For a document view, click here.
I came to teaching, and ultimately to administrative work, through a path that was truly carved out by experiences. After having graduated from Dickinson College, I moved to Chile where I lived for three years. In order to make a living there, I began teaching English as a second language. Most of my classes were comprised of men who worked in the management tier at the various mines in northern Chile. It provided an interesting insight into the culture of the area but more importantly it started my career as a teacher. I had a genuine interest in my students and they had a general interest in what I was there to teach. It really was a wonderful way to “get my feet wet” in terms of teaching.
Upon returning to the United States, I sought work at an independent school in Massachusetts, near where I grew up. Though I had not attended an independent school, I knew I wanted to continue my exploration of teaching in one because independent schools are known for their holistic approach to teaching and learning. Not only is a developing mind important but character and morals are as well and that really matters when I consider the young adults that we are sending out into the world.
My first teaching position in the US was at Lawrence Academy, a day/boarding school in MA. I am so grateful for my colleagues there because they really took the time to mentor me as I learned from my rookie teacher mistakes. I wasn’t flexible; I would become frustrated easily; I would, on occasion, call students out in front of others. During those two years, I learned how to lesson plan with an end goal in mind; I learned tactics to better manage my classroom; I learned how not to engage in power struggles; and perhaps most important, I learned that each child brings a unique experience to the classroom, experiences that make them who they are. Moreover, I reaffirmed what I had taken with me from teaching in Chile – relationships are the cornerstone of this profession. I learned to appreciate and respect the students with whom I was working, advising, and coaching. I learned to treat them as individuals and that if I were to show an interest in them, it would affirm that I cared about them and that I wished them to be successful, not only in my class but in life. Most importantly, it made me remember that being a teenager is not easy and the way that an adult approaches a teenager must reflect that bit of knowledge.
I left Lawrence Academy because I was not ready for the demands of a boarding school at that time in my life. I began a search and next came Reno, NV. When I first came to Sage Ridge School, the school had only been open for six years, a stark contrast from Lawrence Academy, founded in 1793. What most attracted me to the school was just how young it was. It provided me with an opportunity to build upon the foundations of best teaching practices that had been laid at Lawrence Academy while also giving me an opportunity to leave a mark on the school, a prospect that was highly attractive to me. During my time as a faculty member at Sage Ridge School, I was provided various teacher-leader opportunities that eventually granted me the opportunity to transition into full time administrative work.
As an administrator, my work is with four main constituents: the faculty, administrators, students, and parents. I am a teacher at the core of my soul and feel as though my work with the faculty is incredibly fulfilling. I believe that an excellent faculty, who have a joyful work experience, allow their joy and passions to trickle down to the students and ultimately to the families. I enjoy working to help the faculty become better teachers. Even though most are already excellent, teaching is a reflective profession where there are always areas to improve. In order to best support my faculty, I spend a lot of time thinking about teaching, learning, and kids and talking with them about it. I am constantly asking myself (and others), “How do you articulate what is excellent teaching?” I know it when I see it. Heck, I often times feel it when I see it. And I know that it all stems from the relationships that we create with students. Below is my attempt to highlight some of the most important aspects that I believe constitute excellent teaching, many of which are interconnected, and provide abundant material to fuel my conversations with faculty.
I come from a foreign language teaching background and in my classroom students are asked to only use the target language. First and foremost, it is essential to create a safe environment where students can make mistakes and/or fail. This was particularly true of my classroom. How will they know what they don’t know if they aren’t allowed to make mistakes? Learning from mistakes allows for tremendous growth because the students have identifiable areas in which to focus in order to improve. Coupled with the safe environment where mistakes and failure are ok, comes feedback in various forms. Feedback is only effective if it is timely; therefore, formative assessment is key in the daily routine of a classroom in addition to more formal, traditional forms of assessment. Feedback should be meaningful to students and therefore I am a proponent of feedback that provides information that will help the student improve. I firmly believe that if we hold our students to high expectations and provide scaffolding for them, we will see amazing results. Kids respond to teachers who they know hope for their success and help them achieve it.
Teachers must provide clear learning targets. For a student to get from point A to point B, there must be a clear path laid by the teacher and the students must know where they are headed. Learning targets or objectives allow students to assess their own situation in the class which provides an opportunity for student buy-in. The successful student is one that is accountable for their own learning and by providing learning objectives, teachers can help students find ways to be accountable.
As I mentioned above, a great lesson I learned as a newer teacher was to be more flexible. Flexibility is key in many realms of the classroom and not an easy lesson to learn. There are times when teachers must be flexible with their plans. The ability to recognize those times when you must set aside what you had planned in order to best serve your students’ needs is not an easy skill to teach but one that I’ve found often comes with experience. As a younger teacher, I wanted to guard against being taken advantage of by my students who asked for more time on assignments but I’ve come to realize that when you’ve created solid relationships with your students, they aren’t interested in taking advantage of you. They are interested in your help.
As teachers, I believe that we have an obligation to prepare our students for jobs of the future that do not yet exist. We are to help them become better learners and people of character. We should do that by preparing them to think critically, to use their minds well, to ask the right questions, and to find and follow their interests. We should take care to model how kind, caring adults with solid integrity behave and communicate, both in person and digitally.
While at times adolescence can seem like a mystery, this important developmental stage should be one of exploration. Students should try new activities, explore their interests, and find their passions. They should start to become more aware of who they are, and certainly should respect themselves. Adults should be present to help that happen.
In conclusion, schools are human institutions and the relationships that we build are foundational to the work that can be realized within the school’s walls. As with all relationships, if we grow from them and help the other grow and improve, if we trust each other and we communicate clearly and care for one another, we will find success together.