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Riding a Unicycle on a Sailboat in a Storm?

"You have to go where adolescents are" - Frank McCourt

The more I learn about teaching the more I realize that it is a constantly shifting balancing act. Am I professional enough but not too distant? Am I engaging my students but also teaching the required curriculum? Am I honouring teenage experiences but not overstepping on parents' rights?

For Frank McCourt, erring on the side of adolescent realities was a key component of his practice of Teacher Inquiry and Teaching by Inquiry. Being true to his students informed not only the way he comported himself and interacted with his students, but also they actual material and lessons he taught. By being personal and personalizing his class material, McCourt engaged his students in an honest and meaningful way.

I intend for student realities to inform my own practice, but the extent to which this will be possible is very dependent on school context. I admire McCourt's dedication to honesty, but wonder how much present-day teachers are able to model this, given the expectation placed on teachers to hold a "higher moral standard." There's a dance between being a real, human, fallible person and being a Teacher (with a capital T). I suspect that finding this balance will be an active part of my teacher inquiry as I get more opportunity to practice teaching.

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