Welcome to the very first post of Mr. Allen's Learning!
A couple months ago, while out on a hike with my wife and sons, I made a professional realization. Watching my sons playing sparked a now-forgotten thought about children and their learning.
As often happens, this original thought brought on a few others. The next thing I knew, I was thinking about how far away I had gotten from my goal to bring powerful, real-world learning opportunities to my students. I realized my focus on learning about technology and sharing this knowledge had taken my focus away from my classroom and the children that make that room special.
At some point, I fell in lust with becoming a tech integration specialist. Playing with technology was so much less stressful than the responsibilities that come with working with children, there were so many more opportunities for my future, and it came with so many chances to earn more money. (To say I'm ashamed to admit to this is more than an understatement!)
Just recently, some opportunities, successes, and struggles have reminded me of my love for teaching and just how crazy I was for considering leaving the classroom. Then, just this week, I had some experiences that really drove this point home. Learning with students is so much more fulfilling than finding the next tool, I get to introduce and explore technology with my students in a way that makes a real difference to them, and I get to build meaningful relationships that might change someone's existence.
My goal, as an educator, is to combine my knowledge of technology and my passion for teaching and connecting with students to create the most powerful learning opportunities for my students. As I make progress with this, I'd like to share some of the more powerful experiences and ideas that come from my class.
Although this blog is about me as an educator and the events that occur in my classroom, my topics will come from all of my roles in life: husband, father, friend, elementary school teacher, colleague, wannabe geek, people watcher, teacher educator, student, and human being.
My reason for wanting to share this blog is to inspire other classroom teachers to see the endless potential of technology combined with creativity, to remember that, above all, relationships and learning are what matters, and to stay in the classroom.
Good for you. I could never relate to my contemporary peers who, after less than 5 years in the classroom, are already on the track to acquire their administration certification to pursue working as a DOE consultant, curriculum/special education/etc. director, or principal (a shocking percentage, I think), if only because I have no desire to do so (nor do I anticipate it, but as you've reflected, it can happen). I didn't become an educator to work in an office or collaborate mostly with other adults. But in the new generation, it seems the fast-paced changes, increasing bureaucracy, and (no shame) financial pressures, are stripping the passion for "educating" away from young educators. Though I constantly struggle through a revolving door of feeling jaded and cynical about the educational system and stresses of being a teacher (a promise I made to myself, hoping to never be one of "those teachers" after so many years), my desire remains with the classroom and student interaction. Thanks for being open enough to remind all of us about our profession and why we most likely found it.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I do want to stress that the idea of me not, eventually, leaving the classroom is a bit of a stretch, as I believe that passionate educators, with the ability and desire to do so, need to "move up the ranks" to improve education. To help fix this mess, we need the right teachers to become principals, superintendents, other administrators, and even politicians. (This is not to imply that teachers have all of the answers, simply that we need to become a part of the conversation in a way that holds power.) If all of the passionate educators stay in the classroom, education will always be run by people without a full understanding of what they're doing.
DeleteWith all of that said, it's obvious that not all of the passionate educators should leave the classroom. (I don't think I need to elaborate anymore on that idea.)
I had plans to write a post about this very topic, and this conversation just moved it to the top of my list.