[ola] Re: Props to the journey
- From: Cathy Bird <cathy.bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <ola@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2013 17:07:21 -0700 (MST)
Every time I read a post I am so grateful to have peers -true peers- to walk
this new path.
Gratefully yours,
Cathy Bird, via iPad
> On Dec 18, 2013, at 5:01 PM, Calysta Phillips <cphillips@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> Thank you, Darcy!!!!! You're the best!!! Just what I needed.... forging on...
> Thanks to all of you for your insight, comments, encouragement, honesty... I
> am honored to be a part of this community. I can feel my cells stretching.
> Happy Holidays!
>
>
>> On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 4:31 PM, Darcy Rogers <rogersdr25@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Hello all! I have been watching the posts going around and I feel honored
>> and privileged to be part of such an amazing, earnest passionate group of
>> people. I don’t know if I have ever seen such a dedicated group of educators
>> in my life. The questions that people are asking and the goals that you all
>> have to create the best classrooms possible are not only inspiring, but
>> transformative.
>>
>> The main topics that seem to be coming up lately all seem to revolve around
>> 3 main themes:
>>
>> 1. Grammar use
>> 2. Use of L1
>> 3. Planning (units vs textbook vs ‘progressions & threads’, etc.)
>>
>> I would like to challenge and encourage you all on the journey. Some of you
>> may or many not have heard the story of how this came about, but for some
>> reason I think it is important to know. It is very similar to Arnold’s
>> experience in that after having taught traditionally for a few years, I took
>> a group of students to Mexico. Their inability to function and be
>> comfortable in the second language (L2) brought about a series of events
>> that transformed my classroom. My goals shifted, my intent shifted and more
>> than anything, my own personal learning shifted. (I believe many of you know
>> this moment I’m talking about, that’s why you’re here).
>>
>> I was lucky enough to live in an area where there were trainings happening
>> around ACTFL levels and communicative based practices. I took 2 different
>> OPI trainings. I learned about Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and brain
>> research about the importance of movement and student interest. I was then
>> lucky enough to work at a school where the 10 Principles of CES (Coalition
>> of Essential Schools) were their guiding values. This was the last piece:
>> the students. The school placed a large emphasis on getting to know the
>> student, personalization and best teaching practices (which includes student
>> accountability, critical thinking, reflection of learning and student
>> interaction). Many times, there was no transference of any of these
>> principles to the language classroom. Second language often felt like the
>> bastard child, since we were just dutifully trolling through the textbook.
>> If you could, however, create a classroom that looked different; that
>> actually resembled how language is acquired, that brought together the ACTFL
>> levels, SLA, personalization, communication, building community and movement
>> all at once, well wow! That has been and is the intent of OWL. It is not a
>> way of telling teachers how to do something, or even creating a system of
>> rules of what OWL is: it is a way of attempting to combine what we all know
>> to be best practices in to one classroom. A way to establish a set of values
>> that can guide our conversations. That is the journey.
>>
>> Since the conversation about how our classrooms could look began, there have
>> been some interesting and exciting things discovered by educators in our
>> community:
>>
>> 1. The circle. The idea of student equality, creating community and
>> promoting interaction (SLA): take away the back and front of the room, put
>> all students in front of each other, eliminate physical boundaries and
>> encourage language production and actual face-to-face communication.
>>
>> 2. Movement. Students who move are more engaged (brain research). The
>> beautiful thing about combining it with the circle is that it builds
>> community and allows for new vocabulary to come up in an authentic way. This
>> looks different at different levels.
>>
>> 3. Communicative focus. This meant leaving the grammar behind. To be clear,
>> this does not mean an absence of grammar. Grammar is in everything we do,
>> and in order to move up language levels, it must be addressed; however, it
>> looks different.
>>
>> 4. Student as curriculum. This is the most abstract concept. The idea is not
>> new: Student-centered, yes. Student-focused, yes. But this is different.
>> Actually taking the student and making them the curriculum is a new step.
>> This is the scariest of all because it requires stepping away from the
>> textbook and stepping away from pre-prepared units and actually allowing
>> students to talk about what their interests are. When truly done in a way
>> that is cohesive with SLA and ACTFL, then it is fulfilling, meaningful, and
>> produces results. This is the uniqueness of what we are talking about
>> achieving.
>>
>> 5. Artistry. An environment that a teacher can create where the classroom is
>> a cohesive community of students and teachers working together to achieve
>> language learning.
>>
>> Within all of those concepts, there are embedded questions about L1 use,
>> grammar, the textbook and units. I am going to be sending out a series of
>> posts today addressing those issues that I hope will encourage further
>> conversation and reflection within our professional development community.
>>
>> Thank you all for your incredible minds and hearts!!!
>>
>> Darcy Rogers
>> Organic World Language (OWL)
>> Phone: 541.601.4509
>> Fax: 541.776.4099
>> Website: www.organicworldlanguage.com
>> Facebook: tinyurl.com/organic-language-facebook
>
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