Nov 22, 2011 Hindsight 20/20

There comes a time in the school year where it behooves one to pause a moment and look back.  I have made so many changes, done so many new things this year that I have really lost count.  I feel like my classroom is more open, more organic, more student-directed and though I still have a long way to go, I feel that I have taken a large step in the right direction.  Often times, as teachers, we forget how long it takes students to form habits, to understand and learn to think.  So many students have never been asked to think on a critical level and that takes time to learn.  Here we are in November and the students are just now learning to reason, to draw their own conclusions and to analyze what’s in front of them.  For some, it will take even longer.  I still fight the points/grade mentality everywhere.  However, just like it takes time for students to learn a new skill, it takes even longer to deprogram old skills.  We have trained students to respond only to points and external motivations, ignoring internal motivations and conclusions.  Students have learned that compliance earns grades and points are everything.  So many teachers that I speak with are afraid of standards based grading or anything similar because they feel it takes away their power.  Without the points, how will you motivate students to learning, to complete homework, to do anything at all?  My response to that is “have faith”.  I have seen student connect their homework scores to their test scores and see how practice really does make perfect.  I’ve seen students man up to the fact that they haven’t done any practice or outside work and regret that fact.  You have to create a climate where students are free to fail so long as they try again, where students are free to try and try again but doing nothing is never an option.  It takes time, effort and lots and lots of reminders.  A good work ethic and desire to succeed is more important now than ever but for some reason it has become harder to cultivate.  On some levels, being a teacher is harder than ever.  There are more distractions to battle, more expectations to meet.  Everyone seeks to pass the blame instead of offering suggestions for improvement.  But at the same time, it is more fun than ever.  I am not bound by the traditional test.  I can utilize a wide variety of assessment types.  I have more toys than ever: robots, apps, cell phones, computers, clickers, tablets, smart boards and on and on.  And the rewards of being a teacher never change.  It’s always worth it.