Impact

In thinking about how my externship will impact my students and my teaching this year, I’ve had a bit of a struggle. In my initial thinking, my instructional practice isn’t going to change that much in relation to how I teach English/Language Arts. Then, I realized that my big gain from this experience, in direct relation to my teaching, is permission.

The transition to the Common Core State Standards in English/Language Arts meant a lot of different ideas by a lot of different people, around my school, our state, and the nation. It has been met with opposition and defiance, frustration and anger. Somehow, I didn’t get it. Why are people upset about a set of standards for students that demand that they go beyond the traditional text in a deep and meaningful manner? I’m not even going to open the testing can of worms because we have to separate the heart of the standards from the testing issue.

I spent the 2012-2013 school year with my fifth grade team teachers trying to protect our students (and ourselves) from the craziness and negativity, embracing the freedom that is the CCSS in English/Language Arts. We, at times, went against the teaching units that were being “suggested” by our district and created our own, multi-disciplinary units that were engaging, meaningful, full of rich text, and about student engagement. We were very fortunate to have an administrator who supported our instructional decisions because we stayed focused on the standards and the kids. After working with DPI this summer, completing a variety of trainings, and talking with my mentor, I realize that we had it right. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t really questioning what I was doing, but it is validating to get the confirmation that I was making the best instructional decisions for my students.

So, my impact will come in the form of increased confidence and “ammunition” to continue to help my students grow, learn, and achieve!

photo credit: Rev Dan Catt via photopin cc