Centering Our Work Around What Matters Most
Lots of words are thrown around these days in the teaching world in regard to what is best for our students. Teachers need to be loving yet firm, responsive yet teach with fidelity, get students college and career ready yet let them play...you can see how being a teacher can get overwhelming at times. There is a constant pressure to perform and get "it" right. But what does getting it right really mean?
We need to back it up a bit and consider where some of these buzz words have come from. Words and phrases like college and career ready, fidelity, and rigor have been fueled by increasingly challenging standards that students are to achieve. On the other hand, words and phrases like social emotional, brain break, and play have all come along to counteract some of the rigidity that comes with high stakes standards and to remind us of the humans that are at the center of our work.
The bottom line is that everyone, I mean EVERYONE, thinks they know what is best for our students. But the truth is, no one knows a group of kids like their teacher. A teacher has a unique vantage point when it comes to their students. Not only do they get to know them as readers, writers, scientists, historians, and mathematicians, they see their interactions with peers and know what makes them unique.
That brings us to the big question of why there is so much pressure to teach in the "correct" way when no one else knows our students like we do? How do we overcome the perception that a program knows better than a teacher? The answer lies in an idea that will not fail our students, no matter how we go about it...teaching with intention.
Having intent in our teaching isn't reliant on a program. It is not an idea that is rooted in rigor or rooted in play, it is rooted in the belief that students are at the heart of our work. It is the belief that a resource can keep us consistent and show us a pathway of where to go, but we as teachers can take what we know about our students and use that to drive how we meet their needs. Teaching with intent is bringing our students to the core of our work.
When we teach with intention, we bring back the purpose in our work. It's using our expertise to make choices for our kids. It's knowing that a book may say what a mini-lesson can be but the teacher knows how to coach individuals and small groups to meet them where they are and push them towards the next steps. No buzz word, mantra, or program can bring that kind of purpose into the work that happens day in and day out with students.
So next time a someone tells you what they think is best or throws a program your way, take a step back. Think about your expertise, trust your gut, and bring the intent. Centering our work around what matters most, our students, will never become a buzz word.
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