About

The [im]Perfect Classroom is a project designed to celebrate the countless individuals who work tirelessly to create the best possible classroom for their students each and every day. This project is intended to be honor the complexity of teaching by focusing on the magic that each teacher brings to the classroom in their own way. 

What makes the Perfect Classroom?

Teaching is hard.

There are not qualifiers or exceptions to this statement. At every level, in every discipline, in every place, teaching is an incredibly difficult and ever-changing profession. To be a great teacher requires expert disciplinary knowledge, a deep understanding of effective pedagogy, application of behavior management, practical knowledge of the psychology of how we learn... the list could go on. This is what I would call the science of teaching. While that science is wildly important to being an effective teacher, there is also an art to teaching.

It is that art that makes students want to show up every day

It is that art that makes the teacher feel comfortable and creative

It is that art that makes being a teacher so impactful

It is the art of teaching that makes the perfect classroom.

Why the Imperfect Classroom?

Just as is the case with all art and artists, no teacher or classroom can truly be perfect, least not for everyone all of the time. But the brilliance of teaching is that despite all of the imperfections in any given day, the classroom is a place that can be exactly what a student needs. It is the teacher that does that. It is the teacher that creates a place so unique, so individualized, so welcoming, that it becomes the safe, happy, and incredible place that a classroom can be.

The imperfect classroom is the place that students want to be. It is the place that fosters creativity to make learning fun and engaging; where students can be their whole selves because they witness the teacher doing the same; where people are put before scores. The imperfect classroom is where learning happens at the highest levels.