DECEMBER 1, 2011, ELEMENTARY TEACHERS' MONTHLY MEMO
THIS MONTH'S
READ
An article about excellence from Carol Ann Tomlinson, "Notes from an Accidental Teacher"
from Educational Leadership, August 2011. My favorite quote from the article,
"Excellent teachers never fall prey to the belief that they are good enough. The
best teachers I have known are humbled by how much more they need to learn. They
don't add to the chorus of voices chiming, 'I already do that.'"
What
builds a solid teacher? The right setting, a sense of calling, a zeal for
learning, and a renewable energy source.
I've always liked the title of
Anne Tyler's book The Accidental Tourist, perhaps because much of my life—and
certainly my teaching career—seems accidental. I'd love to say that I never
wanted to be anything but a teacher. In truth, I aspired not to be a teacher.
My mother was a teacher—a very strong one. For one year in my early
adolescence, I went to the school where she taught. It was a dismal year for me.
I was the new kid in my class, having just moved with my parents from another
town. I was too tall for 6th grade. My hair was too long (until I made an
argument for getting it cut, and then it was too short, too straight, and too
stubborn). The school was very different from my prior school, and I couldn't
quite figure it out. I was pathologically shy.
The teachers in the
school were good people and good educators. That made no difference. From time
to time, a teacher would say something to my mom about me and the comment would
innocently make its way into dinner-table talk at home. I hated the feeling of
being watched and talked about. I vowed with rancorous fervor that I would never
under any circumstances be a teacher.
I didn't major in education in
college. My first job out of college was stultifying and had nothing to do with
teaching. One Friday in late October, finding the morning at work to be
particularly tedious, I read the want ads in the local paper at lunch. There was
a teaching vacancy in a town an hour away that I had never heard of. I took the
afternoon off, applied for the job, and began teaching the following Monday.
To say that I didn't know what I was doing when I entered the classroom
redefines the word understatement. I planned to finish out the year in that
little rural school and then get a "real" job. That was four decades ago, and
I've never since had the inclination to do anything but teach.
Nonetheless, my career evolved—as it began—more by happenstance than by
design. Teaching works for me, my work is satisfying, and I feel proud—at least
on many days—of what I do. But when I reflect on why all this is true, one thing
is clear: It's not because I had a clear sense of direction at the outset!
I've learned a great deal about high-quality teaching from things that
worked in my classroom—and things that didn't—and from watching teachers whose
work speaks of excellence. Of the many elements and practices that make up the
architecture of effective teaching, I offer here five that I have come to
believe are foundational.
Find a Place That Fits You Teaching is
hard. Teachers at every stage need to be cultivated. That's certainly the case
in the novice years, when a teacher is practicing who he or she will become.
It's important for each fledgling teacher to find an environment that nurtures
fearless practice and discovery. Early in my journey as an accidental teacher, I
taught in three settings for roughly a year each. In each place, I learned an
immense amount, and each place contributed significantly to my understanding of
teaching. Two of the schools had relatively toxic environments; the third was
neutral. I'm not sorry I worked in any of these settings, but I would have been
a very different teacher—and not as good a one—had I remained in any of them for
long.
The fourth school in which I taught was precisely the right
setting for me during the years I was there. It was relatively small; in a
larger place, I would have been lost. It was, when I began teaching there,
fairly unsophisticated in its pedagogy and expectations. That, too, was right
for me; I'd have felt like a failure in a cutting-edge place. The community was
embracing; and I needed the sense of being known, welcomed, and trusted. The
district leadership was, for the most part, open to new ideas. In that way, the
school was an incubator for creative teaching.
During the years I worked
at this school, the community, the district, and the school changed in a way
that mirrored my own development. We grew up together, which continued to make
the place fresh and challenging for me for nearly two decades. Leaving there was
wrenching. I wanted more than anything to continue teaching in that place that
stretched and nurtured me.
Serendipitously—accidentally?—an opportunity
to be part of a university faculty opened up just at the point when the district
leadership changed. I would not have accepted the university position, however—I
would not even have noticed it—except that the new leadership felt pernicious to
me and I sensed that remaining in the school would erode my growth rather than
contribute to it.
I wasn't able to articulate all my thinking at that
point, but here's what I know now: The places in which we teach shape who and
what we become. If they don't feed us as human beings and as teachers, we
atrophy. In teaching and in life, if we are not growing, we are losing ground.
So a school, school district, and community need to be the right fit at the
right time to fuel our professional and personal evolution.
Understand
Teaching as a Calling A job is something that has to be done to receive a
paycheck. All legitimate jobs are worthy, of course, but a calling is something
more. It challenges us to be more than we think we can be and to draw on
capacities we didn't quite know we had. A calling becomes a way of life,
offering us the opportunity to affect individuals in a profound, enduring way.
I once asked two nurses in difficult hospital settings why they each did
what they did. The first said, "because I am most fully alive when I'm here."
The second responded, "because I can give people hope when they are in pain and
companionship when that's all that's left." I found it interesting that neither
spoke about the actual medicine they were practicing or the routines they
followed every day. Those things were integral to their success, yet these two
people did not see their knowledge and skills as ends, but rather as tools in
service of something greater. If I get sick, I hope I'll have the good fortune
to be aided by someone who is knowledgeable about medicine, but who also, like
these two nurses, feels called to do everything feasible to help me heal—and who
feels most fully alive while doing so.
Great teachers are like those
nurses. They feel called to connect content and kids. They understand that they
interpret shared human wisdom, codified in the academic disciplines, to young
people who need to make sense of life. They look at both the content they teach
and the people whom they ask to learn that content with considerable reverence,
and they find what Steven Levy (1996) calls the genius in both content and in
students. They dignify whom and what they teach by making the act of learning
dynamic and compelling.
Know You Don't Know Excellent teachers never
fall prey to the belief that they are good enough. The best teachers I have
known are humbled by how much more they need to learn. They don't add to the
chorus of voices chiming, "I already do that."
High-quality educators
are determined and often voracious learners. They seek daily to understand their
content more fully, to probe the mystery of the young lives before them more
deeply, and to extend their pedagogical reach beyond yesterday's boundaries.
They know that the parameters of their own lives are extended every time they
extend possibilities in students' lives.
These teachers seek out the
best professional development opportunities. They read about education. When a
district or school fails to support their learning meaningfully, they become
their own professional developers.
Two years ago, as I conducted a
multiday workshop in the late spring, I became aware of one older man within the
group. His questions were interesting, and it was clear he was engaged with the
ideas. At a break, this man came up to ask me another question. During our
conversation, he remarked wistfully that he would soon be retiring after 40
years as a classroom teacher. My first response was to ask him why he'd chosen
to come to a professional development session on a complex topic so close to his
retirement date.
"Oh," he replied, almost surprised by my question, "I
promised myself that I would learn something new every single day I was a
teacher. I've kept that promise for four decades. I'll keep it until the day I
close the classroom door behind me." He paused for a moment and continued, "How
else could I have been the teacher my students needed?"
Associate
Yourself with Quality The pursuit of quality occurs on at least three
levels.
Develop friendships with colleagues who set high standards. Such
educators are in every school, and their partnership provides both light and
energy for professional growth. It's as true in the teaching life as in high
school that we take on the attributes of those we hang out with. When we spend
what little free time we have at school with colleagues who watch the clock or
who have ready reasons to dismiss whatever threatens the status quo, we're more
likely to have our aspirations lowered than raised.
I am a better
teacher many times over because of people like Diane Wiegel, Judy Schlim, Debbie
Kiser, Nancy Brittle, Sandra Mitchell, Mary Ann Smith, Dick Rose, and so many
other colleagues who constantly reminded me of what excellence in the classroom
looks like—and what is required to achieve that level of quality. Those teachers
are roughly my own age. But I also learned much from Mrs. Gardner, who taught
next to me during my accidental first year of teaching. It was her final year as
a classroom teacher. She modeled excellence in everything she did, answered my
naïve questions efficiently, listened when I was discouraged, and offered
suggestions she knew were within my reach. She informally provided my first
meaningful course in education over the eight months that I knew her.
As
a more seasoned teacher, I learned from top-rate new guys on the block like
George Murphy. Teachers like George, infused with the brash energy of youth,
brought knowledge and strategies that I found fresh and renewing. For example,
George taught his high school biology students to understand the scientific
process in an indirect and potent way by involving them with a mock
archaeological dig staged by students from the previous year, which involved
hypothesizing about what was revealed by the artifacts they discovered. Then he
reinforced that understanding by having them stage a dig for the next year's
biology students. Through this project, students had to encounter uncertainty,
look for clues, hypothesize, test conclusions, and so on.
There's
something to be learned from everyone, and there's rarely a reason to be
unwelcoming to anyone. Nonetheless, it makes a difference when professional
friendships multiply your effectiveness rather than deplete it.
Develop
a keen sense of what quality looks like. Such organizations as the National
Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the National Association for the
Education of Young Children, the National Middle School Association, and the
National Association of Secondary School Principals have delineated the
attributes of high-quality teaching. Many books now exist that break down the
elements of great teaching—Charlotte Danielson's Enhancing Professional
Practice: A Framework for Teaching (ASCD, 2007); James Stronge's Qualities of
Effective Teachers (ASCD, 2007); Ron Brandt's Powerful Learning (ASCD, 1998); or
the National Research Council's How People Learn (National Academies Press,
2000), to name just a few. These would have been a godsend to me as a young
teacher. I was largely on my own to discover the characteristics of high-quality
work; my focus would have been sharper and my progress faster had I had such
resources to draw on. Great teaching is both a science and an art, and many
educators who are both scientists and artists can provide rubrics that point the
way to excellence.
Seek quality from students. We compliment young
people by asking them for their best and supporting them in achieving it. Ron
Berger (2003) talks about building "an ethic of excellence in the classroom" so
that students take pride in producing work that reflects their highest possible
effort. Clearly this not only benefits both individual learners and society, but
also benefits teachers. When we ask students to give their very best, we are
obligated to be sure the work we assign is worthy of that level of effort. In
learning how to explain quality to young learners, we become clearer about how
it looks in our own work.
Generate Your Own Energy It's a reality
that in every human endeavor, those who are most successful work the hardest. In
Outliers, in which Malcolm Gladwell (2008) describes boundary-breaking people in
fields from technology to music, Gladwell notes that it was relentless effort
more than raw talent that helped these professionals reshape their fields. We
have no reason to assume otherwise in teaching.
Most teachers can mount
a defense that they work hard. What makes the difference in the work ethic of
high-quality teachers is that their work is regenerative; they draw energy from
what they do. They achieve the state that Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (1990) calls
flow, a highly satisfying condition in which an individual feels aligned with a
task and the work becomes its own reward. Some educators experience flow in
teaching because they find their content fascinating, some because they find it
rewarding to make a difference in students' lives, some because they love the
creativity involved in making instruction work for a diverse group of students,
and some because of the personal growth that stems from their work. Whatever the
reason, teaching generates their energy rather than depletes it.
Most
excellent teachers I know have "alternative energy sources," passions outside
the classroom that renew their teaching energy. Those passions not only feed
their teaching, but inform it as well. One teacher explained that his love of
mountain climbing revealed things about himself and about the nature of teaching
that he would likely never have understood without that pursuit. Another teacher
said, "I give a lot of my life to teaching, and I wouldn't have it any other
way. But I am a better teacher because of the times I can leave it behind for a
while and give myself fully to something else."
There is no
off-the-shelf blueprint for building a highly successful teacher. Yet excellent
teaching, like excellence in all human endeavors, comes in significant measure
from the right fit, a higher purpose, hard work, and perseverance. The truly
good news is that those things are within our reach.
References
Berger, R. (2003). An ethic of excellence: Building a culture of
craftsmanship with students. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Csikszentmihalyi, M.
(1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: HarperCollins.
Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. New York: Little,
Brown.
Levy, S. (1996). Starting from scratch: One classroom builds its own
curriculum. Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Carol Ann Tomlinson is William Clay
Parrish Jr. Professor and Chair of Educational Leadership, Foundation, and
Policy at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville; cat3y@virginia.edu.
TEACHER OF THE YEAR AND JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHER HALL OF
FAME - Congratulations to the following teachers:
SCHOOL
|
Teacher
of the Year
|
Jax
State Hall of Fame
|
Bluff Park Elementary
|
Amelia Callaway
|
Stacey Stocks
|
Deer Valley Elementary
|
Nicole Stokes
|
Laurie White
|
Green Valley Elementary
|
Linda Brown
|
Teresa Speake
|
Greystone Elementary
|
Mandy Fox
|
Wayne Roberson
|
Gwin Elementary
|
Amanda Daniel
|
Rhonda Keeling
|
Riverchase Elementary
|
Sara Carpenter
|
Kinsley Hyche
|
Rocky Ridge Elementary
|
Lisa Cranford
|
Michelle Reid
|
Shades Mountain Elementary
|
Perry Wright
|
Carla Marchant
|
South Shades Crest Elem
|
Betsy Crowley
|
Peggy Eason
|
Trace Crossings Elementary
|
Debbie Sessamen
|
Kathy Self
|
Berry Middle School
|
Karen Howell
|
Joshua Whitt
|
Bumpus Middle School
|
Jan Price
|
Sue Martindale
|
Simmons Middle School
|
Debbie Simms
|
Ricki Deaver
|
Brock’s Gap Intermediate
|
Amy Morgan
|
Carrie Pomeroy
|
Hoover High School
|
Sabrina Stanley
|
Nancy Malone
|
Spain Park High School
|
Suzanne Culbreth
|
Melisa Guthrie
|
HPTC CITY LEADERS' CELEBRATION - 3RD AND 5TH
GRADES Let's aim for 100% participation again this year! 3rd grade students will write poems honoring our
firemen. 5th grade students will write essays honoring their SRO or our
policemen in general if they have not had their Too Good for Drugs classes. Your principal will assemble a selection committee to select your top 3 poems and top 3 essays. These school selections are due to me by JANUARY 13, so
please make sure you get them to your principal prior to that date.
ARBOR DAY
ESSAY CONTEST - 4TH GRADE
In order to encourage students to apply their writing
skills to practical purpose and to arouse awareness of the importance of trees
to our community well being, the Hoover Beautification Board has elected to
sponsor this 2012 Arbor Day Essay Contest.
WHO CAN ENTER?
Any fourth grade student in the city of Hoover is invited to
submit 1 short essay.
WHAT
TO WRITE?
The central theme of the essay should be the
importance of trees in my neighborhood and in Hoover.
Students are
encouraged to focus on personal experience, and to remember that originality
and reasoning are major factors in judging.
HOW TO ENTER?
Essays should be 300 words or less, and
the original work of the student.
Essays must be printed or typed.
All essays must have the student’s name,
grade, school, and teacher’s name printed or typed clearly on the back.
Entries are to be submitted no later than Friday,
February 3, 2012
Submit entries to: Your Elementary School Principal
Final judging will be by the Hoover
Beautification Board
JUDGING
Members of the Hoover Beautification Board
will judge the entries by the following criteria:
Originality of Thought (20%)
Clarity of Reasoning (30%)
Accuracy of Information (20%)
Spelling and Punctuation (10%)
Grammatical Usage (10%)
Neatness (10%)
AWARDS
The author of the
first place essay will receive a 1-year family membership to Aldridge Gardens,
a book about trees, and a gift certificate from a Hoover business. This student will be invited
to read his or her essay at the city Arbor Day ceremony on Saturday, March 3,
2012. Recipients of Honorable Mention will receive a 1-year individual
membership to Aldridge
Gardens and a book about
trees.
SPELLING BEE
The deadline for school spelling bees to be held is January 13. The date for
the school system spelling bee is January 24 at 9:30 at the Hoover High School
theatre.
ARI PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Our next session will be held
on January 11 at Shades Mountain Elementary School. The topic will be the ARMT+
reading item specifications. Two repeating sessions will be held so that both
principals and assistant principals can attend with the reading coaches. Let's cross our fingers that the item specs are published this month!
CULTURAL
RESPONSIVENESS SESSIONS Dr. Vivian Elliott will return the week of January
17 and the week of March 5. The Elementary Planning Committee determined that
each elementary school would be given the option of sending a small group of
teachers from the school leadership team for a day-long session with Vivian OR
having Vivian conduct a 2 to 2 ½ equity snapshot of your building. I will send
a sign-up schedule to your principals soon.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP) REVIEWS These meetings will be conducted in January. In addition
to discussing your CIP, your principal and I will include the reading coach for a discussion of the implementation of Tier I reading instructional standards.
60 MINUTES EPISODE ON HOMELESS CHILDREN Very heart wrenching, but the two students they spotlighted are an inspiration to us all.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57330802/hard-times-generation-families-living-in-cars/?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel
Happy
Holidays to you and yours! I hope you are able to get some much deserved rest.
Deborah
