This letter is for the teachers who are thinkers. Learners. Wonderers. Observers. Reflective practitioners. Teachers, in the most real and authentic definition of that term. 

How are you doing? 

I write this because I see the struggle. I see the frustration. I see the joy being sucked out of our profession. I see the joy being sucked out of our learners.  I feel it as well. And I am concerned. Deeply concerned. I am concerned for what this means for teachers, for children, for families, for communities, for society, for the future. 

Teaching and learning go hand in hand. As teachers, we must be life-long learners. We must always question, wonder and dig deeper to truly understand how we can meet the needs of our children and understand the “why” behind what we do. If our profession is relegated to following a scripted program and spending precious planning time reading a curriculum program and not learning, questioning, talking, looking at children’s brilliant thinking and designing research-based instruction that serves the learners in our classroom at this moment, then we have failed as a system.

We have a great opportunity right now to use current research on literacy learning (and much has been, and continues to be, published by literacy researchers), to stay abreast of literacy learning and combine this with how we know children learn, based on years of research in learning and education. There are understandings that will be replaced in light of current research, but some things are still supported by research and should not be replaced. We can use all that we’ve learned in our careers as educators to bring the very best instruction to our children each day. Veteran teachers can help new teachers understand how to learn and reflect as a teacher. But there needs to be time and opportunities for conversation and true learning. Not more trainings where you are told “you don’t even have to think” or that there “is no space for questions”. We need questions and thinking now, more than ever.

Learning is at the heart of what we do. Research gives us new things to practice and new approaches and considerations to incorporate into our teaching. Science helps us understand the “why” behind what we do and helps us learn better and stronger ways to reach the children we teach. But research and science MUST be paired with deep thinking and talk about our methodology and our pedagogy and must always be connected with the learners in our classrooms and the teachers. There is no one-size-fits-all curriculum, as much as some might hope for this. Teaching is a science, AND an art. And when the agency and trust of teachers is taken away and replaced with a program to be followed verbatim, written by publishers who do not know the teachers or children, then we have big problems. When teachers are told to follow a written script with no conversation, reflection, understanding or learning as an educator trusted to teach the children, it will not be sustainable and will result in a serious lack of learning, joy for learning and longevity in the teaching profession. We need to bring back the learning to our profession. 

Teachers, I see you. I hear you. And I’m with you. Please find a way to take care of yourself and fuel your learning minds and hearts. You, and the children you teach, deserve that.

With love and hope,

Katie

Please feel free to comment, vent, share your feelings, share your hopes, share how you are sustaining yourself in this profession…anything that can help you in this magical, and so very hard, job we do. I truly do want to know how you are. We need to take care of each other. You are not alone.