[…]to request teachers for the next year. To me, the clear underlying message was, “I like you,” “I had fun this period,” and/or “You are a good teacher.” Maybe even a great teacher. I was feeling good, and my confidence got a little boost until I read “The Great Teacher Myth,” written by Knowles Fellow Erin Marron (2016). She notes: Depicting a past teacher as the lone teacher bucking the system is subtly couched in a larger assumption—that the surroundings are bleak and uninspired. When we glorify our own inspirational teachers, we quietly assume that our other teachers who came […]
[…]for the reminder, I’m still trying. I still see the target, and it is still important to me.” Download Article Alex Steinkamp, a Knowles Senior Fellow, is entering his fifth year of teaching at Olympia High School in Olympia, Washington, where he continues to grapple with his sense of identity as an educator. Reach Alex at […]
[…]Kaleidoscope, Raise Your Hand, features short responses to a writing prompt. Do you have an idea for a storytelling prompt? Contact us at kaleidoscope@knowlesteachers.org. Download […]
[…]in her classroom—beginning with a question to test her assumptions, and collecting data through student surveys to help develop her thinking further. Again, this process is one from which our district technology team stands to learn. Finally, Beverly’s conclusion that when it comes to using technology, teachers should begin with asking how student learning will be affected is so basic a dimension, yet one we strangely seem to lose track of in these discussions. I appreciate Beverly’s humility to remind her readers that it’s okay to take a step back when things don’t work out the way we assumed or […]
[…]the end of your five years (or each year if we are talking about Perkins), you apply for “loan forgiveness” (or “cancellation” if we are talking about Perkins). I found this term objectionable because I had done nothing wrong. But so it goes. This paperwork is even more fun, because you have to get signatures from the principals at every school you taught at in those five years. Not the principal you had, the current principal. For me, this meant introducing myself to someone who had never met me and asking her to sign paperwork saying that I worked at […]
