Education Trends, Uncategorized | Nov 1, 2010
10 years ago, I believed…
By Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
10 years ago, I believed…
By Angela Watson
I was recently reflecting on how much my understanding of best practices has changed since I was a new teacher. I used to believe that:
- Teaching in small groups is a waste of time because you end up repeating yourself for every group.
- Kids can’t be trusted on computers because they’ll mess up all the settings and get a ton of viruses.
- Centers are the best use of kids’ independent work time.
- Misbehavior should be addressed with respectful dialogue and problem-solving techniques.
- Parents who don’t show up for conferences don’t care about their kids’ education.
- Arranging kids’ desks in groups means they’ll be focused on each other and won’t learn anything.
Now, I think that:
- Teaching in small groups makes it easier to keep kids focused and helps you differentiate instruction.
- It’s worth the time it takes to train kids to use computers independently–and it doesn’t take that long.
- Reading [engaging, ‘just right’, self-selected] books is the best use of kids’ independent work time.
- Sometimes you just need to give the teacher look and keep it moving.
- Parents who don’t show up for conferences still want to be good parents and still love their kids.
- Arranging kids’ desks in groups means they’ll be focused on each other and learn a lot if they’re taught how to work collaboratively.
I wonder how these perceptions will change over the next 10 years…
How has YOUR thinking about education changed since you started teaching?
Angela Watson
Founder and Writer
Angela is a National Board Certified educator with 11 years of teaching experience and more than a decade of experience as an instructional coach. She started this website in 2003, and now serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Truth for Teachers...
Browse Articles by Angela
Sign up to get new Truth for Teachers articles in your inbox
Discussion
Leave a Reply
OR
Join our
community
of educators
If you are a teacher who is interested in contributing to the Truth for Teachers website, please click here for more information.
I love this list. I feel, on some level, as if you described my own paradigm shifts.
Thanks, John. Good to see we’re moving in the same direction. Let’s hope it’s forward. 🙂
Angela,
Could you please blog on some “how-to’s”–such as what you’ve described in this post? For instance, how do you teach students to sit/work in groups collaboratively, how you teach students to use computers, and assure that students choose “just right” books? I know how I do these things, but I would like to hear another viewpoint. Thanks! 🙂
Hi, Ruby! Thanks for commenting. I, too, love to see how other teachers do those basic tasks! I’ve covered all of those topics in-depth in my book . Some of the group work ideas are available on the Cooperative Learning page. See if that gives you some ideas. 🙂
Thank you for these thoughts. I’m up for NBCT renewal and you helped me get my focus back. I just wrote down what I believed ten years and go and wow, things have changed. I will visit this blog often. Happy Teaching
Nothing like the NBCT process to get you ready for reflection! LOL! It is amazing how much a person can grow professionally over the course of ten years.
Just came across this post…I like this list. And I really agree about the independent work time. Having classroom time to read is SO important! Centers have become so integral to so many teachers/schools- but a lot of the time centers do not engage a student in the same way reading a book does.
And yes, the teacher look works and doesn’t take as much instructional time as other behavior management solutions.
A couple things I’ve learned:
-teaching a small group can be more challenging than teaching whole-class
-For improving comprehension- kids need to talk a lot about the books the read.
-Read Alouds are essential- they provide a motivation for non-readers to read
-planning makes a BIG difference
– but you have to be willing to improvise
-teaching is a lot like performing
– kids usually need to have some connection/relationship with their teacher to do well
-ELL students tend to know a lot fewer vocabulary words than you may asume
…okay that’s it for now, but I feel like I could keep going on. Thanks for getting me to reflect on my practice
What a fabulous list! I agree with everything you mentioned. The part about performing especially rings true. I didn’t understand in the beginning that I needed to ACT like a calm, collected teacher even when I didn’t feel like it, and get super excited about topics and activities that I wasn’t all that thrilled about. The teacher’s attitude is totally contagious, and to ‘infect’ students with enthusiasm, you have to be a performer sometimes!
It’s kind of embarrassing to compare the way you used to do things and why you thought the way you did. I was gung-ho on teaching whole group direct instruction; mainly because I could maintain control and know students received the information. Accountability was easily attainable with this method. However, years later I realize I was not reaching my student’s many levels of learning. Although there can be a bit of repetition, if you’re differentiating correctly, you’ll never ditto a lesson to a T. This reflection was scary but great to realize I changed my course to better fit my student’s needs. I’ll never go back!! Thanks for this! -G
You’re welcome! It’s extra embarrassing for ME to think about how I used to do things, because it’s all over the internet and in my book! I am working on a second edition of The Cornerstone to reflect these new changes. 🙂 There are subtle changes in my philosophy that I’d like to explain and express in more detail.