Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Musings

Famous Brit Lit Poets "invade" our classroom to discuss current events
This year at CCA, all teachers are required to complete a portfolio, reflecting on their personal academic journey. What assignments worked well? What flopped? How can I be a better teacher?

As I look back on the assignments completed this year, I notice that not one assignment exactly replicates what I did last year. There is a drive within me to always push onward & upward. I don't ever want to stagnate as a teacher, nor presume to have my profession figured out. This is tough for me as I am a perfectionist. I want to get things right the first time, and am sometimes frustrated to look back on the failures of yesteryear. Those failures may have pushed me to be the teacher I am today, but failure still smarts.

I have improved in crafting quality assessments. These are not formal tests!! At any given time, I usually have a pretty good feel for the pulse of my classroom community. Who understand what we are doing? Who is lost? I don't need to know if a student can recite the plot lines of a given book - that information is at the tip of their fingers. What I do want to see is passion, heart, inspiration, creativity... does literature inspire my students? Does it teach them about themselves and their world? That is my measure of success.

I still have much work to do improving my classroom management. I wrestle with this. Sometimes it feels like I need to become a different teacher to gain control of the classroom. I am not dictatorial (usually). I do not like to have all focus on me. I prefer students to be creating, crafting, discovering, building their own knowledge with me as a guide. But when things are crazy and chaotic and students can't understand directions because no one is listening and no one is reading instructions, things fall apart. It does not matter how interesting the project is, if a student doesn't want to listen, there is only so much flash/bang! that will garner their attention. And so, I am left with trying to wrangle my philosophy into order. How can I better craft units to suit the needs of my various students? How can I effectively teach, without resorting to being the loudest voice in the room?

I love each and every one of my students. Honestly. They are what make the long nights and the frustrating failures worth it. I want to be able to look every student in the eye at the end of the year and say, "I like you. I hope you like me, too. Hopefully this year, you learned a little about yourself and the world around you. Hopefully you mastered some practical skills. Hopefully you are leaving my classroom a better version of yourself."