"The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." -- John Adams

"No money shall be drawn from the treasury, for the benefit of any religious or theological institution." -- Indiana Constitution Article 1, Section 6.

"...no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." – Thomas Jefferson

Monday, March 7, 2011

One thing I wish I had known...

What's one thing you wish you had known before you started teaching? The Whole Child Blog of the ASCD asked that question. Below are some answers...you can see them all HERE.

It's interesting when you look through the responses...not one person said anything about how to get all the students on the same page at the same time. No one said anything about standardized tests...
...taking the time to get to know the child and having a conversation with him/her is more important to the child’s growth than the guided reading lesson that is on the lesson plans.

[the] University taught me Thorndike and Piaget’s theories but didn’t tell me that I’d be the Mom….wiping noses, doing up snaps on clothes, putting on bandaids, tying boots/shoes, soothing hurt feelings...

I wish I would have understood that a great deal of learning happens well after the lesson has ended...

As hard as it is, you will not be able to “fix” everything for every child. Give it your best and ensure every child is happy, healthy, and well cared for while he/she is in your classroom.

I wish I would have known that I was going to care so much about other kids, other than my own, and that I would be taking each one of them home with me daily, on the weekends, during breaks and summer vacations.

I wish I had known just how much interpersonal communication and building relationships comes into play with day to day interactions with staff, students and members of the community.

...that tomorrow is another day, that I am allowed to be human, that a relationship goes a long way, and how much is misunderstood about what we do.

Teaching is 10% instruction and 90% “caregiver.” Students need to know you care about them all day, every day!
Exactly.
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Support the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action! July 28-31, 2011
End the destructive policies and rhetoric that have eroded confidence in our public schools, demoralized teachers, and reduced the education of too many of our children to nothing more than test preparation.
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