Administrators, what do you look for when you spend time in classrooms? What do you listen for? Teachers, how do you know authentic, real, meaningful, passion-filled learning is happening before your eyes? How often do we take the time to ask children what learning means to them?
Many teachers who attempt this type of thing might do it once, but with all the difficulties never try it again. I can see why that would be so. But I will teach every unit I can this way. It’s only in doing it the first time that you learn what you need to change about your teaching role. And it’s only by pushing through the hard “first time†that your students learn how to deal with difficulties. The strength and growth that I’ve seen in my students this past month is truly amazing.
Of course, I had all the excuses in the book: I was tired, she hadn’t worked hard enough on the assignment, she seemed only concerned about the grade. But really, none of that mattered.
I know teaching is all about relationships. I know we must show authentic care and concern to create opportunities for students to learn. I know people respond better to kindness than hostility or fear. Yet, that day I made a student cry. The words we use matter.
Changing to a student-centered, skill-based, technology embedded classroom is scary business. I think all teachers must have times when they’re faced with the decision to continue on the safe road that they know, or radically depart on a way that they believe to be better, but the specific route and outcomes are unknown. In all honesty, sometimes I’ve chosen the former, and sometimes the latter. For the last five months, I’ve consistently chosen the latter, and they have been the most challenging and fulfilling five months of my career.
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