The Importance Of Raising The Bar In Education

I have always loathed recording myself. However, when thinking about raising the bar in my instruction, I know it is necessary. Completing the survey made me realize that while I am trying to consistently give my students rigorous work, there are some lessons that do not exactly fit the bill. For example, in my survey, I stated that while I have given my students relevant readings, I do not do so often enough. After completing the survey and annotated lesson, it was then very useful to participate in the Peer Video Critique. I always find it invaluable to receive feedback from my peers, it is far more useful to see how other teachers are raising the bar in their own classrooms. By watching the videos of my peers, I was able to see what I am …show more content…
Attempting to raise the bar for my students forced me to actually have students talk about our Essential Question which is “How does gender, class and race impact one’s identity and community?” In my lesson, I attempted to give students the opportunity to talk about the Essential Question directly. In the past, we’ve engaged in readings and discussions without talking about the implications race, class and gender have on our identities. The National Council of Teachers of English resource states, in regards to talking about social justice in the classroom, “It is likely that students come to us at varying levels of awareness about issues relating to social justice.” When initially writing my lesson plan, I did not consider this. However, as I engaged in rigorous discussion with my students, I soon discovered that while many of them have heard the words race, class and gender, however they did not having actual definitions for them. I was forced to quickly establish definitions with my students before moving on. From the resource I gathered that it is important to scaffold when bringing social justice issues into the …show more content…
However, actually making sure classroom materials and readings were intentional made it easier for students to share in the discussion. I knew it was important to provide multiple opportunities for my students to engage in discussion, but according to the resources and rubric, I knew it was also pertinent to provide students with the opportunity to engage in writing. At the end of my lesson, students were asked to According to, “Powerful students, powerful words: writing and learning in a poetry workshop,” Annotating my lesson plan and recording my teaching helped me in the long run because as previously stated, I was able to see how other teachers are raising the bar in their own classrooms. At my school, I am rarely given the opportunity to see other teachers teach. While I know there are great things happening in their classrooms, I never have the time to observe. Seeing my peers in their classrooms made me optimistic about planning for my students in the