“The principal goal of
education is to create men (& women) who are capable of doing new things,
not simply of repeating what other generations have done.”
Jean
Piaget
“…to preparing each
student to become a life-long learner…”
AAK
Mission Statement
One
of the basic tenants of education, which is present in almost every school
mission statement, is for our students to become life-long learners. It’s our responsibility to provide the tools,
purpose, skills, and environment which fosters learning. Our aim to engage the students will provide
the mechanism for learning beyond the classroom. It’s exciting to hear from a child what they
discovered in their own backyard, read in a book, or what interesting person
they recently met. A self-discovered
“light” can do more than perpetuate the intrinsic motivation of a child; their
enthusiasm can be infectious.
As
we begin to move closer to our summer vacation I have traditionally reinforced
my belief in reflection. This year I’m
changing gears a bit and would like you to consider one question, “Were your
teachers successful?” The development of
life-long learners didn’t begin with our current era of education, but rather,
has been around for many. It was
probably spoken by your teachers as a goal, mission, or vision from your
school. So, were your teachers
successful? Are you a life-long
learner?
We
could probably agree that all of us spend hours learning each day. Many of us have special hobbies which we dive
into. We continue to work on our interests
to increase the level of proficiency that we have in them and summer appears to
be the best time for such endeavors. To
look beyond the casual, I also spend time during summer vacation learning
something new about my craft of education.
Former AAK Principal Ed Hanlon instilled this by placing a simple goal
before me as a young teacher. Change
your plans. He furthered my task by
encouraging me, and his entire faculty, to rework about 20% of their classroom
plans each year. During my career as a
teacher at AAK I did this. It wasn’t
easy, but in doing so I grew immensely as an educator. My planning, instruction, and assessment
improved each year.
As
the circle of pedagogical influence is completed, I encourage you to do the
same. Take a look at one area of your craft,
learn more about it, and do as Mr. Hanlon suggested. Summer is the perfect opportunity to enjoy
learning about teaching. In the first
meeting of the year, I showed to you the video, "We've Got to Be That
Light" by Dr. Jeff Goldstein. Both
mentors require the same mindset. That
good enough is not great. A conviction that
student learning and development is dependent on the opportunities they
have.
This
brings me to my selected title for today’s thoughts. What is your Personal Learning Plan
(PLP)? What would you like to know more
about so that you can enact positive change in your classroom? Take time in the next eight weeks to relax
and recharge, but also place some thought in developing a PLP. If you accept this request then you’ll look
back on this summer as one of the most rewarding of your career.
Have
a great summer!
