Blogs on Teacher Development

Hollywood teacher movies typically provoke strong emotions: you either love to hate them or hate to love them. For better or for worse, those silver screen teachers shape how the public thinks about teaching. And most educators I know can't help but watch teacher movies, even if only to criticize them resoundingly, Mystery Science Theater 3000-style.

Summer is a good time for reflection, and I have been reflecting on why, after so much education research, and so many years of educational practice, we still seem to be struggling to find "what works." So my next two blogs will look back at the words of folks who have thought about social-emotional aspects of education, written about them, and created successful and effective efforts to promote them.

Start with the end, a veteran teacher told me my first year teaching. In my young, inexperienced teacher mind, that meant "fun project." And though there's not a thing wrong with fun, the end assessment needs to be about the learning and not about the product. Starting with the end means we need to put the skills, knowledge, and concepts students will learn first, then the product second.

While we all know there is no such thing as having a "summer off" as a teacher, the summer does afford us the time to do some exploring. I wanted to share some things with you that I think are worth exploring while school is out.