One down and a bunch to go...

I turned in my final assignment for my first class early this week and am feeling pretty happy that I have made it through this first class.  It took a while for me to put my student hat back on and understand that everything isn't going to happen immediately.  It sometimes takes a bit of struggle and persistence to work through the assignments and activities.  It is definitely something requiring patience in my approach.

I'm relieved that my hurry-up-and-find-the-answer personality allowed me to slow down and figure things out over a period of time.

It is interesting to think about my experience so far in terms of the students in classrooms in my district.  We need to empathize with students and make sure we are supporting them throughout the learning process.

How can we do that?  By asking ourselves questions as we plan and teach each day:

• How would I like being a student in my own classroom?  As Dave Burgess said in his book Teach Like a Pirate, "If your students didn't have to be there, would you be teaching to an empty room?"
  
• Do we offer students time to reflect on learning?  

• Am I using the same materials every single year?  Or do I update my lessons based on the needs of the students in front of me?
  
• Do I seek out other educators and support people to help me find ways to differentiate instruction to meet student needs?
  
• Do I compare the amount of work I assign students with other teachers in my school to make sure what we are asking in reasonable?  Everyone needs some unstructured time to breathe.  Tons of homework is stressful.  Alice Keeler is an educator who advocates for no homework.  If I were still in the classroom, I'd be doing that.

As educators, we need to keep students in the forefront of everything we do in our classrooms.  My first class has brought back exactly why that is so important.  As we struggle to learn, we need feedback throughout the process.