Teachable Point of View
William Faulkner once wrote, “Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” This quote is a reflection of the expectations I have of myself as well as a reflection of the expectations I have of others. Because you see, there’s no greater challenge than to be “better than yourself.” You can always find people to compare yourself to or to be better than; just turn on the TV to any news channel, or reality TV episode for that matter.
However, when you are asked to be better than yourself, it’s hard because to be better than you; you have to know… you. And of all the people we prefer not to know, or have little time to get to know, it’s ourselves. Sometimes we get caught up in the monotony of routine. We put forth what we perceive to be expected of us without really thinking about what we expect from ourselves.
As teachers we also have a tendency to settle for mediocrity both with ourselves and with our students. When we begin to lower our expectations of ourselves we in turn begin to lower our expectations of our students. As such it is imperative that we find the courage to see ourselves for who we really are and take the next step in becoming better than who we really are. When we begin to raise our expectations of ourselves we will in turn begin to see a reflection of these expectations in our students, all of our students.
For us to become better than who we are now, the key is to develop a strong, supportive community of lifelong learners. Not only will we be charged with the responsibility of developing young minds, but we will also continue to develop our own minds by enriching ourselves with new knowledge through collaboration and professional development opportunities. I will do my very best to ensure that we create a schedule that will allow for curricular and cross curricular collaboration so that you may have the chance to share, develop, and revise lesson plans and assessment tools.
As committed life long learners, we must also value every minute we have with students. Because instruction is so valuable in developing literate citizens and future contributors of this community we will work together to develop methods that limit classroom disruptions as much as possible so that our students and teachers can remain focused.
As individual life long learners we must recognize the varying needs and personalities of our students and our teachers as well as their different modalities for learning and teaching. No two individuals in this room learn or teach in exactly the same way. But given the right tools we are all capable of creating something. Thus it is crucial that we not stifle creativity and individuality but stimulate it. As a leader, I will help you with developing lesson plans and assessments that accurately reflect our students’ varying capabilities.
As thriving life long learners we must continue to build relationships with each other, with our students, with our parents, and with the members of the community at large. Communication is key. No success is ever too small to share. Most importantly we must never lose sight of the expectations of our culture and our community so that we may prepare our students to think beyond our classroom doors. As a leader, I will continue with the tradition of the weekly newsletter to parents, faculty, and students. However, I will also rely on you to continue communicating with parents as well as devising additional methods of communication.
As developing lifelong learners we must acknowledge that the nature of the student is always changing as is the nature of education and as such we should be willing to readily embrace each new challenge and be willing to adapt if not for anything than the betterment of the students that walk through our doors. As a leader, I will help make transitioning through the tides of change as seamless as possible.
In closing, as a dedicated educator committed to the success of students and others, I will strive to live beyond these expectations and provide every viable opportunity to collaborate, to learn, and to teach. If you are willing to dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. If you are willing to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. If you are willing to be “better than yourself” then you are already one step closer to making education better for all individuals. Don’t just be yourself, be better than and the rest will follow.