Entrance Slip: Grant and Zeich

Is this ever relevant! In a way, I think some of the ideas presented are even more relevant now. With the addition of online resources, there are more and more theories, resources, and people available to you. With that, comes a larger barrage of opinions, critiques, and suggestions. Teachers can collaborate over long distance which is a massive benefit, but also ends up opening us up to an overwhelming and sometimes contradictory library of knowledge. Community culture, school culture, curriculum, and individual opinions can create different messages of what's best practice, what strategies work best, which things should be prioritized, and even the purpose of education. Further, people outside of the profession often now consider themselves experts, given the amount of reading and 'learning' on the subject they can do online. With the connections of the internet, there is a growing culture of critique from strangers to professionals, individuals, and industries. Just ask any parent who's been on Facebook, and they can tell you countless stories of strangers telling them how to raise their children.

This dualistic nature of feedback is an incredibly delicate balance to toe as a new teacher. Since we are new, we would be naïve and arrogant to ignore feedback from experienced teachers, researchers, and parents. But, at the same time, we must remember our own experiences, thoughts, opinions, and beliefs. We shouldn't conform to methods that we strongly disagree with, yet we should bullishly stick to our own beliefs without genuine reflection. We always have things to learn, but it must be genuine learning, not peer-pressured cowing.