One observation I gathered during this week of finals was my students’ motivation to show me what they understood. Today, for example, I watched ALL my students pore over their final examination even if some of them knew they will fail the class even if they score well on the final. I expected them to come in and bubble in “c” for all the answers and write jibberish in the short answer responses; however, I watched as each of these “failing” students put in the effort to show me what they know.So my question is…did they fail? Did I fail in teaching them? At this moment, watching them pore over their answers, I say no, since my goal with students is to inspire them to learn, to express their understandings and learn from their mistakes. All of these students know why they failed—laziness to turn in work, not completing homework and projects on time, not arriving to class on time (or at all)—and they stated to me how they will fix these issues next year, so to me they did not fail. They learned from their mistakes. Yes, they did not score as well as others on this test or in this course, but they tried.
One area I need to work on is developing skills. I try to teach the students every skill instead of perfecting a few key ones. One major skill most students lack is critical thinking. When asked how sun exposure affects each of the students personally, one student responded, “Understanding sun exposure is important to me because I am white.” That was the beginning and end of the response. Hmmmm…I am white, but don’t understand how this sun exposure affects you.
I have some new ideas to work into my curriculum. Usually this time of the year always tricks me into going back next year with new ideas, new innovations, and new connections. I will probably curse myself this coming November when I wonder why I picked this profession as I deal with another 170 students. However, watching students mature, makes sense of the world, and find science “sic” make me coming back.
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Yesterday was my last official day of the school year. All I had to do was shut down my classroom; students did not report. Today, I have spent the day missing my students, planning for next school year and how to improve my teaching. Yet like you, by November, I will question why I am in this profession as I try to teach my students to read at their grade level when some of them come to me reading at the primer or even preprimer level.
I had trained my students so well that on the last day of school, we were reading poetry together to practice their fluency in reading! And they loved it!I guess that is one of the reasons why I teach.I gave myself a pat on the back for that.
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