The Most Precious Time of the Year (For Learning)
Now is the most precious time of the year for student learning.
The high-stakes test start to fade into the unpleasant fog of distant memory. Lesser teachers gear up for the downhill coast into the oblivion of those pesky test results arriving before school dismisses for the summer.
But, Master Teachers know that every moment spent from now on, now that the stress and obsession with the high-stakes test dissipates. Now that the daily specter of doom and dread fades…students are free to learn.
Teachers Know These Students
At the start of the school year, teachers experience the joy of discovery as every student is new and fresh.
And, the first six weeks of the school year are invested in review.
Last year's learning settles in quickly, and then every one "hunkers down" for the stormy ride to and through the high-stakes test.
But, after seven months of daily, personal observation; teachers know what makes their students "dance and sing, weave and bob, boil and settle down. Teachers have their fingers on the pulses of their entire class.
Brain-Dead, No Pulse?
But, children snap back and recover quickly from the stress of the high-stakes test. They never were "brain dead," only bored and repulsed from their joy of learning by a system that seems to rise to the challenge of delaying and incapacitating learning in odious new ways.
So, now teachers can teach, and children are free to learn.
Now, the teacher can express empathy and leave a "lasting impression" upon the humanity and deep spirit of each child.
And, academic achievement is easier at this time of year, too.
The teacher has repeated the prerequisites in so many ways that a solid foundation of basic knowledge paves the path to each element of novel learning.
Don't Slack Off!
Teachers might slide past the supervising "work police", I mean campus principal; but knowing how precious each learning opportunity is at this time of the year, no teacher could sleep sight and sound after squandering these precious days on "status-quo" learning.
So, redouble your efforts. Focus. Think and visualize greater learning heights, and there will be no limit to the talents, skills and abilities that your students develop.
This is the most precious time of year for learning. Cash in on it. Opulent learning awaits.
