It Takes A Village

July 13, 2012

My own children recently had an opportunity to meet Gail and Joan. Samantha is eleven and was fortunate to have used Daily 5 a few years of her elementary career. She has heard me speak of it frequently and she was excited to have a chance to meet The Sisters and tell her friends all about it.

Nathan, on the other hand, is six and although he is familiar with Daily 5 in his classroom, he looked at this meeting with a different perspective. He was happy and smiley as always, but being a six-year old he didn't display the excitement Samantha displayed. He acted as though it was an everyday event. He was too young to understand that this was a proud moment for his mama. After their meeting, I asked Nathan, "Wasn't that neat to have a chance to meet them? Do you want to take this picture to school and show your teacher?" His response was, "Yes mom, they are very nice. I do want to show my teacher because she would want to know what my other teachers look like." I was a bit confused and asked him what he meant by this. Nathan said, "They are my teachers too, Mom. They taught you and my teachers how to use Daily 5 and then you guys passed it on to me. So, they would be my teachers too, right?" I agreed with him and told him that was very good thinking for a six year old!

Nathan's insight led me to think about the African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child." At six-years old, Nathan understands that his learning is shaped by many people. He is accepting of new ideas, asks questions, and genuinely welcomes new learning as he knows it makes him smarter. This year we moved in the middle of the school year and it was a nearly seamless transition for him because he was open to change and accepting that not everyone teaches the same way. His six year old perspective is truly reflective of the proverb, "It takes a village..." He knows there are many people involved in his education and he welcomes it with open arms.

This leads me to reflect on the teacher's role in the classroom. Are we open to new ideas and change like six-year olds, or do we become comfortable and complacent too easily? Do we accept learning from a variety of resources like our students? Do we change our instruction each year to meet the needs of the students and reflect what current research shows about best practices in teaching and learning, or are we quick to blame student performance on the dynamics of the school and the push for increased test scores? Do we reflect on not only what we teach, but how we are teaching it?

The proverb, "It takes a village..." can be applied to educators as well as children. It takes the knowledge, experience, and research of many education professionals in various curricular areas to determine what are considered best practices in teaching math, reading, science, etc. It also takes teachers, administrators, coaches, and directors that are open to this knowledge and are willing adapt their current style to do what is best for kids. When a new idea comes down the pipeline, it is okay to question it ~ as you would most certainly only want to do what is for the good of your students. However, when your questions are answered with current research that shows positive results, you owe it to yourself and your students to be open and accepting to change. When looking at new ideas in teaching and learning, it is important to remember that if you want to change the result, you must change the way you do things.