This Thanksgiving, I want to take a moment to give thanks to the many educators who have positively shaped my thinking, learning, and teaching at various stages of my life. I would not have had the courage or the motivation to pursue a profession in education, were it not for my own teachers. They ignited in me a love of learning and cultivated the right environment for me to experience growth. Thus, I devote this essay to my teachers and to my colleagues who are teachers.
Read moreWriting in Graduate School: Reflecting on the Art of Teaching
This is me, sharing one of my last papers written during my first year of graduate school at Teachers College, writing as Catherine Cheng. Here, I reflect on the tendency of teacher preparation programs to overemphasize practice rather than to provide a rich education that supports teachers in recognizing the aesthetics of teaching. I argue for a recognition of and, perhaps, a return to an “art” of teaching that takes into account the affective dimension and emotional labor of working with students.
Read moreTaking Academic Risks in Graduate School: A Second Doctoral Paper
I’m devoting this blog entry to the process of writing an academic paper—a process that involves risk-taking, which is not comfortable, but is valuable. It is a process that pushes you and actually allows you to achieve a state of clarity at the end. I look back on this paper now and I smile. I have many, many other papers to write, which feels daunting at the present moment; however, I know I can do it, because I have done it before, and it will only get easier and more comfortable because I already went through the initial stage of discomfort… In the end, I told myself that the grade would not matter, because I persevered and I learned…
Read moreWriting for Graduate School: My First Doctoral Seminar Paper
So far as a first year doctoral student, I have written and submitted six papers for three separate courses… As part of the “book smarts” section of this blog, I thought it might be worthwhile for me to share my original writing from my graduate school journey, along with whatever pieces I manage to dig up from old hard-drives from my college days. Perhaps this will help you gain some more insights into the academic life as a college student and scholarly life as a brand new doctoral student in education…
Read moreWhen At First You Don’t Succeed, Don’t Give Up Too Soon
Real student life has kicked in. One week later, I can tell you that I hit an absolute low point in my self-esteem this week, doubting my sense of worth. Have you ever felt like you are an imposter, like you don’t belong? That’s how I felt on Tuesday, the first “official” day of one of my doctoral seminars in the program. Although I thought I had done everything right to prepare…
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