Chapter 3

Pg. 33 – “Like law and medicine (or any other profession in which it is essential to “keep up” in order to perform at the highest level of efficacy), teaching requires professional reading, collaboration with colleagues, coaching, sifting through the latest research, attending conferences, and so on.”

When we became educators, we agreed also to become life long learners. Our profession is ever changing, and we have a responsibility to stay abreast of best practice and theory. Our students, coworkers, schools, and communities deserve that from us. We CHOSE this career, so we must do our absolute best every single day to live up to the expectations that are held for us.

Pg. 34 – “Only when we combine the what and how of what we do with the why do we see permanent gains.”

I believe this is incredibly important. We want our students to understand why they learn what they learn. Why do we not hold that same standard for what we learn and teach?

Pg. 35 – “Professional development must help students learn more.”

What a concept. I think as educators we are often overwhelmed with professional development that doesn’t really end up helping our students learn more. Sometimes I think we spend too much time on too many different types of professional development rather than focusing on and perfecting one specific aspect of learning and teaching. I believe we must go deep rather than wide when it comes to professional development so that our students can truly benefit from what we are learning. We must take the necessary time to learn, practice, and reflect or our time really isn’t being spent effectively.

Pg. 35 – “More than almost any other factor, the sense of a professional school community enhances student achievement.”

It is important for teachers to take pride in and value their work. I think professional conversations are a way to demonstrate this. When we truly value our work and do our best to make ourselves better at what we do, our students will inevitably achieve more.

Pg. 36 – “Keeping a reading record has helped me balance what I read, and I help students implement a reading record with a similar format and similar goals.”

This is such an excellent idea – and a nice twist to the reading log. I think it will be really powerful for students to keep a record of what they read, and it will help them see the variety of what they read as well. I believe I will start one too!

Pg. 38 – “Keep an open mind. Be willing to change your views when research and experience warrant it.”

I believe this is very important for educators. Because our profession is constantly changing, we have to be willing to change with it. No two students are the same; no two classes are the same. We can’t expect to teach each year the same way we did the year before. That would be a disservice to our students and a disservice to ourselves.

Pg. 38 – “Research should help us raise fresh questions about teaching and learning that help us make smart instructional decisions to improve our practices.”

I absolutely believe that educators should stay on top of current theory and best practices. However, I agree that this information should inform our instruction and practices rather than consume them. It is important to learn, try new things, and continue to grow as an educator. We can’t, however, change what we do every single day - especially if what we are doing is working. Our job is to use what we learn to improve our practices and help our students succeed, whether that means we change what we do or keep things the same.

Pg. 39 – “Teachers are the only professionals I know who will do what we know is not beneficial for our clients—our students and their families—rather than challenge obviously ineffective current ideas or new programs.”

It is embarrassing to me as an educator to know how true this statement is. This seems to me to be a challenge from Regie Routman to educators. We are definitely being called out here, and I think it is rightfully so. We should ask ourselves how we can change this.

Pg. 40-41 – “Eliminate distractions that are within your control…Budget your time…Place more responsibility on the kids, which saves time and energy and makes them more independent.”

These are practical steps we can all take to use our time more efficiently in the classroom. Time is a valuable commodity that we cannot afford to waste.

Pg. 44 – “It’s all about relationships. I’ve learned that if we don’t have positive, trusting relationships with our colleagues and students, not much of any consequence is likely to happen. On the other hand, when we do have that trust, we can ask for and expect more from our colleagues and students.”

Relationships are so very important. Without an atmosphere of trust, no one will reach his or her fullest potential. We have to work hard to build a community that lends itself to cultivating strong and healthy relationships so that our students and colleagues become genuine risk takers.

Pg. 44 – “I have always believed that mentoring is part of our job as teachers, whether we are paid or not, and that we have an unspoken obligation to support our peers.”

Having just finished my first year of teaching, I cannot express enough how important it was to have a mentor teacher who took the time to support, encourage, and validate me. I felt like a part of the team from the minute I stepped foot on the school grounds for the first time, and I never had to question whether or not my colleagues trusted my abilities as a teacher or whether or not I had support of any kind when I needed it. It was an absolutely crucial part of my experience as a first year teacher, and I believe it is one of the main reasons I had such a successful year.