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16 COLLEGES & GRADUATE SCHOOLS ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ APRIL 2003Teacher as Anthropologistby Amy Grillo Angell, Ed.D.As a professor in the Adult Degree Program at Vermont College, I have the great privilege of working one-on-one with studentteachers completing our independent study-based licensure program. As I read their teaching journals, I sometimescome across statements such as “Billy was off task again for the entire reading period.” In the language of anthropological orethnographic research, this would be an example of an “etic concept”—a concept that is meaningful to the observer, but outof synch with the lived experience of the person being observed. From inside Billy’s world, what the anthropologist would callthe “emic“ perspective, he is not “off task” at all, but rather engaged in some task of his own, perhaps a very meaningful andimportant task. Upon realizing this, in one of those wonderful “ah ha!” moments that student teaching is designed to inspire,my student teacher was transformed into an anthropologist, intent upon discovering the meaning and dimensions of the taskthat Billy was engaged with, and determined to build a bridge between that task and the one that the teacher had designed.Over time, she began to think of each student as having a unique little culture of learning that could be uncovered and understoodand used to reach the child, who might otherwise remain “off task” in the eyes of his teachers and disengaged with theparticular learning opportunities presented within the structure of the curriculum. Eventually, this child, whose lively mind wasin fact deeply engaged with some task that remained invisible to his teacher, might come to be seen as a poor student, or asone with “attention problems,” or worse.How, we might ask, can an overworked teacher with a room full of children be expected to attend to the individual “learningculture” of each child’s mind? Isn’t this the kind of unrealistic, idealistic thinking perpetuated by university professors whodon’t understand the exigencies of everyday life in the classroom? Perhaps it is just that. But perhaps, and this was the casewith my student teacher, it is precisely this type of approach that makes teaching so interesting and exciting, and that ultimatelyprotects us from “burnout.” With this simple shift in perspective, her daily routine became one that filled her with fascinatingquestions about ordinary occurrences that had previously been taken for granted. She began to feel a sense of gratitudefor what her students were teaching her everyday. She began to appreciate the pure pleasure of learning, of seeingthings anew. And, in envisioning herself as an anthropologist setting out each morning to discover the exotic inner lives of thirdgraders, she felt a sense of adventure. Isn’t a teacher who remains a learner, who is filled with the awe and excitement of constantdiscovery, exactly who we want to have guiding our children on their journey through school?#Dr. Amy Grillo Angell is Professor of Liberal Studies in the Adult Degree Program at Vermont College of Union Institute &University, an ethnographic researcher, and a former elementary school art teacher.CommunityColleges are indesperate needof new leaders.Advance with adegree fromFielding.Earn an Ed.D.inEducational Leadership and Changewith a concentration inCommunity College/Higher Education• Network with colleagues worldwide.• Learn at your own pace.• Combine work and professionaldevelopment.800.340.1099 • admissions@fielding.eduwww.fielding.eduSETON HALL UNIVERSITYOffers You ...A Fast Track to a Traditional Doctoratein Educational AdministrationO ur Accelerated Ed.D. program will allow you to complete yourstudies in just 10 weekends and two four-week summer sessions over atwo-year period. 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