My Teaching Manifesto
As I sit at my desk in the middle of week two with students for the 2018-2019 school year -- the start of my 19th year in this career -- I reflect on who and what I am as a teacher.
Some of these things may seem simple and basic to the teaching profession. Teachers with a passion for their content and their profession project that onto their students who will, invariably, have more passion for their own work; teachers who set expectations and consistently enforce them will have students who rise to meet -- and often exceed -- those expectations; and teachers who show their students they care by being accessible to them when assignments (or life) gets tough form lasting relationships that will not only translate well in the classroom but will often build student confidence in their abilities to continue their march toward higher learning and adulthood. Unfortunately, I often hear stories from students who have had experiences with teachers who do not celebrate their successes, big or small. I have witnessed the chaos and discouragement of the student in the classroom of a teacher who doesn't prepare; and I have been that student who was treated unfairly. And while these are certainly not the only elements of my classroom, they are some of the elements that make my room a safe space for students who need a cheerleader, and some who just need a little grace. I hope that this year, and each year, I can work toward making myself a better educator so that my students will always have the best "me" they can get. Without passion, without grace, and without celebrations, classrooms become dismal places of loneliness and fear, places where students are forced to go and where the clock ticks slowly into what feels like infinity. I love when classes get to the bell and realize they've been so busy doing meaningful tasks and having authentic experiences with literature that the eighty minutes spent in room 211 have slipped by in what feels like fifteen. I want my classroom to be each student's "place to be"; the door they look forward to walking into with a smile and an expectation of an exciting day!
Some of these things may seem simple and basic to the teaching profession. Teachers with a passion for their content and their profession project that onto their students who will, invariably, have more passion for their own work; teachers who set expectations and consistently enforce them will have students who rise to meet -- and often exceed -- those expectations; and teachers who show their students they care by being accessible to them when assignments (or life) gets tough form lasting relationships that will not only translate well in the classroom but will often build student confidence in their abilities to continue their march toward higher learning and adulthood. Unfortunately, I often hear stories from students who have had experiences with teachers who do not celebrate their successes, big or small. I have witnessed the chaos and discouragement of the student in the classroom of a teacher who doesn't prepare; and I have been that student who was treated unfairly. And while these are certainly not the only elements of my classroom, they are some of the elements that make my room a safe space for students who need a cheerleader, and some who just need a little grace. I hope that this year, and each year, I can work toward making myself a better educator so that my students will always have the best "me" they can get. Without passion, without grace, and without celebrations, classrooms become dismal places of loneliness and fear, places where students are forced to go and where the clock ticks slowly into what feels like infinity. I love when classes get to the bell and realize they've been so busy doing meaningful tasks and having authentic experiences with literature that the eighty minutes spent in room 211 have slipped by in what feels like fifteen. I want my classroom to be each student's "place to be"; the door they look forward to walking into with a smile and an expectation of an exciting day!
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