Saturday, January 4, 2014

10 things your students need from you this year

1). Your students need you to recognize and accept that the world they are growing up in is quite different than the world you grew up in. As a result, classroom instruction and learning must be and should be different than what may have happened in the past.

2). Your students need you to trust them. Your students want to be given the chance to prove themselves. Just as you want your students to trust you, they want that trust to be reciprocated.

3). Your students need to know you see them as more than just students. Your students need to know that you see them as individuals with needs that are changing often and frequently. Your students need to know they are more than just a 'number.'

http://goo.gl/P2LECA
4). Your students need to see you fail and they need to see you take chances by doing things you've never done before in your classroom. Appropriately modeling failure for your students can be extremely empowering for kids.

5). Your students need you to provide them autonomy and flexibility to do things their way. Obviously this may not be possible with every single activity, but giving students more freedom in how they demonstrate their learning is absolutely critical.

6). Your students need you to accept that fair is not always equal. Your students are getting to a point of frustration because they recognize that things are rarely 'black and white,' thus what happens in the classroom shouldn't be treated as such.

7). Your students need you to recognize that your classroom instruction should be geared toward how your students learn best... not how you learn best.

8). Your students need you to be organized and need to know you are planning with purpose. This isn't to say that those 'teachable moments' are avoided, but students need and want smooth transitions as a result of planning rather than disorganization and uncertainty on the part of the teacher.

9). Your students need to know the work they are doing serves a purpose and is relevant. Your students need and want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and they want their time to be validated.

10). Your students need you to be your best every single day. There are some careers that allow for 'bad days' and allow you to fly under the radar so to speak... education is not that career. Your kids need your 'A' game every single day.