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"Scientists say that we are made of atoms, but a little birdie told me that we are made of stories"
"Scientists say that we are made of atoms, but a little birdie told me that we are made of stories"
"Los cientifícos dicen que estamos hechos de átomos, pero a mí un pajarito me contó que estamos hechos de historias."
"Los cientifícos dicen que estamos hechos de átomos, pero a mí un pajarito me contó que estamos hechos de historias."
-Eduardo Galeano
This quote encompasses so many of my goals for myself and my students!
This quote encompasses so many of my goals for myself and my students!
I spent the early years of my teaching career excited to teach students about all the ways we could understand the world through physics, chemistry, astronomy, and other fields (We are made of atoms). More recently, I have come to understand that I am not so much teaching science... I am teaching STUDENTS how to learn about the world. And more than that, we are learning about the world TOGETHER, based on our individual backgrounds, cultures, hopes & goals, as well as the experiences we share as a community (We are made of stories!). I want to co-create a learning community WITH students that gives them a broader view of the world, and supports their own goals for learning!
I was excited to be accepted to the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC) program, because it seemed to support many of my goals for personal growth as a teacher. These goals fall under the broader umbrella of humanizing our learning communities. In my own professional learning journey, I have been focusing on three topics under this umbrella of humanizing my classroom: 1) Place-Based education, especially related to Indigenous ways of being & knowing, 2) Equity in science teaching & learning, and 3) Rethinking grading practices to emphasize learning.
Place-Based & Indigenous Knowledge
Place-Based & Indigenous Knowledge
Place-based education is based on Indigenous ways of knowing and being in relationship with land, water, and community. Some teachers & schools in the U.S. are starting to adopt these practices, ideally in partnership with those with ancestral ties to the land in their areas.
Here are some Indigenous-led, place-based teaching resources from Northern California:
Chico Traditional Ecological Stewardship Program
Equity in Science Teaching
Equity in Science Teaching
Science teaching has a history of striving for "objectivity" which distances us from actual needs in our communities. We should instead strive to find ways in which science can be of service to movements for justice. We can increase student engagement and hope for the future by contextualizing science within students' lived experiences, and giving them freedom to ask the questions and explore the answers that are relevant to the issues they see in the world around them.
Much of my learning & discussion around these issues has been with colleagues in this online learning community:
"Ungrading"
"Ungrading"
How do we make education more about learning and less about grades?
This question has forced me to closely examine what a grade actually means to me as a teacher. Which in turn reframed my thinking about how I assess and give feedback to students about their learning, AND how to make this more of a partnership where students have a voice in setting learning goals and evaluating their progress.
The following website has a good summary of many of the issues I have been considering & discussing with others:
So what's my story?
So what's my story?
With all this talk of stories, here is a bit about mine...
My name is Molly German. I have been teaching high school students science for over twenty years. I currently teach Physics, Chemistry, and Physical Science at Gridley High School in rural northern California. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with family & friends (to enjoy the present), reading speculative fiction (to help imagine a better world), and working with an Indigenous-led land restoration project (to help build a better future). I am excited to learn from teachers and students everywhere for the same reason I value teaching and learning with my students: To partner with each other to make the world better, and to give each other hope that this is possible!
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