I wonder sometimes if we are doing our best, as learners, as teachers, as community builders. In some ways we are doing our very best- pushing back within a system bent on helping four-year-olds move from reading level 2 to 3, set on helping twelve-year-olds stay focused, still and compliant and helping sixteen-year-olds get on the honour role. Despite this system, maybe our best means that we push 
the boundaries of what is expected of US, we push OURSELVES to be more authentic and to teach the way we know students will learn even if it’s not what they (or their parents) are used to.
It is sometimes difficult to know if being a great teacher means being on top of the incredibly long (ministry informed) to-do list or if it means bucking the system altogether.
There are moments where being my best self as an educator is ea
sy.
In these moments I feel connected to the students and to my values. I feel like the to do list becomes filled with things like;
-“were they excited”
-“did they care”
-“were they chatty and engaged”
-“did they fail but keep moving forward”
-“did they take risks”
-“did they connect”…
It seems like teaching and learning with this to-do list in mind should be easy, and yet there are so many days when easy isn’t the word I use to describe my classes.
In many ways I am lucky. I am a middle school French teacher, a senior school leadership teacher, I am leading faculty through the development of a new middle school Global Leadership program and the senior school community service coordinator. I love the variety. I love how many opportunities I am afforded and how many ideas, conversations and paths I get to follow. And then I am asked to pick an action plan! ….ONE!!!
I have had too many, fleeting but, fantastic moments lately to make deciding where to launch my motivations clear cut. I have been inspired by the work my leadership students have produced in our first design thinking project. I love how the “how might we…” has led to “what if…”, “I bet…”, “it’s crazy but could be so cool if…” I love the way students begin to see their potential when teachers set things up and then take a step back. (Thank you cohort 21 for the design thinking tool kit!). I have been beyond excited to see community connections deepen and expand and know that community engagement is truly the work that makes my heart glow.
I have been rejuvenated by an approach to French language learning that puts students and their personal path towards confident communication, centre stage. Any of these projects could be my action plan.
Despite all of the potential, I have decided (at least tentatively) that it is my work with the middle school that needs my attention, and your (yes you- cohort 21er) insight.
And so my action plan will focus on our Middle School program. It will focus on developing a program where students see themselves as capable, confident and caring young people. I hope to help build a program that inspires students to be curious and engaged and that builds a sense of autonomy, mastery and purpose. This is a tall order. It may require a little system bucking (down with you- headmasters list!). It may require us to be patient before the to do list of “were they excited”, “did they take risks”, “did they connect” is achieved. It will require new ways of teaching, new ways 
of seeing the potential within our students, new ways of seeing ourselves as co-educators. It will require my peers and I to thoughtfully and thoroughly ask the question…
“How might we create a middle school program focused on helping students answer the question ‘Who am I and what am I capable of?'”.
I look forward to every last minute of it 🙂
Hi Andrea,
This is a great blog post. Your honesty in sharing your thoughts and reflections on all of the demands that teachers shoulder inside and outside the classroom is a key part of working to make education the best that it can be for our students. I agree that it is a work in progress and there is room for growth in many key areas! I love that you put your students first in your thinking and reflection on how you continue to improve as an educator.
Your action plan is an interesting idea and it sounds similar to mine — even though we’ve articulated them in different ways. I’m interested in building the skill of meaningful reflection for my students so they can get a true sense of their abilities and areas for growth as they progress through their academic journey. Do you see fostering the skill of reflection as a part of your action plan, or are you headed in a different direction?
Thanks for your post — I look forward to following along as you engage in this experience. Please reach out if you have any questions or would like to ‘bounce around’ some ideas!
All the best,
Christina
Christina,
I would LOVE to chat with you about reflective practice.
I have been leading a mentor program for the 6-8 students and teaching, learning, using reflective practices was one of my starting points. Its a hard one to do well and so, I am just realizing (right now as I read your post) that I have not targeted reflection in the way I had intended to. Oh man! So much good work yet to do.
I will look forward to hearing how you are incorporating reflection into your practice in order to help students get a sense of where they are and where they are heading.
Andrea,
I am so excited to see what you create with this action plan and where this question takes you: I feel like the applications of your learning will be obvious across all disciplines in the Middle School.
I have an amazing colleague who is one inspiring Middle School French Teacher: Nicole Patterson is a really great human and teacher of French for our Grades 7 and 8 girls at BSS. I’m hoping she can leave a comment on the blog and help share any ideas towards your perfect question.
Can’t wait to see on Friday!
WOW. Super impressive, Andrea. Thank you for sharing your action plan (and in such an eloquent and inspiring blog post!) I’m looking forward to chatting more about this with you especially as my action plan this year focusses on building capacity and confidence in middle school students in a library context. Let’s catch up on Friday!
-Laura
Laura. YES, YES Double YES! let’s chat. I’d love to hear more about your capacity building plans. Middle school can be tricky but also so impressive if the right balance is met. I look forward to hearing the balance you are looking for.
Hi Andrea,
Wow! What an inspired post! You’re ready to take on the world and I believe you’ll be successful! I think you should connect with @vhcivan as she’s looking at social and emotional needs. I love that you’re exploring this while teaching French – have you worked with the #DELF stuff we looked at at the mini-conference at RSGC with @jenbibby? I’ve thrown out themes for units and have focused on skills – students get a lot more variety and we’re starting to work personalized learning back into the fold. Tv5Monde has been great as is BonjourdeFrance. Students can explore what interests them at their level which is fantastic!
Where are you thinking of starting? I am so jazzed and want to hear more! Looking forward to Friday!
I can’t wait to hear more about your skills based approach. I really felt great about the DELF ideas too and look forward to hearing about your implementation of tv5monde. See you tomorrow!
Andrea, this is an ambitious goal, and one that, when achieved, will benefit the middle school student in so many life experiences. Wouldn’t we have such a more progressive and interesting world if we all asked ourselves, “Who am I and what am I capable of?” Enjoy the journey!