Saturday, October 22, 2016

Finding Our Balance

     One of the hardest things about teaching kids is finding the magical sweet spot of balance.  When we have structure, discipline, and respect, but we don't balance it with anything else, we get ennui.  When we have creativity, passion, and enthusiasm, but nothing else, we get chaos.  When we balance them together, we get rigor and relevance.
     Most of the teachers I know have the structure side down cold.  They think they have an engaging classroom because they are teaching the way they were taught, so it's easy to think its the kids that are the problem for not creating their own engagement.
     A tough question that we need to ask ourselves, "If you were walking down the hallway today, would you choose your classroom today?"