"In the cultivation of the mind, our emphasis
should be not on concentration, but on attention. Concentration is a process of forcing the mind
to narrow down to a point,
whereas attention is without frontiers."
— J. Krishnamurti
Dear teacher candidates,
You have sucessfully posed a series of pertinent and challenging questions for your peers to ponder, and the responses you have crafted are helpful and thoughtful.
This collection of queries and answers will remain on the Discussion Thread web for you to consult and ponder. Together you have created a body of work that can serve you well during your induction year. One day you might choose to share it with your own future interns as they prepare for a rewarding career in education.
I, too, will pose a question for you to ponder and answer:
You give an assignment to your students with no point value attached, and then ask them to bring it to class next time for a whole-class activity. However, only one or two students bring the assignment to class. You give them an extension, asking them to bring it the next time you meet. Again, response is dismal with only one additional student remembering to complete the assignment. Would you give up and dismiss the assignment? Would you change tactics and assign it a point value? Would you consider the assignment a formative and note it in your gradebook? Would you discuss the issue of responsibility? What other solutions might you consider?
Learning never stops. We teach and learn in classrooms filled with an eclectic group of human beings. The environment remains in constant flux, ever changing, never static. New challenges appear daily to test your ingenuity and patience! Remember, it's not about the problems. It's about the solutions.
Keep learning and pay attention!
Freddie Bowles
September 26, 2007
"There is a taint worse than all taints,
and its name is ignorance."
— Dhammapada
Dear teacher candidates,
The Learning Resources floor in our cyber mansion is devoted to finding an antidote to ignorance and intellectual laziness.
Each of you is studying to become a member of the professional cadre of public school teachers. You must rely on your peers and colleagues to help you develop confidence and solve problems.
Bonus point opportunity II: The second person to E-mail me with an answer to the following question receives five bonus points to start the semester! Which Pathwise criterion and Domain would your reliance on peers and colleagues best describe?
Send your response to fbowles@uark.edu no later than noon on Tuesday, August 21.
The Discussion Thread (DT) room is your place for posting questions and responses for the "Post and Ponder" assignment. Please check your class calendar and syllabus for the due dates.
Although you have minimum requirements on "Post and Ponder," you are encouraged to contribute more questions and responses in a dynamic effort to resolve and solve issues that arise during your internship.
The Web Links room houses electronic resources to supplement class discussion and class content. You are invited to contribute resources that you find of value. I'm sure your classmates will be grateful.
Freddie Bowles
August 20, 2007
Planet Gnosis is directed by Dr. Freddie A. Bowles,
Assistant Professor of Foreign Language Education
in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction,
the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Planet Gnosis is dedicated
to the exploration of education and teaching.
It is a cybersite of CornDancer.com,
a developmental website for the Mind and Spirit.
Submissions are invited.
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