Back to School 2019: Teacher of the Year

Being a recognized local, state, or national Teacher of the Year is a distinguished honor. That being said, just about all of us (except my VT TOY sister @SusanKochVT!) won’t be selected as Teacher of the Year, but I recently saw this tweet from @tattedteacher that sparked this blog post:

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?

It’s not the outfits, marker boxes, devices, or even the curriculum that sets the tone and starts to create the culture of a classroom.  It’s the experiences that frame learning and opportunities to apply understanding that bring learning to life, and it’s no different for an 9 year old than it is for an 19 year old. 

👩🏼‍🎓In gearing up for the new school year (and new school!), I’m also dropping my daughter for her first year at college. Similar to her older brother, I found some wise advise through the search process. In visiting her school of choice for the first time, the President of Roger Willams Univ. presented the results of a recent Gallup poll of 30,000 recent high school graduates that asked what they were looking for in their college search. Again, the ideas and wishes for learning aren’t all that varied between 9 and 19 year-olds. 

👨🏻‍🏫👩🏼‍🏫 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!