10 ways to be a great teacher...

I recently read a blog post by one of my favorite bloggers, Vicki Davis. Vicki is known by many as "@coolcatteacher." The title of the blog post is 10 ways to be a terrible teacher. After reading the list I found myself agreeing with many of Vicki's points. In an effort to be reflective, I thought about flipping the blog post around and considering ways to be a great teacher...


Here are my 10 ways to be a great teacher:

10 - Great teachers pick and choose their battles. If everything is really important and a top priority, then nothing is really important or a top priority...

9 - Great teachers are rarely behind their desk and are rarely sitting down. Great teachers know that the real work gets done in the trenches, and the trenches are located out in the classroom alongside the students...  

8 - Great teachers are not afraid to apologize and admit to their failure or mistakes. Great teachers understand the importance of taking risks in the classroom, and more importantly great teachers include students in making decisions about trying new things in the classroom...

7 - Great teachers are extremely reflective and take their job personally. When something doesn't go as planned or go as well as originally intended, great teachers take time to reflect and consider alternative ways of doing it better next time...

6 - Great teachers are excellent conversationalists. Great teachers can get a room full of students talking and discussing relatively easily. Great teachers are masters of leading discussions and asking questions that take students to a higher level of thinking and reflection...

5 - Great teachers can always justify and explain a decision they made or something they did that affects their students. Great teachers will never do something just because that's the way it has always been done...

4 - Great teachers don't care about how well they did or how hard they worked. Great teachers care about how much their students learn and how much their students grow. Great teachers are able to shift the focus off of them and keep the focus on their students...

3 - Great teachers expect and demand a lot from their colleagues. Great teachers want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and they believe that through collaboration and teamwork we can all achieve more...

2 - Great teachers are always looking for ways to improve their craft and hone their skills. Great teachers are not interested in finding the next new shiny tool, they are interested in finding the next new shiny tool that will improve student learning and success...

1 - Great teachers will always value the relationships with their students over everything else. Great teachers know that when the students know you care and know you are there to help, there is nothing that can't be done or accomplished...


What else makes someone a great teacher...?

Balancing creativity with standardization...

This year at Poplar Bluff Junior High School we are going through year two of Professional Learning Communities. Additionally, we are in the first year of our professional studies book club. We have been experiencing a lot of growing pains, but more importantly we are having difficult discussions that are helping to move us forward.

Most recently we read "Linchpin" by Seth Godin (you can find my blog post here). While we were discussing the relevancy of Godin's thoughts to our school and students, a teacher asked a simple but profound question: "How do PLCs and their standardization of education fit in the mix of creating and developing Linchpins?"

What an excellent question...

Then, last night, my superintendent after also having read "Linchpin," sent me a tweet asking a very similar question:

Here are the definitions for a guaranteed and viable curriculum and a Linchpin:

GVC - A guaranteed and viable curriculum (GVC) is one that guarantees equal opportunity for learning for all students. Similarly, it guarantees adequate time for teachers to teach content and for students to learn it. A guaranteed and viable curriculum is one that guarantees that the curriculum being taught is the curriculum being assessed. It is viable when adequate time is ensured to teach all determined essential content.

Linchpin - Those crazy people we can’t live without, people who bring art to work, people who reach out, make a connection, cause change to happen. The linchpin is the person who is indispensable, because they refuse to become an interchangeable part, someone who merely follows the manual. In the hardware store, the linchpin is a lightweight little piece that holds the wheel to the axle. Very difficult to live without.


Questions to consider...

- Can there be a healthy and appropriate balance between standardization and creativity?

- If the curricula are written and designed in such a way, can creativity overcome standardization?

- Who benefits more from standardization and creativity in schools? Students or educators?

- Are we simply taking one step forward just so we can take one step back by simultaneously focusing on standardization and creativity?

- What role (if any) should society play in determining what skills and abilities our students are taught?

Do tests motivate students...?

On a rainy and dreary Saturday morning I was flipping through the channels and I stumbled across one of my favorite childhood shows... Boy Meets World. As I sat there watching several episodes, I came across an episode with a very important topic for educators; a topic we educators are still debating and discussing to this day.

Start the clip at 1:27 and watch until 4:28. This episode originally aired on October, 14, 1994.

Who would have thought that back in 1994 the discussion of what students need to do to show their mastery of content would have been discussed...


Why do we insist upon having students take tests to show their mastery of the content?

Why do we knowingly and willingly kill the love of learning that students possess?

Why do we continue to use outdated strategies that diminish motivation rather than increase?

Why have we spent the last 18 years not changing what we knew was wrong in 1994?


- Are you having these discussions with your colleagues? If you aren't already, it's time to start...