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Children spend more time in school than in any place other than their homes. Schools strive to make this time productive and worthwhile, but too many schools define productivity and success through the subjects they teach and the grades children earn.
Running into an acquaintance, speaking to former students and catching up with a former teacher recently provided me with perspective on what really matters in school – the true benefit of education: Relationships. As Rita Pierson is famous for saying, “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.” The job of a teacher is complex. Universities are good at helping prospective teachers learn how to teach academic content. They rarely include more than an overview on how to build relationships and teach the actual children in our classrooms.
Like adults, children are affected by what is going on in their lives. Their ability to pay attention, interact and learn is dependent on their lives, not just what is happening in the classroom at that moment. A teacher’s primary responsibility is to provide a safe, caring environment for those children. Each child must know that, no matter what, she will be cared for, nurtured and supported as she works to succeed in that class and in life. It’s what all children deserve and what we, as educators and adults responsible for their growth, need to ensure.
Teaching is a tough job with long hours. Many of these hours are not spent in the classroom with children, but are instead spent outside of school hours, learning and preparing for the days ahead. It is a job where great effort is put in and often the outcome of the hard work remains unknown. Teaching is a service to our future. Although a teacher almost never knows if or how he/she has made an impact on a student, our words and actions can leave lasting impressions. Teachers educate for the future; they help children see possibilities. They make it their business to learn about the children in their classrooms, respecting their individual differences and supporting their growth. They may never know the results of their efforts, but they will know the child is stronger, more confident and capable as a result of their time together.
Assessments are performed at the beginning of each school year. Teachers use them to determine what children remember after a long summer, which skills are strong and where additional support might be needed. Most of the assessments are measured against the “norm,” or the average student of that grade or age. When the results are favorable, the student is deemed to be on the right path; when they are less than optimal, it is determined what skills are lacking and what help is needed to reach that benchmark or average. Though this information may be useful in determining an instructional path for the development of specific skills, it cannot serve as the guiding force for learning. 
Nothing is more gratifying than quietly working and hearing the soft voice of a teacher strolling down the hallway singing with toddlers, “I’ve got joy like a fountain in my heart.” Moments such as these literally fill our hearts. Working with young children can be delightful, frustrating, enjoyable, difficult and rewarding. After all, they are children, which means they are all of these things and more. People often ask how one can work with children every day or say they could never be a teacher. Isn’t it hard work? You bet it is, but there is no work that is more important or satisfying than working with children and watching them grow. When was the last time you had the pleasure of hearing sweet voices singing the next verse of a well loved song or asking the teacher to sing it one more time? If your job doesn’t provide this opportunity, ask a teacher what delighted her today, sit back and enjoy listening to the response. You’ll be glad you asked. 
Early in my teaching career, I had a parent tell me in utter frustration that her son had received the same comments on his report card since he was 2 years old; he was 12 at the time. In other words, he was true to himself. This child was incredible in so many ways. He was kind, caring, hard working, socially adept and inquisitive. He was the mayor of the school. Everyone knew and appreciated him. He also had a hard time staying on task and getting his work done… because he was busy working the room. And that is who he is; sometimes there is no escaping. 
I used some of spring break to catch up on my reading. I am an avid reader and, as most avid readers know, there are far more books, blogs, publications and news stories to read than can be accomplished in any amount of time. Typically a print magazine falls to the bottom of the pile as it will always be there (whereas online content could be changed or removed at any time). This week, I was fortunate to have read an 
I have had the great pleasure of working with a small group of students during the past few weeks. Our focus is on math, specifically fractions. I haven’t been in the classroom full time for a few years and, although I knew that children pretty much remain the same, I wondered how I would adjust to the “new ways of doing business.” I found some constants and some things that made my “work” a bit simpler. 