9/17 Entrance Slip

The first thing that jumped out to me was the thought that whether or not you are reflective as a teacher, you are conveying certain ideas about society to your students: there are no neutral educational activities.  I agree strongly that we are always projecting a message to our students and therefore if we want to control the message, we need to think about what our actions will actually mean and question what we are taught.  This concept actually seems even more relevant to our program as we are constantly discussing that we teach who we are.  I often think that having a non-traditional gender already places me as someone who cannot be neutral in the classroom and have had to examine what I want to convey to students who don't yet understand the concept.  In actuality, it is every action we take that says something and that we can examine.

The article posed many questions for teacher candidates to consider as they start their teaching journey and encourages them to continually question everything in order to form their own opinions.  As an overview, I agree that we cannot grow as teachers if we are not constantly thinking about our teaching.  I'm intrigued in the level of reflection that we will be able to engage with on practicum, as I know that the experience will no doubt be extremely tiring and there might be many times in which I come home and can't manage to have deep and comprehensive reflective thoughts about the little things in the classroom.  It's strange how it's both the time where forming my ideas is critical and where I may be overwhelmed by every other part of it.

 

 

Comments

  1. Susan GerofskySeptember 17, 2026 at 8:47 AM

    It’s so important to note, as you have, that “there are no neutral educational activities”! And when our very presence already challenges some people’s notions (about gender and other intersectional ways of being), we can’t just slip under the radar and pretend things are neutral.

    Teaching does take lots of energy, and it can seem like an extra task to reflect each day. But reflection can be fairly simple: sketching in a pocket journal on the bus ride home, talking with a friend or colleague, just thinking things over.

    Thanks for this insightful post!

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