Dispositions in General

I don't believe dispositions can be taught in the literal sense. They can be brought out of people through experience, relating ideas and other methods. I do believe that things such as humility, inventiveness, passion and those such things can easily be talked about and realized but they cannot be put into a box that is teaching right now. The whole system of teaching these things is very hard to standardize and put into a box. I think the whole dispositional blog is a great start in the whole discussion about these dispositions but I do not; however, believe that it is the answer. I believe the true answer to these dispositions lies with either present day teachers and or the colleagues that students currently have. I believe these to be the best two resources at our disposal to date. I think if there was a constant open discussion board between these sets of people that it would do more than anything for the educational dispositions of students.

Resilience

There is no way to prepare teachers for what they are about to experience. Teaching is a stress of it's own. You can describe it or prepare them on how to avoid unneeded stress but there is no way to teach them how to prepare for it. Each person has their own ways of dealing with stress and should employ them in their fight against teacher's stress. One way that could help them would be as I said teaching ways to avoid unnecessary stress. Things like showing them how to use tests that kids can grade themselves, showing them how to not talk down to kids but talk to them like equals, learning how to deal with 'stupid questions,' how to deal with special needs kids, etc. These would help the teachers in the best way on how to stop stress before it occurred.

Humility

I have a long history involving this very subject. When I was younger I was always the cocky little guy that no person could argue with because I literally was always right or did things in the right way. This continued throughout my elementary years until I reached the junior high level. When this happened I hit a great wall. I was literally at the bottom of the totem poll and to top it off I had next to no friends. I believe this was all because of my complete lack of humility. My dad is one of my greatest role models and he always said, 'he who builds the highest pedestal for himself has the furthest to fall.' Because of this simple saying I have tried as hard as I can to stay humble about everything in this world. In my mind there is always bound to be someone better than myself in every way shape and form of my being. Therefore I should always take any advice I can find and hopefully apply it to my life. I should especially do this if I know that person is a lot better than me at something. I have been wrong quite often but I always take criticism and use it for making myself better be it constructive or destructive criticism.

I think the best way for teachers to balance between being humble and being confident in what they know is to always recognize that you could be wrong. However, you should present anything you presently hold as fact without a doubt. I believe that anyone who is unwilling to take advice or take into consideration that they are wrong are setting themselves up for not ever learning and for being passed by in our technological age.

Collaborativeness

In a group is the best way for a person to get the most out of anything. One single person alone may get one idea out of an activity but in a group that is multiplied times however many people are in the group. This leads to greater understanding for all involved. When there is a highly effective team the understanding of a concept comes faster too. In group work there is a possibility that one person could take over the whole thing. In a truly effective team all the people work towards a common goal. In this respect no one is overwhelmed with the bulk of the work. In an effective team all people are engaged in the project.

Efficacy

Efficacy is imperative to a teacher's development. This is what motivates the students to do as the teacher does. If the students see the teacher working hard then they will mimic what they see. This creates a classroom where work is rewarded and becomes a more efficient, sustainable atmosphere. This all starts with the teacher and the way they view their own work ethic. The best way to develop this trait is to make it a habit. Every time you do certain things make sure to follow up on them later on. This will create a pattern that can be followed. Since we are creatures of habit we easily do things after they happen several times in a predictable way. This way the students also know what to expect from the teacher.

Inventiveness

I think the best way to encourage inventiveness in the school setting is to create activities that require it in the activity. This way there is a sense that they have to be inventive. If these activities are found to be fun by the kids then they will do it on their own later on. I think in some schools this is being stifled out because everything is being standardized. If this is the case then there is only right and wrong answers. There is no room for any grey area. This grey area is where imagination lies. I think the kids have to know that having an imagination is okay in the classroom. This could also be accomplished through the teacher coming up with inventive classroom settings. This would show that you are glad to see inventiveness. Also you should let them know when there is no grey area such as in things like math and certain science principles. The rest is pretty much completely debatable.

Reflectiveness

Every great educator will reflect on the things they have taught in the classroom. They see their own mistakes and make themselves better if they use it in a constructive manner. I also think that this is the reason that most students and teachers hate to reflect. The old saying is that you are your own worst critic. There is not a person in the world who wants to look back and find their own flaws. However, if they look at these incidents as opportunities and not just failures then they can learn from them. This is the heart of teaching because it is the purest way to check whether or not we are doing our jobs. Without this personal reflection we would never find any fault in our teaching and would become stale in our presentation. Personally I reflect best when I have nothing else bothering me and I have peace and quiet. When this occurs I can think back to just about any event that I set my mind to. I try to do this weekly at some point. Sometimes it is quite a while between reflection times. However, I do not know how I would function properly if I did not look back to find all the things I do wrong on a daily basis.