Well , I should say that I have a great family, good health, a job- I already have won the lottery. But one can dream.
After booking the yacht to travel around the world I would then meet with my replacement.
Not having a lot of experience with teaching ideology, I could only advise what has worked best for me. Be flexible but consistent. Can't tell you how many times I have had to change up a lesson, change focus on a student, or do what seemed to be irrelevant yet necessary. Flexibility while staying within the standards and student needs. Yet, while being flexible, one has to be consistent with adolescents. They really do crave stability and fairness, and as much as they moan, want some predictability.
Of course the other advice is that they should be proud of the profession they have chosen and impart that to their students.
Now to tour the world !
Emily, I almost wrote the same thing. Fairness and flexibility helped me survive my first year with little knowledge of the day to day skills I needed to excel at teaching. Isn't it funny that after the kids have experienced your consistency, they will start calling for it if you look like you are slipping. Learning flexibility as teenagers will prepare our students for survival in the real world. So many of the students today are ritually compliant, simply regurgitating the project/assignment rubric in their work without thought of thinking outside the box a bit. Your model of flexibility and consistency will let them explore other options, with the knowledge that the end result can still be the same, and you will accept their effort. Flexibility and consistency really applies in all aspects of education. Discipline, curriculum design, assessment...the list goes on. Every teacher could stand to be a little more flexible in one area or another.
ReplyDeleteYou are so funny! Let me know when the yacht leaves so I can come with you! I believe this wonderful advice that you have left! As knew teachers we must learn what works and what doesn't. Its almost like a trial and error strategy. What works for one person may not for someone else. When I took the teacher that retireds place, she gave me great advice, but just because it worked for her doesn't mean that it worked for me! Great advice Emily!
ReplyDeleteEmily, I am so in agreement with you. Flexibility is very important. Everyday is not the same. And everyday will not go as planned. When it doesn't go as planned or expected, dont' take it personally move on with what seems right at that moment. I also agree that consistency is very important. This way they know what to expect and know the routine. I believe that students like this. And finally, I agree that we need to be proud of the profession that we have chosen because it is a great opportunity to impart into the lives of young people. For me, if I only touch one, I will know that my hard work was not in vain.
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