The Vision I Have for School #SAVMP

The Vision I Have for School #SAVMP  

Assignment: 2

Well, it is assignment 2 for #SAVMP, and I am excited to finally sit down and have the time to reflect on this topic. We started school today, and it was a great -- GREAT -- first day. 

So what is my vision for what school should look like? Here goes:

Foremost school should be where Distributed Leadership is the system for all change and for all professional development. I desire to work in an environment where everyone's opinion is honored. We all need honest feedback in order to grow. I often refer to it as "hugging the cactus". Each of us must look at the parts of ourselves that sometimes cause us pain if we are to grow and make progress. I also want our work environment to be one where everyone "owns" and is invested in the processes that shape the school. It is critical that our teacher leaders are involved in guiding the new teachers in their growth. AND, with some practice at this leadership style, everyone on campus is collaborating and creating vs. reacting to someone else's agenda. With this model, eventually, we will become a professional learning community where we are continually looking for ways to improve and to impact learning.

Next, I believe that school should be a place for Ensured Learning on Behalf of Students AND Adults. With the advances in technology and data collection systems, we have precise information at our fingertips that will allow us to analyze, interpret and ultimately, IMPACT student learning. This is the pinnacle of teaching. I believe we need to move beyond awareness of data and use it for calculated measures to improve student learning like never before. However, we must also rally together as adults and insist that we too are continually learning. Brain research and technology are reshaping old paradigms for learning. Teachers need to model life-long learning and commit to polishing and sophisticating their craft at all levels.

Relevant--we must be relevant! Brick and mortar schools are quickly fading away. Our instructors must evolve with the new coaching and/or facilitator models that are presenting themselves or else we will be obsolete. We must bring relevance to our classrooms, whether they be within 4 walls or virtual. Relevance requires authentic assessment, project-based learning, and higher-order questioning. I recently watched a YouTube video of Heidi Hayes-Jacobs where she asked why we were asking students to complete the questions at the end of Chapter 2 when they prefer to create a FaceBook page for Julius Caesar. She asked the provocative question, "Is the 21st century inside or outside the doors of your classroom?"

AND Caring....all the other items are useless without our love for learning and for our pupils. I have frequently throughout my career served under-resourced students. These students come to my classroom with so much baggage and many obstacles to prevent their success. Frequently, one of their obstacles is the missing resource of family....someone to believe in them, to protect them, and to love them. As much as possible, our schools should be that bridge for these students. While we may not be able to cure their ills or give them family, we can certainly, and with fervor, BELIEVE in them, protect them in our school, and love them into learning! We may be their only positive adult role model. We must care and care deeply because they don't care what you know unless they know you care.

There are many other elements that would be a part of my vision for school, but these are the ones that speak to me strongly at this juncture of my journey. I hope this is a school where you would like to send your child.