Comments on: Waitaminit

By: dan

dan — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:24:26 +0000

Nah, I’m still the independent variable. The world changes with respect to me.

By: Mr. K.

Mr. K. — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:32:33 +0000

i’m wondering whether, with this reflection, it might be time to change your moniker to dan/dt…

By: dan

dan — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 03:04:17 +0000

Well. I guess I’ll get on that then.

By: Rick

Rick — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:19:25 +0000

Or having a kid. Or something.

Dan, you'd be amazed at the perspective you'll get from having your own children and bringing them up in the public education system. Suddenly, what you're doing really matters.

By: Benjamin Baxter

Benjamin Baxter — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:40:06 +0000

I was more worried about your exclamation asking what happens at the intersection. I do understand what you’re trying to say, as the first comment makes clear.

Either way, don’t be hatin’ on poor li’l Indexed, either. She’s more of the realm of wordplay than actual math, and she certainly doesn’t pretend otherwise.

By: dan

dan — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:29:35 +0000

I don’t want to suggest those lines are at all scientific or even remotely objective. Your graphs will differ from mine.

But whether I wrote about it in prose or messed with it in Photoshop, this post speaks to a real affliction for a lot of new teachers, mostly those who take initial heart in devising alternative learning experiences for their kids. [Note to DS: trying to avoid novelties, though.]

That difficulty has remained, more or less, constant, harder material met by my greater facility. Satisfaction wanes, though, which, I think, means I’m gonna have to find some new air currents to prop me up. Like, coaching. Or having a kid. Or something.

By: Dina

Dina — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:54:00 +0000

It strikes me that the variable “satisfaction” which you are mapping is not actually satisfaction at all, but to use your own words, a “high on novelty.” And novelty, as we’ve discussed before, is useful in doses as a pedagogical tool for our kids, but not to buy wholesale engagement “on the cheap,” as someone here put it so elegantly. I can only speculate that such a premise doubles in intensity when you apply it to teachers engaging in their own profession.

So what *does* buy authentic engagement for our kids, independent of the high of novelty? It’s the same stuff that buys engagement (read: satisfaction) for you. No mystery here: my guys Deci and Ryan have quantified it. What buys engagement is a sense of mastery, or competence; relevance; and authentic human connection.

Will you find it, or continue to get these things, through teaching in your current circumstances? Through teaching at all? It sounds trite, but it is true: those are questions only you will be able to answer.

By: JackieB

JackieB — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:37:07 +0000

“I never thought that after 10 years I would still spend 80 hour weeks designing activities…” Noooo… I was hoping it would take less time by then.

By: Druin

Druin — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:26:03 +0000

For me, the statisfaction “curve” continues to grow, it’s just harder to be satisfied. I think that the difficulty “curve” increases as well as it gets more difficult for me to create materials that meet my standards. I’ve taught for 10 years and while I love what I do, I never thought that after 10 years I would still spend 80 hour weeks designing activities…

By: Bill Fitzgerald

Bill Fitzgerald — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 06:09:35 +0000

Hello, Dan,

As I see it, the blue line would resemble more of a sine wave, and the red line would start low and end high.

I would also differentiate between developing good curriculum, and delivering good curriculum effectively — these are related, but very different things.

Cheers,

Bill