Final Blog

Giving the Best: Sometimes I get so busy with the 'administrative' part of the job, it becomes very difficult to give students the best of me. Perhaps the greatest gift I hope to give my students is my BELIEF in their ability to perform at a much higher level than they are sometimes expected to. I believe that all my students can turn in homework on time, and expect it in every student without excuse. I continually try to raise the expectation for my students through requirements that I believe to be essential, yet so many see as weird and a waste of time. Students often are shocked that as a Social Studies teacher I require them to capitalize all proper nouns, write in complete sentences, and I count off for spelling on their tests. While it seems obvious to me that these things should be counted off for in every class, students and parents sometimes have a difficult time understanding how I can grade such things in a history class. Also, most of my tests don't have a word bank, but they are fill-in-the-blank and essay. It is how I can truly see what they know, and what they don't. By the end of the year, I have so many students who are writing better, using better study habits, and are more confident in their ability to write in every subject. While it takes time, encouragement, and commitment in the beginning, the students and parents do buy-in and are grateful for the results when they go on to high school.

Implementing Rigor: I feel like I am constantly battling low expectations for our students, and teachers and parents who consistently give excuses as to why our students can't or don't perform to the level required to be truly 'rigorous'. I disagree with many of the initiatives that seem to do just that including the no zero push in our schools... I am very thankful to work with teachers who share similar philosophies on issues such as no late homework, no work/no credit, etc. When teacher teams, schools, and even systems have a united vision of high expectations for our students, the kids and parents benefit and eventually buy-in. When one teacher allows late homework or doesn't give zeros, it allows the whole group to take a hit and look like the 'mean teacher' referred to on pg. 5. We can raise the expectation in our classroom, and we do it by encouraging each other and continuing to learn, experiment and at times, fail.