ELLEN
BERG
Diary #37
Some Soul-Searching:
How Can I Be a Better Teacher Next Year?
I have heard the comment "He can't see the forest for the trees" countless times in my life, especially when my parents were discussing political candidates or employers. It is a handy way to describe those people who become mired in all of the dots in life while being completely unaware of how to connect them all.
I have always been fascinated by these people who could really see all the small pieces of the puzzle. They are the people who see the cobwebs in the corners of a hastily cleaned home or are good at Trivial Pursuit.I, on the other hand, am one of those people who often cannot see the trees for the forest. I am most definitely a whole-picture person who gets lost when it comes to details. When we were planning our wedding, I described the overall feeling and effect I was going for, and my husband (a detail guy) set about gathering all the pieces to complete that whole wedding picture. We complement each other that way.
The little trees are zooming into view
While there are definite advantages to being a whole-picture person, there are also definite disadvantages, especially when it comes to being a teacher. I suppose it did not really bother me before now because, as a fairly new teacher, I was too busy trying to get the whole picture in line with my concept of what a classroom should look like. Now that the big picture items are complete, the little trees that have been neglected are zooming into view. What am I talking about? I am talking about teaching mainly to the middle, managing the middle, reaching the majority. While all of those things are necessary, if that is all I ever do, I will be a failure as a teacher. We are entering our last week of school, and my tendency is to do a lot of soul-searching and reflection at this time. Although I think my instruction was better this year than it has ever been in the past, even with the challenging kids I had this year, I know I left many kids behind. I promised them all success, but I did not deliver to everyone.It would be easy to gnash my teeth and wring my hands in self-recrimination, and stay in that place. I might even make excuses‹good ones at that‹as to why I failed some of my kids. However, none of those actions would solve anything. I cannot change what I did last year, but I can learn from my mistakes and change what I do in the future.
What I want to do differently next year
I guess the most important thing is that I have finally realized I am not reaching everyone – that I and not my students need to make some adjustments. Among those things I do not want to see in my room in the future are:
• One-size-fits-all assignments • A student I know needs more assistance and support waiting for me to notice • Impossible expectations • Too low expectations • Management for the massesI suppose what I am really talking about is differentiation, individualized instruction. Now that I have the big picture in mind, I think it is time to conquer all those little details like how can I help Gary understand how to summarize? Why is Sonya always sick during third block? How can I challenge Chuck because I know this is too easy for him? Throughout this year I have slowly become aware of these issues, but I did not know how to deal with them. I pushed them aside in frustration and impatience, and I did very little to address them. Even now I am not too sure about how I am going to deal with all those little details, but I know enough to know I must do something differently. I have a few ideas in mind that will help me tailor instruction more effectively:
1. Conference with each student individually at least every two or three weeks. 2. Create a system of academic and personal goal-setting for each student; i.e., working on writing good leads, bringing a pencil to class, reading a particular number of pages each week. 3. Provide more options for student choice to demonstrate mastery of concepts. 4. Teach students to be more reflective and aware of strengths and weaknesses.I am moving to a workshop setting next year, which I hope will help me individualize instruction and implement the above ideas. The science teacher and I have even discussed trying conferences in both of our classes to identify strengths and weaknesses and build relationships. Although I feel bad that I was not successful with everyone this year, I am thankful I finally recognize a need to do something different. I invite you all to stick with me next year as I sort it all out. It will not be easy; I never see the cobwebs creeping in the corner and I often get lost in the hundreds of pieces of paper that cross my desk from day to day. I will, however, at least try to manage it all with God's help and your good advice.
Read next week's diary
