In order for me to lead effectively in my classroom, I needed to make sure I was teaching the right things. Otherwise, what were students learning? And, why were they learning it?
Students need to be personally invested in their learning in order for them to be most successful. What's taught needs to be relevant to them. The curriculum can be rigorous to the 10th power, but if it isn't taught in a way that is engaging and fun, students will not produce work that is reflective, vulnerable, risky, and potentially full of mistakes.
Mistakes help us to grow when we acknowledge them and are willing to identify what we did versus what we should do the next time. As I sat down to preplan my year as a 5th grade teacher, I needed to reflect on where I was as a learner: What was I doing well? What could I improve on? What was hard for me? And, what were my goals for the year?
What I've mentioned are all things I ask of my students: take risks, invest in yourself, advocate, and be open to new ideas because good learning is messy before it looks good. As I tell my students, if you have truly waded through the mess to construct new meaning and have learned the material, you can teach it to someone else. This is the highest level of learning, and this is how we create leaders. As a leader in my classroom, I need to embody and model these soft skills I ask of my students. Otherwise, I am a hollow leader. And, I felt hollow as
