Congratulations

Last week, grade 3 finished our first unit of inquiry.  The culminating project was creating a "learner space" which included a word wall, five items that connected to who the student is as a learner, paragraphs explaining why each object was chosen, and a narrative reflection on the learnings of the past six weeks.  We invited all the parents to come view their children's work, and each student gave a brief presentation to their family on their project.

I milled about, taking pictures of the presentations, listening in as students shared their learning, and enjoying the happy buzz.  I popped into the classroom to supervise a couple of students who were packing up.  Ms. W's husband wandered in; their son was presenting to her via FaceTime since she was away on professional development.  "Congratulations," he said to me.

It took me a minute to understand what he was congratulating me for.  Then I realized:  the success of that day did not belong only to the students, but also to the teachers.  We had designed the unit, planned the learning engagements, and guided them along the path of inquiry that brought them to their final products.

I remember once having a conversation with my dad.  He told me that many teachers will say, "Let me tell you what I did with my students today."  However, in his opinion, it is great teachers who say, "Let me tell you what my students did today."  The success of a teacher is not reflected in her or his actions, but in the ultimate success of the students.  Do they engage?  Do they learn?  Because that is where the true success of a teacher lies.

"Congratulations," he said to me.  I reflected, smiled, and said thank you.  While that day belonged to the students and their success, I suppose I owned some small part of it too.

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Currently reading:  still in my articles phase, but trying to take a trip down memory lane and track down Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Alice series!
Current high:  Skyped with one of my best friends from college this morning, going out with new dear friends tonight.  Also I'm a ginger now!
Current low:  reflecting on life choices...not a low, just pensive