At 59, I am still learning. Not surprising, but every now and then I am surprised when I relearn an old lesson and it finds a new home in my heart as a teacher.
Last Friday, in AVID my lesson plan involved some really simple stuff. We were thinking, reflecting, coloring and -- wait, did I say coloring? Yup. It's probably been a while since you felt like you had time to color in class -- especially if you teach a STAAR tested class, but we get to do things like sometimes in AVID.
The point is not that we colored, but that we took a personality inventory that was based on four colors of temperament: orange, green, blue and gold. In a nutshell, the colors were indicators of dominant personality traits and in light of what we're doing in AVID this year, I felt it would be interesting and helpful for the students to know their dominant type and the types of the other students in their groups.
If I told you that about 70% of each class tested to be orange in temperament, that wouldn't mean much unless you know that orange marks students who are
Translate that ACTIVE. Really active. Some of you know now where this is going and you're thinking "better him than me". Oh, I've known about personality typing for a long time and I'm aware that you have to take it with a grain of salt. Still, there is something to it. Even the experts say so.
I guess, what I learned in a new way is that I really need to be more patient with my students because I may be expecting/demanding something that is at best very difficult, and at worst goes against the way they are wired from the inside out.
So I am adjusting. I am altering. I am innovating and adapting to the students I teach instead of insisting they adapt to me.
Where did I learn that? Partly from the people I work with here at Ferguson. And that's part of what make us successful.
Harrison McCoy
AVID
Last Friday, in AVID my lesson plan involved some really simple stuff. We were thinking, reflecting, coloring and -- wait, did I say coloring? Yup. It's probably been a while since you felt like you had time to color in class -- especially if you teach a STAAR tested class, but we get to do things like sometimes in AVID.
The point is not that we colored, but that we took a personality inventory that was based on four colors of temperament: orange, green, blue and gold. In a nutshell, the colors were indicators of dominant personality traits and in light of what we're doing in AVID this year, I felt it would be interesting and helpful for the students to know their dominant type and the types of the other students in their groups.
If I told you that about 70% of each class tested to be orange in temperament, that wouldn't mean much unless you know that orange marks students who are
- Witty, Charming, Spontaneous
- Impulsive, Generous, Impactful
- Fun-loving, Optimistic, Eager, Bold
- Physical, Here and Now
Translate that ACTIVE. Really active. Some of you know now where this is going and you're thinking "better him than me". Oh, I've known about personality typing for a long time and I'm aware that you have to take it with a grain of salt. Still, there is something to it. Even the experts say so.
I guess, what I learned in a new way is that I really need to be more patient with my students because I may be expecting/demanding something that is at best very difficult, and at worst goes against the way they are wired from the inside out.
So I am adjusting. I am altering. I am innovating and adapting to the students I teach instead of insisting they adapt to me.
Where did I learn that? Partly from the people I work with here at Ferguson. And that's part of what make us successful.
Harrison McCoy
AVID