Friday Focus - 4/27/12

"The best thing about being a teacher is it matters. 

The hardest thing about being a teacher is it matters every day."

~Todd Whitaker

While visiting classrooms and interacting with students the past couple weeks I've really been noticing how engaged some of our previously disengaged students are becoming. (This hasn't just started happening, I've just really started to pay attention better).  I'm sure that you can all instantly name a student in your class that just doesn't seem interested in school, doesn't put forth effort, doesn't have a home that is supportive of education, etc.  Being in my role and in my 4th year, I can probably name all of the same students you have; however, I am in the unique position that I've been able to see them in classrooms making gains over the past 4 years.  I'm sure that our specials teachers (who also see all of our students in their classrooms each year) can also chime in here.  Without being descriptive to identify individual students, here are the kinds of specific changes I am seeing in students that I have previously seen as being disengaged in learning:

• A student eagerly raising his hand many times to answer questions (I mean the dancing kind of eager hand).
• A student that has been tardy almost every day, getting to school early and running into the building with a big smile at the start of the day.
• A child that was basically a non reader for many years now has to be told to stop reading and eat something for lunch each day. 
• A child that has spent several years being unkind to others, shares during a Daily 5 check-in that she realizes that she distracted other students when she had to go get a new pen and broke their stamina. 
• A child that has previously had difficulty sitting appropriately during assemblies is the role model for behavior in the 3rd quarter assembly.
• A 5th grader asking many questions about what college is like while on the 5th grade UW Madison college visit.

These kinds of changes in students don't just happen over night, especially if a child is coming from a home environment that does not value or support education and hard work.  These are the kinds of changes in students that occur from being surrounded by adults at school that care about them, have high expectations, and believe in their potential.  You have difficult jobs each and every day and I am amazed at your brainstorming, research, and collaboration that you go through to find new strategies to reach your students.  I've told you before that I am where I am today, because of the great teachers that I had along the way.  So, if our students don't realize it today to tell you how much of an impact you are making on them, please hear me tell you now that you are making an incredible impact on our students!