MY BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING
By: Dr. Vicki Kirk (Assistant Director of Schools)

I am passionate about public schooling. I strongly believe that a sound public education system is vital to operating a well-functioning democratic society. School is the only place in our society where people of all walks of life come together for a common purpose. The most important service a community can provide for its citizens is an effective system of public education.

Foundational to my belief system is that all adults who work with students in education must clarify for themselves what they believe. These are the beliefs I shared with the faculty of Greeneville City Schools my first year as assistant director, and they still hold true today.

1. Love them first.  Eddie Jordan (a former principal and assistant director) always told us at the beginning of the year: They don't care what you know until they know you care.
   
2. The teacher must be the head learner. How can we expect students to be enthusiastic about what's going on in the classroom if we're not? I personally believe that it's impossible to sit behind a desk all day and do a good job of teaching. We've got to be among them - showing our enthusiasm for the task at hand. We must develop a learning community in our schools. We must get away from thinking staff development is something we do on a day when the kids aren't here -Roland Barth states in Improving Schools from Within that the single most important factor in student achievement is how the adults in the building interact with each other. If we are consistently engaged in meaningful dialogue, our children will certainly benefit.
   
3. Engage them.  We must draw students into the learning. This does not require hands-on activities only, although we know active learning is extremely important, but we can draw students in with an interesting lecture, discussion, or seminar as well. Alfie Kohn, in Punished by Rewards, states that there are three key components to motivating children to learn:
1. The first of Kohn's components is that skills should be imbedded in engaging context. This is what we are trying to accomplish with integration of subject matter. Everything can't be fun all the time, but we should strive to make learning relevant. We all learn skills more readily if we have a reason to use them. Think about yourself and the acquisition of technology skills. This relevance also includes challenge. Children like to feel they have accomplished something that was perhaps just beyond their reach (but not out of their grasp).
2. Kohn's second component for motivation is collaboration. I must admit my inclination to work alone, but I have found, without fail, that working with others is more productive. I am always amazed by the synergy in group problem solving. Our students need the skills necessary to work with others. We can't assume these come naturally, we must teach them.
3. The third component in Kohn's philosophy is choice. Many of us balk at this, and I must admit that I will never be a proponent of allowing children to determine the curriculum. But when choices are acceptable - if there are alternate projects, center choices, various forms of demonstrating a skill - choices should be offered. It makes the children feel more control over their learning and places the responsibility with them.
   
4. My fourth belief is that better use of assessment will improve student achievement. I'm convinced that, if we had a better grasp of assessment, we would be better teachers. The first rule of assessment, I think, is that children need clear expectations. If something is important enough to test them on, then it shouldn't be a secret. Education is not a guessing game. We need to understand proper use of formative and summative assessments. As we integrate the curriculum we should be developing assessments that are also integrated. This goes back to learning with a purpose - skills should be demonstrated authentically. This does not mean we should do away with traditional forms of assessment, which brings me to my last belief:
   
5. Balance.  Balance between tradition and innovation. It was refreshing for me to hear two seasoned classroom teachers, in a workshop on learning and the brain, say that many of the new discoveries about the brain affirm what good teachers already do. So we shouldn't "throw the baby out with the bathwater". Nobody wants to change for change's sake, but we do need to be willing to evaluate what we do. We need to ask ourselves, "Am I doing this just because I've always done it this way? Is there another approach that might be better?" We must live and work with intention. Research shows that simply being aware and attempting to improve will bring about positive changes. This just makes sense. The definition of insanity is expecting different results while continuing to do the same thing. If you are not getting the results you want, try something different. We can improve our system by increasing communication and by improved articulation, but we can't change how the students come to us - we must meet them where they are and take them as far as they can go.