It's a simple concept that can get misconstrued in any number of ways by things that happen outside of the classroom. If you ask any educator, they will agree, the number one daily priority in schools should be teaching kids. It's impossible to argue with that concept if you believe in education. But, do you believe in the educational system? That is another question. If you've payed any attention to the news, you heard about the Chicago Teachers' Union strike that kept teachers and students out of classrooms for seven school days. It was clear for those seven days that 'teaching kids' was not the number one priority for educators or the educational system. The system AND educators (administration and teachers) failed their students. It wasn't the students that caused the strike, it was the system and people who elected to work in education that failed. If teaching kids is what's important, then teaching kids is what will happen.
No system is perfect, especially systems in education. If you know of a 'perfect system', educational or other, then please comment on this post or e-mail me directly. I'd love to hear how it was developed and how it self-monitors troubleshooting, problem solving, and maintenance. I'd love to hear about a system by which school buildings work together for educational equity for ALL students and how teachers meet students' abilities at their level and help them progress and grow from that point on every single day.
The reality of education and learning is that it is a process. It is messy. It taxes human emotional, brain functions, physical limits, mental capacity and pushes the limits of understanding. It's how education evolves. It's how we as humanity evolve. It's how we grow. And education is what happens when a teacher is present with students, working through things together and learning. A teacher is the single most important factor in the success of students. That will never change. What has changed, however, is the role of the teacher and access to information. The job description of a teacher today is incredibly different than that of a teacher in any other generation and so is the buffet of instructional tools and information available to teachers and students. The constant remains the same--teachers and support staff building relationships and working together with children to help them grow. That will always be part of the job description.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The Heart of Learning
As the new school year approaches for my school district and community, I can't help but revisit the fundamental values of education. At the heart of what we (parents, teachers, administrators) want our children to be able to do is learn, right? We want desperately for our students to learn not only about academics and social behaviors but also about themselves as young citizens in our communities; local, national and global. We want our children to learn concepts, skills, and behaviors in hopes that someday they will find their passion and be prepared for success. We want our children to be happy, curious little humans that grow up to become engaged, knowledgeable citizens that make our world a better place.
I spent a day with our district leadership and parent leaders from (almost) all ten of our district schools to have an open discussion about priorities for our students. The formal name for this event was parents and teachers talking together or PT3. The forum was an opportunity for us to brainstorm priorities in student success, explore our thinking in open dialogue, and organize our values into thematic strands. There were two questions we aimed to answer: How do we as a community define student success? How do we as a community work together to ensure success for all students? The initial brainstorms took place with educators and parents meeting in separate rooms and returning to a whole to share priorities. To summarize the entire day into our shared priorities really gets at the heart of what we want for all our children and students. We agreed that we define student success as children that are skilled thinkers and intrinsically motivated. We agreed that we can work together as a community to ensure these priorities by establishing strong school/family partnerships and maintaining consistent standards and expectations for all children. I'd like to think these are the priorities for many school communities around the globe. These are of course ideals in an ever-changing, rapidly growing world.
But what was missing? Student voice. Teacher voice. Or was it? When a community possesses the same values, aims to achieve common goals, and works to ensure the success of all its members, do titles really matter? Yes, learning is messy, very messy and the roles of teachers, administrators and parents can jumble up the whole process with a single misunderstanding or miscommunication. But how powerful is the learning for our children when we all see the same vision, work toward the same goals, AND empower our students with skills and resources? When we as educators embrace an open forum for communication with parents we enhance the learning process for all our children. We help parents understand that teachers, REAL teachers, look at their children as more than test scores and standards. Real teachers embrace their students by name and learn about who they are and what they want to become. Teaching happens when a child is ready to learn and most children become ready to learn when they trust the person they call teacher. Everyone has a teacher they remember. I bet you can think of one right now. Did you trust them? How did they go about earning your trust? I can imagine there is any number of answers to these questions. But I digressed.
Great educators, and great people, have a strong connection between their head and their heart. They are able to connect their beliefs and values with action and conviction. Children see that and learn from it, whether we realize it or not. When we surround our students with great people who are motivated to engage and poised to inspire, incredible things can happen. I am excited for a new school year because the school and district I work in has given an opportunity for parents, teachers, and administrators to focus on what's really at the heart of learning--our children.
I spent a day with our district leadership and parent leaders from (almost) all ten of our district schools to have an open discussion about priorities for our students. The formal name for this event was parents and teachers talking together or PT3. The forum was an opportunity for us to brainstorm priorities in student success, explore our thinking in open dialogue, and organize our values into thematic strands. There were two questions we aimed to answer: How do we as a community define student success? How do we as a community work together to ensure success for all students? The initial brainstorms took place with educators and parents meeting in separate rooms and returning to a whole to share priorities. To summarize the entire day into our shared priorities really gets at the heart of what we want for all our children and students. We agreed that we define student success as children that are skilled thinkers and intrinsically motivated. We agreed that we can work together as a community to ensure these priorities by establishing strong school/family partnerships and maintaining consistent standards and expectations for all children. I'd like to think these are the priorities for many school communities around the globe. These are of course ideals in an ever-changing, rapidly growing world.
But what was missing? Student voice. Teacher voice. Or was it? When a community possesses the same values, aims to achieve common goals, and works to ensure the success of all its members, do titles really matter? Yes, learning is messy, very messy and the roles of teachers, administrators and parents can jumble up the whole process with a single misunderstanding or miscommunication. But how powerful is the learning for our children when we all see the same vision, work toward the same goals, AND empower our students with skills and resources? When we as educators embrace an open forum for communication with parents we enhance the learning process for all our children. We help parents understand that teachers, REAL teachers, look at their children as more than test scores and standards. Real teachers embrace their students by name and learn about who they are and what they want to become. Teaching happens when a child is ready to learn and most children become ready to learn when they trust the person they call teacher. Everyone has a teacher they remember. I bet you can think of one right now. Did you trust them? How did they go about earning your trust? I can imagine there is any number of answers to these questions. But I digressed.
Great educators, and great people, have a strong connection between their head and their heart. They are able to connect their beliefs and values with action and conviction. Children see that and learn from it, whether we realize it or not. When we surround our students with great people who are motivated to engage and poised to inspire, incredible things can happen. I am excited for a new school year because the school and district I work in has given an opportunity for parents, teachers, and administrators to focus on what's really at the heart of learning--our children.
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