Cement or Sand?

In my online class we are currently discussing the changes that must take place within education so we (teachers and schools) stay relatable and valuable. Several video links were posted that proposed thought provoking questions about how education might evolve. What struck a cord with me was a video post that compared the way a classroom was set up roughly one hundred years ago to a classroom today. It was very familiar......because the layout looked like my room. The physical placement of the desks and people were relatively the same....granted, our fashion has evolved.

I am a history teacher so I like to feel a sense of connection to the past. But, do I want to keep churning through each school year like they did in Indiana when the term frontier applied?

The following prompt was suggested on my online class:
How could you adapt or change one of your current class/course policies to reflect a moving mindset you are willing to make? Why or why not?

Well.....good question. My initial response: um, I'm not sure.

When my students get stuck on a question, I tell them to break it down and examine what is really being asked before you try to find an answer. Dissect the question and then decide. After changing my perspective, I shifted my focus from "changing a current policy" to something much deeper. 

Do I have a "moving mindset"? Am I standing in cement or sand? 

When I was in college, I thought that the "reflection" portion of lesson planning or curriculum planning was of the least importance. Reality check: I was wrong. Since I am in many ways a creature of habit, I used to think that one I found "what worked", my teaching style would be set. But reflection and adaption are crucial to staying relevant. What works for one class, doesn't always work for another. Paraphrasing my educational mentor, we have to remember to teach the kids we have.....not the kids we used to have. 

There are basic fundamental policies of the classroom that I believe in. I am a big fan of productivity, manners, respect, and effort. But each year is different. The kids are different. So we have to be different.

Sometimes I teach history. Sometimes I teach manners. Sometimes I teach organization.

But I always teach my kids. 

The delivery of the subject, lesson, and policy must have the potential to be fluid and changing.  But the dedication to try my best to positively teach them is cemented within me because policy can never overpower the vocation to teach. 

-enjoy the coffee-

Hannah