The Ted Talk that Hurt My Heart a Little...

Interesting question: "Do schools kill creativity?"

Actually, more than interesting. Topical. Relevant. Poignant. Unsettling, even.

After listening to this, I have to ask myself...What, as a teacher, will I do to make sure that I'm not killing my students' creativity?

There is no easy answer.

Right about now, you might be asking yourself why I'm including this in my blog about differentiation. Well, from what I have learned this year, differentiation is all about being advocates for our students. Are we really being their advocate if we are teaching them to suppress or ignore aspects of themselves? Isn't a teacher who is truly invested in her students invested in ALL aspects of the student?

Tomlinson says that the teacher who communicates investment to the learners makes it clear:

• I work hard to make this place work for you.
• I work to make this place reflect you.
• I enjoy thinking about what we do here.
• I love to find new paths for success.
• It is my job to help you succeed.
• I am your partner in growth.
• I will do what it takes to ensure your growth.

(Page 31)

In class, we have often discussing tiering assignments for interest. At first, it seemed like one of the least important aspects to me. Don't we all need to learn that sometimes we just have to suck it up and do things we don't want to do? Of course we do. BUT-as a teacher, I can have negotiables and negotiables, just like I do as a parent. Whenever possible, I can allow students to choose things that interest them, and, chances are, they will choose things that reflect their talents and capacity for creativity. I believe we call that a win/win situation. 

Learning to Ride

Okay, I have a confession to make: Chapter 7 (in the Tomlinson book) was a hard one for me to get through. It starts with a long, bulleted list of things that effective teachers do. As I read through the list, my eyes started to glaze over a little bit. How will I EVER do/be all of those things? Or even SOME of those things? And then, three times in a row, Tomlinson starts a paragraph with the words “It’s really quite simple.” Is it? IS IT? Not to me. To me it seems complicated, overwhelming, and maybe even impossible.

But then, Tomlinson says that living the simplest truths is seldom easy. Now that’s a statement I can get behind.

My truth right now is that I’m kind of freaking out a little. I want desperately to be good at this teaching thing. I want to be a teacher who makes a real difference in her student’s lives. BUT—I know that in order to do that, I’m going to have to take risks. I’m going to have to allow myself lots of room to make mistakes. I’m going to fail at some things. And that’s scary. It really, really is.

Tomlinson says that to teach effectively, we ultimately need to accept 2 challenges. First, we must cultivate a passion for what we do. That feels like the easy part to me. I’m already passionate about this. The next part is the one I feel unsure about: “We need to remove our protective armor and allow our students to shape us.” Wow. It’s hard for me to imagine being that vulnerable.

I love the metaphor that talks about how teaching is like learning how to ride a bike. The best way to ride a bike is to climb on, try it out, inevitably crash and burn, but then stand up, dust ourselves off, and climb back on again. I feel like my career as a teacher will be a lot like that metaphor. I’m nervous (okay fine, I’m terrified), but I think I’m ready to give it a try. I don’t look forward to the metaphorical bumps and bruises I will suffer along the way, but I do look forward to the feeling of exhilaration when I finally learn how to ride.

My Evolving Definition of Differentiation

Truth: before I started this course, I thought I knew what differentiation was about. If you had asked me, I would've told you that I thought it had to do with learning styles (audio, visual, kinesthetic, etc.) and being able to teach to those styles.

Even though this course has just begun, I’m realizing that I was way off! Differentiation is about so much more than learning styles. It is about meeting each unique child’s individual needs so that they can grow and progress. In class, our professor, Nancy Peterson, said something like, "Every child deserves a whole year’s growth from a year of school." That really hit me. Each child will come to my class at different starting points, with their own set of strengths and weaknesses. I must also take into account students’ backgrounds, interests, readiness, and learning profiles. I will need to learn to vary the process, content, and learning environment.

Although I have a long way to go, I’m starting to revise and expand my personal knowledge and definition of differentiation. I know that it will keep evolving and expanding during this course and throughout my career. I'm excited to see where this journey takes me as a teacher!