If Not Us, Who? If Not Now, When?

Once again I am attempting to get this blog up and running. I have often struggled with a title that is catchy and that reflects my feelings about this blog. I have finally settled on “If Not Us, Who? If Not Now, When?” because it reflects my ideas and feelings about the current educational system. I know that we can do better.

I just recently got together with a friend of mine who is also a teacher and we decided that we both needed some pushing to get going with our blogs. It is interesting how people often share the same fears and anxieties, even though we think we are the only people who feel that way. We had the conversation that we sometimes shy away from doing a blog post because we feel like we need to have something deep and profound to say. So rather than post something that doesn’t match with these ridiculous ideals, we simply don’t post anything at all. The time for that thinking for us is up. We have made a pact to do at least two entries per week.

I am trying some interesting things in my classroom this year that are less conventional. I believe that things can be done better than the way they are being done currently and I know a lot of other teachers feel the same way. The problem is that often times we know something and we do a lot of talking about it, but that talk rarely becomes actions. I am now saying it is time for action.

I have readjusted my grading policy this year to be “A, B, C and Not Done Yet”. I have committed myself to setting criteria for mastery and identifying what the different levels of mastery will look like. I have even helped encourage my grade level Science teachers to meet on a weekly basis to develop common mastery levels and common assessments.

I feel like I am growing immensely this year as a teacher and I am going to see the results in my students’ learning. It is an exciting time, but it is also a time of anxiety. I am on a journey (or perhaps leading one) and there are days when I am not sure anyone else is coming (or maybe they’re not ready).