In a fortunate circumstance my wife met a retired teacher this morning at an appointment. This lady, 86 years young was pleasant to speak to, and it would seem very pleased to be chatting with a practicing teacher about the current state of our profession. As I reflected on my wife's conversation, it donned on me how important relationships are to teaching. It is the human relationships and connections that are what great teachers (dare I say leaders) manage best.
I know and understand that teaching your curriculum is very important, this is a large part of my job as a teacher. That said, my wife was discussing the fact that this lady taught as a teacher / librarian for twenty years at a local high school I am currently employed at. I thought of the fact that very few teachers and students currently at the school know her now. This is because of the fact she has been gone from the school for so long. This lady is at a different stage of her life, a stage that doesn't involve the daily grind of teaching and learning with students. Yet, she still reflects on teaching & learning...hmmm, a true professional I think!)
Teachers are not schools. As a teacher, and a student I have changed schools before, and it is amazing to me how quickly you are "out of the loop" with regards to your former students and colleagues. Our career is defined by our relationships with students, parents and colleagues. These same teachers and students, all on their own journey in life, move on in their lives with or without you. I believe that teachers need to be very mindful of the importance of relationships as they progress through their careers. One day, my classroom(s) will no longer be an everyday part of my life. They will be used by other students and teachers, and these students and teachers won't know, or care, that I once taught in their room because I am not a part of the school.
My wife's chance meeting with a retired teacher was a blessing for me because it caused me to reflect on the importance of relationships in teaching. A simple conversation in a waiting room, affirmed for me a comment a former Principal of mine once made to me.
"When I hire teachers, the first, and most important thing I look for is their ability to build relationships."
I love the fact that an 86 year old teacher can have an informed discussion with a current teacher about literacy, and 21st. Century learning, and this teacher can do this because she knows how to build relationships. As a teacher, my main strength is my ability to build relationships with my students and colleagues. I know I can improve on other areas of my teaching, and I work hard to to this, but improving your ability to build relationships is a big step for some. This encounter made me think about why I teach, and how I can make a positive impact on my students and colleagues.
What kind of relationships will define your career? It's a question worth asking, because if you don't build positive relationships, this is how you will be remembered.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Do Teachers Prepare Students For Their Future?
It is important for teachers to understand the power & complexity of learner motivation. What motivates students, and people in general, is a very broad and complex question. As a "super-fan" of Sir Ken Robinson, and his work on creativity, I understand that indiviidual motives for "learning" are very different. As a teacher in Special Education I feel I have a strong understanding of the importance, and power of intrinsic motivation for student learning. My classroom experiences during the past 10 years of teaching have shown me that all students have gifts and talents. Teachers need to work at balancing this desire to learn with the value of having a well rounded education. Harnessing the desire to learn is more important than any test score, or report card mark.
Learnign how to balance student motivation and abilities is a key part of the professionalization of teaching. Learner readiness, and the external factors that affect a students life are part of the makeup of any person. Not unlike a master craftsman, an experienced teacher is able to understand the power that the desire to learn can bring anybody. Lastly, great teachers understand the fact that there may be no evidence of their impact until later in life. In fact, the positive impact a teacher may have on a student may go unseen.
This past week, my first full year as a high school teacher,I watched with interest the grade 12 students go through their graduation ceremony. It brought me back to 1993, my own high school graduation, and of course I was comparing the two events. In many ways I am living the dream that many of these graduates are supposed to envision. Many students have plans to continue their educations, work, travel, fun are all standard responses from their playbooks. What was interesting to consider, is where will the future take them? Has their K-12 education prepared them for their futures? This is a key question, and one that I believe all teachers need to reflect on. Is their work, in any grade, in any classroom preparing students for their future?
At the end of it all, the one constant that hasn't changed is the fact that it (their future) is up to them. These students from my high school, whether they are ready or not have to build their own future and their own livelihoods. As someone who was once a high school grad, I can see and feel their confidence. Being a 18 year old high school graduate in Alberta often makes one feel like the world is yours. Now that I am 36 I better understand that not many people get a free pass to an easy future. These students will have to take what they've started with and make a go of it themselves.
As a teacher, I look at my role very seriously. I am helping prepare students for their future. My dilligence may never "pay off" in front of my own eyes, but I have to trust that my work will help a student handle the twists and turns that life will bring them.
Learnign how to balance student motivation and abilities is a key part of the professionalization of teaching. Learner readiness, and the external factors that affect a students life are part of the makeup of any person. Not unlike a master craftsman, an experienced teacher is able to understand the power that the desire to learn can bring anybody. Lastly, great teachers understand the fact that there may be no evidence of their impact until later in life. In fact, the positive impact a teacher may have on a student may go unseen.
This past week, my first full year as a high school teacher,I watched with interest the grade 12 students go through their graduation ceremony. It brought me back to 1993, my own high school graduation, and of course I was comparing the two events. In many ways I am living the dream that many of these graduates are supposed to envision. Many students have plans to continue their educations, work, travel, fun are all standard responses from their playbooks. What was interesting to consider, is where will the future take them? Has their K-12 education prepared them for their futures? This is a key question, and one that I believe all teachers need to reflect on. Is their work, in any grade, in any classroom preparing students for their future?
At the end of it all, the one constant that hasn't changed is the fact that it (their future) is up to them. These students from my high school, whether they are ready or not have to build their own future and their own livelihoods. As someone who was once a high school grad, I can see and feel their confidence. Being a 18 year old high school graduate in Alberta often makes one feel like the world is yours. Now that I am 36 I better understand that not many people get a free pass to an easy future. These students will have to take what they've started with and make a go of it themselves.
As a teacher, I look at my role very seriously. I am helping prepare students for their future. My dilligence may never "pay off" in front of my own eyes, but I have to trust that my work will help a student handle the twists and turns that life will bring them.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
ATA Specialist Councils
Teachers of Alberta have a responsibility to support and attend specialist council conferences. This may seem a bold statement to some, given the broad range of PD choices available to teachers,but the fact is, if Alberta's teachers want to be considered the experts within their profession, then they need to be a part of something that is local in the provincial sense. Joining and supporting your own Specialist Council is one simple way to do this.
Teachers needn't feel that they need to be a part of the Council's executive, or even attend the conference annually, but they do need to join in order to support the profession of teaching. In a recent conversation with a colleague, I grabbed on to an insight. "By not supporting Specialist Councils, and by not attending local provincial conferences, teachers are shooting themselves in the foot." I've thought a lot about this comment because to me it meant that teachers are outsourcing their professional development. In the business world, outsourcing can be a positive thing, and it is true in teaching. That said, teachers need to understand that they should (could) build phenomonal learning networks and opportunities in their own province.
What message are teachers sending when we outsource our Professional Devlopment? Teachers in Alberta need to be a part of this conversation, and it is up to each and every Alberta teacher to join a Specialist Council. For the sake of our profession in Alberta, I encourage every teacher to use their free Specialist Council membership, and join one today!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Sir Ken Robinson
I am forever grateful to TED, and the Masters program who introduced me to Sir Ken Robinson. I still remember the day I first viewed his TED talk on creativity. Since that moment I have read his books and followed him on Twitter...embracing his thoughts and ideas as they fit my own beliefs about education, and what it should be. Looking back, this truly was an epiphany for my teaching career.
Moving forward a few years, I am proud to be an important part of Sir Ken Robinson's visit to Red Deer. We have over 700 people coming to hear him for our community night, and all of the eachers in CATCA (www.mycatca.ca) will see him the next day for our key note. Sir Ken's message is a powerful one, and I truly hope teachers become engaged with his message. Our students deserve this from their teachers. Its also great to see that there is some truth to the fact that a small group of people can make a big difference.
Kudos to the teachers of Central Alberta for bringing a world class speaker to their convention, and I truly hope that my community begins to realize, even a little bit, the power of real learning!
Moving forward a few years, I am proud to be an important part of Sir Ken Robinson's visit to Red Deer. We have over 700 people coming to hear him for our community night, and all of the eachers in CATCA (www.mycatca.ca) will see him the next day for our key note. Sir Ken's message is a powerful one, and I truly hope teachers become engaged with his message. Our students deserve this from their teachers. Its also great to see that there is some truth to the fact that a small group of people can make a big difference.
Kudos to the teachers of Central Alberta for bringing a world class speaker to their convention, and I truly hope that my community begins to realize, even a little bit, the power of real learning!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)