Week One Thoughts

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Week One Thoughts and Impressions…

                Before we had begun this summer’s K-12 institute, I was a bit hesitant about how all of the teachers would essentially “gel” together. I was curious about the dynamic that would be present in the institute, or perhaps the lack thereof.  However, after meeting all of the teachers I would say that any of these previous anxieties have since been placated.

Although it is quite clear that all of the teachers that are participating this summer are of different backgrounds and ethnicities, different ages, and instruct various subjects, it is apparent that they all share the common urge and determination to become more effective teachers.  I found their individual introductions very interesting as they represented a group with great diversity; coincidentally one of the themes that we are trying to expand on through this program.

I would say that one of the most difficult ideas for me to grasp right now is the inability of some of the teachers to successfully use a computer. Now, I do not intend for this statement to be insulting or offensive in any way. However, I must admit that while watching some of the teachers in the institute, they seem to be completely lost once they sit in front of a computer. Of course this is also related to the generation that many of the teachers were born into.

Through the discussion, I also see how many of the teacher’s pre-existing views can possibly interfere with how much they can learn from the sessions. The sessions that I am referring to the most are discussions particularly about evolution. I feel as though many of the ideas that we are offering about evolution may not be fully understood because thoughts about religion are interfering. Perhaps I find a problem in this because I believe in both religion and evolution, but I have noticed this several times throughout the institute thus far.

Even looking through a critical lens, I still believe that the institute is very successful thus far. The amount of conversation around the table is more than I had ever anticipated. I think that it’s a good sign that often we have to stop the conversation and move it to a later date rather than forcing people to speak. I also think that the quality of conversation is very high. One topic leads nicely into another and many of the teachers bring up questions and concerns that are shared by all members of the institute.

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised that many of the teachers in the institute were able to accept the idea that there is no definite Truth in science but rather just different “stories”. When working in the smaller groups I did hear some opposition to this idea- the individual thought that this idea did make sense, yet they were not entirely comfortable with this idea.

Overall I love working as an intern at the institute so far and I am looking forward to the next two weeks!