when we talk about education, we generally imagine categories or types of students and schools. we rarely remember that every class, every teacher, and every student is very different. we often come from very different experiences and perspectives, and every situation has a different context and different meaning for every person. principals, teachers, parents, and students all have individual personalities, interests, and ideas. how we work together and talk together makes a major difference in how initiatives, programs, and reforms are designed, revised, and implemented.
for example, one thing you may not know about teachers is that our first lesson every day is likely our worst lesson of the day. it can matter more than you imagine when a a class is scheduled in the day. not because a teacher or student wants it too, but because every lesson and every class is a little bit like a venn diagram. everybody in school is a mix of different abilities, interests, and skills. in one circle, there is the lesson the teacher offers, and in another circle, there is student readiness. instruction is not just theory: it has to match real students in a real classroom. that’s the major difference between “content coverage” and “deep understanding”. how do we help students really learn?
the first two circles already offer real challenge, but there’s a the third circle, too. what skills and techniques can a teacher use to affect student readiness? how can a teacher engage, scaffold, and support students to promote real learning? it’s not easy. learning, then, is essentially the overlap of the teacher’s lesson, the teacher’s abilities, and student readiness. and honestly, there are a lot of things that can affect how different circles overlap in different ways on different days.
classes too early in the morning or too late in the day limit can student readiness, and teachers are often far more frustrated and impatient at the end of a full day. there’s a sweet spot in the day for lessons, but it’s not pure science. after a student has adjusted to the day, and after a teacher has taught a lesson once, students are more likely to really learn.
you know what the crazy part is: there’s also a sweet spot for learning among the students in the classroom. i’ll get to that in a new post . . . i think it’s probably one of the most important (and controversial) things i’ll have to say.
school|life 