Blog #14               Jeanne Nixt

I am really enjoying reading the interplay between Warnock and Diana as they work through the weekly activities, and in particular as it is explained by the syllabus and the side notes.  Warnock does a good job explaining, in those side notes, what he was after, or why he worded things the way he did. But I wonder if I would have picked up on his intentions, as his student, without those notes?  I think for the most part that yes, I would have.  He is very detailed in his explanations, and available for clarity when needed.

Things I really like about his syllabus and the way he runs his class: he tries to make it clear what is due, when and which order tasks should be tackled in.  Although, as Diana mentions, there were times when Warnock’s timeline was wonky or backward which was confusing to her as a student.  This is easily correctable once she read all of the lines of that week’s work, she figured out what to do.  Of course, teachers are people and they will make errors.  The important point is that, as a teacher, Warnock tried to be as clear as possible all the way through the entire year.  There was no guess work on the part of the students, and therefore as teacher, Warnock was able to expect good outcomes from them.

When I taught first grade, I would tell the parents and students that I would never trick them.  By this I meant that if I said that there would be a test on the 10 vocabulary words, spelling and using them in a sentence, that is exactly what I did.  I tried to be systematic in my approach each week, so that the rhythm of the homework and in class work created a sense of familiarity which removed stress.  As a student, I appreciate a teacher, like Warnock, who has put in the work of organizing the class, and planning things out clearly.  Warnock does give the important dates on the syllabus so the students can plan the overall semester/quarter.  While this idea may seem counter to what I have professed to like about it, it is not. Warnock gives clear explanations as they go about what is due, and leaves a little breathing space to be reactive to his students.

Overall, I think Warnock has a lot to offer us as potential teachers in particular with the concrete example of how he runs his class, as well as the honest opinions of a student who experienced it from the pupil side of the room.  When I was getting my teaching credential, there was a plethora of theory about what we needed to teach, but I was starved for the practicum of it and in this book, Warnock gives us very real, concrete, relatable and useable practices.

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