Come On Into My Classroom
Posted by Barb on October 19, 2011
The email: “We have some teachers at our school who would like to know if you can come out to observe them during their reading block.”
Wow, that was a surprise! As a district reading trainer, I am often asked to go into a classroom to observe a teacher. In some cases this can be an uncomfortable situation for both the teacher and me. However, when a teacher invites me into her room, that’s another story. Besides being flattered that these teachers believe in what I have to say and the ideas I share are valuable, I realize these teachers are interested in improving their professional skills. How cool is that!
The teachers who invited me into their classroom showed such passion. I could see they truly care about their students and want what is best for them. That passion is not something you can teach; I think it’s in a good teacher’s DNA.
These particular school’s reading coach arrange coverage of these teachers classrooms so I could privately talk with each teacher after I completed my observations. Now that’s what I call school support! I admire these teacher; after all is it not easy to open your door to an outsider. They give me hope for today’s educators. They are no longer working in isolation, keeping their doors closed in fear that someone will steal either ideas or pass judgment on their instruction. Instead these teachers are looking for solutions that will work with their teaching style and meet their students’ needs.
I applaud any teacher who reaches out to their colleagues to plan, share ideas, study, and learn from each other. I also am thrilled to see support staff and administrators understand the value in the collaboration among their teachers and support their staff in on-going professional development.
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