The Challenge of Change

Change is scary.

I have been teaching for over a decade. I know what works in my classroom to get my students to be successful on their big exams. I know how to keep them engaged and minimize discipline problems. I know which types of projects to avoid with my population. I know enough to be comfortable.

But comfortable isn't going to push my students to the next level. Comfortable isn't going to help my students learn an intrinsic value to what I teach. Comfortable isn't going to be enough for most of them to achieve high enough to earn a Seal of Biliteracy once Ohio figures out what that looks like. And honestly, too comfortable leaves me feeling stagnant.

Oh, I want a degree of comfortable. I don't want to feel unsure every morning of how my lessons are going to, if the kids will connect to the material, if an idea will fall completely unsalvageable. But I want to be able to grow from that base of comfort.

I spent about 1 1/2 hours this morning working on my second revision of my Spanish I curriculum in as many years. Last summer I took a big step forward in trying to organize my material into larger units so that information was a bit more cohesive, not as fragmented. Today I tried to figure out how to fit my move towards incorporating my own mix of CI, TPRS, and technology in with those units.

I swear I spent ten minutes at one point just flipping papers and staring at words. Meshing two different ideas is not easy, possibly impossible I even wondered at one point. However, I finally started to come up with a plan. It still needs tweaking and fleshing out but I feel like I am making solid progress now.

For me the catalyst was when I finally told myself that it was okay not to expect the kids to have all the vocabulary at the same moments as they did this past year. Things are going to look different and that is okay.

P.S. I also found a video in Spanish about the 10 most intelligent animals that I am totally going to use to expand upon our first day bingo activity!

Ser Paciente

I was so blessed to be able to attend the OFLA state conference this year. I walked away with new ideas and an eagerness to try some of them out. Some things worked, some things need tweaked, some just didn't fit what I wanted. However, I didn't have major changes to my classroom (It was musical and track season and the final quarter of the year!).

Now that I'm on summer break, I have time to think more deeply about where I want my classroom to go. I started this journey with a few baby steps last summer. This summer I need to take some bigger ones.

And this is where being patient comes into play. As much as I want to just start tearing about old units and turning them into something new and better, I have to take more time. I need to read more about TPRS, PQA, and CI. I need to consider IPA's. I need to look at where the ACTFL standards want me to take my students. I need to keep up with Ohio's plans for the Seal of Biliteracy.

I need to be patient enough to learn what will work best for the type of learners my students are and the type of teacher I am. I firmly believe that what works in one classroom may not succeed in another one and this is where I have to be patient.

If I am patient and take the time to develop my ideas and plans, my students will reap the benefits come next school year.