Top Teacher #2: Dr. W
The first day of class was an evening in January. Class had already been cancelled once due to inclement weather. I drove nearly an hour from my school, immediately after the day had ended. My students were rowdy that day due to several days off playing in the snow. I was tired and had a headache. There was no time for dinner. I would have to eat my smashed peanut butter and jelly during the first break from class.
Needless to say, I was in a foul mood. I was pleasantly surprised, however, by a familiar face standing in the classroom door as I approached. Having recognized (but not being able to place) the professors name, I now made the connection: I had this teacher in undergraduate school and liked her very much. She was actually my very first education professor and taught a class the students called "Fundies" which stood for "Fundamentals of Mathematics". I remembered loving the practical tips she gave and the way she taught the class as we should be teaching... truly learning by doing.
My mood improved considerably and the class proved to be one of the most useful I have had in my educational career. I learned things about assessment that, looking back, blow my mind in their simplicity, clarity, practicality, and utter importance. How could I not have known these things, yet been allowed to teach for 3 + years?! It astounded me.
Everyday class started with an "icebreaker" which I would immediately take back and use with my students. One popular technique is what my prof called a "Snowball Fight". The students write their responses to an open-ended question on a piece of paper, then crumple them up into a ball. The next two minutes are for the snowball fight. Everyone throws the wads of paper at one another, getting out energy and acting ridiculous. When the teacher yells "Stop!" the students pick up the nearest "snowball" and read the response using the sentence starter, "I think this person said this because..." to interpret what the classmate said.
As much as I enjoyed the "icebreakers" and alternative assessments the professor provided us with, one piece of advice stuck with me. I have used this quote to describe my graduate school experience to many people over the past 2 years. She told us:
Undergraduate elementary education classes are some of the toughest classes to teach. It is like preparing a traveler for somewhere neither you nor they have ever been before. You give them a suitcase and fill it with as many things as possible. You pack warm weather clothes and cold weather clothes, rain gear and swimsuits. Chances are, they'll never have enough of what they need.. They'll have enough to get started, but will need to fill their suitcase themselves once they get to their destination.
Graduate classes are different. You are now packing a suitcase to travel back to somewhere you've already been. You know generally what the climate is like there, what you like to do, and how you will spend your time. There are always unexpectedly cold or warm days or maybe your tastes change, but you know what things to put in your suitcase and what to leave behind.
How profound! I have approached my life-long learning as an educator from this perspective. I know what needs to go in my suitcase and what can be left behind. I know the things that were most important the last time I went on this journey and what I didn't have enough of. The more times I make the trip, the better prepared I will be.
Here's to a new school year! May your suitcase be full of everything you need!
