Selected out of a pool of more than 2,000 people, Mae Jemison launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavor on September 12th, 1992 towards outer space. She was the first African American woman to achieve this accomplishment. Jemison is not only limited to completing NASA’s Astronaut Program which requires extensive training, but she also served abroad as a Peace Corp Volunteer and was employed as a General Practitioner. She attended Stafford University at the age of 16 on a scholarship and graduated from Cornell University in 1981. Mae Jemison was born in Decatur, Alabama, however in addition to speaking English, she is also fluent in Russian, Swahili, and Japanese! Mae has a background in African American studies, Chemical Engineering, Education, Science, and Technology Companies. While Mae Jemison’s interests appear diverse, that all combine to develop a well-balanced dynamic woman that has achieved what very few can declare. She, along with six other astronauts, endured a space voyage that extended over 190 hours while orbiting the Earth 126 times!
Let’s take a second to look closer at her space voyage, what some people would state as her biggest accomplishment. For a space shuttle to lift off it must overcome the force of gravity by using three rocket engines each pushing down with almost 400,000lbs of thrust. As the shuttle travels upward, it also must deal with the opposing force of air resistance. Once the Earth’s atmosphere is penetrated, the rocket engines can be shutoff, and with no more air resistance, the rocket keeps traveling forward due to a property known as inertia. Contrary to popular belief, there is still gravity in outer space, and in its limited amount, the space shuttle is drawn towards earth as it still travels forward at a constant speed. What this all means, is that the space shuttle, when in orbit, is in a constant free fall. There is a balance between gravity and inertia that allows for objects to orbit a plan
In life, balance is imperative for an individual to work at optimum capacity. Think of your typical 24-hour day period. How do you feel when you do not spend the appropriate amount of time resting, or engaging in physical activity? As an Educator, how effective are you if you do not allocate the appropriate amount of time planning lessons, grading papers, preparing materials for lessons, and contacting parents? If you do feel highly effective as an Educator, how are in marriage, as a parent, socially, or even personally? Are you taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, financially, and mentally? It is great to excel as an educator, or excel physically, however make sure that it is not accomplished at the expense of something or even someone else!
When it comes to preparing instruction for your students, having a balanced lesson will increase learning, retention, engagement, and reduce confusion, conflicts, and classroom management concerns. A lesson should focus on content, however the implementation of it should include three factors; skills, interaction patterns, and interpersonal relationships. The components of skills are a balance of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Simple correct? Interaction patterns center around how many students each student will interact with such as individual, pair, small group, large group, or whole class. A rotation or balance of these types should be implemented. Some of the patterns are more supportive while others require more creativity. Interpersonal relationships can make or break a class. Social dynamics need to be considered especially when assigning partners or groups. Teachers often match stronger students with weaker ones, or poor-behaved with well-behaved students. Make sure considerations are made regarding all the students be affected. Yes, we may want a student to increase academically, but the high achieve may lose ambition or become frustrated in the process. Yes, we may want to separate all our behavior concerns, however could their aggressive personality or character flaws influence the quiet shy student? There are many factors to consider in balancing instruction, but even that needs a balance. Do you take the time to enjoy your students? Do you really know them, or have any activity that is regularly implemented that is intended to develop rapport, can be great for team building, or simply boosting morale? Each academic year and combination of students is different, but once a balance is established with your colleagues and students everyone will be optimized, and that will result in you officially being a Next Level Educator!
The Jeremy Anderson Group