One of my more memorable years in elementary school was 5th grade, Mr. Feuling's class. Try and remember your favorite teacher as a child. Do you remember the basics they taught you? I remember laughing a lot in his class. I remember inside jokes and being active in class. I remember getting my hands on things and discovering. What we remember of great teachers is not what specific skills they taught us, but how they inspired us to learn on our own or be a better person. It was a class I wanted to be in. It was a class I was pushed to achieve and welcomed challenges in. That is the very essence of good teaching, someone who can help you help yourself. Someone you have made a connection with that believes in you.
Every day teachers set foot in a classroom is a chance to inspire a child. Each day should be a new opportunity to try and make a difference. This may sound cliche, but consider this, that teacher that inspired you, was it one single day they did that? Do you think they woke up one day and said, "Today's the day I inspire kids, then tomorrow I'll be boring again." They didn't inspire you in a single day, it was each and everyday of trying that was building that idea. Each decision they made helped propel you forward as a learner and a person. They capitalized on the time they had. They connected to you as a person.
This section is about The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching: A Checklist for Staying Focused Every Day by Bryan Goodwin and Elizabeth Ross Hubbell. This book is a guide to helping teachers make the most of each day. Through research rationale, this book is taking a closer look at what works and how teachers can utilize it each day. You can join me as we venture through the book and get tips, inspiration, or reminded of what we can do as educators to keep the class moving forward and growing everyday. Stay focused. Get inspired!
References
Goodwin, Bryan & Hubbell, Elizabeth R. (2013) The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching: A
Checklist For Staying Focused Every Day [E-reader version]. Retrieved from
http://www.amazon.com/The-Touchstones-Good-Teaching-Checklist/dp/1416616012