What does it mean to be a good teacher? This article in the New York Times really caught my attention. Teaching in a school system where the ultimate goal is a score on a national exam, it's difficult to coax the full potential in your learners. Every lesson I write I have to check against the national syllabus. Every assignment I give grade 8 must align with the requirements for their Continuous Assessment Marks. My grade 12 learners are obsessed with achieving high marks on their November exams, even though it's only April.
Without a doubt, all of my achievements have been shaped by previous teachers. The ones who let me voluntarily do extra topical poster-board reports, the ones who suggested books above my level to challenge me, the ones who gave me really bad grades on papers so I would be humbled and begin to improve my writing, the ones who urged me to follow my passions instead of staying in the rut of my major. Those are the good ones.
With such high stakes placed on test scores and continuous assessment, when is there time (or resources) to allow learners to work outside of the box? How can I be an inspirational teacher at this school, in this country?
Just some thoughts for your first day of the best month of the year :) Happy April, y'all!
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