The Magic of Our Teachers Craft

 So it’s the end of another month and I had vowed to write monthly posts again this year about important topics in education to continue to support educators during this challenging year in education. I am in awe every time I set foot in a classroom in my school this year at what I see. 

I see teachers that love their craft and love their students. Most especially the challenging kiddos and when they have to figure out how to teach content in new ways because of learning gaps that occurred over the last two years. I see teachers that are committed to the work and highly reflective of their practice. Between January and February, I was fortunate to get in classrooms a lot as I did 6 units of study and several other teacher observations. This is by far the part of my job that I LOVE the most, being in classrooms where the true magic happens everyday in our schools. 

Across these units of study and other observations I have done, I have watched teachers push their practice and thinking on what education for our kiddos today could and should be. In our pre and post observation meetings I have listened to them talk about their love for their craft and for their kiddos, especially the ones that challenge them the most. I have had most teachers try something new and uncomfortable and ask for feedback on this. I have been able to coach teachers while in their classrooms and it has been powerful to see the shifts they have been able to make with this feedback, especially our seasoned teachers who are sometimes not as open to trying new things and getting feedback that changes their practice and better meets the needs of all kiddos.

Our Physics teachers tried a lab where the outcomes were not as intended, and they had rich discussions with their students  about why and how this could be in science, where it used to be thought that formulas and data should always have the intended outcomes. Instead they were able to have rich discussion around human error and science in real time, the science we are living today with COVID. The teachers and students found new solutions to get to the same outcomes collaboratively and in their reflections the teachers each talked about how this is why they love teaching because of how it challenges you, how you see their students grow, and are in awe both when the learning does not produce the intended outcome and when it does. These are critical life skills for our students today. 

In another classroom, I was working with a seasoned teacher who loves to tell stories and has so much knowledge to share with his students that he sometimes forgets to pause and let his students reflect or give them time to get to the intended outcomes. This teacher is a wizard at pedagogy though and one his colleagues look to because he’s so innovative and always trying new strategies. I’ve watched him grow this year by building in points of reflection through students surveys and using turn and talks several times throughout his 84-minute block. Today it’s become a natural part of his practice that he and his students are now comfortable with. The stories in his class are now richer as well because he can build from what students share in their turn and talk, and correct misconceptions as he hears them during these moments. This has allowed him to build richer relationships and connect more with his students, which he has reflected on through much of our work during observations and he now chases me out of the room when I come to check-in and share his students stories and how he built from them and back to his objectives. His work is more and more in alignment with the goals of NGSS standards and he reports to other colleagues how supported he feels in this work.

In our intervention classes, I am always blown away by the work of this team of teachers. I always think there is nothing more they can need or can do to support their kiddos and we frequently engage in book studies. Currently, we are doing a book study with our Biology teachers by Katie Martin on Evolving Education. Well, these teachers have once again this year found ways to grow in their craft and better support their students and learning gaps this year by joining and working with our English department during IET (or PLC time). They have used all this to design meaningful units to discuss authors craft through a variety of media including current novels from English class, high interest articles on current events, audio books, songs, movies and more. They end the unit by providing students with choice boards to engage with this important skill and have changed the choice boards based on student interests and passions. In addition since high school intervention can be such a challenge in an 84-minute block, they have built in structured time to support students with their work across other areas of the curriculum through individual conferencing and made reflection or metacognition a regular part of their routine that students love to engage with. These teachers are so passionate and dedicated to their practice and kiddos that I have no doubt they will continue to grow and amaze me in new ways. 

I could provide many more examples of the magic that happens everyday in our classrooms that both empower and encourage teachers in the hard work they are doing everyday because they love their craft and their jobs. Many of these teachers have shared with me that they are troubled by the narrative out in the broader education world about how exhausted teachers are. Instead these teachers have chosen to spend their time dedicated to the kids in their classrooms like our teachers do every year and every day. I do wish people outside education could see the magic that’s happening and the dedication our teachers truly have to their kiddos growth by meeting them where they are today, despite the learning losses of COVID, and moving them forward in their own evolution as a human being. 

As a leader, I wish I could spend everyday working with teachers like these and continue to empower them to reflect and grow in their practice. I even love working with the teachers who don’t want to grow because they challenge me in different ways. I know this is the most meaningful work I can be doing in education today and I am thankful everyday for working in education, as hard as it is right now. Because it is hard, their are a LOT of distractions from the work that matters most but watching those magical moments between teachers and students, I am pretty sure their are few fields of work or career where that magic happens everyday. So THANK YOU to our teachers, today and everyday for showing up, caring and being authentically you. You are making a difference and the work is as hard and rewarding as it has ever been! 

THANK YOU!!