Fashion and Reflection

The greatest barrier to "fashioning" a better educational environment and improving our way of teaching is our own reluctance to change. We become set in our ways. It's a cliche, I know, but it's also true. Like the woman in the "What Not To Wear" episode, we want to hold on to those old, often ugly, clothes because we're comfortable in them, or because they have some sentimental significance. Sometimes we don't even see how outdated we are or how badly fashioned our teaching style has become. I was in a classroom recently that looked like a flash back to the sixties. This teacher has been teaching for nearly thirty years. It seems to me, either this teacher should get a makeover or get out (retire) and give the wheel to someone with some fresh vision. I am a firm believer in self-reflection. Not occasional reflection, but constant, consistent reflection. Every time we teach, we should be evaluating, asking ourselves: did this work?, not: this worked twenty years ago, so surely it will work today. The students we are working with are very different than the students of twenty years ago. Technology has made the world a different place to live. My kids laugh when I tell them we didn't have cell phones or even "cordless" phones when I was growing up. We must be willing to grow and change through time, to fashion something better everyday.