Thank you for my bleary eyes, collaborative pedagogy

I've been staring at my computer screen for the last 2 hours, typing and arranging sheets of directions and information for my students to use in class tomorrow and DANG...my eyes hurt. And my head hurts. I'm sitting here, on my nice green couch, watching t.v. on Hulu (I don't have a regular set), yearning to return to my freezer for just one more bite of Samoa ice cream (Girl Scout 'special edition' by Edy's--go quickly!) and I'M SUPPOSED TO ANTICIPATE THE NEEDS OF MY SEEMINGLY UNKNOWABLE AND USUALLY MOODY W131 STUDENTS?

Thank you, collaborative pedagogy.

If I can ignore my eyes and my persuasive stomach, I'm not really that upset. Just tired. And honestly, the thought of having to write my (already late) blog about collaborative learning has me a wee bit testy. I'd rather toss my laptop aside and dive into Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (and this desire is not at all diminished by the fact I've read this book 6-ish times).

It's really a labor of love, collaborative pedagogy. It's our way of reaching out to our students without them realizing it, saying, hey, I DO care about you. Even if you are moody. Even if you hate writing. I want to help you learn authentically. And I'll do it through collaborative pedagogy.

Because I DO think CP encourages that--authentic learning. Let's let THEM tell US what is what about this and that. Yes, it'll need to be moderated, but let's give them a chance and a voice, etc. It's funny how teenagers/young adults are so possessed with a fervor for themselves in every situation except their education. What the heck is that about? They would be so pleased to sit back and let us "bank" into their brains for an hour. And they'd also be the ones who would bitch back to us/their parents/their friends about how they didn't learn anything in class and how that class was LAME.

(Oh how we must wait and wait for perspective to settle in.)

I'd love to blame them--the students--for making teachers run from collaborative pedagogy because said students resisted so mightily. But I can't. We (teachers) are outside Plato's cave and now we've got to run back in and get them to turn away from the shadows of the real and face the sun.

But oh, it's exhausting. And I'm tired, and not making any sense. (Is this what the blog has become? Pseudo-thought space?) I admit to not being academic--perhaps it's not the expectation. It's CERTAINLY not my tendency. I'd rather try to see the humanity glimmering through the pedagogy--who are the people, and how are they affected by all this? And by people, I mean teachers AND students. How do we use the pedagogy to walk across the gap necessarily created by roles like "teacher" and "student"?

P.S. Confession: I don't like DOING collaborative activities when I am in the role of student. (Gasp.) They make me squirm. Although, they might be good for me. And Mark's collaborative writing on Tues was awesome. My class will do that before the term is up, even if just as "let's have fun with language and ideas today." Anyway. It's true. I suck at collaborative work because I'm a control freak. But maybe the whole process is good for me--is a good lesson in how to be a better human as well as a more engaged/effective learner. Hmm.