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If Only I'd Known . . .

by Jen Audley on March 3, 2011
"What's one thing you wish you'd known when you started teaching?"
 

Earlier this week ASCD's Whole Child project posted that question on their blog, and we linked to it on the Responsive Classroom Facebook page. The answers that came in to both places were amazing! For instance:

Greg Angus wrote "that every day would be truly unpredictable . . . that I would continue learning new teaching ideas at a staggering rate . . . that the most "challenging" situations and people are the ones that make you a better teacher in the long run."

Kelly Kosefeski wrote "how powerful my word choice would be . . . both good and bad."

Vivienne Chellew wrote "I wish I'd known about how much 'crowd control' there is in teaching . . ."

Amy Parmenter wrote "I wish I'd understood parenthood better—maybe you have to be a parent, maybe not—but I could have studied it, learned more about it, developed a greater sense of empathy."

And today Cindy Kruse picked up the ball on her blog, where she made an alphabet list of 26 things she wishes she'd known when she started teaching. A couple from her list that hit home for me were "F — Find the best teacher in the school—then watch him or her in action." and "V — Very engaging lessons result in fewer behavior problems."

Check out more teachers' responses by reading the comments left on the Whole Child blog, and on the Responsive Classroom Facebook page.

And let's start a similar list here, where it will live on as a resource and inspiration for our community! Leave your answer as a comment below:

"What's one thing you wish you'd known when you started teaching?"

Go to previous post: Teaching Apologies

Submitted by Cindy Kruse on March 5, 2011.

Jen, this is such a wonderful way to reflect on our teaching experiences.  I only wish that the alphabet had more letters!

Submitted by Karen Greenberg on March 11, 2011.

I wish I had known how attached I would get to the students.  I am fortunate that I get to continue volunteering in the classroom where I did my student teaching.  I cannot imagine, however, saying goodbye at the end of the school year.  To do this year after year seems like it will be the most difficult part of teaching.

Submitted by Sarah Fillion on March 15, 2011.

Karen, I found it helped me to focus the end-of-year time on our growth as individuals and as a group, instead of on saying goodbye. I always used the end of the year as a time to celebrate our accomplishments and to remember the learning and fun we had together.  This made it a lot easier to send students off for the summer, and in my case, to a different building for middle school in the fall.  Through celebrating the successes we each experienced, it became less of a goodbye and more of a feeling of preparedness for new opportunities and adventures.  As you move into your own classroom you'll see each class is unique and will always be remembered by specific memories – the next year’s class does not try to fill a void, instead it creates a new place in your heart.  The newsletter article Focused Finish, http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/focused-finish,  has some great suggestions on activities to close out the year that can help you send your students off with a smile.