The teaching path today has many tributaries. I travel down many of these varied paths to learn, discover, refine, create and interact with optimal teaching/learning activities. Some of the paths lead nowhere, some have value, and others are the most fruitful avenues to growth. One reality in my journey is that I always end up with the same professional goal and interest which is teaching children well--that's what matters to me.
Since that's what matters, it's difficult and uninteresting to me to create and promote one-size-fits-all venues, "vanilla" creations as the joy of teaching/learning for me is the personalization--matching learning design to the children I serve so that I'm meeting their needed skills, desired interests, and collective goals. In this regard, I also enjoy and profit from the collective share in my professional learning community near and far--it is through this share and exchange that I develop and refine my repertoire.
A wonderful challenge and joy of teaching well is that you are never there as there is always more to do and problems to solve. Every year presents new challenges, and the children, in so many ways, are your teachers as their needs serve to send you on new quests of research and discovery to teach well. In this day when there are so many outside of education interested in the profession, there is an added layer of complexity to navigate as you consider the contributions, opportunities, and mandates at hand--what efforts are worthy, and what efforts are less effective or worthwhile? Who is truly invested in moving schools forward to serve children well, and who is more interested in their own gain?
So as I think about my role, and I think about learning communities in general, I believe it is so important that we keep children at the center and maintain the support and integrity of programs that serve children well--programs that provide the personalized care and attention that contribute to every child's success.
As I continue this path, I will continue to develop my lens for choosing the best ways to do my work and inform my practice with the support of professional colleagues who put children's needs at the center of the work they do. A thoughtful, focused journey ahead.
