Teaching from the Inside Out : The Eight-Fold Path to Creative Teaching (And Living)

by Sommers, Sue; Ayers, William

• ISBN13: 9781929059027
• ISBN10: 1929059027
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-06-01
• Publisher: Authority Pr Inc

Summary

Daily expectations often rob teachers of the energy and interest necessary for personal expression and the creative solutions needed for the demanding task of how and when to teach what. Teachers and their students face sterilized robot-like school days if they don't pay attention. They miss the crocuses blooming outside and inside themselves and lose their greatest resource -- their own interests. When personal interests are encouraged to become a source of creative imagining about how and what to teach, teachers naturally discover enthusiasm for their work, which then translates into the classroom, energizing and empowering the students. Examples from the author's own and others' experience narrate the many forms that creativity can take to produce lively classrooms where both teachers and children are inspired and challenged. The stories demonstrate how using artistic approaches to learning can support self-expression, self-discipline, and alert observations on the world around us as well as to inspire confidence in one's own source and power of creativity.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
William Ayers
Acknowledgements	xv
Introduction	xvii
Before You Begin	xxiv
PART ONE: FINDING THE SPARK
Starting with Your Own Energy
``You Don't Have to Drink Your Tomato Juice''	1	(3)
The Blocks: Stumbling or Building	4	(2)
Education: The Way It Is	6	(4)
Education: The Way It Could Be	10	(4)
``Who Do You Love?''	14	(1)
Practices	15	(6)
PART TWO: KINDLING THE FLAME
Working with What Is Available
Going from Here to There	21	(1)
Things Are Not What They Seem	22	(1)
Seizing the Moment	23	(3)
Teaching Is Like Making a Salad	26	(3)
Redefining Creativity	29	(4)
Changing the Model	33	(2)
Asking Questions	35	(3)
Getting Support	38	(4)
Practices	42	(5)
PART THREE: FEEDING THE FIRE
The Eight-Fold Path of Teaching from the Inside Out
The Eight-Fold Path	47	(26)
Sensitivity	49	(2)
Courage	51	(3)
Not Knowing	54	(3)
Risk	57	(3)
Listening	60	(3)
Attention	63	(2)
Trust	65	(3)
Reflection	68	(5)
Teaching from the Inside Out	73	(1)
Practices	74	(5)
PART FOUR: BANKING THE WARMTH
Savoring the Moments
What's in a Moment?	79	(2)
Following Our Dreams	81	(8)
Finding Out Where We Are	89	(11)
Uncovering Mysteries	100	(5)
Practices	105	(4)
APPENDIX ART FACILITATORS: THE ARTISTS WHO WORK IN SCHOOLS	109	(20)
Art Facilitation: A Philosophy and Process	110	(1)
Art Facilitation: The Partnership	111	(2)
The Art of Art Facilitation	113	(3)
When Facilitation Works	116	(4)
Toward a Model for Training Artists	120	(5)
Catalysts in the Classroom	125	(4)
Bibliography	129	(2)
About the Author	131