So Much To Say!

The past twelve weeks have been enlightening.  I have spent time in a myriad of classrooms and that time has reenergized my passion for education.  Exciting work is being done throughout my school district.  In the elementary grades programming seems to be shifting toward teaching children as readers, mathematicians, scientists and historians rather than teaching subject matter to children.  The old adage of teacher being the 'sage on the stage' is replaced with the teacher as a 'guide on the side'.  I have always felt more comfortable facilitating learning rather than disseminating information.  As educators we must use a wide variety of approaches in order to reach all of our students.  Direct instruction has not been eliminated from classrooms.  It looks very different.

One of the benefits of being a substitute teacher is that I am able to see how other educators set up and run their classrooms.  I have been carrying a camera along with me to each assignment so that I can document the best of the best!  The following images are from a 5th grade classroom that I have spent time in as a classroom sub as well as a moderate special needs sub.  This particular group of students looped with their teacher so the class has a well developed sense of community.  I particularly enjoy how the class is set up for comfortable learning.  The environment is language rich without being overly busy.  This teacher uses the CAFE model for teaching reading strategies.  The classroom is quite large and she is fortunate to have two areas where she can meet with groups.

I will try to post pictures from at least one classroom a week.  It is helpful to see what other educators are doing.   It is an exciting time to be an educator.  There is so much work to be done but the rewards far outweigh the effort.  Just yesterday a group of 4th graders created a book for me during their weekly free time declaring I was the best substitute teacher ever!  High praise from children who only just met me and who could have been doing just about anything else during their Friday free choice time.