Love to Teach: A Culture of Risk-Taking

The reason that I love to teach actually has very little to do with content delivery.  Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy teaching my Science and Language Arts classes, but what really gets me excited as a teacher is the continual feeling that I am forcing both students and myself to take risks and step outside of our comfort zones.

I am a big believer in utilizing the prospect of failure and risk taking as a learning opportunity.  After all, people that are willing to take risks and learn from the results are the ones that are going to truly succeed in life.  Each and every day that I walk into the classroom, I stress the importance of risk taking and acceptable failure; the understanding that feeling uncomfortable while doing something new is not a bad thing - it’s expanding yourself as a person.  

The longer I teach (I just finished my fifth year), the more I am coming to believe that teaching has very little do with knowledge of facts.  Students know that facts are easy to obtain via a quick Google search.  I have found students crave learning opportunities that mimic authentic problems in as many situations as possible.   It is this understanding which makes me excited to develop new learning scenarios that ask students to expand their horizons.  This culture of risk taking is what has allowed students to be confident enough to stream live speeches to the Internet, create a house blueprint for critiquing by local architects, and cooperatively design and build bottle rockets for launching into the air.  

These type of projects are the vehicle I choose to use to teach content knowledge while simultaneously mentoring students in learning soft skills like cooperation, leadership, and empathy.  What I love about teaching is the feeling that I am teaching more than simple content - I am teaching students how to problem solve in their adult lives.

I knew that my “life prep” philosophy of teaching was catching on with the students this past year when one of my sixth grade students gave me the best, unintentional compliment that I have ever received as a teacher.  The students had been at lunch, and upon returning to the classroom, one said, "Hey Mr. Weyers, my friends were talking today at lunch about how most teachers say they are preparing you for the next grade.  I told them I disagreed.  My teacher is preparing me for life."  

Isn’t that what teaching should really be about?

Author:  Matt Weyers

6th Year Teacher

Byron Minnesota Public Schools

6th Grade

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Love to Teach: Kids Are Like Tadpole Shrimp?

I love to teach because I cannot wait to open up my Biology class this September with the following summertime story.

Haystack the Tadpole Shrimp:

“One hot summer day in Zion National Park, Momma Haystack laid an egg that would become Haystack the Tadpole Shrimp.  Momma Haystack wanted to avoid fish eating her eggs so she laid her eggs in a hole on a rock that had just a little bit of water in it.  Uh oh - you guessed it - the water evaporated!!   Oh No!!

Don’t fret – Momma Haystack made her eggs extra tough - they can last up to 20 years without water and endure extreme temperature changes before hatching (208 degrees Fahrenheit to well below freezing). 

Soon some water came, and Haystack was born!  Haystack’s birth certificate says Triops longicaudatus, her scientific name, but most of her friends call her Haystack the Tadpole Shrimp.  Haystack grew up quickly reaching her adult stage in 6 days.  She has 3 eyes and is about 3 inches long.  Haystack does lots of good in the world by eating mosquito larvae (helping prevent the spread of West Nile virus).  Haystack and her Tadpole Shrimp friends have a pretty long family history too – having been around since the dinosaurs!*

Imagine if you lived a life like Haystack.  You would grow up to be an adult in 6 days!  You could lay eggs that would not hatch for 20 years!  Your family tree would go all the way back to the times of Tyrannosaurus Rex!

You and Haystack have something in common – cells.  Let’s start our journey into Biology!

Students are kind of like Haystack the Tadpole Shrimp.  They grow up quickly, are tough and resilient, yet also need the right conditions to flourish and grow.  It is our job as educators to provide the right conditions and love that enables every child to become the best Tadpole Shrimp he or she can be.

I enjoy many aspects of teaching such as creating unique lessons, coaching sports, designing inquiry labs, and facilitating student group work.  But I #LOVETOTEACH because of each child’s story.   Each child has a story full of twists and turns like Haystack the Tadpole Shrimp, and my job is to help each child continue his or her story in a positive meaningful way.  By getting to know each child’s story my classroom becomes a safe place where we can dive into Biology and truly grapple with life’s greatest questions: Who are we?  Where do we come from?  How do we work?

I love to teach because I find inspiration in my students and I hope to inspire them.

* I learned about Tadpole Shrimp during my summer vacation this year.   You can find out more information on Tadpole shrimp http://www.nps.gov/zion/photosmultimedia/ranger-minutes.htm

Author:  John Gibney

9th Year Teacher

Frankford High School

School District of Philadelphia

Love to Teach: Christina Nosek

I love to teach for one reason, explained below in two personal stories.

Years ago, on the last day of school, a father of one of my students came up to me after I said goodbye to my kiddos.  He asked if he could speak with me about his daughter Angela's math experience that year.  Angela had extreme difficulties in math that she eventually overcame.  At the beginning of that school year, Angela was shy, quiet, and rarely shared in class.  That year, I watched her grow from a reserved child into a confident student ready to take on the world!  As her father and I sat down to talk, he became teary eyed.  He told me that prior to that school year, Angela dreaded school.  She would frequently ask to stay home and cry while working on math homework.  He explained how something changed in her while she was in my classroom.  She started to love school and even love math.  With tears in his eyes, he thanked me and said that I changed Angela's life.  

Just last month, I ran into another former classroom parent at a coffee shop.  Two years ago, her autistic son, Jeffrey, was fully included in my classroom.  After a few rough initial weeks, I had a long chat with my class about autism and why Jeffrey did things differently.  My students asked many questions about autism that I answered honestly and respectfully.  That conversation changed perceptions. Students started seeking out Jeffrey to play and even to engage with during class.  They asked his opinion during writing workshop and became disappointed when Jeffrey needed to leave for occupational therapy or speech sessions.  For the first time in his young life, Jeffrey's peers accepted him.  At the coffee shop that day, Jeffrey's mom hugged me and wouldn't let go.  She started explaining that my open and honest conversation about autism with the class immensely helped Jeffrey's experience that year.  Two years later, she told me about how the kids in class still regard Jeffrey as an equal peer.    With a huge smile on her face, she told me that I changed Jeffrey's life.

Nothing in this world is more important than changing a child's life for the better.  I love to teach because I get to do the most important job in the world.

Author:  Christina Nosek

12th Year Teacher

Palo Alto Unified School District

Palo Alto, CA

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