Feeling just a bit overwhelmed with indecision regarding lesson plans for the upcoming week, I decided to go for a run along the Ivy Creek Greenway. As a colleague of mine would put it, "Tenía que desahogarme." [I needed to undrown myself.] Throughout the run, one concept kept cycling through my head. Intentionality. It is every teacher's greatest strength and goal, and our entire education centers around all the different things we should be intentional in doing. Classroom management, comprehensible input, use of target language, affective filters, attitude and tone, safety and security, life skills, and many more parameters run through our head every class period of every day. That doesn't even include all the planning periods and other hours we spend preparing for our classes. As you can see, our greatest goal and strength is also our most significant challenge and source of stress. We understand the value of every instructional moment, so missing even a single opportunity to maximize its potential feels like a failure, which can quickly overwhelm us.
However, as is the typical result of three miles of panting and sweating, the epiphany I needed arrived by the end of my run. When I look back on my time in high school to the classes that most impacted me, I know without a doubt that those teachers failed to be intentional with every moment of every class. Simply because they are human, I'm more than sure that they missed some opportunities, and made some mistakes. We as teachers, especially new teachers, often put too much pressure on ourselves. We tell our language learners that getting messy and making mistakes is OK, and is in fact part of the learning process. Why, then, shouldn't it be part of the TEACHING process too?
So, from (new) teacher to (any) teacher, I give you my two cents' worth. No single moment, lesson, or even class period is going to make or break a student's education. What will have a lasting effect, however, is the dialogue you have with your students, and the relationship it allows you to build throughout the year. You and your students are working with more than just vocabulary and grammar. You are weaving together common experiences, failures and triumphs, struggle and growth, and using them to create your own unique story together. And, as a dear friend reminded me this past year, nothing is more powerful than the power of a story.
(Title from "How to Save a Life" by The Fray)
However, as is the typical result of three miles of panting and sweating, the epiphany I needed arrived by the end of my run. When I look back on my time in high school to the classes that most impacted me, I know without a doubt that those teachers failed to be intentional with every moment of every class. Simply because they are human, I'm more than sure that they missed some opportunities, and made some mistakes. We as teachers, especially new teachers, often put too much pressure on ourselves. We tell our language learners that getting messy and making mistakes is OK, and is in fact part of the learning process. Why, then, shouldn't it be part of the TEACHING process too?
So, from (new) teacher to (any) teacher, I give you my two cents' worth. No single moment, lesson, or even class period is going to make or break a student's education. What will have a lasting effect, however, is the dialogue you have with your students, and the relationship it allows you to build throughout the year. You and your students are working with more than just vocabulary and grammar. You are weaving together common experiences, failures and triumphs, struggle and growth, and using them to create your own unique story together. And, as a dear friend reminded me this past year, nothing is more powerful than the power of a story.
(Title from "How to Save a Life" by The Fray)