Day 188 as an Oklahoma Teacher
I read an article titled, "Teacher Spends Two Days as a Student and is Shocked at What She Learns," by Valerie Strauss. Strauss was a classroom teacher for many years, but became High School Learning Coach. The Principal told her to shadow a 10th grade and a 12th grade student for two days; she also had to do the work the students were given. Here are a few interesting tidbits that she noticed those two days: students sit a log only moving around when changing classes, students rarely had discussions in class, only if the teacher initiated it, the students copy notes that the teachers had already wrote for them, and teachers were always calling on students to be quiet and pay attention. If she could back and change her classes, she would use these ideas: mandatory stretch in the middle of class, put a Nerf basketball hoop in the class for the students to use, build in daily hands-on and move around activities for every class, include mini-lessons where the students listen to a brief lecture, work in small groups for research, and then act out a poem, use an egg timer to limit the time given for lecture, have students bring in essential questions to use them for class discussions, and ask students more questions. Surprise! This is the article that my students had to read for the semester test. I had one student suggested that our class needed a Nerf basketball hoop for the class. There were mixed responses that either their classes were all lecture or in some of their classes, they completed hands-on activities. Also, how do you become a high school learning coach? That sounds like something I would like to do.
Are you ready for some of my thoughtful wisdom? It doesn't matter; I'm still going to tell you. I have been those teachers that she described, a teacher-led classroom, with lots of notes and lecture, and students as passive learners. I guess I was just copying my teachers in high school or what I was taught in college. That probably describes the first half of my teaching career. Now, I want my class to be student-led where the students have the control of how they will learn the material. There has been many times this year when I just stand back and listen to the discussions my students are having about the literature. That gives me more insight into their understanding than just having them regurgitate the notes. When I'm the Sage on the Stage, I can show them the strategies. When I'm the Guide on the Side, I just watch and listen. There can be a mixture, but we have to get our students up moving, collaborating, and solving problems. Education is not about regurgitation; it's about collaboration and innovation.
I also think teachers need to visit other classrooms. We need to collaborate and learn from each other. Why is it that we have closed door teaching? You are welcome to visit my class. The only way that we can make positive impacts is that we learn from each other. WE CANNOT BE CLOSE-MINDED; WE MUST BE WILLING TO BE PART OF AN EDUCATIONAL RENAISSANCE. I've heard reform, which has a negative connotation, used by everyone who wants to destroy education. It needs to be a Renaissance of new, refreshing ideas that takes us down a road not taken. Every educational idea that I have dealt with over these 24 years is just a regurgitation of what has already been offered. It's time to think like there is no box and choose a road not taken.
Adieu!
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