They tell us there is no one silver bullet that will make our job as teachers easier. No one thing that will engage all our students so much that classroom management will no longer be necessary and every kid in our classroom will either pass all their tests or make one to two years of growth minimum every year. So why do we read books and pay for workshops, some of which claim they can do all that?
For me I like to imagine that, like Galahad, I’m on a quest for the Holy Grail. Of teaching. It’s that search, that drive to find the silver bullet holy grail that, after 30 years of teaching kids in grades 4 through 8, keeps me motivated, keeps me going, keeps me excited, ignites my passion, and keeps me improving my craft. They say there’s no ceiling to teaching and they are right. As long as I remain a classroom teacher I will continue to read, to attend workshops, to lead/facilitate workshops, to learn from my PLC and PLN, to keep current and relevant, to get to know my students, to continue to be passionate about learning. It’s the process of continual growth and learning that even during a global pandemic excites me. Every summer I get so excited as I learn one more tweak, one different way, one other technique that will allow me to reach more of my students and help them learn and grow. And sure, much of what I do, like the perfect lesson, ends up not quite working out as perfectly as I envisioned it, but much of what I do does end up reaching more of my students. Much of what I do makes school just a little better for my students at least some of the time. It’s always worth it.
That’s why I wrote grants to get more and more tech into the hands of my students until I had a 1:1 program before my school implemented one. That’s why I started blending my instruction before it was widespread and popular. That’s why I continued to tweak my grading until I finally realized traditional grading is so flawed that going gradeless made the most sense. That’s why I empower my students to own their learning instead of always getting it all from me. That’s why I embraced gamification and game-based learning and continually seek to make my classroom exciting and fun for students.
Why? To engage my students until they feel as empowered in school as they feel doing what they love the most. We teach kids about having a growth mindset and about having grit and perseverance knowing full well that they have all that for what they love to do and what they are good at. Our job is to show them that by having some of that growth mindset and grit towards what we are sharing in our classrooms is worth their time and will help them make their dreams come true.
As I think and prepare for my first day with students, Tuesday, Sept 7, I do not yet know so much. How many of my students had a great summer? A horrible summer? For how many of them was this summer a let down? Are they excited, nervous or what for the start of a new school year? Are they ready to wear masks all day again? Are they aware that kids are getting the delta variant and if so, will they even come to school?!?
Will I be able to help kids learn Math after not having taught it for 14 years?? How will I teach 5th and 6th graders in the same room at the same time while teaching two different Science and Math curricula? Will I be able to have my six large tables with four to five kids sitting at each table? Dare I have them do cooperative activities where they might spread germs even with masks on? Will we have to quarantine? We currently have no plans to offer remote options aside from our alternative school program. Will we lose more kids because of that?
It’s safe to say that this fall is not much shorter of uncertainties as the fall of 2020 was. So keep looking for that silver bullet, for the holy grail. Who knows, you might just find it and if you do, please share it with the rest of us!
