http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/06/flexibility-good-your-small-business.html
Flexibility hinges on focus. If your focus is on the minute
details, what you have planned a specific moment of a specific day, it is easy
to get your feathers ruffled when a wrench is thrown into your plans.
When you are able to focus on the bigger picture, it is
easier to see how things can shift and adjust to continue toward the larger
goal. In the world of education, we are guided by standards. These standards
are like the lighthouse to guide us. Although you may be blown off course
momentarily with an unplanned assembly or students that took longer to
comprehend a concept, with the standard in sight you simply readjust your sails
and realign your curriculum.
The more you teach, the more you realize that exceptions are not actually exceptions, they’re the norm. Just enjoy the ride. The earlier you accept that this is what it means to teach kids, perhaps the less gray hair you will get.
The more you teach, the more you realize that exceptions are not actually exceptions, they’re the norm. Just enjoy the ride. The earlier you accept that this is what it means to teach kids, perhaps the less gray hair you will get.
http://onthejob.45things.com/2013_01_01_archive.html
Maybe not.
This is the beauty of our job. Every day, every hour, every class, every moment and interaction is like a roller coaster of emotions, relationships and decisions. If I wanted monotony I would still be doing genetics research and my brain would be mashed potatoes. We teach with assumptions that our curriculum is paramount. Sadly, the standards laid out by the state and federal government are painfully dull and pathetically shallow and dilute. The exciting part of teaching is embellishing on the vanilla standards - going beyond and making it more meaningful. Sure I have a scope and sequence and holy grail of curriculum and concepts I would love to get through every year - it never happens. I never let the arrogance or routine of my agenda get in the way of expounding on topics that are really relevant or peak the students interest. I am pretty sure that the students will never miss (or even now they missed) calculating the relative spontaneity of a chemical reaction in comparison to gibbs free energy, entropy of a reaction and the sum of the overall enthaply of each individual component.
ReplyDeleteNever miss a teachable moment, before, during or after the bell. Talk about current events, social media, and issues present in the building or community. Talk the time to talk to students about real issues. Get to know them on a personal level to understand the root of their personality or baggage they bring with them. Never assume what you had outlined for the day was more important than what is "really" going on in their life or at home. Having said that, they need to know your expectations and that your rules apply to all students. Forgive behavior, don't accept it.
90% of the time I love my job because I get to work in an imperfect world with imperfect students - it's always new and unpredictable. 10% I am painfully jumping through irrelevant bureaucratic and administrative hoops. I can live with that. It's better than living a cubicle, sequencing DNA, selling insurance or searching out a bid for the lowest rates on corrugated cardboard.