To help encourage conversations and dialogue about how we appreciate teachers, this week's topic/question for the dinner table is: During teacher appreciation week, what qualities would you want to thank teachers for modeling? Please see link to Google Form to share your responses: Teacher Appreciation Week (5/2/16) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
It is amazing how quickly the pace of the school week picks up right where we left off after vacation - I have to admit that the adjustment was a bit of a shock to the system! It certainly helped to get in the 'Blake spirit' this week, through student events, discussions about learning, and thoughtful interactions with students, staff, and parents - drumming workshop on Monday (thanks to Blake PTO!), Project Voice assembly for our sixth graders, previewing the documentary Screenagers with our MCPE board, wonderful examples of collaboration by our staff throughout the week, and attending the student-staff art show at the Zullo gallery Thursday evening. The 'crazy spring' schedule is officially in full swing in our house and we had a full weekend - welcoming Maggie home from Nature's Classroom Friday afternoon, kids' sports on Saturday, and Holliston's annual Little League baseball/softball parade and festivities were Sunday afternoon - a wonderful communal event!
This week (5/2-5/6) is 'Teacher Appreciation Week' and I want to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for the Blake staff. Words do not do justice when trying to describe or capture the professionalism, care, and commitment that is exhibited every day for the benefit of our students. Although I love to share my thoughts in words, all I really can say is 'THANK YOU'! I hope this week provides multiple opportunities to learn and celebrate our collective efforts. I am sharing two posts this week that speak the core values of the teaching identity, coupled with the spirit of continual learning and celebrating together - a culture that I hope we can continue to grow and foster for our students and ourselves at Blake...
Do You Have to be a Teacher to be a Teacher Leader?
by Megan Allen in Education Week Teacher
Allen reflects upon the distinction or 'lines' that are often drawn between teachers and teacher leaders in this post, but it is the essence of the identity she articulates as a teacher that resonated most with me this week.
For me, "teacher" is in every fiber of my being. I don't know how to untangle that glorious word from my own first name. There is not one without the other. They are inseparable and forever linked.
It's wrapped up in every thought and every piece of me, an essential part of my DNA. The essential part of my DNA. Thinking of removing the word "teacher" from me would rip the very fabric of who I am--my identity, my way of being. It would shred my deepest, inner fiber. Without the word teacher, I am left hollow, lost, and broken. I would be the salt without the pepper, the peanut butter without the jelly. The Ernie without the Bert.
We should be creating a united front of educators--all types of teachers and teacher leaders, with no inner-bickering about who is and who isn't--that rally around a central purpose...Every letter of every word I write is still in the name of my fifth grade students and now, my 27 graduate students--all veteran teachers. Every loop of every "M" when I sign my name, every dot in every "i" and every key that click-click-clicks on my laptop. Every drop of ink in every word that I write has a thousand beautiful faces behind it. For I am still. Always.
What Would You Do Differently Now?
by Harrison McCoy in SmartBlog on Education
The premise of McCoy's post is the process of reflecting upon what he would do differently if his teaching career began now in 2016 (as opposed to 1994 when he began).
So here are my questions: Just how much are 20th century teachers embracing the notion that things have changed that much in the 21st century? What do 20th century teachers need to be prepared to consider if they are going to successfully help students in their classrooms become 21st century prepared?
When I started teaching in the mid-90s, I was an imitator of those around me. Now, my goal is to be an innovator, influencing those around me.
If we must stand with one foot in the 20th century and the other in the 21st, let the former create in us a firm understanding of the mistakes we have made and the foundations we have laid. The latter, well, that is what will make us the most successful at what we do in helping equip our students for one of the most exciting eras of change that education and the world has seen.
I hope we can take some time to recognize and celebrate our staff this week in the spirit of learning and teaching. As we embark upon this week I want to highlight an excerpt from an Edutopia post by Mary Beth Hertz, Appreciate Teachers By Understanding What They Do, that I believe nicely represents the sentiments we share as we appreciate our teachers, both past and present...
The best way to appreciate a teacher is to appreciate the hard work that they do and their high level of expertise by allowing them to share the positive and professional aspects of their career. Too often, we focus on the negativity that surrounds the profession in the news, and conversation turns to working conditions, class size, union issues or other outside forces that teachers have little control over. The best way to thank a teacher is not to treat what they do as a good deed, but to treat it as a highly professional career path that they love to follow, and for which they work hard to be successful.
I look forward to the work that lies ahead for all of us.
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Take care.
Nat