Teachers

“Why should we as teachers worry about changing people’s attitudes to learning? We all know what schools could and should aim for. Happy, confident, curious children who are able to take risks; responsible, respectful, emotionally and spiritually aware, creative souls who thrive with change. We all agree, so what’s the problem? The problem is that this is not how schools are judged – nor is it what they are required to do. Isn’t that crazy?”

From Sarah:
“I am a teacher a parent and a student and other things too. I am so excited by this work – it fits with ideas I have had percolating for many many years. I would like to connect with other teachers interested in inovating and to read stories about what people are doing and creating.”

From D:
“Today’s great teachers know this and nurture it within their classrooms.”

From Vincent:
“I was told that I am too nice as a college teacher and probably not rigorous: “You hand out too many A’s.”

I believe that grading is best viewed not as a systematic ranking of objective rules and process, but as a collaboration between learning objectives, my commitment to the revision process, and the engaging of my institution’s mission statement, with the students’ overall mastery of course content.

I actually care about what they learn and how they learn it.  Is it not my job to engage multiple intelligences and to imbue the classroom with creative ways of teaching course content?  When this is successful, why is it considered a failure? “