Disco Dancing & New Teachers

I have the privilege of working with teachers.  Within this group I include: future teachers, new teachers, “veteran” teachers, and retired teachers.  As I get closer to the end of this list, I see one common thread- a belief that teaching is life-long journey.

I vividly recall one experience in my pre-service preparation experience.  In a written assignment I wrote, “The day I think I am a good teacher, is the day I stop becoming a good teacher.”  What were the thoughts of that 20-something me?  How did I recognize the need for reflective practice and ongoing self-critique?  Hey!  I was young and it was the ‘80s.  Maybe it was too much disco and a case of Saturday night fever.  Whatever the reason for my young pondering, I am now where I was back then.  In my work with soon-to-be and new teachers, I stress the importance of critical inquiry into their teaching practices.  We discuss the commitment to lifelong learning.

I wonder. . . Are our current schooling practices promoting this way of thinking?  Should they?

By Marisol Rexach, CES Doctoral Student