Teachers are cemented in their practice!

Reflecting on my almost 5 full years teaching, I have come to realize that it is so easy to become cemented. Teaching is already demanding and to have to find ways to better your practice seems like the sort of thing that your are not paid enough to commit too. So...it's easier to just go through the motions every single day and soon as the last class is over, go home to do it all over again the next day. I know, I know! While so many of us, are not necessarily saying or agreeing to that, many of us are guilty of this behavior just by what our lesson plans look like and what type of work we give our students. My first couple of years, I'd have to say were just like this. I had become cemented in my practice. I began to reach this point in my career where the thing I actually enjoyed doing, wasn't enjoyable; it was routine, I felt like a robot. I came into work every morning, made my copies if I was early enough, had the warm up ready to go, got through the lesson and the same thing all day until classes were over. I quickly realized that I was the problem. I chose this career and I was the reason my experience was the way it was.

Until one day, I woke up in my post observation debrief that discussed differentiation and tracking. I actually walked out of this meeting feeling like I had even MORE work to do. But, I gave it a try. I started researching differentiation and how it impacts student learning. I attended workshops on formative assessments and tracking to better understand how to implement this tool into my classes. Then I recreated the structure of my lessons using the new information I had gained. My teaching career changed. My students confidence levels changed. My attitude changed. And it was in this moment that I committed to stay engaged, to keep learning, to keep creating, to keep trying new things, to evaluate what works, to kick out what doesn't work, and to share my work with others.

The truth is, we cannot afford to be complacent. We are leading the nation's young people! And more than ever, we need educators who will go the extra mile to ensure all students can experience success, even if that means an extra hour of planning a night. It used to take me an hour to plan one lesson. Now, it takes me two and a half! But I feel accomplished, and I know that my students have access to valuable resources, opportunities to experience success as well as real time feedback. I have become obsessed with trial and error, this process of creating new things and trying it out to see how it impacts student learning. When it works out, I share it with the teaching community through my social media platforms and Teachers Pay Teachers. This career that I have chosen now has become a hobby for me because of how much time and energy I put into this work. It's a win win! My students are learning and growing, and I'm creating and sharing!

Even if you are not a teacher, figure out what it is that you enjoy, love, or can learn to do. Sometimes, I think it is cliche to say do what you love because sometimes you don't know what it is you actually love. You might discover that the thing you didn't actually think you would like, you really enjoy! For me that was teaching. Start a dialogue, engage with other communities. You can do this! Happy February 2019!