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Vision of the Future. Wilson Christian Academy. Teach children to believe in themselves and don’t destroy the dream!.
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Vision of the Future Wilson Christian Academy
Teach children to believe in themselves and don’t destroy the dream! “Once we see potential in them, they will begin to see it in themselves. If you walk in your classroom and “see” a class of children with discipline problems and learning disabilities, you are sure going to have your hands full. If you “see” a class full of lawyers, business leaders, artists, and presidents, you are well on your way to building a classroom of children who will regard themselves highly and have their own expectations of success” Ron Clark
“There is a misconception in our country that teachers whose students make good grades are providing them with a good education. Parents, administrators, and the general community shouldn’t assume good grades equal high academic mastery. In fact, in many cases those teachers could be giving good grades to avoid conflict with the parents and administration. It’s easier to fly under the radar and give high grades than to give a student what he or she truly deserves and face the scrutiny of the administration and the wrath of an angry parent.
“Ignorance is bliss. Are the kids really being challenged, or are they only achieving mediocre standards set forth by a mediocre teacher in an educational system that is struggling to challenge even our average students?” • “I am afraid most parents would rather their children get a good education where they received straight A’s and praise than an outstanding education where they struggled and received C’s.”
Define your expectations and then raise the bar; the more you expect, the better the results will be
“I am a firm believer that you get what you expect from people, and the higher you place your expectations, then the better the results. As I have traveled around the world learning about education, I am always blown away at the level of academic expectations other countries have of their students.”
“Parents, students, and teachers all want to be heard where they are coming from and that their point has been made. One of the best pieces of advice anyone ever gave me was to allow people to vent and hear them out completely without interrupting”
Give all that you have to your children even though you often will receive nothing in return When I teach children, I put my whole soul into it. I know I have a short time to make an impact that will last a lifetime, I don’t want to waste one second. I envision that the students are really my own children, and I see my job as a teacher as more of a dual teacher-parent role.
Be selfless with your contributions to the team The best thing about our staff and our parents is that they are willing to jump in at anytime and for any reason to help our children.
“You will be surprised how helpful people can be when you let them know you need them and you let them know exactly how they can help. Our staff at RCA is the most amazing, brilliant, and giving group of individuals with which I have ever worked. No matter what the task-from cleaning the bathrooms, to tutoring on Saturdays, to driving two hours to pick up Roman columns, to staying for play rehearsals, to attending late-night dinners with students-they are always there and willing to stay longer and do more if needed. Our entire staff teaches after-school classes until 5:45p.m., and no one has ever asked to receive extra pay. They attend all field trips, stay for Midnight School, attend athletic games, help one another transform their rooms for theme days, and always show up with a smile and an eager spirit. That is how every staff needs to be. It breaks my heart to hear of teachers who leave at 3:30p.m. and who don’t offer to help one another. It’s almost as if they think they are above it.”
If you are taking time to make an excuse, then you are wasting time that could be spent on finding a solution! Make it happen. Don’t give EXCUSES; find SOLUTIONS!
Be excellent! “…local teacher training is being shaped by the low bar set by the public school system.” “…we want to make sure that we are asking students to be innovative and to strive for excellence, we are always requiring the same of ourselves. If you expect something from others, you need to make sure you are demonstrating it yourself as well.”
In all we do, we want to make sure we are going above and beyond to work at the highest standards possible. Whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.1Cor.10:31 We have to remember that the level of performance we show others-especially our children-is what they will learn is acceptable. … they all had such respect for their jobs and for living their lives at a high standard that they pushed themselves to go a little further, to be clever, and to strive for excellence in all they do. When you have a team and people around you who work at that level, anything is possible in terms of happiness and achievement. With God all things are possible. Luke1:37
SET THE TONE FOR A LOVE OF LEARNING The absolute best way to get a child excited about learning is to display the amount of emotion and passion for learning that you hope to see in the child. No one knows everything, and the real lesson we need to teach our children is that the man who can actually find the answers to any question presented to him is the true genius. For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.Prov.2:6
PUSH YOURSELF TO BE INNOVATIVE BEYOND YOUR IMAGINATION Through challenging ourselves , we learn our true potential and grow as educators and individuals.
We all love music. We turn it on as soon as we get in the car, and listen to it when we get home. It only makes sense to find ways to incorporate it into our workday to provide inspiration there as well. ….Regardless of how music is used, any school looking to build an environment that students will love needs to use it one way or another. USE MUSIC TO EXCITE, MOTIVATE, AND INSPIRE!
DON’T LET OPPORTUNITIES PASS YOU BY, EVEN IF THE TIME, FUNDING, AND CIRCUMSTANCE AREN’T COMPLETELY RIGHT. Realize that we have to make sacrifices to make moments happen and do so without a moment’s hesitation. Make moments for yourself and for others to cherish for a lifetime. Does it seem impossible to make those moments happen at times? Yes. But is it worth the world when they finally occur? You’d better believe it.
MAKE LEARNING MAGICAL! As parents and teachers, we all know how miserable it feels to see a lack of excitement or interest in our children. When they don’t enjoy learning, whether it’s math, science, or reading, we need to take drastic measures! The longer they see the subject in a negative way, the more damage is done. There is always a way to bring learning to life and to place eagerness in the hearts of our children, and we owe it to them to find it.
TEACH CHILDREN THAT THE GOOD YOU DO IN THE WORLD COMES BACK TO YOU.
TEACH CHILDREN TO EMBRACE THEIR PERSONALITIES AND PRESENT THEMSELVES WITH CONFIDENCE IN ALL SITUATIONS.
LOVE WHAT YOUR STUDENTS LOVE As parents and teachers, we need to make sure we know who we are teaching and raising, and we need to make sure our eyes are opened wide to who they are, where they are in their lives, and the ways in which we can become closer to them through what they love.
REGARDLESS OF ETHNICITY, LEARNING DISABILITIES BELIEVE THAT EVERY CHILD CAN LEARN! EMOTIONAL OR BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, OR THE ECONOMIC SITUATION OF THE FAMILY.
If we, as adults, don’t see potential in every child and truly believe that every child can learn, then how can we expect them to have hope and see the potential in themselves? As parents and teachers, we have to approach working with our children in a positive and uplifting manner. …whom I have created for My glory. Isaiah 43:7 As adults, we all owe it to our children to know a little bit more than they do, and to be willing to dig a little bit deeper and look a little bit harder in order to see their hidden gifts. It is there in every one of them, and if we can see past excuses and hard exteriors, then we can begin to help them each become the wonderful person whom we see inside.
OPEN YOUR DOORS TO THE PARENTS.
Unfortunately, as I have traveled around the country visiting schools, I have seen more” dead time” than real instruction. I see teachers sitting behind their desks as students do silent work, chaotic environments where teachers have lost control, and students who seem barely able to keep their heads off their desks. MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY MOMENT! THERE SHOULD BE AN URGENCY IN EDUCATION!
DO NOT USE CELL PHONES OR COMPUTERS WHILE THE STUDENTS ARE IN THE ROOM, UNLESS THE DEVICE IS PART OF THE LESSON BEING TAUGHT. The teacher’s priority need to be the students, and while they are in the room together, the rest of the world should vanish. The classroom time between teachers and students is magical, and the children deserve to feel that in that moment there is nothing more important in the world than their quest for knowledge.
Don’t give the students an assignment for homework and then allow them to work on it in class. Every minute the students are in the classroom is valuable and should be spent with active, high-energy instruction. MAKE HOMEWORK FOR HOME NOT SCHOOL.
MAKE SURE YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK, TOO! As soon as the students enter you should immediately begin the lesson. If you give them too much time to get settled, they will take longer and longer each day. Keep teaching until the very last second. If you stop a few minutes early, you are creating a dangerous space of time where discipline issues are going to occur. Make sure any flip charts or PowerPoint presentations are ready to go before class begins. When teachers have to go to their computers to pull up information for the lesson, students will take the opportunity to talk and get into mischief.
One thing is for sure: they know I make the most of every moment I have with them to give the best education possible. This attitude rings clearly throughout our whole school, and it has made a tremendous difference in the energy, effort, and success at RCA. If we are never learning from one another, then we are performing in a bubble and denying ourselves the opportunity for growth. All educators must be provided with the experience of watching one another in action. Every time I visit another teacher’s class, I learn something. At times I will pick up strategies I want to use, and other times I will see behavior that I want to make sure I never repeat. Regardless, it causes me to compare my techniques to the ones I see and offers an opportunity for me to grow as a professional. I strongly encourage you to develop a peer observation program at your school. The more you observe each other, the stronger you will grow as professionals and as a staff. BEGIN EACH CLASS ON FIRE!
DON’T CONSTANTLY STRESS ABOUT TEST SCORES. WE HAVE TO STOP SENDING THE MESSAGE TO OUR STUDENTS THAT THE PURPOSE OF LEARNING IS TO TAKE A TEST. …most states place too great an emphasis on the final achievement level, rather than the amount of growth that takes place. We want our students to realize that they are learning because learning is fun and acquiring knowledge is one of the world’s greatest joys. During the last week of school at RCA, we tell our students that they will take some tests. We tell them it’s more like a celebration of learning so that they can show all they have learned through the year. The students are relaxed but focused and we ask them to try their best. Each year our students’ test scores have made tremendous improvement when compare to national scores. On the Stanford 10, our students’ scores generally equal double-digit growth in each subject area.
REALIZE THAT KIDS NEED TO MOVE! BRING EDUCATION TO LIFE WITH KINESTHETICE LEARNING. Norway has had what is regarded as one of the world’s best education systems. Their test scores are consistently at the top, and their students outscore the world on standardized assessments. What are they doing differently than we are?..........getting children moving! In our country, we expect children to sit for hours, staring at a board, and then, in many cases, eat an unhealthy lunch, only to go back to staring for three more hours. Its torture, it’s unfair, and it’s not smart.
RESOLVE TO FIND YOUR OWN RED BUTTON. By that, I mean that you need to find your own clever way to add a spark of energy, fun, and surprise to your classroom.
SHOW THEM EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE. Teachers should…invite an oncologist, an archeologist, an architect, or a web designer to your school. The more occupations our children are exposed to the more excited they will become about working hard in school so that they can join that profession.
DON’T GIVE CHILDREN SECOND CHANCES ON TESTS AND PROJECTS. If a child fails a test, he learns that he had better study harder for the next test because he is going to have only one chance. School systems all over the country are working to bail out students and give them multiple chances, but in return we’re actually just dumbing down education and setting our expectations too low. At RCA, we work really hard to encourage our students to perform at their highest level the first time. In order to support them, we offer study sessions, practice tests, one-on-one tutoring, and study guides.
At RCA, when students are making speeches or announcements in front of a group, they are never allowed to read anything from paper. The only time it is allowed is if they are reading a long list of names or items. Otherwise, they’re expected to do it from memory. NEVER READ A SPEECH!
THE MOVE THROUGHOUT AROUND ROOM LESSON NEVER THE AND SAME REMAIN THE PLACE. IN
NEVER ALLOW STUDENTS TO BEGIN A STATEMENT WITH “UMM” “WELL” OR “ME AND.” We explain that by starting your statement directly, you will deliver it with more power and it will be taken more seriously.
