Marketing people always say that "lists" are effective at getting people's
attention!  Magazines seem to use that technique frequently and so do
blogers. And so here I am, responding to the delightful list offered up to
us recently!

Here is my metaphor for the special art of teaching: Planting seeds.

Teachers are like the legendary Johnny Appleseed who supposedly changed the
face of our nation - consistently sowing seeds in all kinds of soil and
rarely having the privilege of seeing the tree growing, prospering, giving
shade, blossoming, bearing fruit, providing shelter for birds and buzzing
with bees.  We can only imagine what our contributions are as we sip a bit
of apple cider and ponder our past.


>From sunny Santa Fe, where life is good...


"Ginn"
Virginia J. Pulver, AmeriCorps*VISTA
Recruiting Consultant, NM Coalition for Literacy
3209-B Mercantile Court, Santa Fe NM    87507
virginia at nmcl.org
1-800-233-7587
Visit our Website: www.nmcl.org

Adult Literacy - the pathway to a brighter future.
Become a volunteer tutor or refer adult learners for free tutoring!
  -----Original Message-----
  From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of jay.derrick
  Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 5:47 AM
  To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
  Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 2096] Metaphors for what teachers do


  Hi there, I'm an adult basic education teacher, trainer and researcher
from the UK.

  David Rosen recently posted a list of metaphors for Assessment on the
Assessment list, suggesting that people comment and add their own.  I'd like
to suggest some metaphors for the activity of teaching in the same way, for
comment and discussion.  I have found group discussions of these a useful
activity for professional development sessions.  Here they are:
    a.. Doing a jigsaw
    b.. Riding a bicycle
    c.. Caring for an elderly relative
    d.. Changing a fuse
    e.. Writing a book
    f.. Running a marathon
    g.. Painting a picture
    h.. Directing a play or a film
    i.. Growing vegetables
    j.. Conducting tourists round a cathedral
    k.. Cooking a meal
    l.. Trying to persuade someone to agree with you
    m.. Doing a crossword
    n.. Taking a clock to pieces and putting it back together
    o.. Playing chess
    p.. Improvising a saxophone solo
    q.. Designing a building
    r.. Sorting out a gas leak
    s.. Conducting an orchestra
    t.. Sailing a boat
    u.. Lighting a fire
    v.. Filling up a car with petrol
    w.. Changing the world
    x.. Unpacking a box of books
  A parallel list could be made for Learning, and it seems to me that some
of the metaphors might do for both teaching and learning.  What does anyone
else think?

  Jay Derrick
  BlueSky Learning Ltd
  jay.derrick at blueyonder.co.uk
  07984 649 776



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/professionaldevelopment/attachments/20080424/38dd1b75/attachment.html