Student: Miss, you have poster that tell how do the math!
Me: I know, I put it there, you can go look at it if you want.
Student: Why you do that? It tell answer!
Me: You're right, it tells you how to find the answer. I did it because I want you to know how to find
the answer. Knowledge isn't a secret, I want you to learn as much as you can.
**confused, I think my teacher is crazy look**
Me: Why don't you go look at the poster and then work on your math some more?
This conversation made me a little bit sad because this student has obviously come to the conclusion that teachers are supposed to try and hide information from them, as if knowldge is something that is to be kept secret. This is not the case, and I don't know any teachers who would try to do this. Whle knowledge is something that has to be worked for, anything worth having is (or so goes the old saying), it is not secret. I want my students to work and seek out knowledge, but I don't want them to feel as if they have to do something on par with a full scale space exploration expedition in order to learn! Every teacher I know does everything he/she can to help students grow, learn, and succeed. We carefully plan lessons, write and rewrite handouts, fill our basements with recyclables and save junk mail to use in projects, and cover our
walls with posters (I'm sorry: anchor charts) to ensure students have access to the information they need. OK, so a big part of why we cover our walls is to help reduce the number of times we have to repeat ourselves, but it sounds better the other way.
I, like every other teacher I know, want my students to succeed. That is why I create resources and enjoy talking with other teachers about new ideas and methods. This blog is my newest attempt at virtual collaboration (and yes, promotion of my teacher resources). I hope that this will be a place for teachers to learn from one another and also enjoy a laugh or two as I share the comings and goings of one classroom.
By the way--the poster that sparked the above conversation, and my deep ponderings for the week, is a free download in any of my teacher stores (links on the contact page). I've also provided a quick link here: