Setting Goals: Short-term and Long-term
Short Term, Six Month Goals
In the next several months, I would like to continue to gain more experience as a teacher in my own classroom and continue to remove the blinders I have had as a chemistry teacher. I have been backing up and trying to think of my role more as a science teacher and hopefully soon as more of a life-skills and science teacher. In the past, I was very focused in on the chemistry topics, the way a textbook would present them, and struggled to connect it to the world they live in and the science they have previously experienced. I am getting better at helping students see the bigger picture and want to continue this perspective broadening. Over the summer, I plan to perfect the chemistry units that I created PBLs for, and to create more project for other units. I also want to make a few connections to professionals that could possibly dedicate some time to my classes throughout the school year.
Though I may not be able to greatly change the number of students I am able to impact by changing my career trajectory to a teacher of teachers in just six months, I want to be more conscious of my daily decisions on how I spend my time. As I slowly uncover my values and vision for my future, I want to make sure that everything I commit to will help me reach my goal, as time has been so scarce for me due to over-committing to too many things.
Long Term, Five Year Goals
When looking ahead to the next five years, my vision is still blurry, as I am still trying to figure out what options I have for making a bigger impact, and what I truly love to do. Is it working with high school aged students? Undergraduate education majors? Adults who have already been teaching for several years? I really only have experience with one of these groups. I believe that if I can continue to gain experience and obtain a broader perspective in regards to science, teaching and learning, I will be better equipped to work with future or current educators to help them get past my own original narrow-thinking that I originally had as a new teacher. I was not taught this way (or it was not apparent to me as an undergraduate student), and would have appreciated this broader perspective to help drive my teaching.
Over the next five years, I want to continue to uncover the best way to teach science, not just a specific science, and hopefully push science education to a more holistic approach where chemistry, physics, and biology can easily be interconnected through real world PBLs. Once I can experience this vision myself, I will be better able to make decisions on how to use this experience to enlighten others, assuming it is successful! This will take research, collaboration with other science teachers, collaboration with professionals in the field, and a few years of creating, implementing, and revising projects for my students.
Short Term, Six Month Goals
In the next several months, I would like to continue to gain more experience as a teacher in my own classroom and continue to remove the blinders I have had as a chemistry teacher. I have been backing up and trying to think of my role more as a science teacher and hopefully soon as more of a life-skills and science teacher. In the past, I was very focused in on the chemistry topics, the way a textbook would present them, and struggled to connect it to the world they live in and the science they have previously experienced. I am getting better at helping students see the bigger picture and want to continue this perspective broadening. Over the summer, I plan to perfect the chemistry units that I created PBLs for, and to create more project for other units. I also want to make a few connections to professionals that could possibly dedicate some time to my classes throughout the school year.
Though I may not be able to greatly change the number of students I am able to impact by changing my career trajectory to a teacher of teachers in just six months, I want to be more conscious of my daily decisions on how I spend my time. As I slowly uncover my values and vision for my future, I want to make sure that everything I commit to will help me reach my goal, as time has been so scarce for me due to over-committing to too many things.
Long Term, Five Year Goals
When looking ahead to the next five years, my vision is still blurry, as I am still trying to figure out what options I have for making a bigger impact, and what I truly love to do. Is it working with high school aged students? Undergraduate education majors? Adults who have already been teaching for several years? I really only have experience with one of these groups. I believe that if I can continue to gain experience and obtain a broader perspective in regards to science, teaching and learning, I will be better equipped to work with future or current educators to help them get past my own original narrow-thinking that I originally had as a new teacher. I was not taught this way (or it was not apparent to me as an undergraduate student), and would have appreciated this broader perspective to help drive my teaching.
Over the next five years, I want to continue to uncover the best way to teach science, not just a specific science, and hopefully push science education to a more holistic approach where chemistry, physics, and biology can easily be interconnected through real world PBLs. Once I can experience this vision myself, I will be better able to make decisions on how to use this experience to enlighten others, assuming it is successful! This will take research, collaboration with other science teachers, collaboration with professionals in the field, and a few years of creating, implementing, and revising projects for my students.
Rocking the Boat: Book Review and Reflection
Review of Rocking the Boat
Rocking the Boat by Debra E. Meyerson takes the reader through the definition of a tempered radical, how to become a tempered radical, and some challenges tempered radicals may face. She does this through the use of anecdotes and the experiences of a diverse group of employees at various companies in the US. A tempered radical is someone who is able to “walk the line” of both fitting in and being different from the majority in a variety of settings, though the book mainly focuses on the workplace. Not only do tempered radicals live and function with these two conflicting selves, but they also work to push an agenda for the opposing self to the majority via their “insider” status with the majority.
Tempered radicals do not all operate in the same manner and will fall on a continuum ranging from quiet, inward resistance all the way to organizing collective action. Typically, a tempered radical will bounce around on the continuum depending on the situation and depending on their own status and confidence with addressing the issue. To gain more confidence, it is first necessary to see that everyday conflicts do not have to be labeled as conflicts at all, but rather as opportunities. When a peer displays their own bias, whether it is in a public or private way, there are several ways to respond to this to make them aware of this action and possibly redirect the encounter in a more positive way.
Finally, Meyerson explains that there will absolutely be bumps in the road for tempered radicals. The most important thing she reminds the reader is to know and be true to yourself and to create supportive relationships with others who allow you to express that self. When you keep your bigger goals in mind when choosing your battles, you have a better chance of acting appropriately for the specific situation and displaying to others that you are consistently pushing an agenda that will benefit everyone.
How am I Different?
Meyerson describes three ways that tempered radicals experience their “difference” from the majority culture. The first is one where the person’s social identity excludes them from the majority. The second is when a social identity is different from the majority but they do not feel excluded because of it. The third one, which I most closely identify with, is when a person’s values do not align with the majority. The third group is likely easier to live in than the first group because the difference does not stem from something as personal and deep rooted as something like religion, race, gender, etc. I think of a comment that has stuck with me regarding the “Black Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter” movements, where someone noted that a police officer can take off their uniform at night but the same cannot be said for a black person. The arguments can go deeper than this, but it reminds me of this difference between values and social identity.
This connection I have with the third group was only recent, since you must feel that your values are unlike those of the majority in order to actually feel and experience this “difference”. Only recently have I felt that I am beginning to gain enough expertise as a teacher to see what strategies are effective and ineffective in the classroom. I am asking for feedback from students and other teachers that have gained respect over the years and am starting to see that there are some approaches that are not as favorable to student growth as others. With more experience I think I will be able to pin down my true values as an educator very soon and be able to use them as a basis for all of my future actions as a tempered radical.
Becoming a Tempered Radical
Since beginning this book and having a concrete definition of a tempered radical in my head, I have been monitoring and reflecting on how I have been and can be a stronger tempered radical in my day to day activities. I’ve noticed that I have been in various locations along the continuum of making changes happen, which shows that different situations require different reactions. My main two goals have been to push other teachers toward using Project Based Learning, and to push a stronger sense of community and acceptance within my classroom and throughout the school. To achieve this, I will need to continue to improve my ability to use what Meyerson calls “responsive turns” in specific situations. Responsive turns are ways to diffuse a negative situation and challenge the cultural and political dynamics that are reinforced in these interactions.
An even larger goal of mine is described near the end of the book where the most effective tempered radical is one that can create a supportive environment and lead other tempered radicals to push organizational learning and adaptations. I have the opportunity to influence 150 students each year, who can then go on to affect more people that they encounter in their lives. Then I can do it again with 150 more young people the next year! Teachers of young adults have an incredible opportunity to help them to broaden their perspectives while they are still capable of doing so, and to help them learn how to create more inclusive environments in any setting. I had 60 sophomore students read the first few pages of Rocking the Boat just to present the term “tempered radical” to them and see if they had a connection to it. Many of them have acted as tempered radicals before but didn’t have a way of naming it. Many of them were excited to have the term and immediately thought of ways that they could be tempered radicals in their everyday lives. Some seemed like they had never given thought to the idea before but could see how this might be something they connect with in the future. Giving my students a tool to effect change in a world where they feel like their single voice can never and will never be heard is the first step to leading tempered radicals. Recognizing daily interactions, encounters, and threats as opportunities for teaching and learning will push us forward toward a more inclusive environment for all.
Facing Challenges
Meyerson talks about four challenges that tempered radicals typically face that deal with psychological strains from holding a dual stance and more visible strains that come when acting on an agenda. Ambivalence, or having to be content with living on both sides while change moves at a painfully slow pace, is something I may have some issues with in the future. However, being a teacher in your own classroom allows for you to make some decisions of your own and see those changes at the very least on a small scale in your classroom. I am also fortunate to have a supportive principal who encourages us to try new things and disrupt the status quo. To avoid issues with co-optation, I need to determine the specific values that I want to be my guiding principles and stick to them. If I leave classroom teaching, I am positive that I will want to continue to pursue these goals elsewhere and the change will likely be because I have found a place where I can be more effective at reaching these goals.
I do not believe I will face damage to my reputation as a teacher especially in my current school. Day in and day out I work very hard to be excellent at what I do and I make my intentions clear to my students and fellow teachers. They know that what I am doing supports my original goals for them and if I do have to adjust and change things, they are the first to understand why. Finally, the last challenge that may affect me is the frustration and burnout that comes with being a tempered radical. I fear that I will not able to keep up at this pace and be able to personalize my lessons like I have for 150 students this year. It has been exhilarating and enlightening but also exhausting. I have a lot of enthusiasm for what we are doing in the classroom because it is new and fresh but I fear this will fade. I’m hoping to be successful at implementing PBL and creating a culture for learning in my classroom, which can help my new group of students each year, but I know I will want to look for something bigger after that. How can I teach other teachers, who each get their own groups of students, how to be effective at these same skills and make a difference in their classrooms? This will likely be my next step to avoid burnout and to continue to lead a new set of tempered radicals each year as teachers instead of as students.
In The Room Activity
Who do we choose to be when we step into a room? How are we affected by the people and objects that are in the room? As leaders, we need to find connections between people and situations that are not easily visible in order to convince others to act.
When I sit in our common living space in my apartment, a few random objects stand out to me: my cat, Pixel, a Money Tree plant, stress relief lotion, a picture of the streets of Chicago, an embroidery piece I recently made, and a medal from the NCAA basketball tournament I played in as captain of our college basketball team.
Most of these random objects provide me with some form of stress relief (cat, embroidery and crafts, stress lotion, playing basketball, gardening) and are therefore things i enjoy doing outside of my normal day to day. Since i am not in my classroom, I like to surround myself with different scenery to give me new perspectives and remind me of all of the other passions that make me unique. This space provides relief. This doesn’t mean that because this is a positive space that my classroom and school are negative spaces, they are just different. They are equally important, happy places but the contrast allows for me to open my mind and think in a new way when I am here at home. Currently sitting in this space, I am calm and productive.
How does each of these objects represent a characteristic of leadership?
Who do we choose to be when we step into a room? How are we affected by the people and objects that are in the room? As leaders, we need to find connections between people and situations that are not easily visible in order to convince others to act.
When I sit in our common living space in my apartment, a few random objects stand out to me: my cat, Pixel, a Money Tree plant, stress relief lotion, a picture of the streets of Chicago, an embroidery piece I recently made, and a medal from the NCAA basketball tournament I played in as captain of our college basketball team.
Most of these random objects provide me with some form of stress relief (cat, embroidery and crafts, stress lotion, playing basketball, gardening) and are therefore things i enjoy doing outside of my normal day to day. Since i am not in my classroom, I like to surround myself with different scenery to give me new perspectives and remind me of all of the other passions that make me unique. This space provides relief. This doesn’t mean that because this is a positive space that my classroom and school are negative spaces, they are just different. They are equally important, happy places but the contrast allows for me to open my mind and think in a new way when I am here at home. Currently sitting in this space, I am calm and productive.
How does each of these objects represent a characteristic of leadership?
Cat, Pixel: patience, consistency, persistence (he is a young cat and can be pretty difficult at times, but we love him!)
Money tree: being diligent, observant, and responsive when signs appear (yellow leaves = over-watering!) Basketball Medal: captain of college basketball team senior year Embroidery: never stop learning new things Stress lotion: control your stress, reflect, make a plan, and act Chicago street art: a diverse school in a diverse city requires leaders to think in diverse ways |
A leader impacts a room by bringing all minds together in a common purpose or goal. They do it in a way that makes all minds WANT to be a part of this purpose, maybe by making it connect to them, personally, by making the space feel comfortable, or by providing some ideas or support to move toward the common purpose. When a leader can do this, they stir up emotions through that personal connection. A good leader can show their own emotion about the common goal and make you feel that way as well just by being in the same room and expressing themselves for others to see.
Leadership is the ability to convince others to act. Convincing is not limited to verbal modes of communication, and nonverbal modes of convincing can be more powerful than simply telling others that something needs to be done. When you convince others to act through leadership, their action is not forced by another person or entity, but rather by their own personal will to act. This want or need to act can certainly be influenced if the situation is presented in a way that resonates with the person’s values.
Leadership is the ability to convince others to act. Convincing is not limited to verbal modes of communication, and nonverbal modes of convincing can be more powerful than simply telling others that something needs to be done. When you convince others to act through leadership, their action is not forced by another person or entity, but rather by their own personal will to act. This want or need to act can certainly be influenced if the situation is presented in a way that resonates with the person’s values.