Type of Teachers

I used to think there were two different types of teachers. Quite simply, I thought there were good teachers and there were bad teachers and that was it. Good teachers were those that were excellent at what they did every single day in the classroom and in every aspect of being a teacher. They taught dynamic lessons, contributed to the school and continuously evolved their craft to be better. Bottom line, they were good. Bad teachers were those that were unable to connect with kids and had bad instructional techniques. They couldn't control their classes. Parents were always complaining about them. When I was in a meeting with these bad teachers I couldn't stand being around them. They seemed to be doing the same thing every year and in the same way. At the end of the day, these were the teachers that were talked about in the teacher’s lounge and people counted down the days until they retired.

For the longest time I thought that was it. Those were the two different types of teachers. You're either a good teacher who deserved to work with kids every day or you were a bad teacher and you deserved to be fired. However, I'm beginning to see a third type of teacher which might be the most prevalent and also the most important.

This third type of teacher looks suspiciously similar to a bad teacher. Yet, if you look closer and boil it down these teachers are doing the best they know how and that's it. They may not be good teachers, but then again they may not have ever been told how to be one. They don't know how to improve or how to teach any other way. They are just teaching the way they always have or the way in which they themselves were taught. At the end of the day they think they're doing right because they don't know any other way. These teachers often get frustrated when people think they're bad teachers. This is because they think they're good because they're doing the best they know how and they don't know any other way.

With this in mind I would like to think that there are three distinctly different types of teachers and they should each be treated differently. There are still good teachers out there that still fit in the definition above. We need to celebrate these teachers and model our work after and around them. I also think there are bad teachers out there but I revise my earlier definition. The way I see it now, a bad teacher is one that has been shown a better way to do something and refuses to change. They are making a choice not to change even if they have been provided the chance to do so and clear evidence that it helps kids. In my opinion, we need to help these people find a way to do something else for a living. Finally, I see those “other” teachers that just need a guiding hand or the inspiration to change. The good teachers have an obligation to not complain about these teachers but instead to mentor and help them be better at what they do.

What kind of teacher are you? More importantly, what kind of teachers are you working with and what are you doing about it? Are you pushing your peers to be better and helping them on their journey? Who do you turn to in an effort to improve yourself?

Why Would You Become a Teacher?

 I have spent a great deal of the past year speaking to future teachers and education students in higher education. Honestly, these are my favorite groups to speak with. They are so full of hope and potential and have yet to become weighted down with the realities of the teaching profession. However, as I reflect on these experiences I wonder why anyone goes into our profession anymore. There are so many things that teachers are dealing with right now that I truly question if I would suggest that anyone pursue teaching as a career. In thinking about talking to these future teachers, here are a few things maybe I should give them a heads up on and really ask them why they would want to become a teacher.

• You will be villainized by your neighbors in the community that you serve when you are part of a union and the union goes on strike for better pay and better benefits.
• You will inevitably work for an administrator that has lost touch with the classroom. These administrators will observe you and evaluate you and tell you how to teach even though they themselves do not know how to be an effective teacher. You will see that exact same administrator fire and release good teachers around you because they don't know what good teaching looks like.
• You will turn on the news and never see a positive story about a teacher but instead be bombarded with negative images and stories about ignorant and misguided teachers that are telling the story for you and your fellow teachers.
• You will be overwhelmed with initiatives that are not new but instead are just a continual recycling of old ideas in new packages so somebody other than a teacher can make big money on them.
• You'll be told your sole value as a teacher is determined by students’ bubble sheet tests that you yourself have no value in and do not teach to.
• You will be forced to teach a curriculum that is miles upon miles wide but barely scratches the surface of any real depth.
• You will listen and watch politicians fill your head with false promises about how they will make education better but then just perpetuate the cycle of bad policies and underfunded initiatives.
• You will watch as nearly one quarter of all new teachers quit or leave the profession within the first couple of years of their career.
• You will constantly be told how to do your job by people that have never done your job. Whether it’s a politician or a businessman, they will all claim to know school because they went to school and none of them will hesitate to tell you how school should be.
• You will watch as vital programs that help a child expand their mind beyond the core curriculum are cut or dismantled.
• You will teach in a building alongside amazing teachers. You will also teach alongside terrible teachers that will stay in a classroom because administrators don't want to do the work to get rid of them but will rather shuffle them to another building.
• You will invest hours upon hours of your life into a child who won't care, won't change and ultimately drop out of school.
• You will work for a school district that only cares about test scores. The well-being of the whole child will be secondary to data driven results of the student.
• You will sit through meetings upon meetings, in-services and professional development opportunities that have no relevance, no connection and no value to you in the classroom.
• You will constantly have to defend your decision to become “just a teacher” to your family and friends.

Yet in spite of all of this, if you truly love what you do it will be worth it. Every single thing on this list is irrelevant if you are passionate about teaching. Those special moments when you inspire a colleague or motivate a kid will be worth all of this and more. I do encourage people who truly want to matter in this world to join the ranks of teachers and help change lives, touch the future and all of those other teacher cliches that ring true. :)  

Lessons from SpongeBob

This evening I was catching an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants with my young son. The episode started with the boat school teacher coming under review by what was apparently a supervisor. Now, anyone who has a little child at home or a taste for cartoons know this to be a rather silly show. However, there was a line within the opening scene that made me think. The man/fish from the Teacher Accreditation Bureau was condemning Ms. Puff for failing a student numerous times.  When Ms. Puff tried to explain, the supervisor simply replied, "We can not blame the students for the incompetence of the teacher."

I am not sure why this resonated with me. However, I continued to watch the episode with much interest in terms of the perception of what a good teacher is as compared to what a bad teacher is. If you have a few minutes I suggest you watch it...you can even have your kids watch it with you. :)

Get More: SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes,SpongeBob SquarePants,SpongeBob SquarePants Games

In Which I Create a School

Recently, my school district opened up an Innovation Process where teachers, students, parents and anyone associated with our schools could submit ideas. These ideas could be any new way of doing something within our schools with the purpose of increase student learning, efficiency or a handful of other indicators. 

I took the opportunity to submit a proposal for a pilot school within my current school. I am taking a page out of my good friend Tim Dove's playbook who did this already in his school in Ohio. Much of the terminology is taken from the Phoenix school but will be adapted to meet our needs if we are allowed the opportunity to move forward. Below is my proposal and I look forward to seeing what the future holds as I think the potential upside for such a pilot could be tremendous. 

There will be lots of discussions and further logistics if this pilot actually gets a green light but I would be lying if I said I wasn't completely thrilled. Feel free to take a look and let me know what you would add or adjust. 

Project Description

The intent behind this project is to create a learning environment that supports learning in its truest form and encourages the best aspects of good schools. While this team would physically be within the building, it would operate as a school within a school. Below is a list of pieces that will be unique on this pilot team.

·         Grades/Content

o   Mastery model of grading will be used for content knowledge based on Illinois State Standards and District content area standards.

o   Reports cards will be rewritten to include feedback to parents beyond academic letter grade.

§  Included will be a narrative of student growth along with a portfolio of student work.

o   Students will follow district curriculum in the areas of Language Arts, Math and Science. Social Science will be replaced with current events as a lens in which to teach World History and therefore differ from current 6^th grade Social Science curriculum.

·         Schedule

o   Initially during the pilot phase the schedule would mirror start and end times of the Junior High School

o   Planning time would be scheduled for all teachers to collaboratively plan on a weekly basis.

o   The bell schedule however would be crafted within the team to meet the needs of learners and staff availability.

§  The schedule would include the following elements

·         Foundations Class

o   A class that would teach foundational skills such as note taking, character education, basic technology skills, basic writing/reading skills and any “foundation” skills that would transcend all aspects of learning within the school regardless of subject area.

·         Learning Blocks

o   This would be where the “core” curriculum would be delivered.

§  In addition to the core curriculum topics such as current events, global studies, community service and digital citizenship will be integrated.

·         Wellness

o   During this class students would participate in wellness activities that would incorporate both physical education and health topics. 

·         Lunch

o   Speaks for itself…

·         Learning Extensions

o   This would be a time where other classes that would typically be termed “exploratory” or electives would be taught. These would not necessarily be the same 4 exploratories being currently offered but would be created based on student need/interest. Rather than a set curriculum these would be more independently driven with staff guidance.

·         Independent Reading

o   Discovery Days

§  On discovery days students will spend time creating and implementing a learning plan. These days could be spent shadowing a parent at work, participating in a service learning project or another self-designed exploratory experience.

·         Teaching

o   Teaching will be based on a Project Based Learning model.

§  Students will participate in collaborative learning activities.

o   Co-Teaching will be the preferred and primary approach in most classes.

§  Teacher groupings will be based on content knowledge of teacher and student need within the class.

o   PLC Model will be used for weekly planning of curriculum delivery and student learning discussions.

·         Technology

o   1 to 1 environment for student devices

o   Social media and Web2.0 tool integration

·         Community Connection

o   Pilot team will serve as a model for innovative teaching practice and partner with local university/college education department(s).

o   Students will be engaged in real life experiences either in the community or through the use of community volunteers. The intent will be to utilize experts within various fields of study to create rich and meaningful learning experiences within context.

·         Staff

o   Pilot Team would consist of a high functioning team that is committed to innovative approaches to learning.

o   Peer evaluation, feedback and observations would be included in teacher expectations. Intent would be to create a collaborative professional learning community through active and intentional improvement.

o   Team make-up would be:

§  2 Language Arts teacher

§  1 Social Science teacher

§  1 Math teacher

§  1 Science teacher

§  1 Learning Behavior Support/ Reading Teacher

·         Staff Evaluation

o   Evaluation of staff will consist of five parts

§  Peer evaluations (using 4 domains of Danielson model)

§  Student feedback

§  Parent feedback

§  Student achievement

·         Combination of data from tests and student work portfolios

§  Professional development log/plan

Wish me luck and keep an eye out for updates...

Great Teaching in Preschool

If you want to see how teaching should be done, I would encourage you to step into your local preschool or early childhood center. I have been fortunate to spend a fair amount of time in my local early childhood center because both of my sons have attended and one is still there. It appears to me that all a teacher really needs to know about how to teach they could learn in a preschool classroom. For example…

·         Play is learning – Kids interact with their environment and learning space as if they were playing. Learning through play is par for the course and kids actually enjoy doing it. At what point does play work its way out of our classrooms?

·         Relationships trump everything else – Just watch the way a preschool teacher helps kids and you know that relationships are key. Both of my sons absolutely adored their preschool teachers. They couldn’t wait to talk to them and share every single aspect of their personal lives and some of their parents as well. JThe reason for this is kids know when you care for and about them.

·         Parents are part of the process – There is no other setting where you see more parental involvement than the preschool classroom. My son’s school has monthly parents in the classroom where my wife or I can go and “play” with your son. In addition, there are community nights, open houses, and numerous other activities for parents to be a part of the school community. This sends a strong message that parents are a part of the learning process and are a valued member of the school.

·         Small class sizes – Anyone that has actually spent time in a school as an educator knows that the smaller the class size the better learning potential there will be. When you have a class of 12-15 kids, you can provide the individualized attention we know to be best for kids.

·         Cooperation is taught and celebrated – Kids in a preschool classroom are taught how to work together to solve problems and cooperate. Competition is not a tool they use but rather they focus on working in a collaborative manner to learn and play together.

·         Failure is used as a learning tool – Kids at this age fail on a regular basis and that is to be expected. These failures though are learning opportunities and kids are challenged and supported to keep trying and figure things out.

I know there is nothing profound in this post but it just strikes me how we think some of these skills or ideas go away when kids get older. There is nothing in this list that could or should not be a part of any classroom at any grade level. For some reason we think that the fundamental ideas we utilize in early childhood somehow become less important as they get older.