Good Teacher Days

Ever had a "good teacher" day? I used to excitedly tell my friends and family every time I had one. It was a day when all of my students seemed happy and engaged the entire day. Things just fit together, like the pieces of a puzzle. My lessons flowed nicely and maybe some kind of unexpected "teachable moment" occurred.

I'd venture to say I had about 15 of these kinds of days my first year of teaching. I think I might average about one a week in my current position. This has something to do with my self-confidence, I know, but it also has to do with my position as a non-classroom teacher. It's easy to feel like a "good teacher" in 45 minute segments!

I used to keep an old-fashioned (meaning non-electronic) journal in my early days of teaching. This entry from my third year made me smile today as I was reading through it, which I often do... to remind myself of where I came from and how I got here, wherever here is!

2/10/08- "It was a good teacher day today. 'Test Prep' all day and the kids had no clue. It CAN be done!"

If I had known what Twitter was in those days, I might have shared this with my PLN. At the time though, it was self-affirming enough to have a day that just felt right. The entry was accompanied by one of my favorite quotes, by George Bernard Shaw:

PEOPLE WHO SAY IT CANNOT BE DONE SHOULD NOT INTERRUPT THOSE OF US WHO ARE DOING IT.

I think of this every time I hear a news story about bad teachers. Bad teachers are only bad when they choose to stay bad. Everyone can have "good teacher" days, but they only happen when we work for them.

I'm still working for them. Are you?

Be the Change You Seek

 I stumbled upon this video today from the RSA's 21st Century Enlightenment Project:

http://www.youtube.com/user/theRSAorg#p/c/39BF9545D740ECFF/20/zDZFcDGpL4U

 
After a particularly trying week (or 2 or 3) at school, this really rocked my world. I've been living in my head quite a bit lately and have had a hard time finding colleagues willing to wax philosophical with me about changing the system that we call "public education" in this country. No one wants to talk about the things they can't change.

Then, a few days ago, while driving to school, I was listening to CNN and heard a speech by President Obama on his tour of Asia. He was in India and spoke of a quote by Mahatma Gandhi that resonated with him: "Be the change you seek." I scribbled this onto a gum wrapper at the next red light and found it in my pocket later that day at a particularly low moment.

Sometimes it's a bit discouraging to work in the public school factory. In positions of leadership, it's sometimes hardest of all. You see people who lack capacity, compassion, the will to work towards the greater good... it's hard to watch! In fact, I'm sure it's why many people escape. Honestly, though, I think there's something empowering about believing that changing yourself can change the system. If we all had this attitude, imagine what we could accomplish!

Matthew Taylor of RSA said it better than I can:

"What we aim for can be as important as what we achieve." 

Now, I am a skeptic of "the power of positive thinking" (see Barbara Ehrenreich's "Smile or Die" by the same organization), but there is just something so empowering about this statement! If we aim high, even if we don't reach what we aimed for, at least we tried and at least we got higher than we were before.

As a perfectionist who wants to have done it 100% yesterday, this could be a tough pill to swallow, but I think we could do a lot of "damage" to our current educational system with this kind of thinking. I believe it was Skype co-creator Niklas Zennström who said he wanted to "...be destructive, but for the purpose of making the world a better place."

So... a premature New  Years' Resolution of mine: I will be the change I seek.

I am frustrated by teachers who won't risk new teaching strategies. I vow to try a new teaching strategy. And I'll do it clumsily in front of another person who might be inspired to take the risk as well.

It irritates me when administrators ask their insubordinate to do things they themselves have never tried. I will shatter my mental image of myself as "perfect classroom teacher". It's easy to remember yourself as perfect, but not quite as easy to actually be perfect! I will try something new before asking someone else to do it.

I can't stand the grading system we use in schools today. I will start to consider developing a new grading system and even it only lives in my brain, at least it will be better than whining and complaining about what we already have.

How will you be the change you seek?