I don't recall how I came across this blog post, but I did and I love it! I have been pondering about the topic even since I read it. I've thought about how it applies to my own personality, how I work, and how it applies to my students, as well as how it applies to the work I have been doing with this blog. The blog post is called We Can't All Be Cannon Ballers. Shelley Moses The Mean Evil Step-Teacher, writer of the post, explains that a dear colleague of hers is vastly different from her and yet they still love working together. She goes on to tell how different they are by using this metaphor. Shelley is a cannon baller she jumps into the water and comes up laughing and having a great time. While her colleague likes to take it easy and dip her toe in the water testing it out ever so slightly until it feels right. Shelley continues to explain how this dynamic is the balance she needs to keep teaching enjoyable and the realization that burn out may be attributed to this imbalance. Upon personal reflection of this notion of being a cannon baller or toe dipper, I was torn. My gut was saying cannon baller all the way but my mind was saying toe dipper. I like to try new things, I like to explore, I like to get messy, laugh and make a fool of myself at times. But I also have extreme anxiety over the same things. I need to make calculated risks, I have to weigh the pros and cons, schedule out the step by step directions to jump off the diving board. In terms of technology and the use of it in my own life and in my classroom I realized that and now I am a cannon baller! In my first graduate class that introduced technology in the classroom I was excited! I wanted to know how my students could produce using iPads, how they could brainstorm and connect with each other using technology, however social media was not on my radar. So naturally when my professor's first request was to open a Twitter account I was a toe dipper! I was scared, I did not know what to expect. I am long winded, how can I say what I want to say in 140 characters (still working on that)? Who are these people? Why would they want to help me? How are they going to help me? My first graders can not be involved on Twitter! I WAS a toe dipper But now, I am a cannon baller. The past three Sundays I have made it a point to be at #1stchat. It has become a social hour where I can connect and learn so much! This week I even allotted time in my weekly schedule to try something from my 1stchat Twitter chat! I was going to take a suggestion from the group and cannonball right in to trying it with my first graders. A suggestion was made to create a collaborative group for Dr. Seuss week. Some of the big wigs in 1stchat were getting involved, I didn't know I could be a part of that group. However, I signed up and I am excited to say that I am participating in two events this week! One is a Reader's Theatre with 2 other classrooms in Michigan and Wisconsin. The other is with multiple classrooms across the US and Canada. We are going to do a Dr. Seuss themed Kahoot. I am excited for this adventure with my first graders. I am meddling in the cannonball zone and I kind of like it! :-) | |
Are you a cannon baller or toe dipper?
But how about my approach with my students. Shelley makes a great statement when she says "So I have realized that in teaching, I need to get out of the way of the cannon ballers in order to let them learn from their mistakes. But I also need to allow time and space for the toe dippers to ease their way into something new, and maybe even hold a hand now and then." Since reading this blog post I have been more cognoscente of this. We are taking a personal narrative through the writing process. Naturally, I wanted them to jump right onto the computers and start typing to get our first blog posts up. But keeping this notion in mind I decided to allow the students to choose their method of publishing. Students could choose to use Word to type the final copy, the iPads to use Voice, an app we used before, or the paper pencil method. I was astonished at the results. Most of the students chose to type on the computers ( a new novelty they have just started using). One chose paper and pencil. I am impressed with how well the students responded and how they did not see technology as a toy but rather as a tool to achieve the same goal. There was no discussion of that's not fair and everyone was able to obtain the goal at their own pace. This provided appropriate choices for them and it allowed students to stretch out in their own comfort zones. While this may not be the greatest example, this is a giant leap forward for me in providing students with the opportunity to be a cannon baller or toe dipper on their own terms.