I was recently asked about my classroom teaching experiences, and which among them were my favorite. I suppose the question has something to do with the fact that I am back in the classroom right now, working with fourth and fifth grade teachers to grow our laboratory sciences curriculum, and that I will be in the classroom next year, teaching the roll out of the Diploma Program's Theory of Knowledge course. Truth be told, teaching is addictive, especially in those moments when excitement and curiosity yield understanding. I'm not sure I can pick a favorite moment.
I have been so very lucky throughout my career to teach a range of subjects and developmental groups, and to work with gifted and committed colleagues. I began my teaching career in a Montessori classroom, working with three to six year olds. Everyday was a new discovery, for the children, and their teachers. For five and a half years, small children instructed a master course on the art and science of teaching. There were also wonderful life lessons--unintended, but crucial wisdom, straight from the mouth of babes as the children shared their unique perspectives and questions. A child once inquired of my colleague, "Ms. Dorothy, why is your hair two colors?" Dorothy had turned gray at a very young age. She regularly dyed her hair black. Dorothy thoughtfully explained to the child that her hair was a color she did not like, so she dyed it from time to time. She further explained that as her hair grew, the dyed hair grew out, revealing the other color, which meant it was time to dye her hair again. The child, confused, then questioned why she would color her hair white. He commented that it made her look like a skunk. These children taught me that while as adults we may be clear about our reasoning, our intentions are not always understood. This particular child also made me laugh!
I carried these lessons, on learning and life, to my next teaching destination--university. I was privileged to teach for fourteen semesters, as a graduate assistant and adjunct professor. I applied many of the techniques I had learned working with small children to the college classroom, including collaborative learning models and structured inquiry. There were certainly fewer sing-a-longs and story books and Goldfish crackers. Inquiry, though, knows no age limit. Meaningful questions animate learners, they always have. Lectures were rare, discussions regular. It so happens that "big kids" dislike being talked at as much as little ones. I worked at not being yet another talking head on campus.
Life has a curious way of revealing novel paths and challenges, often all at once. Family affairs brought us back to Hawai'i, and opened the door to whole new opportunities for learning and teaching. Over the next ten years, I had the pleasure of both designing and teaching middle and high school programs, and working with students everyday. Montessori had nudged me away from content-driven, teacher-centric instruction. The International Baccalaureate liberated me to focus on empowering learners.
My introduction to middle school began with seventh grade. Seventh graders are at times a hot mess. They are all at once bright, engaging, and socially awkward. They leave their executive functions in elementary school, recovering them sometime towards the end of eighth grade. I taught science and history, and loved every moment. Later I taught those same subjects to sixth and eighth grade students. Middle schoolers look bigger, seem as if they should have things sorted out, but developmentally they are in a storm at sea, rewiring themselves on the fly in preparation for adulthood. What they taught me is the importance of educating the whole child, of cultivating social and emotional intelligences.
I was soon asked to design and lead our high school program. An amazing group of colleagues were bold (and crazy) enough to join me in the adventure. In subsequent years we added grade levels until full build out at twelfth grade. Demographics and hiring ensured at least one additional section would be available to teach in some subject each year. For six years I taught an array of courses, from physics and biology to history and literature and, finally, IB Theory of Knowledge. I wrote unit plans and designed learner engagements, collaborating with colleagues and students alike to optimize learning. Each new year was, for me, both challenging and ripe with opportunity. We all burned the midnight oil to make it work, and the kids were worth it. One indicator of our success? Engaged learners, all of whom were accepted into college programs that were a good fit, ready to fly into early adulthood with confidence.
One of the best parts of being Headmaster is time spent leading change. As a teacher, the opportunity to benefit one's own students is immediate and immensely rewarding. Transformative thinking and imaginative teaching, though, are often corralled behind classroom walls. To affect a larger community of learners, one's career path must necessarily shift to teacher leadership roles, department chairs and similar positions, and finally to administration of entire programs. As Headmaster, one strives to implement policy and change beneficial to the school community as a whole, using lessons learned in classroom and leadership roles alike. I now have the opportunity to visit our classrooms and celebrate high points in learning, to mentor teacher development, and to support growth towards the successful implementation of a strategic vision of learning.
I am in the classroom and having a ball. Our kids are insightful, creative, curious, and intellectually brave. Lab is without doubt one of my favorite parts of the week. Watching those ah-ha moments when students uncover solutions to their questions is the best part of the job. The kids even laugh at my horribly cheesy jokes.
So which is my favorite classroom experience as a teacher? I would have to say all of them, though for differing reasons. It is an honor to teach, and I am so very thankful that you entrust us with your children everyday at Baldwin.
See you around campus.