Lessons learned from the ashes

"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow." -John Dewey

I saw this quote on an educational technology blog, and it made me pause.  When working with teachers, I see two different types of teacher:  type one - those who are constantly trying different ways to reach the student and type two - those who teach the same way everyday, most likely mimicking the teachers of their childhood classrooms. 

I also think back to when I taught.  When I first started, I was type two.  I taught the way I was taught, and for the first few years taught the same thing the same way every year.  I’ve often said to new teachers or student teachers that if I could, I would write a letter of apology to the students I taught in the first five years of my career.  I took the “don’t smile until Christmas” advice a little too literally, and I definitely had what I was teaching pre-planned and ready to go no matter what.

Two things occurred to change me as a teacher.  The first event opened my eyes to the value of what I had my students completing under the guise of learning.  Because I was taught literature a certain way, I had the elaborate project list, similar to what my own teachers gave me, ready for my unsuspecting students.  We were studying Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.  I’m sure most of you remember this from your own days in a high school classroom. 

My students not only read the play, but they had to memorize every detail of Shakespeare’s life right down to the number of children he had and how many died…everything you ever needed to know to become a Jeopardy champion.  If that wasn’t enough, they also had to know every detail of Shakespeare’s theater.  To ensure that they not only had to memorize these facts that did nothing to instill a love of Shakespeare’s writing, they had to construct a model of Shakespeare’s Globe.  After several years of this exact lesson that soon became a rite of passage for MCHS sophomores (that and yes, The Good Earth.  But that is another story), I had the pleasure of having a student who opened my eyes and made me look at myself.

The day the projects were due, my room was filled with beautiful, and not-so-beautiful, models of the Globe.  In walks this particular student with a small box.  When it came his time to present his Globe (yes, we actually sat through every student naming the parts of his/her Globe), he went to the front of the room and presented his box filled with ashes.  He proudly stated (with a sly grin on his face), that this was “The Globe after it burned to the ground.” 

I admit, I wasn’t sure how to react, and he obviously wasn’t sure how I would react because he quickly went out to the hallway and brought in his actual Globe.  What he may not realize is that his box of ashes made me rethink how I taught.  It wasn’t a change that occurred right away, but I did start reflecting on the value of what assignments I gave students.  I won’t say I never gave another lame assignment, because I’m sure I did, but I will say that I never taught things exactly the same way twice because I looked at the value of every lesson and where each class was and needed to go. The days of the cookie cutter lesson that I could pull out of the file cabinet were gone.

The second event that changed me as a teacher was having my own children.  It made me realize that every student was once someone’s beloved baby, and every one of them is different.  I became much kinder and willing to see the individual instead of the class. My file cabinet of lessons became something that seldom was opened.  My lessons were catered to the class in front of me, not what I always did and the way I always did it.

This brings me back to the quote “If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.”  Can we teach the same thing, the same way, day after day and expect our students to be ready for tomorrow?  Obviously, the answer is no.  If you are a teacher and are reading this, then I challenge you.  I challenge you to think about your lessons and ask why.  Why am I giving this assignment?  What do I want my students to understand and be able to do once this lesson is over?  Is it something that will prepare them for the future or is it something that I needed to be prepared for my future?  Because, honestly, theirs is a very different future, and building that Globe model probably isn’t going to get them where we need them to be. 

As a teacher, you should reflect and recharge your lessons.  Think about where our students today need to be in five, ten, fifteen years.  Don’t be satisfied with what you’ve always done; instead, learn new ways to reach every child.  The way we’ve always done it may not work.  We all need to be willing to see the real value in the box of ashes. 



The Mystery of Science

Science class…when I was in school I was one of the few who didn’t look forward to that subject.  All my friends liked conducting the experiments, exploring the entrails of various animals through the dissections, and studying the inner workings of the earth.  Not me.  I sat through science waiting on English class. Seeing what was inside a frog’s belly held no mystery for me, but reading a mystery?  Now, that was what made me want to go to school.

That’s why I’m amazed when my seventh grade daughter comes home excited about dissecting a frog in Ms. Walker’s class.  She talks a mile a minute explaining the steps of the dissection and gives great detail about the contents of her frog’s stomach.  To me, this is truly disgusting, but to her she suffered a great injustice because another group got a girl frog filled with eggs and a beetle while her male frog’s belly was empty.  What is a blessing to some is an injustice to others; go figure.

Now that I am older and have the chance to see science classes from an observer’s point of view, they seem much more exciting than they did when I was daydreaming through them. 

 Recently, Ms. Heffron’s class had the opportunity to “carve” a pumpkin chemist-style.  The students used pumpkins, hollowed and carved with the face pieces replaced, to conduct an experiment that showed how much energy is required to break triple bonds. They went outside (thank goodness) and placed a solid ignition chemical in the pumpkin, capped the pumpkin while pressing down on the lid to cause the acetylene gas to build up, and when they lit the pumpkin….you guessed it, perfect jack-o-lantern.

This past week there were loud bangs coming from the back parking lot; it turned out Mrs. Heffron was at it again. It’s great to see our students excited about science, and we are fortunate to have teachers willing to present the content in a fun way. So, thank you to all our science teachers.  Let me know when you’re doing that next dissection…maybe I can make it through one as an adult.



A Powerful Classroom Tool

I recently spent the morning visiting classes at Waverly Yowell Elementary and was again reminded of the importance of a smile.  I observed what one expects to observe when visiting teachers’ classrooms – reading, questioning, discussion; however, I observed something more powerful than all that.  I observed smiling faces. 

When parents send their children to school, they certainly expect them to learn to read, write, problem solve, and other academic content, but they also hope they will have a “good day.”  The day I was observing classes, I noted many children having just such a day.  Their teachers were not only engaging them in the content, they were kind, supportive, and yes, smiling.

I left Waverly that morning realizing the enormous influence something as simple as a teacher’s attitude has on students.   It is a powerful tool that we all need to be reminded we have at our disposal.  So, thanks to the Waverly teachers who nurture, teach, and smile at their students everyday.  I would feel good about sending my child there knowing he/she was going to have a “good day.”



Teachers and sharing...

We work in the best profession.  Where else do you see colleagues sharing resources and work that individuals spent hours to create?  When I visit our four schools and see all the creative lessons being taught, it strikes me that a lot of time and effort goes into what our teachers do every day.  And when someone needs a creative idea for a lesson, our teachers immediately respond with, “Let me show you what I’ve done with that…” 

Recently, one of our middle school math teachers, Christy Black, shared her ePortfolio with me.  This is a great resource for teachers, and I know it took a lot of time to research and create.  And what did she do?  She shared it and said to “pay it forward” to anyone who might find it useful. Please find the description of her resource below, along with the link.  So, thanks to Christy for taking the time to create and share her resource.  She’s just one of the many great teachers we are lucky to have.

Description:
Here is a link to my portaportal, which will give you many resources for differentiating for gifted students. If you have students in your class who are gifted or especially talented in your subject, please take the time to view this information about their academic, social and emotional needs. There are other links for integrating technology in the curriculum, teaching mathematics, and teaching middle schoolers.

https://sites.google.com/a/madisonschools.k12.va.us/christy-black-s-e-portfolio/



Primary School World Travelers

Take a trip around the world with second graders at Madison Primary School.  Mrs. Morris and Mrs. Dickey are taking their students around the world as they study the continents and oceans. 

Students have a passport and travel from place to place taking an in-depth look at each location.  The students learn about the climate, animals/habitats, food, cultures, and languages as they sample food, read folk tales, sing, dance, and create various artistic projects that will help them remember each place they visit.

While traveling to Africa, the students read the Anansi the Spider stories, sampled plantains, and made an African mask.  Next stop…Europe.