Teaching—It's More Than a Job, It's Magic
Ideally, administrators have a vision for each new teacher they hire, characterized by teaching excellence and high levels of student achievement. In turn, new teachers need a clear vision for their teaching plans and the learning success of all students. Acknowledging beliefs about students and learning and establishing goals for student achievement help to refine instructional effort and turn the vision into reality.
By examining personal beliefs and goals and creating a vision, teachers clarify where they are headed so that they can efficiently design how to get there. This self-analysis and additional discussion with colleagues and administrators solidify the vision while creating positive school relationships.
The Challenge
I was loading cases of pop for the vending machine onto a cart in the tiny storage room when the disaster occurred. As I pulled one of the cartons down from the high stack, it ripped open, and soon one falling can led to another until soda was spewing everywhere around the room, dripping off the ceiling, dribbling down the walls, and puddling across the floor. There I stood, Dr Pepper trickling down my legs and off my nose and hair and a splattered display across my dress. If I had planned it, I could not have created a bigger, stickier mess! And the worst part was that all of this came on the heels of one of the most disappointing days of my teaching career.
A student had been withdrawn from my class. It sounds simple, but it was so terrible to have him removed from my roll. He was a very bright boy, but we had butted heads several times over assignments and classroom rules. The final blow came when he walked between idling school buses instead of going around them on our return from the public library. In this case, his disregard of the rules was simply dangerous.
To make the situation even more heart-wrenching for me, he was the son of teacher-colleagues. I really wanted to make things right with him. To have him leave my classroom reflected failure in my teaching, even though his parents had told me, "It is for the best." This stubborn streak, an inability to admit defeat, is something that runs deep in me. Sticking to it (literally and figuratively) is how I operate, even though this attitude is not always for the best.
As my anguished tears began to tumble and mix with my view of the mess in the storage room, I reevaluated my position and wondered about any other possible job that would not break my heart. At that precise instant coworker Todd Holden waltzed into the messy pool with a booming "Howdy!" His warm smile disintegrated into dismay as he surveyed the catastrophe. "How can I help?" he kindly asked. Those words of support changed my day and reversed my attitude almost immediately.
Lessons Learned
Teaching does not always run perfectly, but with reflection and the support of friendly colleagues, it all can be made right. Every day is a day of learning for students and teachers alike. On that day I learned to handle disappointments by facing them and then moving forward doing something I love—teaching. Realizing I could not please everyone all the time, I did know that I could make a difference for students who needed the knowledge and skills of reading, writing, and thinking I offered. That is what this profession is all about—teaching children, learning with them and from them, and accepting the responsibility of making a difference for their futures.
Planning for Excellence in Teaching
Being a teacher is far more than a job, a duty, or a paycheck. It is a calling. This calling provides the opportunity to work with learners as they advance through school. Teachers watch students grow and develop intellectually, guiding them as they tackle new concepts and ideas and leading them as they become self-sufficient and independent learners. The lessons that are taught, the methods that are incorporated, and the attitudes of teachers toward their students and toward learning have a lasting influence on life.
Teaching is definitely hard work. From preschoolers to seniors in high school, despite the difference in age, all students are just children full of potential and curiosity, waiting for their teacher to empower their learning and extend their knowledge. Good instruction from teachers who care promotes success in learning.
Vision for Teaching and Learning
Good teachers come to school and teach students who learn a little. Great teachers have clear goals and a big vision for students to learn and achieve at high levels. Creating a mind map of this vision of teaching provides a foundational guide for the year. Notes and descriptions can be added and adjustments made as needed. Figure 1.1 shows components essential for successful teaching. By studying and reflecting on each one, you will be better prepared for teaching. Knowing what you want students to know and to be able to do, and how you plan to get it done, guides you in a direction to arrive at the final destination—successful student learning.
Figure 1.1. The Big Vision of Teaching
As you reflect on various components of the vision, consider questions such as these:
How will I get this accomplished?
What problems might I encounter and when?
What indicators will tell me I have succeeded?
This vision acts as a reminder of the broad scope of responsibilities to be addressed during the school year.
Reflecting on the elements of the vision provides the self-knowledge necessary to fill in a sample chart, such as the one presented in Figure 1.2. In addition to your vision, use the basic grid to capture your beliefs, goals, and hoped-for achievements. Of course, experiences and unforeseen surprises will suggest changes as your first year of teaching progresses. The first year (and every ensuing year) will be bursting with learning. A truly great teacher learns and grows every day.
Figure 1.2. Sample Vision, Belief, Goals, and Achievement
Although the detailed responses of different individuals will vary, the ultimate goal is always the successful learning of students through excellent instructional strategies and guidance by the teacher. Planning as well as reflection on vision and goals add certainty to success.
"These darn kids. They just do not want to learn!"
"By golly, I taught it, and still 20 out of 23 failed the test!"
"I'm counting the days until spring break. This is the worst bunch of students I have ever had!"
If vacation is the only thing on a teacher's mind and the thought is not just the result of the exhaustive effort poured into every teaching moment, perhaps it is time to seek another job. If you hear negative words muttered by disgruntled colleagues, the best thing to do is to run! You must teach the students you have with the abilities and background that they possess when they arrive in your classroom. When you believe that every one wants to learn and succeed, you will find that students reflect your optimism.
Every day in teaching, whether it is the most glorious or the toughest, is critical to the success of students. When you expect the best behavior, intellectual output, and scholarly interaction, your goals are more likely to be achieved. Faith in students' capabilities and their desire to grow empowers students as it strengthens your talents and expertise.
Amber was a lovely little 1st grader, full of smiles but low in confidence. In kindergarten she had been labeled as a slow learner. Although the teacher had tried to disguise labeling, Amber sensed it, lived it, and suffered.
Amber's new teacher demanded excellence while designing avenues of individualized learning to help students succeed. Each day Amber gained more confidence. In mid-September, she pulled her teacher aside and whispered, "Mrs. Janhunen, when I got here I wasn't very smart. But you are making me smart. Thanks." Then Amber gently kissed her teacher's hand.
Responsibility and Teaching
As you think about the various factors that affect the elements in the grid in Figure 1.2, a critical question to ask yourself is this: Are you responsible enough to be a teacher who makes a difference in the lives and learning of children?
The goal is not to be an all-right teacher or a good teacher, but the absolute best. To determine this, take the following true-or-false test. (Oh, yes. As a teacher you must love to take tests as well as give them!) The thinking behind each answer reveals much about you, your vision, and your beliefs about teaching.
Teachers are 100 percent responsible for
Being organized and prepared for every lesson, every day.
Preparing instruction that ensures learning for all.
Designing lessons that educate students.
Checking for understanding throughout the lesson.
Finding and implementing a variety of activities, strategies, and teaching methods.
Accepting that all students do not learn the same way or at the same rate.
Reteaching as needed to help all students learn.
Enriching each lesson to captivate and motivate learners.
Caring deeply for every student.
Realizing that some things just do not work, even with the best of planning.
Picking up the pieces, loose ends, confusion, and misconceptions of learning and then uncovering ways to correct them.
Starting each day fresh, excited, and dedicated to students.
Ending each day by looking forward to tomorrow with enthusiasm and dedication.
Knowing that what they say, do, teach, and model affects every student now and forever.
Believing that no other job is as important as being a teacher.
Knowing that you have responded to each statement with a "true," I've saved the toughest question for last. True or false? Teachers are 100 percent responsible for
Making all students learn.
Finally, a false! This one is impossible. No teacher can force students to do anything. However, students are relying on the expert knowledge and dedicated instruction of their teacher to help them learn. No child wants to be a failure or to appear incapable. Your students depend on you.
I spent many years "forcing" students to learn. Even though in my heart I knew that they had to want to learn, to see the value of learning, I still pushed them hard—almost relentlessly. With experience I figured out that I needed to provide students with more ways to own their learning, through opportunities like self-selected reading and writing for reflection on learning. With prodding and encouragement, my students grew in independence and competence, knowing that I not only acted as a guide for learning but also honored and respected their insight and feedback. When you ask your students about what they know, you receive so much information in return.
Owning learning is evidenced when students are allowed to solve problems, explain events, and create products that demonstrate their understanding. Allowing students to own their learning means that you must be ready to accept multiple ways of discovering answers—answers that are not necessarily the same but that are plausible, or responses that with adjustments to correct misconceptions lead to learning that develops independence. In math class, owning learning might be demonstrated through multiple ways of solving a problem; in poetry it might be evident in different interpretations of the author's meaning; in woodshop it might be students constructing similar projects but selecting a variety of materials, designs, and finishing techniques. If you, the teacher, always provide one right answer, why would students ever need to really think?
Closing Advice
Teachers have the powerful responsibility of influencing student lives and learning. While this is ominous, to say the least, it is richly rewarding as you transport students to higher understanding and achievement. With a vision of excellence coupled with hard work, extreme effort, and the solid belief that all students are capable, you will discover many miracle-filled moments generated by the excitement of your teaching and your students' desire to learn.
Each day you will also realize many things about yourself as you discover talents that perhaps even you did not know you have. As you challenge student minds to stretch and grow, you will find that you are exploding with new ideas to help students succeed. Though exhausting on the best of days, your teaching and caring about your students offer vitality and thrills that continuously replenish your energy.
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