The reason I teach!
I have to say that Trafalgar Primary School in Australia is a great place to work! The staff are great, but the all inspiring and motivating factor about working at Trafalgar is the kids. Tonight we held a performing arts concert at school. There were a couple of moments where I was stressed out, but once again the students "made my day!" Not only did a few of our singing students perform beautifully and most importantly, "in key" (anybody teaching music in a school will know this joy), wowing their family and friends, but a small group of students from my class who have been working extremely hard on a dance routine to "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, made me very proud.
As they danced their little legs off in front of an audience of around 120 people tonight they did not miss a beat. The make up, costumes and joyful attitudes of these kids was infectious. This group of kids have worked so hard and to see the look of joy in their eyes as they performed and the smiles on their faces when the applause rang loudly through the night, reinforced in me the reason that I began teaching in the first place, the kids. They have such an enormous amount of energy and to see them so enthused can only inspire you. But wait there's more... To top off the evening, the school rock band Section 'A', played a couple of songs that again astounded the audience, the skills and enthusiasm of the band displayed proudly for all to see, as they rocked out to an AC/DC song, an original song and Joan Jett's "I love rock 'n' roll!" The band recorded an EP earlier this term entitled "Trapped In A Classroom" and this week completed the covers and insert booklets for their first CD. They also did the hard yards, spending their lunchtimes inside printing, cutting out and preparing all of the CDs. All of the copies produced sold tonight like "hotcakes" and there are orders being placed for more.
All I can say is that I couldn't be more proud of these kids and they always make my day! They are inspiring, funny, honest and great fun to work with and I learn new things all the time just from working with these kids. I honestly feel that some people do not give enough credit to kids, they aren't just people you 'have to teach'... they are real people and they can teach you a hell of lot if you just let them. I know that I learn from them every day and they continue to amaze me. I reckon the secret to kids is genuinely listening to them and taking the time to just have a chat, a joke and let down you guard so that they know that you are real and not just humouring them or feeding them a load of b.s. Share your experiences and stories with them, they love it, it makes you more accessible to them - even human! So often I see people treating kids like they're stupid and it makes me angry. I am always honest with my kids (professional, but honest) and they respect the fact that I don't just spin them a line because they're kids. Kids are the future and we need to treat them like they are. Set high expectations and trust that they can step up to the mark because honestly, they want to and they can. Kids are great. Kids are why I became a teacher!! Rock on!!
As they danced their little legs off in front of an audience of around 120 people tonight they did not miss a beat. The make up, costumes and joyful attitudes of these kids was infectious. This group of kids have worked so hard and to see the look of joy in their eyes as they performed and the smiles on their faces when the applause rang loudly through the night, reinforced in me the reason that I began teaching in the first place, the kids. They have such an enormous amount of energy and to see them so enthused can only inspire you. But wait there's more... To top off the evening, the school rock band Section 'A', played a couple of songs that again astounded the audience, the skills and enthusiasm of the band displayed proudly for all to see, as they rocked out to an AC/DC song, an original song and Joan Jett's "I love rock 'n' roll!" The band recorded an EP earlier this term entitled "Trapped In A Classroom" and this week completed the covers and insert booklets for their first CD. They also did the hard yards, spending their lunchtimes inside printing, cutting out and preparing all of the CDs. All of the copies produced sold tonight like "hotcakes" and there are orders being placed for more.
All I can say is that I couldn't be more proud of these kids and they always make my day! They are inspiring, funny, honest and great fun to work with and I learn new things all the time just from working with these kids. I honestly feel that some people do not give enough credit to kids, they aren't just people you 'have to teach'... they are real people and they can teach you a hell of lot if you just let them. I know that I learn from them every day and they continue to amaze me. I reckon the secret to kids is genuinely listening to them and taking the time to just have a chat, a joke and let down you guard so that they know that you are real and not just humouring them or feeding them a load of b.s. Share your experiences and stories with them, they love it, it makes you more accessible to them - even human! So often I see people treating kids like they're stupid and it makes me angry. I am always honest with my kids (professional, but honest) and they respect the fact that I don't just spin them a line because they're kids. Kids are the future and we need to treat them like they are. Set high expectations and trust that they can step up to the mark because honestly, they want to and they can. Kids are great. Kids are why I became a teacher!! Rock on!!
Tags: schools
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Di Olsson on
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Wow Ben. So glad you have found the joy and the essence of joyful learning. Your reflection demonstrates your enormous growth in this challenging profession. Listening is such a powerful tool for teachers and if we truly listen to kids we begin to understand them and their needs. What inspires me about you Ben is that you have developed a wonderful relationship with your kids and you have created an environment where the listening is going both ways between teacher and students. Not only are you listening to the kids but they are really tuning into you and what you can offer them. With all this emerges learning projects that are exemplary.
Ben your reflection is also a fabulous example of teachers being advocates for the potential of children. Power to you and Rock On!
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Permalink Reply by Griff Wigley on
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That's quite a nice 'Make their day' post/piece of feedback from one teacher colleague to another, Di. You guys are lucky.
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Permalink Reply by Ben on
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Thanks for the reply Di, it is good to have positive feedback because I honestly feel like sometimes people think I'm just nuts. I feel like 100% Ben again and the kids and I are reaping the rewards, I am getting back to chilled out, stress less and be happy Ben and the kids are more engaged and learning better. The kids definitely make it easier, my class are great! Finally Di... thanks for 'making my day'!
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Glad to hear you're on the rebound, Ben.
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Your right Ben about this network if it connects only the Traf staff well that has to be good. Its encouraging to have Grif barraking us on or as they say in the movies "rootin' for us".
When I took your kids to their room today they proudly showed me their houses, amazing. I asked them. Is this learning? They said whole heartedly that this was learning. Cooper said "I have learnt heaps and heaps. This is really good learning" Wow!!!!!! I reckon kids know about learning especially their own and they certainly know when the learning is happening or not. Your housing estate project just gets stronger and stronger.
Your project has me thinking about so many things.
Having experienced the power of this approach to learning how do you know what the next project will be?
Who actually decides?
When does the next project emerge?
And how do you document this learning so that the kids can see their journey as well as the parents and staff?
What were you thinking about when the staff were discussing inquiry based learning?
Ponder on during the hols and Rock On Ben!
Di
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Di/Ben,
It sounds like you've got Project-based Learning (PBL) going on there. True?
My kids went to charter schools here in Minnesota that were part of the EdVisions network of schools, all PBL schools. These schools have gotten quite good at the evaluation/documentation of learning that occurs with PBL so that statewide standards are met. Let me know if you need links/contacts.
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Hi Griff, I am now ready for more information on PBL programs/curriculum and I was wondering if you had any more links or contacts that I could take a look at? I have downloaded some info from the EdVisions site and this type of education system and/or curriculum interests me a great deal. I would love to know more!
Also, I apologise for the tardiness of my reply to this blog, i have been checking out the EdVisions project as I said, although I haven't managed to reply to this, sorry. I have been running a whole class project with a focus on Math and Literacy skills and implementing a whole lot of ICT skills along the way. Our project revolves around my Grade 3/4 kids drafting, planning and building a miniature house as part of housing estate in the middle of our classroom. Go to our website to check out the pictures, www.trafps.vic.edu.au/classes/la9 . My focus is not so much on the final product, but the journey and the learning involved and displayed along the way. If the project is actually completed in time (some kids are taking a little longer that others) then that would be ideal, however, I am not really concerned if they do not all complete the construction of their houses, they are only afterall 9-10 year olds and not qualified builders! The houses that they are building are coming along well and the amount of maths and literacy activities and the teaching points that have been involved has even astounded me and I'm the one who came up with the idea and the unit of work! It is much bigger than I ever expected and the kids are engaged in learning and smiling the whole time, I believe that this is called authentic learning, I love it!
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Ben,
Glad to hear you've connected to EdVisions. Those folks are making it happen, I can verify!
Some other project-based learning resources to consider:
http://pblchecklist.4teachers.org/
http://www.edutopia.org/projectbasedlearning
http://www.bobpearlman.org/BestPractices/PBL.htm
http://www.pbl-online.org/
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