Being a Game Changer in Education.

     Recently, our superintendent went live and gave his back- to- school speech for the district to hear.  He emphasized teachers to be game changers.  What does that mean? I'm not really into sports. I thought how can the game of football be relevant to all learners.  We have early start programs to early college campuses at our district. Then we have so many demographic type of students that are labeled like, English as a second language or special education and the list goes on. How can we as teachers change to meet the needs of all students?

      This summer I attended the American Association of Family and Consumer Science conference

and found that a school is much like an investment firm. Teachers are investing in their students to build wealth. So, coaches invest in their players to build a team to win. There's a lot that goes into a game such as, planning, preparing, and performing.  

     Planning is a major part of a teachers job. If we plan well to every last minute, the students get the most out of class. We have to be proactive and have plan B ready even plan C sometimes.  Planning takes the majority of my time and like Abraham Lincoln once said,"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."

     Preparing is when the coach and team studies their opponents.  They look at plays to see what strategy to use with their opponent. The same holds true for teachers. Teachers have to study their students and use strategies to identify their needs and levels. This doesn't come easy for me. This is my third year of teaching and first for Instructional Practices in Education. I would love to really know how to read and interpret data to plan and prepare my students for the Instructional Aid level one certification exam.

     Performing is the result of your sweat and tears. Let your students shine and take the lead. Teachers have to act as facilitators rather than a dictator in the classroom. Let the students take ownership of their learning out in the field. Teachers help them along the way by encouraging them, motivating them, and giving them our very best making sure they never give up. We are educational coaches!    

     In closing I'll leave you with this inspiring quote from one of my favorite movies,"Facing the Giants"-We weren't supposed to have a winning season, but we do. We weren't supposed to advance to the playoffs, but we did. We're not supposed to be here, but we are.- Grant Tayor