How Will I Know When I Have Arrived?
I am glad this question was last. After much pondering, I would say there is a split decision on the answer. Part of me says that I have arrived while another part says that I likely will never get there. Let me explain.
In my career, I have seen several thousand students as a teacher. I have survived more swings of the pedagogical trend pendulum than you can shake a stick at. Everything from open classrooms, to whole language, to gender split classrooms, to traditional schools, to blended and flipped classrooms. Many of these had elements of profound potential for engaging students in learning. Yet, they either have passed by the wayside or soon will. As an administrator, I have had to care for even more students. (I lost track trying to count). Dealing with the dictates of District trend-setters has had its challenges. Yet still there was value in many of the ventures tried. One constant that I can say has been inarguable throughout my career is the inate desire of children to be a learning sponge – eager to soak up any tidbit that catches their attention. That then is the trick. How do we catch their attention? This is engagement.
I think I know the answer to that in a large part. Perhaps it is too complex to discuss in such a short monolog, but there are a few underlying elements that are critical. First is the realization that we are social beings and need to have stimulation and actualization in a community setting that supports us. Next is to understand that we exist for and through relationships. The critical relationships for learning need to be developed between the student and the teacher, the student and other students, between family members, and family and teacher. The last I will mention here is that we are not static by nature. We are in fact very dynamic creatures. We thrive in active participation and wither in isolation. Our learning systems must be sensitive to these things and supportive of environments that foster them.
The other side of me says that I will never truly arrive at my learning destination. I recognize that as new research makes new connections between learner and expected learning, I have to evolve my own philosophy and theories. That is ok, though, because it makes me realize that I am still an active participant in my learning journey and signing up for the OLTD program is proof of that It is a journey that I am happy to be making and I look forward, as always, to what comes next.
I am glad this question was last. After much pondering, I would say there is a split decision on the answer. Part of me says that I have arrived while another part says that I likely will never get there. Let me explain.
In my career, I have seen several thousand students as a teacher. I have survived more swings of the pedagogical trend pendulum than you can shake a stick at. Everything from open classrooms, to whole language, to gender split classrooms, to traditional schools, to blended and flipped classrooms. Many of these had elements of profound potential for engaging students in learning. Yet, they either have passed by the wayside or soon will. As an administrator, I have had to care for even more students. (I lost track trying to count). Dealing with the dictates of District trend-setters has had its challenges. Yet still there was value in many of the ventures tried. One constant that I can say has been inarguable throughout my career is the inate desire of children to be a learning sponge – eager to soak up any tidbit that catches their attention. That then is the trick. How do we catch their attention? This is engagement.
I think I know the answer to that in a large part. Perhaps it is too complex to discuss in such a short monolog, but there are a few underlying elements that are critical. First is the realization that we are social beings and need to have stimulation and actualization in a community setting that supports us. Next is to understand that we exist for and through relationships. The critical relationships for learning need to be developed between the student and the teacher, the student and other students, between family members, and family and teacher. The last I will mention here is that we are not static by nature. We are in fact very dynamic creatures. We thrive in active participation and wither in isolation. Our learning systems must be sensitive to these things and supportive of environments that foster them.
The other side of me says that I will never truly arrive at my learning destination. I recognize that as new research makes new connections between learner and expected learning, I have to evolve my own philosophy and theories. That is ok, though, because it makes me realize that I am still an active participant in my learning journey and signing up for the OLTD program is proof of that It is a journey that I am happy to be making and I look forward, as always, to what comes next.