Reading Samantha’s post about interviews and Tina’s post about co-teaching brings to mind a recurring theme I feel I’m living: teaching is about being open to partnerships.
There are many different ways we can show we are open and they may be as simple as:
-keeping our classroom door open to welcome others
-walking our students outside at the end of the day and talking with parents
-trying a new idea that someone shares with us
-taking time to listen to stories from our students, their family members, or our colleagues
-letting our students take the lead by sharing their ideas and insights
-asking questions when we are unsure
Through these examples and more, we can gain so much information about our students, our school community and most of all, ourselves.
It may be that my perspective is different, given that I haven’t had my own class for the last 6 years, but I like to think that being “new” allows me to see things in another light and I, for one, am glad to be in this position!
