Imagine a world where students and teachers alike were excited about school. A world where everybody felt safe, welcome, and energized by the learning process. I know that this is possible because I've seen it happen. I have seen teachers infuse curriculum with their passion and creativity motivating students to think about what they are learning within the larger context of their world.
And yet, many teachers feel overwhelmed with increasing demands on their time, curriculum, assessment, policies, and extracurricular activities. In all the discussion on school improvement it is essential to lift up those who are already doing the hard work. To continue to provide tools and structure while allowing our teachers to maximize their talents and strengths as they serve each of the students in their classes.
Here are two things we can do to maximize meaningful learning time on our campuses:
- Calm the classroom: As a campus we must established consistent predictable expectations for our students and offer tools and support to help our teachers manage low-level behaviors in the classroom. Minimize referrals, minimize distractions, teach appropriate behavior and have more time to explore content.
- Engage all students: We can meet the various learning needs of individual students without creating 28 different lesson plans everyday. Differentiation does not have to be overwhelming. When we provide multiple opportunities for students to respond to the same instruction by incorporating audio, visual, kinesthetic and emotional, not only is class more fun for everybody, but more students succeed as well.
Teaching is not just a job, it is a calling. To help every student grow - both our high performing students and those who need a little extra help - we must be intentional about the 'how' as much as the 'what' that we teach.