Thank You For an Unforgettable School Year

 The final article summary of the 2020-21 school year is Educators Share the Best Teaching Advice They've Received.

It’s fitting for the final summary of the year because it captures the vital values we need to embrace in order to guide and educate our students and to find the balance of the personal and professional in our lives. 

I’ve been in education since 1980, and while I’ve had ups and downs (mostly ups) and seen many new ideas come and go (and a few good ones stay), the past 14 months have indisputably been the most challenging and fretful of my career. 

I consider myself fortunate that I am optimistic by nature, one of the values listed below. The 24/7 demands and the frustrating fits and starts of the past year tested me--and all other optimists. I kept expecting the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, but until a few weeks ago that light proved elusive. There’s an old Lou Reed song with the chorus ‘You need a boatload of faith to get by’: we needed a flotilla of faith this year!

But, as I said in yesterday’s end-of-year meeting, we did it! We did it in exemplary fashion! We did it together as one community! And, most importantly, we made a difference in the lives and education of our students!

There aren’t appropriate words to thank all of you for tireless efforts, endless imagination, gymnastic flexibility (another value below), iron-clad unity, and indefatigable positivity this year! 

As we gradually begin to put the 2020-21 school year in our rearview mirror and over time can start to reflect on it with the lens of perspective, we will swell with pride in what we accomplished. We were tested individually and collectively and we rose to the challenge and emerge from the tunnel stronger than ever.

But for right now, let’s enjoy a physically and emotionally restful break to replenish our soul and spirit

Enjoy summer and our readjustment to normalcy!

Joe

Classroom management: Will what I am about to do or say bring me closer or will it push me away farther from the person with whom I am communicating? Sometimes—not often, but sometimes—I can lose my temper a bit with a student. Each time that has happened since I read that line, I have been able to remember that wise piece of advice and shift gears. Obviously, it would have been better for me not to get upset in the first place, but, of course, I am only human.

Flexibility: The most important teaching advice I have ever received and I now give is to “be flexible.” Flexibility is the quality of bending easily without breaking. In my 24 years of teaching, I’ve learned that successful and happy teachers are ones who are flexible—flexible in their thinking, in the way they teach, and in their response to situations. As much as I enjoy being a teacher, I don’t think I could have lasted this long if I had not learned to be flexible. For, as much as you plan out your day and your lessons, there inevitably will be disruptions and distractions that will pop up. I always come to school prepared for the lessons I’m going to teach that day, but I’ve learned to go with the flow if there are any changes. I’ve learned to adapt. The pandemic we are experiencing at present is a perfect example of teachers being flexible. We’ve had to adapt to a new way of teaching—from working with students in the classroom to teaching virtually through the computer. We’ve had to learn to use different programs to record lessons that teach content effectively while also being engaging. We’ve had to come up with ways to motivate our students at a distance. In this situation, teachers who have a flexible mindset fared better than those that have not mastered this skill.

The Best Version of Themselves: Simple, yet profound: See people for better than they currently are and always believe that they are doing the absolute best that they can. This advice works for teachers working with kids, teachers working with other teachers, instructional leaders working with their staff, and quite frankly, it works with every human being who has the privilege of engaging with another human being. I truly believe that when we have the mindset that people are giving us the very best version of themselves at the given moment, it changes how we behave. Couple that mindset with the belief that we can all get better, AND we have the unique and profound opportunity of trying to help others grow into a version of themselves that is better than their current iteration, is to me the essence of education and leadership. We are all unfinished, and in education and leadership, we have the privilege of being a small part of people’s continued growth. Keeping this in mind will always provide a direction and a motivation for any teacher, and as a result, it is the most important piece of advice I can possibly provide to anyone lucky enough to be a part of the world’s greatest profession.

Do What You Know Is Best for Kids: Teaching has changed so much since I began in 2004. However, some of the best advice I ever received was to go in your room, close the door, and do what you know is best for kids. I have seen what feels like a million fads come and go, all in the name of research, fidelity, and increasing student achievement. These can all be good things, but ultimately, you know your students and what they need. Sometimes, what they need is a fun activity that helps them connect with one another and feel less isolated. Sometimes what they need is to go outside and learn in the sunshine, because they have been cooped up all day and are stressed. If you always have the intention of doing what is best for kids, regardless of the fads that come and go, you will be doing just fine. One more piece of advice? Stay out of the gossip mill. If someone will talk to you about someone else, that means they’ll talk about you to someone else, too. Don’t get sucked into that negativity ... our job is too big and too important, and the kids need you. Rise above all that and keep it professional! Anything else is just wasted energy.

Maintain High Standards: A high-quality education is not going to come from repeated practice in packets and worksheets. The lessons that are planned need to be rigorous and engaging while providing scaffolds that allow students to learn at a high level. All students deserve the opportunity to be challenged and take part in a productive struggle that helps them take ownership of their learning and build their confidence. In order for this to take place, teachers need to have deep content knowledge and be ready to implement a variety of instructional strategies that will support student learning.

What Benefits the Student? The most important advice I was ever given came in the form of a question. In my early teaching years, I struggled over a grade for a student which would doom the student’s opportunity to succeed. Though I can’t remember the details, the grade question was being determined by the everybody-on-the-same-page grading rules. In seeking advice, my department chair asked me, “What would be the best course of action for this student?” Not only did that make my decision crystal clear (the student would in no way benefit if I placed the rules above my concern for the student), but I appreciated the wisdom of the question. It shaped my behavior toward all of my students from that point forward and is still the guiding principle in all issues which arise both in and out of the classroom: What benefits the student?

Capture Multiple Perspectives: The best lessons I have learned on my journey as an educator have emerged from my experiences as a learner. As a member of a marginalized group, it was not until I approached my graduate studies that I was able to pinpoint reasons why I always felt I never actually “fit” in any of my educational contexts, not even at the university level. It was in graduate school that I realized that my peers and my professors didn’t really understand me as a covered Palestinian Muslim female beyond the stereotypical me presented in mainstream media and had approached me with that lens. The feeling that I was having was that of an outsider, that of “the other.” I didn’t know that is how I was feeling until I learned the terminology as an aspiring educational leader, an opportunity that many students will never have, causing them to go through life without the ability to name feelings of discomfort and suffocation and understand their origin. This leads to my advice and my mantra as an educator: Immerse yourselves in the “otherness” that comprises the demographics in your school context. You cannot serve students you don’t understand equitably and with fidelity. Implicit biases are a real thing. We are immersed in media that will feed those biases making them more real than ever. As great as technology is, it has enhanced this process. It’s your job as an educator to make yourself vulnerable and put on the hat of the learner. Go beyond asking your students questions; students don’t want to stand out for being different. Capture multiple perspectives for any one group. Do not fall into the trap of assuming that one experience represents that of a whole group even if it is the experience of a member of that group.

Take Care of Ourselves: A principal once told me that teachers are wired and trained to take care of everyone else first and themselves last. We have to actively fight that trend to preserve longevity in the profession. This hit home the most when we had an act of violence occur at our school. Her words assuaged my guilt in asking for what I needed in the days after the event.