ImagineIT — Phase 4
READING THE BOOK & PROBLEMATIZING YOUR ImagineIT WITH DILEMMAS
IMPORTANT DATES: SEPTEMBER 12 and OCTOBER 5
In this phase, your role is to read the What Should I Do? Confronting Dilemmas of Teaching in Urban Schools book and problematize your own ImagineIT. You will think of some of the possible dilemmas you may face when implementing your big idea in your school. These dilemmas could be at a classroom level, school level, or even district level – depending on your specific context and project. To help you out, we have structured this project in three segments along with the individual deadlines for each of these segments:
- Read the book (before we meet on Sept 12). What Should I Do? Confronting Dilemmas of Teaching in Urban Schools by Anna Ershler Richert.
As you read the book, share your thoughts on the book, quotes that you like, or other resources that it reminded you of, in general, using this shared Google Form. - Your dilemmas as a teacher (due by September 12th). For the September 12 meeting, write down (privately) the biggest dilemma you face(d) as a teacher in your classroom that made you go “what should I do?” Include why this is/was a dilemma for you. We recommend that you write this down somewhere, say in a private Google Doc. Do not share this publicly.
- Problematizing your ImagineIT (due by October 5th). Out of the four types of dilemmas in the book (teaching in urban settings, students, curriculum, and assessment), select two dilemmas that you would want to focus on as you look forward to implementing your ImagineIT. Now, focusing on these two dilemmas, write a 100-word summary per dilemma of what these dilemmas are and start thinking of the possible ways to resolve it, as you move on to implement your ImagineIT.
IMPORTANT: One thing to note when you share your stories — do not use your school’s, students’, parents’, or colleagues’ real names. Use pseudonyms to protect their identities.