One of the most obivious steps I am taking to ensure all students succeed is going through this program at Walden. I have found inumerable resources which have been directly applied to my class. The support of fellow students provides further incite about experiences of others. This has had a direct impact on my work on curriculum in my district. The backwards design process is one I use when designing lesson sequences. I establish learning targets for my students based on national and state standards. I incorporate more real world applications to motivate my students and help them develop a deeper understanding of content. I share what I've learned with others in meetings and workshops.
I still feel the greatest obstacle is colleagues who fail to recognize the impact they have on their students. Their negative attitudes poison their classrooms and student perceptions. They still attend workshops, but for the sake of being away from their students instead of for acquiring more knowledge. I hope they will one day find the spark to inspire their students. My inspiration has been to be the kind of teacher I want my own children to have.
Ann
ReplyDeleteI love your comment about being the teacher that you would want your own children to have. I agree and work to achieve that goal. My high school son hates math. He is about two years behind. I believe both of these factors are directly related to having two years of ineffective middle school teachers. He was a high average math student in fifth grade and now struggles to keep up. I would hate to think that there is a parent blaming me for their children lack of success in science. I guess that why I do not teach reading.
Ann,
ReplyDeleteI have had the experience of working with teachers like those you wrote about. They were so disappointing to me in that they were so pessimistic and condescending about their students that it rubbed off on me and I didn't like that. The most upsetting part is as you said, that they often just went to workshops because they wanted the time away from their students, not because they wanted to improve. It is only through our courses here at Walden that I have found a passion for improvement again and realized that not all teachers are like those I worked with.
~Charity