A Teacher’s Thoughts

I have read a lot about fear lately. Fear of new technologies, fear of change. The latter is the I guess the biggest fear in a general sense. Perhaps many teachers are held back from adopting new technologies, held back by fears. The same is surely happening right up the educational management chain from classrooms to state and federal offices. Ok, I get it, people fear change. And what can we do about it?

My Principal asked us to read an article by Rick Wormeli, in Middle Ground (Wormeli 2007). In this article Wormeli spoke of the bravery needed to move forward and make change. He then made the call to:

Write your personal list of what you would do if you were truly brave.

(Wormeli 2007, p 43)

So here is my list

1. I will ask why students are not learning.
2. I will blog about my classroom practices.
3. I will use a grading system that reflects best practices in a middle school.
4. I will choose not to teach some standards in order to allow my students ample time to more fully investigate other areas. I will defend these decisions with data from my students.
5. I will participate in at least one globally collaborative project this year.
6. I will help students be heard.
7. I will talk with teachers and administrators in the lunchroom, halls, offices and classrooms about how to make the learning more meaningful and engaging and connected for our students.

Not a long list but I do plan to do them all. So if fear lurks in the corridors of your school, follow the call to create your own list. Let’s all see what we can do if we do just a few small brave things.

Citation:
Wormeli, Rick. “The Courage It Takes.” Middle Ground 11.1 (Aug. 2007): 41-43.