Each day, I try to venture out of my office and into the classrooms within my school. And when I do, I am impressed and excited by what I see.
Our kindergarten room has a new building corner complete with blueprints, clipboards, maps, blocks and books. In fact, the kindergarten class is planning a field trip to downtown Edmonton to take pictures of the tall, tall buildings. Last week I walked into a grade six classroom just in time to witness a group presenting their business plan and marketing strategies to the class. They answered questions from their peers with ease. Sometimes I see a grade one student lapping the halls with a weighted lizard in his arms. If you didn’t know, you’d wonder what he was up to. I happen to know that these quick laps have increased his ability to focus and stay on task dramatically.
Education has certainly changed since I was a student. To be honest, it has changed significantly in the last ten years since I have been a full time classroom teacher. These changes have been necessary to cope with the changing societal demands and the changing students within our classrooms. It can be hard to keep up sometimes: but it’s certainly worth it! So are the trips out of my office…