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.

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!

Sir Ken

As I've posted on Twitter, I think all teachers should view Sir Ken's video's on TED or youtube. Its important for Real Learning to happen in our ever changing world.

Its irresponsible for a teacher to not consider his views!

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!

Great Read

I just finished Gladwell's latest book...Outliers. It is a great read, and a must for any teachers out there. Success is an interesting thing, and learning about it is good for teachers because it is teachers who work to ensure that their students are succesful.

Anyways, make sure you get this book, read it, and consider...especially all you teachers out there!

Be Positive

No matter what...it is important for us all...to stay positive!

Metacognition

Understanding where you are at in life is important! I had a good meeting today, and I know more about where I am headed, and where I want to be.

I will continue to work towards my goal, but I do want to stand up, and let the world know where I stand on any given issue.