Here's What I DO Know!

 “I write to find out what I’m thinking” Edward Albee 

In my last post, I admitted to being less certain about basically everything. Part of this uncertainty is simply a by-product of growing older. I've seen too much to think I know all of the answers.

But what does this teacher hold to with some certainty? It's worth exploring and so like Edward Albee, I'll write to find out what I am thinking. Here goes.

I base my approach to teaching on the following beliefs:

1. Having students write, both formally and especially informally, is crucial for student learning. Frequent informal writing assignments promote metacognition and critical thinking skills. 
2. Students should do most of the talking. In my day, I've prided myself on being a good lecturer. I used to receive praise for being dynamic and engaging. How many students were really paying attention? I have no idea. And that's my point. Because I did all the talking, I had no way of knowing what my students were really doing.
3. Ed-tech tools and the open internet allow me to create a classroom environment that is student centered. 
4. Have students play the role of expert. Role plays, simulations, maker-space projects, Harkness discussions, 20% time projects all encourage students to become expert. Agency is critical to learning. 
5. Feelings matter. Relationship building is essential. Trust is crucial. This being said, I also know that:
6. Boundaries are important. As a young teacher, my students really liked me. I was "cool" and a bit of a rebel and I cultivated this mini cult of personality. I certainly was guilty of becoming too important in the lives of the young people I worked with- and purposefully fostering it. Having a great class- being a cool teacher is an incredible ego rush. The ego rush shouldn't chased and I chased it. I've seen hero worship of teachers really hurt kids. I don't think I did that. But I could have. 
7. Humor goes a long way. So does laughter. I don't take myself too seriously.
8. Being current with best practices is a professional duty. 
9. As a history teacher, I do believe that content matters. Knowing stuff makes a difference. One can't be a creative problem solver without know some facts. 
10. But fact retention is never ever the goal. I want my classes to be as relevant as possible to my students. My goal is that my students will have cross-cultural understanding, as sense of where they live in space and time, and an appreciate for civic engagement. 

The More I Know

The more I know, the less certain I am of anything. This holds true for school, politics, work, relationships, teaching, and learning. As a young progressive teacher in my mid-20s circa 1995, I held great zeal and hope for a revolution in education that I was certain was just around the corner. I remember being annoyed with a co-teacher, then in her 60s, who saw me and my fellow zealots as simply a "swing of the pendulum".  Didn't she see the future!?

I don't think the pendulum ever really swung. Dewey's really never had his day. We've been doubling and tripling down on traditional methods in this society my entire career. As ed-tech took its baby steps, I again grew excited. But so much/ most of ed-tech now simply seems to support traditional, teacher-centered methods.

We want to monitor and control what kids see on their screens. It's what teachers most want.
We want self-grading quizzes. We use Kahoot so we can spice up recall based lessons.
The tools we've adapted are teacher-centered tools. Ed-tech isn't leading the revolution, it is supporting the status quo.

We ed-tech folks have awesome jargon. 21st century ed! Personalized Instruction! Skills-based!
Take a look at this book-trailer for Alan November. It still asks all the right questions. But I don't know how we begin to answer them in the USA in 2018.

I once thought I had the answers. Maybe I still do. But maybe I don't.