A clinical teacher is both entrepreneurial and ‘doctor-like’ in mindset. They are like engineers of instruction, melding the hospitality of creating atmospheres with the sensitivity of heart surgeons. Seeking to change and improve their teaching approach is part of an organic process, as they collect constructive feedback from those taught. Their professional sagacity is not in identifying the best instructional manner, but in morphing according to the necessities of the students, like water taking the shape of its enclosure. So it is, a clinical teacher prioritizes the mindfulness of ‘listening’ to words, actions, and feelings, as much as environmental factors such as, student ambiance, teaching location, acoustics, number of learners, and the size of the teaching space, which regulate the teaching/ learning experience.
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Taking preliminary parameters into account, a clinical teacher moves between levels, ascertaining constant ‘systems check’ on the teaching/ learning experience, and yet, a higher order of instruction can begin as soon as a stabilization of these factors is somewhat reached. It is in these times that a clinical teacher employs two mental models, one focused on the academics of the subject, the technical aspect of the lesson, and the other focused on developing how to think about the subject matter. In the best of cases, this is where critical thinking is valued through the alertness of the educator to bring its value forward as much as the subject matter itself. In such way, students are learning a focus and how to focus. This kind of clinical teaching can devolve and pick itself up again, according to the teacher’s ability to teach the students how to think and not what to think. The moment the educator becomes subjective on politics with the focus of steering impressionable students towards a certain political thought, such teacher is no longer respecting the minds before it, but seeking to replicate a certain kind of politics. This is not to say that certain subjects cannot be spoken of, such as American politics, nor is it implying that the educator not make clear their position in such matters. In fact, when entering topics of controversy, it would seem healthy to disclose inclinations from the start and then preface with a caveat that it is not the goal to steer the student minds towards one camp, but to get them to think fairly, and objectively, able to have true discourse on such discussion. In this instance, the clinical educator anticipates how we traditionally receive our information; through media platforms on television, the internet and radio, and looks to prime the students to be mentally strong enough to identify what is a constructive conversation or an objective, politics-free rendering on a subject matter, and what is a constructive, yet slanted news conversation that is tinted and mixed with a political bent.
And This Brings Us To The Present Need To Raise Critical Thinkers, in Spite of
Ourselves…
It is not necessary to attend an elite academic institution to think critically. Being able to infer and deduct the objectivity of a newscast can be done through aggregating the quality of the bulk of past news casts, in listening to agenda topics discussed and in identifying what is never or seldom discussed. It is neither necessary to partake in elite schooling in order to coherently discuss such matters fairly and objectively. It does require honesty, moral clarity, an understanding of the issues AND an understanding of the politics of raising issues, counter issues, end game political strategy, and lastly, an understanding of the human nature of what drives people.
With this said, the best critical thinkers, which are those of a peculiar pedigree of honesty, humility and fortitude, can double-down in being great speakers. In such fashion, their ability to grasp what is of substantial gravity and what is slanted, political posturing becomes acute, and in so being, their ability to shake and dismantle such positions becomes more possible and decisive. The great responsibility of developing such activist thinkers is, vaguely valued and understood though. All too often, this kind of development happens in a default status as part of a class discussion, rather than having the educator mindfully alert that raising critical thinking minds is foremost on the list of priorities. Another offshoot, which occurs all too often, is that critical thinkers are partially developed and then, being so impressionable, become politically-inclined according to what they were taught and by whom.
Clinical Educators, in their ‘purist’ form, are ever-mindful of their own politic and beliefs, keep these at bay, though it is pertinent to disclose personal positions on issues, yet imploring the learners not to blindly follow the charismatic educator’s position, but to ask ‘why, how, what, where, and when.’ It becomes pertinent to implore the learners to not impulsively side with issues, but to retain objectivity beyond the noise of the politics surrounding an issue. As practice, these kinds of educators challenge the learners to write, to speak publicly in class and to discuss the issues. Role-playing is a great simulator of what a congressional debate or a news cast discussion can be like. Teachers can have each learners practice representing various perspectives giving them the experience required to strategically speak on issues, while maintaining a penchant for honesty, humility and a fortitude that says, ‘I will speak and discuss with you using a critical mind that places good manners as its parameters. I will seek to not simply focus on ‘winning’ my argument, but explore and discover the merits of the issue with an open-minded scope that leaves the door open for portions of my position to be erroneous and open to change. Finally, I will listen, think thoughtfully and act independently from established political camps, raising my ‘game’ to place what is being broached over the politics of the moment.’
Parents, educators and school administrators form the first line of defense and offense that maintains liberty and freedom robust and billowing. Not being aware of this erodes these freedoms and liberties. So we come back to simple ol’ Main Street, U.S.A. Back to the classroom and our local communities to not just honor brave men and women who serve us day and night with their lives to protect us locally and abroad, but to recognize that it is a family team effort of brothers and sisters across America participating through spoken and written word at the dinner table, the corner coffee shop, the internet blog, on television, on radio, and in our local and national legislative houses.
A clinical teacher is both entrepreneurial and ‘doctor-like’ in mindset. They are like engineers of instruction, melding the hospitality of creating atmospheres with the sensitivity of heart surgeons. Seeking to change and improve their teaching approach is part of an organic process, as they collect constructive feedback from those taught. Their professional sagacity is not in identifying the best instructional manner, but in morphing according to the necessities of the students, like water taking the shape of its enclosure. So it is, a clinical teacher prioritizes the mindfulness of ‘listening’ to words, actions, and feelings, as much as environmental factors such as, student ambiance, teaching location, acoustics, number of learners, and the size of the teaching space, which regulate the teaching/ learning experience.
.....................
Taking preliminary parameters into account, a clinical teacher moves between levels, ascertaining constant ‘systems check’ on the teaching/ learning experience, and yet, a higher order of instruction can begin as soon as a stabilization of these factors is somewhat reached. It is in these times that a clinical teacher employs two mental models, one focused on the academics of the subject, the technical aspect of the lesson, and the other focused on developing how to think about the subject matter. In the best of cases, this is where critical thinking is valued through the alertness of the educator to bring its value forward as much as the subject matter itself. In such way, students are learning a focus and how to focus. This kind of clinical teaching can devolve and pick itself up again, according to the teacher’s ability to teach the students how to think and not what to think. The moment the educator becomes subjective on politics with the focus of steering impressionable students towards a certain political thought, such teacher is no longer respecting the minds before it, but seeking to replicate a certain kind of politics. This is not to say that certain subjects cannot be spoken of, such as American politics, nor is it implying that the educator not make clear their position in such matters. In fact, when entering topics of controversy, it would seem healthy to disclose inclinations from the start and then preface with a caveat that it is not the goal to steer the student minds towards one camp, but to get them to think fairly, and objectively, able to have true discourse on such discussion. In this instance, the clinical educator anticipates how we traditionally receive our information; through media platforms on television, the internet and radio, and looks to prime the students to be mentally strong enough to identify what is a constructive conversation or an objective, politics-free rendering on a subject matter, and what is a constructive, yet slanted news conversation that is tinted and mixed with a political bent.
And This Brings Us To The Present Need To Raise Critical Thinkers, in Spite of
Ourselves…
It is not necessary to attend an elite academic institution to think critically. Being able to infer and deduct the objectivity of a newscast can be done through aggregating the quality of the bulk of past news casts, in listening to agenda topics discussed and in identifying what is never or seldom discussed. It is neither necessary to partake in elite schooling in order to coherently discuss such matters fairly and objectively. It does require honesty, moral clarity, an understanding of the issues AND an understanding of the politics of raising issues, counter issues, end game political strategy, and lastly, an understanding of the human nature of what drives people.
With this said, the best critical thinkers, which are those of a peculiar pedigree of honesty, humility and fortitude, can double-down in being great speakers. In such fashion, their ability to grasp what is of substantial gravity and what is slanted, political posturing becomes acute, and in so being, their ability to shake and dismantle such positions becomes more possible and decisive. The great responsibility of developing such activist thinkers is, vaguely valued and understood though. All too often, this kind of development happens in a default status as part of a class discussion, rather than having the educator mindfully alert that raising critical thinking minds is foremost on the list of priorities. Another offshoot, which occurs all too often, is that critical thinkers are partially developed and then, being so impressionable, become politically-inclined according to what they were taught and by whom.
Clinical Educators, in their ‘purist’ form, are ever-mindful of their own politic and beliefs, keep these at bay, though it is pertinent to disclose personal positions on issues, yet imploring the learners not to blindly follow the charismatic educator’s position, but to ask ‘why, how, what, where, and when.’ It becomes pertinent to implore the learners to not impulsively side with issues, but to retain objectivity beyond the noise of the politics surrounding an issue. As practice, these kinds of educators challenge the learners to write, to speak publicly in class and to discuss the issues. Role-playing is a great simulator of what a congressional debate or a news cast discussion can be like. Teachers can have each learners practice representing various perspectives giving them the experience required to strategically speak on issues, while maintaining a penchant for honesty, humility and a fortitude that says, ‘I will speak and discuss with you using a critical mind that places good manners as its parameters. I will seek to not simply focus on ‘winning’ my argument, but explore and discover the merits of the issue with an open-minded scope that leaves the door open for portions of my position to be erroneous and open to change. Finally, I will listen, think thoughtfully and act independently from established political camps, raising my ‘game’ to place what is being broached over the politics of the moment.’
Parents, educators and school administrators form the first line of defense and offense that maintains liberty and freedom robust and billowing. Not being aware of this erodes these freedoms and liberties. So we come back to simple ol’ Main Street, U.S.A. Back to the classroom and our local communities to not just honor brave men and women who serve us day and night with their lives to protect us locally and abroad, but to recognize that it is a family team effort of brothers and sisters across America participating through spoken and written word at the dinner table, the corner coffee shop, the internet blog, on television, on radio, and in our local and national legislative houses.
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