COURSE TITLE:
RENEWING OURSELVES & OUR TEACHING
NO. OF CREDITS:
3 QUARTER CREDITS
[semester equivalent = 2.00 credits]
INSTRUCTOR:
MARYANN JOHNSON, M.ED ADMIN
MaryAjohnson-advisor@comcast.net
WA CLOCK HRS:
OREGON PDUs:
30
30
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Our best teaching comes from bringing who we are (our passions and creativity) to what we do. But this
kind of authentic, heart-centered engagement with our work is hard to maintain in the face of the energydraining demands of today’s education system that appears to focus more on test results than on the
humanity of teachers and their students. We need time to reconnect with ourselves and find new
inspiration within the subjects we teach.
This course will help renew participants’ enthusiasm for their work by reflecting on their own teaching
journey and exploring the stories of other teachers. Throughout the course, participants will keep a
journal in which to make several (or more frequent), weekly entries.
Participants will have time to reflect upon what has meaning for them and to examine how to make that
inspiration come alive again in their teaching. Accounts from the lives of teachers from our text – Stories
of the Courage to Teach – (which is based on Parker Palmer’s work) will be our mirror. Many of the
teachers featured in this anthology have, at various junctures, been on the verge of exhaustion, and the
book is, in many ways, a sustained meditation on how they have sought to regain their emotional and
spiritual strength.
Four inspirational films (all available from Netflix) will offer time for further reflection. They can include a
number of movies chosen from Dead Poet’s Society, Freedom Writers, Hoosiers, Stand & Deliver, The
Great Debaters, Mr. Holland’s Opus and Remember the Titans, or others of your own selection. Text $5
or less from amazon.com.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Upon completion of this course, participants will have:
1. A new appreciation of how the quality of their inner lives is the foundation for personal and
professional wellbeing.
2. A more nuanced understanding of what inspires them and has meaning for them.
3. Developed additional creative strategies to bring their passions into their teaching
4. Observed and written about how changes in themselves can lead to changes in their students’
attitudes and behaviors.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit. The Heritage Institute
does not award partial credit.
HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns
participant’s their choice of 30 Washington State Clock Hours or 30 Oregon PDUs. The Heritage Institute
is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours and Oregon PDUs.
Renewing Ourselves & Our Teaching
Rev 8/12/14
UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION
REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires
75% or better for credit at the 400 level (Upper Division) and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level
(Post-Baccalaureate). These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.
1. Completion of Information Acquisition assignments
30%
2. Completion of Learning Application assignments
40%
3. Completion of Integration Paper assignment
30%
CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education (CE) Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No
Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to
a “C” or better, 500 level credit is equal to a “B” or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.
AUS CE quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering determine
with your district personnel, department head or state education office the acceptability of these credits for
your purpose.
ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION
REQUIRED TEXT:
Intrator, Sam. 2007. Stories of the Courage to Teach: Honoring the Teacher’s Heart. San Francisco.
Jossey-Bass. ISBN-10: 078799684X.
MATERIALS FEE:
Text $5 or less from amazon.com. plus shipping.
HEADING REQUIRED FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS
A heading is required; please use the following format.
Your Name:
Course Number:
Date:
Assignment #:
Renewing Ourselves & Our Teaching
Instructor Name:
Course Name:
Level: Clock/ PDU/Credit (400 or 500)
Rev 8/12/14
ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR HOURS OR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
A.
INFORMATION ACQUISITION
Assignment #1:
Download and read Mike Seymour’s article on journal keeping. Find this on the course descriptive page,
under “Review Syllabus” at http://www.hol.edu/view_course.cfm?cid=2661&nav=distance
Then in 2-3 pages write about yourself, why you chose this particular course, what you hope to see
changed about you and your teaching by the end of the course. Make this entry in your journal. This will
be the only journal entry we ask you to send to the course reader. Continue to write in your journal at least
several times each week, using the suggestions in Mike’s article or from other literature or experience you
may have on journal keeping.
Send to MaryAJohnson-Advisor@comcast.net. Subject line to read ‘Renew #1’
Assignment #2:
From Part I in the text, read the author’s preface (Turning Inward, pages 1-4), John Rockne’s (p 19-25)
and Leslie Young’s (p 29-32) stories plus 2 others of your own choice in this section. View 1 film either
from the bibliography or of your own choice. Then in 2-3 pages: a) Describe what parts of the stories you
read and film you saw were most meaningful for you and why b) What if any did these accounts tell you
about yourself?
Send to MaryAjohnson-advisor@comcast.net. Subject line to read ‘Renew #2’
Assignment #3:
From Part II in the text, read the author’s introduction (Reaching Out, p79-82), 4 teacher stories from this
section, plus view 1 film of choice. Then a) Give a 1-2 paragraph summary of each story you read and the
film you viewed. b) Write about a current or past challenging and stressful time in your career, and how
reaching out to students, colleagues, friends or family helped your situation. What changes in you were
possible because of these connections?
Send to MaryAJohnson-Advisor@comcast.net. Subject line to read ‘Renew #3’
Assignment #4:
From Part III in the text, read the author’s note (p153-156), the story of Clayton Stromberger (p 159-177),
3 other stories from this section, and view 1 additional film. Then give a 1-2 paragraph summary of each
story and the film. Thinking of theses stories, plus the others you have read, write 2-3 pages describing
some of the common themes in how teachers made positive changes in their difficult circumstances. Also
include comments on change in difficult circumstances that focus on yourself or teacher friends.
Send to MaryAJohnson-Advisor@comcast.net. Subject line to read ‘Renew #4’
Assignment #5:
Re-read all of your journal entries to date as well as the papers you have written for assignments 1-5.
What shifts do you notice in your personal and professional life over the course of this writing? What
insights, or changes in attitude. Express yourself in your choice of any medium: Written essay (2-3
pages); an original painting or drawing you’ve done (send a photoscan to instructor); a poem or musical
piece (send mp3).
Send to MaryAJohnson-Advisor@comcast.net Subject line to read ‘Renew #5’
This completes the assignments required for Hours.
Continue to the next section for additional assignments required for University Quarter Credit.
Renewing Ourselves & Our Teaching
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ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
B.
LEARNING APPLICATION
In this section you will apply your learning to your professional situation. This course assumes that most
participants are classroom teachers who have access to students. If you are not teaching in a classroom,
please contact the instructor for course modifications. If you are a classroom teacher and start or need to
complete this course during the summer, please try to apply your ideas when possible with youth from
your neighborhood, at a local public library or parks department facility (they will often be glad to sponsor
community-based learning) or with students in another teacher’s summer classroom in session.
Assignment #6:
View a 4th film and read Parker Palmer’s Foreword and Sam Intrator’s Introduction to Stories of the
Courage to Teach. Writing from these authors point of view plus the other teacher stories you’ve read,
prepare a 5-minute speech as if it were to be given to your school board or state department of education
on why connecting teachers with their passions and inner lives ought to be the starting point of education
reform. Separately, indicate if you are convinced of your own argument and why.
Send to MaryAJohnson-Advisor@comcast.net. Subject line to read ‘Renew #6’
Assignment #7: (Required for 400 and 500 Level)
Relax, close your eyes and imagine how you want to be in the coming months (or the start of the next
school year). Then record that in the form of a written vision statement, manifesto or action plan. Then in
the week ahead, begin implementing that vision, and in a 2-3 page paper, share your vision as well as the
progress you made since you put it into action.
Send to MaryAJohnson-Advisor@comcast.net. Subject line to read ‘Renew #7’
Assignment #8: (Required for 400 and 500 Level)
Take any lesson or unit you need to teach to students in the coming months, and modify it with the
philosophy of this course in mind. Send a copy of the lesson along with a 1-page description of what you
changed and why.
Send to MaryAJohnson-Advisor@comcast.net. Subject line to read ‘Renew #8’
ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
500 LEVEL ASSIGNMENT
Assignment #9:
(500 Level only)
In addition to the 400 level assignments, complete one of the following:
Option A).
Prepare an annotated bibliography of books, films, web sites or other resources that would support you or
other teachers to become more connected to themselves and their calling in teaching. Show at least six
citations not including those already given in this syllabus.
Send to MaryAJohnson-Advisor@comcast.net. Subject line to read ‘Renew 9-A’
OR
Option B
Create a discussion outline based on the ideas in this course and hold a 1-2 hour group discussion with
2-4 other teachers. Summarize in 1-2 pages what was discussed and how it went.
Send to MaryAJohnson-Advisor@comcast.net. Subject line to read ‘Renew 9-B’
OR
Option C)
Another assignment of your own design, with the instructor’s prior approval.
Send to MaryAJohnson-Advisor@comcast.net. Subject line to read ‘Renew 9-C’
Renewing Ourselves & Our Teaching
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C. INTEGRATION PAPER
Assignment #10:
(Required for 400 and 500 Level)
Write a 2-3 page Integration Paper answering these 5 questions:
1. What did you learn vs. what you expected to learn from this course?
2. What aspects of the course were most helpful and why?
3. What further knowledge and skills in this general area do you feel you need?
4. How, when and where will you use what you have learned?
5. How and with what other school or community members might you share what you learned?
Send to MaryAJohnson-Advisor@comcast.net Subject line to read ‘Renew 10’
INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS ON YOUR WORK:
Please indicate by email to the instructor if you would like to receive comments on your assignments.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:
Mary Ann Johnson, M.Ed, Admin has worked with students of all levels, from alternative high school to
gifted classes. She has also been a junior high vice principal and is now working with teachers for
continuing education in live classes and distance learning professional experiences. She has led
seminars for educators that focus on developing a quality learner environment for students and for
teachers. Her courses are research-based and resonate with user-friendly and energizing content.
Renewing Ourselves & Our Teaching
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
RENEWING OURSELVES & OUR TEACHING
BOOKS
Freedman, Samuel G. 1991. Small Victories. New York. Harper Perennial.
This narrates one year in the life of New York City's Seward Park High School, depicting the daily
activities of one teacher--Jessica Siegel--and the students, faculty, parents, and administrators who touch
her life is forthright and honest. Siegel's self-doubts, triumphs, and unfailing desire to lead her students to
help themselves out of a life of poverty is all the more inspiring because, even though the victories may be
small, she returns each year to meet the same situations, with new faces.
Intrator, Sam. 2007. Stories of the Courage to Teach: Honoring the Teacher’s Heart. Jossey-Bass.
San Francisco.
This is heartwarming collection of essays about the doubts, passions, insecurities, and life-changing
moments of teachers. Sam Intrator looks into the hearts of twenty-five effective teachers, knitting together
their personal narratives with his own ideas about great teaching.
Kidder, Tracy. 1990. Among Schoolchildren. Harper.
This tells in detail the story of a young teacher's daily life and work in the Kelly School, a part of the
Holyoke, Massachusetts school system. From September to June, Chris Zajac, a caring, dedicated
teacher struggles with the nearly superhuman task of teaching inner-city children, many from
impoverished and broken homes. Her pupils are often ill-fed, victims of severe neglect, or worse.
FILMS (www.netflix.com)
Dead Poet’s Society
Robin Williams was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of unconventional English teacher John
Keating, who inspires students through poetry. But when his lessons on living life without compromise
lead to an untimely death, the school fires him. His devastated students soon rally behind him, mindful of
the ways he has influenced their lives forever. Ethan Hawke and Robert Sean Leonard co-star in this
Oscar winner for Best Screenplay.
Freedom Writers
While her at-risk students are reading classics like The Diary of Anne Frank, a young teacher (Hilary
Swank) asks them to keep journals about their troubled lives and apply history's lessons to break the
cycle of violence and despair that threatens their futures. Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton and Patrick
Dempsey co-star in this moving drama based on real-life California educator Erin Gruwell's unorthodox
methods.
Stand and Deliver
Fans of inspirational dramas about the life-changing power of education will be touched by this moving,
mostly true story of famed East L.A. math teacher Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos), who finds
himself in a classroom of rebellious remedial students. Escalante stuns fellow faculty members with his
plans to teach the kids AP calculus. But no one expects the mostly Hispanic teens (including Lou
Diamond Phillips) to overcome the odds.
Mr. Holland’s Opus
In 1965, passionate musician Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) takes a day job as a high school music
teacher, convinced it's just a small obstacle on the road to his true calling: writing a historic opus. As the
decades roll by with the composition unwritten but generations of students inspired through his teaching,
Holland must redefine his life's purpose. Dreyfuss earned an Oscar nomination for his outstanding work in
this emotional drama.
Renewing Ourselves & Our Teaching
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The Great Debaters
When African American poet Mel Tolson (Denzel Washington, who also directs this film) creates a debate
team at historically black Wiley College in the 1930s, he pushes the team to a level of excellence that
allows them to take on Harvard University. Despite public success, however, personal clashes foment as
the father (Forest Whitaker) of one of Tolson's students (Denzel Whitaker) begins to resent his son's
loyalty to his coach.
Remember the Titans
The year is 1971, and the people of Alexandria, Va., are none too pleased when African American
Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) is given the nod to head a newly integrated football team. As the
season progresses, however, their contentious attitudes begin to change. Will Patton, Kip Pardue, Donald
Faison, Kate Bosworth, Ryan Gosling, Earl Poitier and Hayden Panettiere co-star in this moving, factbased drama.
Friday Night Lights
Football is god in small-town Texas, where the Dillon High School Panthers seem to be a shoo-in for the
state championship for the first time in 15 years. So when Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) signs on as the
team's new coach, the pressure to win is enormous. This critically acclaimed drama series follows
Taylor's ups and downs with the Panthers -- and with his wife (Connie Britton) and teenage daughter
(Aimee Teegarden).
Hoosiers
High school basketball is king in small-town Indiana, and the 1954 Hickory Huskers are all hope and no
talent in this Oscar-nominated drama. Things go from bad to worse when coach Norman Dale (Gene
Hackman) joins the team. In short order, Dale expresses ambivalence about the star player, ostracizes
himself from the townsfolk and hires a drunk (Dennis Hopper). Feelings for the coach change, however,
when the sad-sack team turns itself around.
Dangerous Minds
In this blackboard-jungle drama based on a true story, Michelle Pfeiffer stars as LouAnne Johnson, a
Marine turned teacher who squares off against a classroom of impudent, inner-city teens, whose bullying
tactics nearly drive her out the first day. But Johnson radically changes her lesson plans to include bribery
and browbeating (despite objections from the school's prissy principal) in an effort to teach the class that
learning is its own reward.
Drumline
Set against the high-energy world of show-style marching bands, Drumline is a fish-out-of-water
"dramedy" about a talented Harlem street drummer (Nick Cannon) who enrolls in a Southern university
expecting to lead its marching band's drumline to victory. He initially flounders in his new world before
realizing that it takes more than talent to reach the top. Orlando Jones and Zoe Saldana co-star.
Lean On Me
When tough-talking principal Joe Clark (Morgan Freeman) takes over decaying Eastside High School,
he's faced with graffiti-covered walls and students wearing gang colors. But he's determined to do
anything in his power to turn the school around. He begins by expelling drug dealers and padlocking the
doors to keep the riffraff out. But he also demands maximum effort from the students and staff inside in
this uplifting drama based on a true story.
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