Buzz Words

So, you may have noticed I haven't blogged in quite a while. I have been super busy with LIFE. My hubs and I just took a week long vacation to Cozumel. What an amazing time! However, leading up to it was insane. We both were working late into the night before we left and when we returned, picked right back up with the craziness. But with how cold it has been here, it was such a relief to escape, even for a little while. Plus, my old teaching partner and her husband joined us so it was great to just chat, compare ideas and catch up. I promise we only talked school for part of the trip.


I came back to a week of training. Which... WOW... so amazing. Our school district adopted a writing curriculum by Steve Dunn 3 years ago. This year, we have started to adopt some of his reading stuff as well. When we adopted the writing, I couldn't believe how much my students were writing. It was amazing! Such a world of difference. I felt like I had no direction before when I was teaching writing and then, boom, my kids just took off. But, it wasn't just because of the curriculum, it was because of the teaching strategies that Steve taught us. Tons of student engagement and quick, to the point lessons. Not a lot of fluff and buzz words, just good teaching.

So as we began the reading journey with him, I was very interested to hear him refer to the fact that what he was showing us wasn't anything new, it was just the way and order it was taught in. His ability to make things make sense for not only me as a teacher, but for students is such a talent. There is simplicity and steps to teaching and the way he models it just makes sense. It is just good teaching.

Now, I know there are a lot of programs out there that are effective. I just think of myself as an educator and my style and how this fits. It allows me to use any book that I choose and teach. I think this is where I tried to start as a teacher and didn't really know where to begin. It makes me want to go back to college and help them adjust the way our new teachers are taught to teach.

I should probably point out that I am not getting paid to say any of this and that everything that I put in my blog is strictly my own opinion. The reason I share this is because after last week, things just really made sense. I have read so many blogs and research articles about trends in education and what the new "buzz" words are. I think teachers just get stuck in the new fad and forget about what good teaching looks like for kids and how if we all did the new buzz word every year, our kids have to start over every year. If we just focus on good teaching and teaching strategies, the kids will be able to build upon those year after year instead of starting over.

I will stop rambling. I was just pretty amazed at how my mind came full circle last week and thought it might be worth sharing. I hope it all makes sense. Let me know what you think.



"Change your thoughts and you'll change your world." -Norman Vincent Peale


Thanks for reading... until next time,

Jenna