"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire" ~ William Butler Yeats
I believe this statement to be one of the most powerful with regards to teaching. My goal as an educator is to create life-long learners in my students. We live in a technologically advanced world which changes daily. With this comes the ability to have almost any information available to us instantly. I still believe in components of "common sense knowledge" that all children should learn and know; however there is so much that students should now simply know how to find. In the world of Google, blogs, wikis, podcasts, and social media it is important that I show my students how to navigate this material and now more than ever critical thinking skills are necessary to determine the validity and merit of information.
In my previous school district, we had a motto: Rigor, Relevance, Relationships. This is precisely where I stand with regards to education.
Rigor: I believe that if you set your expectations high and give your students the chance, they WILL rise to the occasion. By having high standards for your students, you are indirectly telling them "I believe in you. I know you can do this". We live in a competitive world and I cannot justify sending my students to the next level without having given them every tool possible to be successful adults and productive citizens in society. Rigor, in my opinion, is not simply making the next test difficult. It is asking that students to step outside of their comfort zones and contemplate things they otherwise would not and about pushing them to do more than they themselves think possible. If I instill this never give up attitude in my students, they will carry that out into the world and will push through any adversity they will face.
Relevance: I believe that information must be relevant to students' lives. Otherwise, I am selling something that they just aren't interested in buying. If they aren't interested in buying, then each lesson and each day spent in the classroom is in vain. I do NOT believe that the students are in charge of a classroom, but I have no problem teaching a lesson in such a way as to connect to their lives. If I connect poetry to music, they are still learning poetry and the necessary elements; but they now are interested because they see their favorite artist as a poet. This lesson will be remembered now whereas the lesson in which I only lectured and had them simply memorize basic facts will be forgotten and a waste of everyone's time. Every lesson cannot be "fun" activities, but when connections are made, the students will remember.
Relationships: The key to pulling it all together is the relationships built between teachers and students, parents and teachers, students and other students (the list goes on and on). We have lost many of our communication skills with the influx of technology, but when that personal relationship built on trust and respect is present, anything is possible. As a student myself, school was my "safe spot". I could get away from a troubled home and pretend that I was just like everyone else. Not all students come from troubled homes, but all students need to feel safe, loved, trusted, and respected. When this happens, a teacher can get a child to accomplish just about anything. When my students trust and respect me, they sit through that introductory unit note taking session without complaint. They complete intricate projects with ease. Students also feel comfortable expressing concern and self-advocating, thus allowing me to better serve their needs.
In the end, most students spend more hours with his or her teachers than at home. I as a teacher am called to teach the child, not just the content.
My classroom: My classroom is typically very busy. I enjoy discussion based learning as a whole class, with partners, or with small groups. I incorporate a variety of teaching styles into my delivery. I use simple PowerPoint lecture/notetaking sessions (usually at the introductory phase of a unit) along with guided reading and practice, partner work, formal assessments which include questions following Bloom's Taxonomy, and standards or project based assessments allowing students multiple ways to exhibit mastery of concepts. I create a safe atmosphere in which ridicule is not tolerated. I do have very high expectations with regards to behavior and the learning environment.
Testing: I do believe that testing can be a useful tool in providing feedback to students, teachers, administrators, and parents. I do not, however, believe in placing so much pressure on students that my efforts then become counterproductive. I believe that if my standards are high enough in my classroom, the students will succeed on standardized tests given. I believe in teaching the concepts, showing them how to apply it to other situations, and sending them into testing equipped with the critical thinking skills necessary to succeed. As I cover curriculum, I include discussion of how a possible related test question could look and how to answer it. I include test taking strategies into my classroom discussions and typically, the students are prepared without my room having to be a testing zone.
