Would I Want to Be Enrolled in My Class?

I wish they were all like this...

And I don't want to be these...

In the last few years, I have really struggled with the fact that my students endure a lot on block schedule - and by a lot, I mean time and sitting still.  While I love having 96 minutes for each class, I wonder if I am using the time effectively and if my students are engaged.  In conducting some research about classroom environment, mastery grading, and flipped classrooms, I asked myself: Would I want to be a student in my own class?  This question also has to do a lot with the content.  I primarily teach United States history and I know how many students say they hate history.  And I actually like that - it gives me an extra challenge. 

My passion for critical pedagogy and the writing of Paolo Freire encourage me to constantly reflect on my teaching, what I say in class, and how the instructional strategies I choose have an impact on students.  I am not talking about the purely academic effect.  Instead, does my pedagogy align with a critical stance on education where learning occurs through reciprocity between teacher and student.  Do I value my students perspectives and challenge traditional classroom structures that give the teacher complete power over knowledge dissemination.  Do I provide students with the opportunity to engage their own backgrounds and experiences to make learning more about the exploration of self and not just content?  Are my beliefs about the power of education apparent or am I a little delusional in the sense that there is a disconnect between what I want to have happen in class and what is really occurring?

So again, would I want to be a student in my class?

• Would I learn anything about myself, my community, or the world?
• Would I learn how to examine the world through asking questions?
• Would I get a chance to express myself safely?
• Would I get a choice in what I learn and how I show what I am learning?
• Would I be afraid to ask for help if I needed it?
• Do I get a chance to talk regularly, reflect often, and walk around?

Next semester I want to conduct my own mini-research study.  I want to video record my lesson plans and spend some reflecting on what really happens in 96 minutes:

• What does my body language, words, examples, and strategies say about what I value in the classroom?  
• How many questions do I ask?  
• How often do I just answer the question because the wait time was excruciating?  
• Do I ask yes/no questions?  
• How many questions do students ask?  
• What is the ratio of teacher-talk to student-talk?  
• What does that "talk" sound like?  
• What behaviors encourage learning and are there any that prevent students from being successful?  

This deeper analysis of my teaching might lead me to find better ways of aligning my philosophy of education with my practice.  Some of my colleagues get annoyed when I talk about education theory because they struggle with getting stuck in the world of ideas and what ifs.  However, I would argue that all of our teaching is grounded is some theory.  We just might not be aware of what ideas and beliefs we reinforce or replicate.