The first step is never easy. Luckily, life is full of first steps. My first step into the classroom was 23 years ago. I had ideas, beliefs, a set in stone set of pedagogical philosophies that I was going to unleash in a classroom that would create rabid, knowledge seeking adolescents.
Then, as for many new teachers reality struck.
No mentor, no textbooks, limited supplies, kids that crawled into my classroom daily, with little understanding of who they were as learners. I was there at five AM, leaving at six PM, attempting to be one day ahead of the kids. I have seen many of these students, some now teachers in their own right- and apologized for the swirling vortex of mediocrity that was their classroom experience.
All teachers spend the first five year accumulating stuff. Materials, free pile giveaways, things that “I may want some day.” It is just a hoarding mentality, devoid of time for reflection. After five years? I finally had the time to stop and see that I was headed in a direction that was not in the best interest of my students. So, I scrapped everything, save a few items, and started over. Only through stopping, and reflecting on my students, did I gain the perspective necessary to plot a new course for them. Through it all, it always comes back to what students need.
Fast forward one and a half decades. Reflecting on my practices and student experiences, I decided that a change was long overdue. It was time, truly time, to step away from teacher centered practices, and focus my energy on how to engage in student-centered practices. How do I cede control, providing students voice and choice within the classroom? It was not MY class, but OUR class. I started asking myself questions like “Who is this assessment for?” and “Does this lesson truly represent what my students are capable of as learners?” As I examined my practice further, it became apparent that it was time to flip what I was doing on its head, rebuilding my classroom solely around the learners that I was serving. I had not been serving them to the best of my ability, and that had to change.
So, down the rabbit hole of proficiency and student centered learning I go. Through this process, things got messy, as does all learning, but the understanding I have gained is dynamic. My goal is to share the insights, joys, pitfalls, and problems that I have encountered along the way. Reflection has the ability to be transformative, and transformation, when systemic, benefits students.
Mr. H's Not So Secret Classroom 