Lesson 3 Blog Response (Dougherty)

After watching the videos on Attention, Emotions and Learning, describe how this information impacts you as a teacher.

This lesson builds upon what I learned in Lesson 2 – that as a teacher, I have to think “big picture” about what I am doing to set my students up to succeed.  Knowing my stuff in terms of my subject expertise is not enough.  I am not the educational equivalent of a UPS driver, just delivering packages of wisdom for my students to learn.  I am more like a director of a theater production – I have to guide my performers but I also have to consider how every environmental detail impacts the audience’s experience of the play.   Lesson 2 taught me to think about how my classroom affects my students at the physical level:  light, temperature, sound and smell.  Chapter 3 tells me to think about how my classroom affects my students at the emotional level.  Have I created a safe and nurturing learning environment where students can relax and take some risks?  Have I spent time arranging and decorating the room to foster the belief of every student’s competence and ability to learn?  Am I pleasant and safe to interact with or am I demanding, harsh and quick to judge/punish?  Am I resource to my students or just one more thing they must survive during the long school day?  This is sure to be a great balancing act and I appreciated the point that the “Emotions” video made – that any of us who are responsible for young people’s development (parents, educators, caregivers) can get burned out and stressed out.  When we do, our ability to create positive interactions is severely limited, so we need to take care of ourselves by way of diet, rest, exercise and outlets for our stress.  I see this in my parenting experiences – if I get to run 4-5 times a week, I have the patience of Job.  If I don’t, then I am often disappointed in myself and with my snappiness with my very young children who don’t know what to make of my stormy moods.