Uncommon Core - My Deepest Beliefs about Education

During the CEL Convention in Boston this past November, Steve Peha presented a session titled "Uncommon Core."  During the session he asked educators to consider what is at the core of who they are as educators, posing several questions to guide their thinking.  He encouraged his participants to return to their schools and share their "uncommon core" beliefs with their colleagues.

A participant and the session chair of Steve's presentation, Oona Abrams returned home from Boston and posed a challenge to us on her blog.  She invited her readers to dedicate a blog post (or two or five) to exploring some of Steve's "uncommon core" question.  Tonight's blog takes a stab at the first one.

With regard to education, what are your deepest beliefs?

I believe I need to meet every student where he or she is.  It is my role to get to know that child's strengths and weakness, interests and dislikes, mood swings and personality so I can provide that child the education he or she needs and deserves.

I believe my role is to teach students first and the subject second.  I am not covering curriculum or checking boxes off a standards completion worksheet.  I am making connections with learners to provide them the skills they need to tackle any task with confidence and competence.

I believe in failure.  I also believe in do-overs, try agains, and tomorrows.  

I believe in choice.  Whenever possible (which is a lot), students feel empowered when teachers give them options for reading, writing and participating.

I believe that how empowered students feel in the classroom directly correlates to how successful they feel in and out of school.

I believe in reading and writing workshop.

I believe my role as a content area supervisor is to educate, coach, guide, and support teachers.  It is also my role to set high standards for all teachers - new, veteran, mid-career, satisfied, disgruntled, enthusiastic, or catatonic (thank goodness I do not have any of those).

I believe in connections.  When students know I care about who they are, they are willing to explore ideas with more depth, more vigor and more vulnerability.  In turn, I can push them to think about more complex, sophisticated ideas.

I believe in bad days...because kids are kids, and I am human.  Students will disappoint me, frustrate me, or really make me angry.  I will make hasty decisions, choose the wrong text, or misread my students.

But I believe in redemption too.  I know I must learn from the bad days and return to my classroom ready to go tomorrow.

I believe teachers must advocate for our profession to re-imagine educational structures, requirements and facilities to design learning centers in which the humanities, the arts and the sciences intersect and inspire students to be innovators in the fields of their choosing.

I believe in education.  But I also believe we can do it better.  I have accepted that challenge and will continue to improve my work and expand my learning to ensure we do.