“I Decided to Just Teach”

Here is an article I read the other day. It is something we teachers should all ponder on!


“I Decided to Just Teach” by    C. M. Thurston


A teacher I know, who wishes to remain nameless (presumably out of modesty), started teaching last year at a school where everyone was worried about improving state test scores. Teachers were fussing, fretting, and doing everything they could think of to help their students perform well. They structured lessons around what was going to be on the test. They gave lessons in test-taking. They gave practice tests.

The teacher I know decided that she had entirely too much to worry about, as she was teaching new subjects in a new grade in a school new to her. She was overwhelmed with responsibilities. “I just plain didn’t have time to worry about the tests,” she said. “I decided to just teach.”
At the end of the year, guess whose students made the most progress in the school, as measured by the tests?

Hers.

Okay, maybe she just lucked out. But maybe she succeeded because she did not focus on improving test scores. She focused on teaching and learning. Instead of boring her kids with practice tests and endless worksheets, she focused on keeping her students interested and involved. Maybe, just maybe, her approach is a sound one—to just teach.

It’s something to consider.

Cheryl Miller Thurston, Ideas That Really Work!  (Colorado: Cottonwood Press Inc, 2009) 13