Slice of Life #28: Influencing Learning, Part 2

Slice of Life #28:  Influencing Learning, Part 2

(See SOL #27 for Part 1)



Here is my list of 10 things that I didn't know when I first started teaching.  It's not a top-ten list, just a "jot."

1. I will never be a "master teacher."  No one can master anything so complex.
2. Teaching will always be challenging.  I will never be able to open a file or Teacher's Edition of a text and feel like my plans are ready to go.
3. I will love my students and colleagues almost as much as family; I will certainly spend more time with them.
4. I didn't dream that there would be pundits who would seek to blame teachers for virtually every ill of the world and then pay testing companies to prove themselves "correct..." and that the public would be so easily fooled.
5. The digital age was right around the corner.
6. I am responsible for my own professional growth.
7. I didn't know how to spiral curriculum or evidence learning/growth in authentic ways.
8. I didn't know how to teach reading or writing workshops.
9. I needed to initiate change and cultivate with my peers.
10. I didn't have a deep understanding of how to analyze students' work in order understand learners' needs.

Cathy's next question on p. 75 of LEARNERSHIP is:

"Now, think about how you learned each of the 10 things you listed.  Specifically, reflect on who or what influenced you to learn each item.  Some influences are human, such as colleagues, students, or one's own teachers.  Other influences come from situations, such as participation in grant programs or school projects or particular challenges that caused you to be, for example, more creative.  And some influences may be from others' formal learning, shared in books, workshops, or professional articles.  For each influence you identify, try to summarize in a phrase how it influenced you to learn."

I learned…	Influences:
I will never be a "master teacher."  No one can master anything so complex.	Students have enlightened me that they will never let this be an easy job.  They challenge me in almost every way possible.  The learnership of teachers never ends.  Stephanie Harvey said that we might become "specialists" who might respond to questions when we are well-informed... but to be a "master" implies that you have learned all there is to know... I can't imagine.
Teaching will always be challenging.  I will never be able to open a file or Teacher's Edition of a text and feel like my plans are ready to go.	Experience with students over the years taught me to realize that teaching was not getting easier... despite reading and seeking Prof. Dev.  Students have taught me that by being ever-changing, ever-diverse.  I taught myself, too, because I am never satisfied!  This is just another reason why we MUST be responsible for our own learnership in so many ways.  In order to be the truest professional, we need to have a large repertoire of strategies that can only be honed as we continuously strive to learn from experience, others' knowledge and experiences, and research.
I will love my students and colleagues almost as much as family; I will certainly spend more time with them.	Students and colleagues taught me this just by being there, being part of my life, guiding my thinking, and building relationships.  I've learned to try to look for the best in everyone and to try to understand motivations for actions which can guide me in understanding and treating each person with love.  Like I said, I TRY... it's a lifetime quest cause Lordy, I'm human.
I didn't dream that there would be pundits who would seek to blame teachers for virtually every ill of the world and then pay testing companies to prove themselves "correct..." and that the public would be so easily fooled.	I read bills, write to legislators, read professional journals, watch the news (and detect the biases), and simply know better.  I am a political advocate for education.  Regie Routman discusses all of the roles that we need to take on as educators (in CONVERSATIONS), and being a political advocate is one of them.  Who better to talk about teaching than teachers?
The digital age was right around the corner.	Students and the world taught me this.  Gradually, computers and iPads have become the way we share and seek information.  When I first started teaching, computers still had floppy disks and were “newfangled.”  Though funding slows us down a bit, it’s amazing how far we’ve come on the digital path and exciting to think about where it can lead.
I am responsible for my own professional growth.	Colleagues, especially LeAnn Meyers, who started the first book study I ever attended on Regie Routman’s INVITATIONS.  Life was never the same.  J  Our local reading council helped me to see that there were amazing teachers with a lot of information and ideas to share right here in my own community.  Early on in my careers, I heard a respected colleague say, "You get two professional days per year--USE THEM," carried great influence, as well.
I didn't know how to spiral curriculum or evidence learning/growth in authentic ways.	My grade-level colleagues and curriculum director taught me to determine what needed to be learned and what was most critical at each grade level—before any state or federal standards existed.
I didn't know how to teach reading or writing workshops.	Ann Rice, now a principal in one of our schools, participated in a Young Authors program and shared it with our school.  It changed my life.  Later, she was one of my coaches; her caring helped sustain my fledgling efforts with the workshop model.  All Write!!! came into existence in our area, and it still supports me in amazing ways through talking with other coaches to opportunities to see and hear famous teacher-researchers.
I needed to initiate change and cultivate with my peers.	I think seeing LeAnn start a book study and Ann doing something innovative with courage led me to see that I, too, had power to initiate change.  Now I see this through professional organizations and in my work as a coach.  Serving on committees, such as the School Improvement Team, has contributed to thinking about creating and sustaining meaningful change, as well.
I didn't have a deep understanding of how to analyze students' work in order understand learners' needs.	My principals and curriculum directors over the years have definitely helped me in learning how to do this.  Even so, I think back to my friend, LeAnn who kept checklists of mastery in her grade book, so that she knew which students had mastered which standards and when.  Genius before her time.  This kind of sharing among colleagues has really influenced my thinking about data as a problem-solving tool (vs. "doing" data).

Tomorrow, I will delve into Part 3:  Reflecting on any patterns, themes, or trends that I perceive on this list.

Are you trying this?  What are you thinking and discovering about your "learnership?"