I believe education is lifelong--it is a constant interaction with the world where we are both teacher and student. Education requires active participants and genuine engagement with material that matters. A creative, vibrant, stimulating learning environment is essential. Learning spaces should encourage students to look up and around and to ask questions. I want students engaged. I am a firm believer in bringing the outside in. Potted ferns and poppies, seedlings and feathers, nests and rocks--inquisition should be introduced with tangible realities of life. The classroom should be artistic, meant for exploration. I want my students to wander and wonder about their learning space, questing for something new and interesting.
Students should be taught to think. I, of course, will follow Virginia's SOLs, as it will be part of my responsibilities, but I will not sacrifice a child's need to think critically for them to be able to answer a rote question. Rote answers are easy; they can be managed at another time. Teaching children the why and the how will move students from a shallow learning experience to a deep and involved one. Engaged students are inspired students. Material should be relevant and authentic to the lives of students. Content matters and should have real-world applications. If I am teaching about pollinators and gardens, I will involve community gardening as a component (see WebQuest). If fourth or fifth graders are writing short picture books, they will be reading to kindergarteners and helping first graders read. Our real life, exigent, adult worlds require application of knowledge--we should expect the same from our children. They should be challenged with words they do not know and with content that they find challenging. How else will their working and capable minds be stretched and their worldview developed?
Students should have the opportunity to act as teacher, both with other students and the instructor. Students teaching students is a efficient way for both students to approach and interact with the material in a different way than an adult teacher might instruct. Students speak a common language with their peers, and teachers should not deny their students this common-speak. Learning from one another is a practice of collaboration. Sometimes as an adult, our egos might interfere with sharing. Collective consciousness, the amassing of an ever-growing mountain of knowledge, empowers us all to be better teachers and students.
I am not a promise-maker. There are innumerable things (aka Life) that might meander into my path and cause chaos. But, I am a list-maker. My lists are not promises, they are reminders.
1. Don't use a microphone. Don't speak so loud, that I can't hear my students telling me what they need. Take notice of each individual child's needs and interests. Listen for verbal cues and watch for nonverbal cues.
2. Don't ride on horseback; students are on the ground. I have to get dirty with the students. I need to model learning. I cannot only instruct how to learn--I must demonstrate it.
3. Be Kind, Rewind. Sure, no one uses a VHS tape anymore, but this practice is useful in other ways. Self-reflection at the end of the school day works wonders in developing my skills as a teacher. What worked? What didn't work so well? What do I want to do differently? What do I want to stay the same?
4. Take a timeout. Teaching is a very time-consuming venture, and I am sure that I will be thinking about possible lesson plans, activities, and SOL strategies throughout the day (even on my "off" days), but there should be a sacred space for me. Breaks are key for anyone who wants to start fresh and energized.
5. Eat that Apple for the Teacher. Technology is EVERYWHERE. Neither I nor you can escape the binary transcribing of our lives. This generation of young students has been technology users since birth. Remember this when I plan. Our student's adult lives will include the use of technology (varied technology) in their future careers. Technology is relevant, needed, and now. Use it.
6. Just Do It. Everyone's style is different--mine included. I have to honor myself as an individual. I have ideas, I am creative, I am knowledgable. I must practice this mantra to be a confident and capable teacher. Of course, I will be open, flexible to change in curriculum and the needs of my students, but I should not be untrue to myself as a teacher.
Students should be taught to think. I, of course, will follow Virginia's SOLs, as it will be part of my responsibilities, but I will not sacrifice a child's need to think critically for them to be able to answer a rote question. Rote answers are easy; they can be managed at another time. Teaching children the why and the how will move students from a shallow learning experience to a deep and involved one. Engaged students are inspired students. Material should be relevant and authentic to the lives of students. Content matters and should have real-world applications. If I am teaching about pollinators and gardens, I will involve community gardening as a component (see WebQuest). If fourth or fifth graders are writing short picture books, they will be reading to kindergarteners and helping first graders read. Our real life, exigent, adult worlds require application of knowledge--we should expect the same from our children. They should be challenged with words they do not know and with content that they find challenging. How else will their working and capable minds be stretched and their worldview developed?
Students should have the opportunity to act as teacher, both with other students and the instructor. Students teaching students is a efficient way for both students to approach and interact with the material in a different way than an adult teacher might instruct. Students speak a common language with their peers, and teachers should not deny their students this common-speak. Learning from one another is a practice of collaboration. Sometimes as an adult, our egos might interfere with sharing. Collective consciousness, the amassing of an ever-growing mountain of knowledge, empowers us all to be better teachers and students.
I am not a promise-maker. There are innumerable things (aka Life) that might meander into my path and cause chaos. But, I am a list-maker. My lists are not promises, they are reminders.
1. Don't use a microphone. Don't speak so loud, that I can't hear my students telling me what they need. Take notice of each individual child's needs and interests. Listen for verbal cues and watch for nonverbal cues.
2. Don't ride on horseback; students are on the ground. I have to get dirty with the students. I need to model learning. I cannot only instruct how to learn--I must demonstrate it.
3. Be Kind, Rewind. Sure, no one uses a VHS tape anymore, but this practice is useful in other ways. Self-reflection at the end of the school day works wonders in developing my skills as a teacher. What worked? What didn't work so well? What do I want to do differently? What do I want to stay the same?
4. Take a timeout. Teaching is a very time-consuming venture, and I am sure that I will be thinking about possible lesson plans, activities, and SOL strategies throughout the day (even on my "off" days), but there should be a sacred space for me. Breaks are key for anyone who wants to start fresh and energized.
5. Eat that Apple for the Teacher. Technology is EVERYWHERE. Neither I nor you can escape the binary transcribing of our lives. This generation of young students has been technology users since birth. Remember this when I plan. Our student's adult lives will include the use of technology (varied technology) in their future careers. Technology is relevant, needed, and now. Use it.
6. Just Do It. Everyone's style is different--mine included. I have to honor myself as an individual. I have ideas, I am creative, I am knowledgable. I must practice this mantra to be a confident and capable teacher. Of course, I will be open, flexible to change in curriculum and the needs of my students, but I should not be untrue to myself as a teacher.