, and what you think about it?“…emotions trump learning.”
The way I think about this quote is that first everyone needs to get their emotions in check. They need to understand them or else they can't learn. If a student is scared of your classroom because they have never been to school, then you need to first make them feel welcome, then teach them the "content."
2c. On page 22, Tomlinson says, “Teaching asks us to do the impossible. It asks us to establish ties with each child – not to establish ties with all the children as though they were one student. They are not.” How does this resonate with you? Explain.
I completely agree with this statement. It is so easy to view an entire classroom as one student, but it is difficult to individualize the classroom to each student. Every students acts, learns, listens, and feels differently and understanding this will help me individualize my classroom.
Chapter Three
3e. On page 32 Tomlinson sates that in the eyes of a persistent teacher,“when a student fails, the teacher fails.” Respond to this. What do you believe about this?
A persistent teacher, just like the example of the 70 year lady in the book, is someone that doesn't stop trying to find the right fit for their students. If the student fails, it's because the teacher gave up and failed. I think this is genius. Even though this will be very hard, a teacher is there to help the student master the skills they set out to learn. The teachers job is to find the right fit of instruction for the students so they can master the skills.
Chapter Four
Discuss in one short paragraph one strategy or classroom routine that appeals to you from chapter 4.
The strategy that appealed to me is the "using visual cues" strategy." In this strategy it is important to help students remember where to put their work and how their work is recorded. Along with this, it is helpful to have the schedule posted so the students know where we are through out the day. Having students work hanging up will help remind the students what they are learning. I really like how we can use a bell to remind the students that they need to lower their voices.