“Why am I doing this and how is it good for these kids?”
Darren Draper’s “Becoming a Better Teacher” post on Drape’s Takes reminded me of a Reading Recovery training session I attended several years ago. I remember vividly the moment Dr. Nancy Anderson completely changed my perspective as a teacher. She shared that with every teaching decision she made, she asked herself one question, “Why am I doing this, and how is it good for this kid?”
As teachers, we have so many reasons for doing the things we do in the classroom. We follow the state curriculum, district objectives, content area curriculum, and curriculum office/campus initiatives. We have favorite units, things we have always taught, things our team likes to do, and the next thing that appears in the textbook. There is the newest technology tool that we need to try, in order to remain on the “cutting edge.” We even make sure that we address all of the “pet peeves” of the next year’s grade level, so they won’t be disappointed in the “new crop” they are inheriting. In the midst of all of this “stuff” do we lose site of our most important purpose – meeting the needs of the kiddos?
The thing I love most about collaborating with my colleagues, on and beyond my campus, is the way it helps me to continuously reevaluate what I am doing with my students. Sometimes it is easy to get bogged down in the mire of academic expectations, but I always try to take a moment to ask myself Nancy’s question. “Why am I doing this, and how is it good for these kids?” Sometimes it causes me to make a quick change to what I am about to teach, sometimes it doesn’t. But it does accomplish one thing - without fail. It reminds me that I am not just teaching a curriculum, I am teaching children. After all, isn’t that why we all got into this game in the first place?
April 16th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
This is a fantastic first post, Kerrie. If I could offer any advice to beginning bloggers, it would be to consider carefully the reasons they have decided to blog.
I think that Jon Becker’s recent post (that has caused quite a stir – found here http://tinyurl.com/6hd5l2 ) and the dozens of posts that have followed it (including Scott Mcleod’s followup post here http://tinyurl.com/5t8j8r ) are all important posts that ask very important questions and give very important, specific pieces of advice.
Best of luck in your blogging adventures,
DD
April 17th, 2008 at 7:43 am
I love your question. I think it’s something teachers don’t think about enough. They are too concerned with everything they have to do, the items you listed in your second paragraph. I also wonder if administrators think of that same question when they are pushing their ideas on teachers.
April 21st, 2008 at 10:14 am
Thanks for the kind words! I must admit that actually receiving comments from other professionals has raised my anticipation for the future of the Common Sense Classroom blog. My students must converse with me on “Mrs. Gustin’s Go-Between”, you chose to respond on this one, which inspires me to give the professional development end of the blogging realm a fair chance at my time and effort.
@Darren – Thanks for the links! It helps to have some guidance to the “good stuff” that is related to my current professional exploration. I have been to both and I’m thinking about what I want to comment. I find it helps me to “mull things over” before throwing words around. I’m still a bit tenative about posting words that I can’t edit myself later.
@Chad – Interesting thought concerning administration. I believe that my current administrators do ask themselves this question, it is certainly evident in their administrative style. However, I have worked in other schools where it certainly didn’t seem to be the case. It is my hope that we might all move a little farther toward this ideal everyday. Unfortunately, I miss the mark myself on a fairly regular basis – but I am still trying!
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:29 am
Kerrie you ask good questions, I believe we should all be reflective in our classroom practices because all of what we do impacts our students. I am not sure we have to always be on the cutting edge with technology, but we do have to take the time to find the best resources. I can understand what you said in terms of reading other posts and thinking about what you want to say before responding. I am the same way, as you become more comfortable it does become easier.
Robin
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
@ Robin – Thanks for the encouragement. Maybe it is the nature of the job, but I find that strategic questioning is often the key to achieving a deeper sense of understanding – no matter the topic or context.
My friend and colleague, Tammy Lehmann and I spend a good portion of each day in intensive Q & A problem solving/planning sessions. In fact, she just wrote a post called The Important Questions! on her Reflections blog featuring one of my personal favorites when it comes to monitoring student understanding – “How do you know?” Like Tammy says in her post, you can find out a great deal about what a student truly understands when you use that little gem!
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I quote you:
“I am not just teaching a curriculum, I am teaching children. After all, isn’t that why we all got into this game in the first place?”
As a first year teacher, it has been difficult to finally come to this realization. Early in the year, I was in a survival mode……all that mattered was that I had my kids engaged….somehow. As I have evolved with my experiences this year, I can honestly say that I realize the importance on not always looking at the lesson plans and staying on schedule. I must “teach” my students and with that said, I mean that I am to teach them much more than curriculum tells me to teach. Awesome posting!
April 24th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
@natmanderson – Good for you, my friend! I find it astounding that you have enough mental or physical energy left to consider such thoughts during your first year in the classroom. Your students will greatly benefit from your reflection, and you will find as time passes, you will develop the ability to “morph” the objectives to more effectively meet the individual needs of your students. Sounds to me like you are well on the way already. Happy teaching!
May 2nd, 2009 at 8:09 pm
I am not a teacher, I am a student. I am very glad that teachers like you are sharing information about teaching. I hope that you post information to help us to students learn new knowledge. I am happy to visit your website again, Maam. Thanks!
November 10th, 2009 at 5:46 am
Your content is good. As I have evolved with my experiences this year, I can honestly say that I realize the importance on not always looking at the lesson plans and staying on schedule. I must “teach” my students and with that said, I mean that I am to teach them much more than curriculum tells me to teach. Awesome posting!