“What are you doing for students that they can be doing for themselves?” AJ Juliani
This is one of my favorite quotes in education, and whenever I think about it, it reminds me that not only does this promote deeper learning for students, it can actually lead to less “time” expended by teachers.
I was thinking about early on in my career, and doing what I saw others do outside their classrooms, and thinking about how this was just what a teacher should do. I would spend a bunch of time decorating my classroom before students would enter. But as I grew older, I realized that what I was sharing, no matter how much I tried, was more about me than it was about the new students entering my classroom. Decorating the classroom together was way better (and easier), more authentic, and saved me a bunch of time.
I wrote about this idea in
#InnovateInsideTheBox with Dr. Katie Novak:
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“We spend so much time decorating the classroom before students show up, and then we call it ‘our room.’ Something as simple as decorating the classroom together not only gives students ownership of the space but also demonstrates that you care about their opinions. (It can also save you a ton of time!)
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Rethinking the idea of decorating my classroom before school starts, not only saved me a lot of time, but it helped me to build better connection with my students and understand what they were interested in.
Also shared in
#InnovateInsideTheBox:
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My point is that when you look for opportunities to get to know your students and their interests and find a way to connect them to learning, you demonstrate empathy and create connections by caring about what they care about.
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Just something that helped me, that I hope can help someone starting out the school year.