Kay, Stockmen & Gray, Christensen

I really enjoyed the Kay reading. Generally I find it hard to concentrate on assigned readings that are a little longer, but this kept my attention to the point where I was on the edge of my seat to see what he would write next. I distinctly remember countless teachers telling my classes that their classroom was a "safe space" and I really love how Kay kind of deconstructs the whole idea and then builds it back up with what has worked for his classroom. I especially loved "burn 5 minutes, good news, and high grade compliments." Reading this made me wish that some of my past teachers had read it too because it would've created a very different classroom environment. I know that teachers have really busy classwork schedules and deadlines they want to meet and a lot of material to cover, and it's important to get all that done, but I think that it's equally as important to spend time getting to know your students and actually creating that safe space for them, rather than believing it exists just because you said it did. Out of all my high school classes, I was always more engaged in the classes where I felt like the teacher actually cared not just about the material but about their students and went the extra mile like Kay does to show that. It really just inspired me and makes me excited to try and create a space like Kay has for my future students.
I also enjoyed the Stockmen & Gray reading. I read Kay first, then this one and it tied together really nicely. One of the 10 principles of compassion specifically helped me make a really strong connection to the Kay reading - "The seeds of compassion must be planted in the classroom and tended to by the entire system." I feel like this really supports what Kay was saying about creating a safe place, and after reading Stockman & Gray, it helped further define a "safe space" as a place that is compassionate and continues to be compassionate. The definition that is given for compassion should really be the only definition in my opinion because that is what is really means to be compassionate for others, whether they are suffering or not. To answer the questions that are being asked at the beginning of the reading - How might we become more human? And how might we help our students do the same? I think the answer that Stockmen and Gray provide suffices and that is to be compassionate and to teach your students to be compassionate and help an atmosphere thrive that is kind, understanding and caring. I really also appreciate the bit about being vulnerable and having compassion for ourselves. My mom always used to tell me that you can't truly love someone (I.e a significant other) if you don't love yourself. I agree that its hard to be genuinely compassionate towards someone else if you can't be compassionate for yourself.
The introduction to the textbook for really just tied up all of the readings with the idea that in order to be an effective teacher, you must create an environment where students feel comfortable and can express themselves in such a way where they aren't afraid to be themselves. It also kind of reinforce a question we all asked last class - How do you teach someone to write? Christensen, I think, has a really interesting perspective that you can't teach the paper, you have to teach the writer. There was something that really stuck out to me in this introduction, and that was when Christensen mentions that fact that students care more about learning when the content matters. This is something I know to be 110% true on a personal level.
Overall, I think that these readings were a really great introduction to the material for the course and it set up my thinking process. All this time I've been wondering "How am I going to be the best teacher I can be?" These readings have given me inspiration and opened my mind.