Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Lost Art of Reflection

As we celebrated Poem in Your Pocket Day today (which was actually supposed to be last month, but we are celebrating late because of TAKS and other date conflicts) I lamented about the lack of time for reflection.

I shared my poem with the students ("The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by W.B. Yeats) and then had them share with four different partners. I attempted to have them sign up "seasonal partner" style and despite having done this in the past, it went terribly awry today. Students not following directions was mainly to blame. I think as soon as the word partner leaves my lips, the listening stops. As soon as were done we moved on to book group work, but I was wishing we had stopped to reflect on the poems and the day in general.

Although I value reflection, it doesn't show enough in my teaching practice. I think I need to slow down and take a step back and give the students more time to reflect. I see how beneficial it is to me and my teaching, so why can't I make it a priority for my students?

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