A-ha! We are each and all the teachers of the year for the students we work with. We are their teacher of the year. One thing I love about this shift in mindset is that it focuses on what’s ahead. It’s not about recognizing accomplishments or awarding service. It’s about creating culture and building relationships.
August Anxiety😬
When setting up and decorating the still-clean classroom, or selecting our best day-1 outfit, we get the same nervous excitement about our first day of school, but it can be easy to lose sight of their first day. Houdini is often credited with saying that a magician is merely an actor playing the part of a magician. We all know that this couldn’t be further from the truth in education, but we have all seen or worked with teachers who have fallen into that similar trap, spending lots of energy, time, attention, and money to set the scene, when setting the tone might be the higher priority. 🎩
👔Learning Unleashed
I’ve been known to say to my tie-wearing colleagues, “nice leash,” just to bust their chops, but there is actually something to it. We all like to look professional, but I have yet to find a student who takes me more seriously or connects more deeply when I’m dressed to the nines. To stretch the concept further, losing the tie brings about learning unleashed. It also implies a potential energy waiting to burst. De-prioritizing the costume of a teacher and the Pinterest-worthy decorations begins to answer the question, are you more interested in being the teacher or being their teacher?
👨🏻🏫👩🏼🏫 Professors Who Make a Difference
Students are inspired and engaged by educators who demonstrate personal connection, investment and visible passion for their craft. This holds true for just about every teacher I've met too. We are all inspired by our colleagues and mentors who influence and impact the lives of those around them.
🖐 Hands on Practice
Students need authentic opportunities to apply thinking. This includes opportunities to fail, build and rebuild understanding, whether its digital tools, physical models, or writers’ journals. Demonstrating learning can’t be a once-and-done showcase or line-item checklist.
🙋🏻♂️🙋🏻♀️Mentors on Campus
Learners look to each other, and all students benefit from peer relationships that model academic, social, and emotional health. I’m moving to a k-5 building and I can’t wait to involve 5th graders as mentors for younger learners, particularly when in comes to digital citizenship. They carry a credibility that no grown-up can match when it comes to sharing safe practices, online behaviors, and responsible use.
Campus Involvement
Students need to feel purposeful and valued. When we provide authentic purposes for engagement and involvement, engagement happens at a new level.
-engagement, purpose, inclusion
🕵🏽♀️👩🏻🌾👨🍳👨🏻💻👨🏾🎨👩🔬Internship Experiences
While we may not have the same types of internship opportunities as higher ed folks, we can design experiences for students to apply and extend learning beyond their classroom walls. Whether it’s being a resource online for another class, blogging for their class or school, or being part of a “student help-desk” for IT expert help, we can begin to engineer experiences with real audiences, real recipients, and real reasons to...
Preparation for Life After Graduation
We may not be sending our kids right out to the workforce, but that doesn’t stop every student from approaching the end of each school year with bittersweet butterflies about what’s next and their preparedness for next classes, grades or schools. Students hunger for an understanding of what’s next and how the skills and understanding we hope to build serve to support a spiraling structure that counties to climb.
The hopes and dreams of learning are ageless. We all want to experience the joy of discovery, a sense of purpose, and opportunities to make our mark in the world. This is our gift, to make these hopes and dreams come true in our learning spaces. You are the teacher of the year: their teacher of the year!
