…The Next Five Years
#ReflectiveTeacher post 12
I have never taught the same yearly plan twice. So much changes from one school year to the next, I have never been able to repeat a plan no matter how good I thought it was. With that said, I do have essentials of practice that I always go back to. The pedagogical practices that anchor my work give me a road map through all the changes and unforeseen circumstances. For ten years each year has been different. So as I think forward to the next five years, I am sure much change will have happened. But I am also certain that much will remain the same.
Five years from now my students will probably all have computers in their desks. I will probably be struggling to keep up with the technological advances of a 21st century classroom. I can see myself attempting to facilitate deep conversation, engage students in reflection, and encourage them to believe in the power of paper and pen in this fast paced, short sentenced, too much information at the tip of your fingertips world. There will be many lessons on cyber bullying and internet safety. Curriculum on what you can believe and not believe about what’s available on the internet. I imagine students being at the forefront of their own learning. Differentiation for each student happens with the push of a button on a computer program. By necessity I will be listening to students, because they will probably know more about the technology than me. Right now this is the biggest change I can foresee.
In five years I am not sure what the stance will be on common core, or what assessments may look like, or what curriculum I will be teaching. I am not even certain what my grade level will be. But I am certain that my belief that all students can learn will be unchanged. I am certain that I will engage students in rich conversations that incorporate identity building. I am certain that I will be deeply engaged in some kind of teacher inquiry. I am certain that social justice will be at the center of my practice. I am certain that my students will be teaching me as much as I am teaching them.
