My friend, fellow high school English teacher, and PASCD member, Brianna Crowley, put together this video to share the #TeachingIs initiative.
And so here is my #TeachingIs story:
Teaching is
twenty-two voices clamoring
for space, for a taste, for a chance
to be heard, to lead, to learn
in the span of eighty-five minutes,
marked at both ends by bells
that yell at students and teachers
where to be and when,
dictating how long to connect and to what.
Teaching is
skillfully sliding, seamless
into facilitator, coach, counselor,
confidante, cheerleader, learner,
disciplinarian and librarian,
before the period brings learning
to a close.
But as a lover of literature,
of well-crafted lines,
of stories that sing from their bindings,
a teacher hands over the pen,
shows students how to see
the blank, white page as more
empowering than scary
and education as something that
expands and extends
beyond the mark of a period.
Teaching is
teasing out
the nuance,
teaching students to do
the same.
Look for the purpose,
the bias, the audience,
consider the meaning,
the cost and the claim.
Teaching is
the art of
figuring out
how to turn
mandates into moments
of meaningful mastery,
how to advocate for collaboration,
for cross-content connection,
how to share the story of
learning as more than just numbers
shared as data and charts
under headlines which cry for reform.
Teaching is
being present,
bearing witness
to the joy and the tears,
the laughter and fears,
to listen and share
the diversity of stories
that enter our hallways
and slip into our classrooms
each day.
We are more than the
numbers and marks on a page.
Our classrooms, a platform,
where student stories take stage,
helping students find voice,
recognize power in choice,
and encouraging resilience
instead of silence.
