Pinar (1975) wrote The Method of Currere, a method that allows us to explore what we have conceptualized through time, the complex relation between the temporal and conceptual, thus we can discover our self, its evolution and education (p. 19).
After having completed an exercise using currere in your course wiki, what insights have you gained in through the process about yourself?
Prof. Arlinda Lopez
UPR, Aguadilla
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I just want to say that I really loved this excercise because it made me feel free to say in a public statement what was my life before becoming the person I am today. When I read all the things I wrote in this wiki, I didn't even believed how much I been through and How much Im going through. However this has made me a better person a new and improved teacher. One of my greatest passion is to be with my students at the tutoring center. It has been a great experience and has transformed me into a person who likes to teach. To enhance those minds and worry for their mistakes. I give thanks to my friends for being there in my professional life and personal as well. I love you guyz and thanks for everything.
ReplyDelete///This exercise allowed me to think about my strengths and weaknesses in terms of academic, professional and emotional development. It allowed me to gain greater insight into my psyche and just how important self reflection and retrospection are to the educational process. I can't say that it was an easy process. At times it became grim, and psychologically daunting, yet it allowed me to pain a vivid and holistic portrait of how I have become during the years. It allowed me the opportunity to examine my weaknesses and understand my strengths. The process helped me evaluate and understand my priorities and how these are present within my educational and professional development.
ReplyDelete///This process also allowed me the ability to gain insight on how the emotional and social aspects are an important part of the educational process. It also helped me understand my classmates, as well as myself a little better.
This exercise helped in getting to know better myself as a person and how I view myself as a teacher in the future. Through this process I came to understand that every experience, every action is important and significant and that they all contribute to what we are in this present moment. I believe that we all had the opportunity to evaluate the different stages of our lives, we all got a chance to discover what really truly inspires us to teach, and why we chose education as a profession. This exercise is a true example of what we need to do in order to be reflective towards our educational experiences and beliefs, and more importantly our future teaching practices.
ReplyDeleteAlso, and as my classmate Maritza mentioned, we all had the opportunity to learn about eachother and I truly admire all for having the courage to share these experiences with everyone in class.
Wow! I learned a lot from this exercise and what I liked the most was that it really makes you think. During this whole moth, I was in a journey, where I really get to see deeply into who I was, am and will be able to become in the future. Thanks to this process, I realize that every chapter of your life is important in order to complete your novel, which means that it’s true what Milagros said: every experience and every action contributes to what we are in this present moment.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was doing this exercise, I even talked to my mom and said: “mami” remember when I told you “I want to become an English teacher”. She said: “yes, and I told you that you can do it, and you will your pretty close to reach your goal”. Those words of my mom are the words that I needed to keep going, because it is not as easy as I thought. I loved doing this exercise, and I believe that as a future teacher, I am going to use something similar for my students to make them think, reflect, and analyze what they been through to become the person they are. It’s awesome, I am going to enjoy my future students journals.
The method of currere is an outstanding method for auto reflection. I loved it even though it drained me emotionally. It highlited important aspects of my life that have built me to who I am today. I found this method very helpful for me to strengthen my goals and to motivate me to keep going on my trajectory. The fact that we actually got to post our reflections on a blog was outstanding for me. I beleive doing this exercise on a paper to hand in, does not have the same effect when sharing it with your fellow classmates. The opportunity of reading classmates life stories was outstanding. I got to compare and when some things seemed impossible for me, I would think of my classmates struggles and that motivated me to keep on. Overall, I think this method is awesome and I would like to do it every 2 to 3 years.
ReplyDeleteSorry professor, I logged into the google account i had for steele and that is the username... Sorry (It's Colleen)
ReplyDeleteThanks to this exercise I can now understand what has affected me and what has not. Going back to my past has helped me understand why I act like I act now. I consider this method a great way to reflect on my life; helping me to understand better who I am and this way understand my students. It would be great if I can do this exercise in future years so I can reflect on what I have lived then.
ReplyDeleteI think that I can apply this method of Currere in my classroom because it will help know my students better. It will also help them to reflect on their lives and understand that thanks to what they have lived they have become what they are at that moment.
After doing the Currere assignment I have learned so much about myself that I never realized before until now. For example each step of the Currere I have opened myself not only for the professor but for my classmates as well. I consider that this was a great way for us (the students) to get to know each other better. For each step I’m going to mention the most important things that I consider and made an impact on me. In the first step that was regressive we have to capture things from our past and it was here when I realized that since a young girl I always wanted to become an English teacher. In the progressive step we had to see ourselves in the future and here the most important thing for me as a teacher is to make an important and positive impact on my future student’s lives. My main goal as a teacher is to teach English as much as I can so that my students can learn and understand the language. In the analytical step we had to talk about our present and when I did this step I noticed that I’m almost done with my studies and I’m one step closer of becoming a teacher. I have to admit that I’m nervous to become an educator because I feel that I need more time and mentally prepare myself for what is ahead for me. But hopefully I can manage to do everything I have planned and I can only wish for the best. This special assignment has help me find myself or maybe understand more where I’m coming from. Sometimes I joke that I do not want to be an English teacher but I know that is just a lie and a joke. Because deep down I want to become an English teacher I always have wanted this since I was a young girl. Thanks to the Currere assignment I can finally accept it and be proud of whom I’m going to be in my future and that is a great English teacher.
ReplyDeleteThis exercise it helped me a lot as a teacher and a person. It make me realize where do I stand today and what I still have to do to get to my goal. I enjoy it because I could reflect on everything that went through in the past which sometimes I forgot all I went through. This motivated me a lot more to be a better teacher.
ReplyDeleteAfter completing the Currere exercise on the wiki, what I discovered about myself was the fact that I’m a fighter, a fact that I wished for a long time I could hide from. A trait that I believed was more of a curse than a blessing; but now I see that I’m blessed in being such a strong person. For a while now, I’ve been trying to get feedback on what my strength is; I’ve compared myself with fellow students and thought that I didn’t have what was necessary to be successful in life, without realizing that I am already successful. I am successful for overcoming adversity on many levels, from abuse, to neglect, to a learning disability, to self doubt and emotional instability. I’ve realized through this activity that I am strong and determined and I can excel at what ever I put my mind to. Also, I’ve realized that I live in the past a lot, that the future always seemed grim because I never could envision it. But now, I see a future and it’s as possible as I believe it to be. I see now that my upbringing isn’t my biggest barrier, but me; I was what was in my way, my negativity and self loathing, but now I believe in a better me and a better future. If I didn’t understand myself as a person, understand what made me tick, then how could I understand my students, how can I impact their lives in a positive way if I’m all negative about my own. I believe in being an example for my students not only in appropriate behavior but also on how to deal with the uncertainties that life is so apt at throwing our way. Currere helped me find myself.
ReplyDeleteAfter having completed my exercise on Currere I discovered many virtues about myself as well as my classmates. Reflecting on my past made me realize who I am today, discovering where I am today made me look at my future. Learning from my past helped me realize what has guided me to where I am today. Looking at my present helped me have a positive outlook on my future. Everyone has different experiences, bad, good, but each of those experiences helps us form ourselves. Being a teacher for me is very important. I believe in the importance of being a positive role model, guide, and positive influence in the lives of not only students but human beings. Many of our students need a possibility, a chance, someone to make a difference in their lives that truly impacts them in such a way that they feel inspired and motivated to live. Learning who I am, where I was and where I want to be helped me and I believe by knowing this I can help others find their way.
ReplyDeleteThis exercise allowed me to view my life in a new perspective. I thought that at that point in my life my past was dead, however I could see how we are a mix of our experiences. I really don't like to much to went to my past and I didn't mention some other painful experiences but I know that they are related to what I am now. When I was young I never thought of becoming a teacher. However, through this exercise I realize more clearly why I want to be a teacher, what type of teacher I want to be, and how much I care about children, young adults, and education as a means of plenitude, freedom,and self-social enrichment.
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