The Key to Successful Teaching

There are many key's to successful teaching, but in my experience, preparation is vital. If I go into the week unprepared, my students can tell and my lessons lack the enthusiasm and knowledge needed to be successful. Plus,

• How can I successfully motivate my students to learn the subject if I've failed to fully learn it myself? 
• How can I maintain high expectations of learning if I do not keep those expectations myself?
• How can I reach every student on a personal level, making learning relevant by connecting it to their own lives, if I do not spend the necessary time to learn their own personal interests and experiences?
• How can I encourage my learners to be life-long learners if I do not embrace that idea in my own life?

I know that I cannot inspire life-long learning if I do not embrace the power of learning in my own life. Just gathering enough to fulfill the standards or the class period is a laziness I do not want in my teaching; not for my sake, but for the sake of my students who depend on me! I do not want to give them worthless exercises that do nothing but fill time and I sure as heck do not want assessments that do not give an accurate depiction of what he/she does or does not know.

All of this requires preparation.

Knowing this to be true, I'm spending today in preparation for this coming week. And if I finish the prep for this coming week today with time to spare, then I'll begin prepping for the next week. And that has been the key to my teaching success. I spend so much time in prep that I over plan like crazy. I simply run out of time to share all that I've learned or planned for my students. And that's okay, because there are many times that a few students here and there need an extra push and if I'm prepared, I do not have to worry about whether or not I will have something for them. I want to know the concept or skill so well that I can teach it simply, or I can teach all the complexities.

Here are two major things I do to prepare:

1. I use up my local library and search for any possible book on the subject. Einstein once expressed his secret to learning was knowing the location of the library!
2. YouTube has so many wonderful videos full of amazing information with visuals to coincide. I subscribe to places like PBS, National Geographic, History Channel, &etc. The key here is to consider your source, do not just watch a random video in your classroom without first checking its facts!

Prepare, prepare, prepare! When you are passionate about a skill or concept, that will come through in how you teach, what questions you ask, and the success of reaching your students. This has proved true in my classroom as much as it has in my homeschooling a first grader. Too many times I have entered a week unprepared with my daughter and paid for my laziness. Thankfully this hard lesson is one I do not want to repeat and on those Saturday afternoons where I lack the motivation to follow my own advice, I'm reminded of those failed attempts that offer all the motivation I need to get up and get going! 

With that said, it's time to get moving because my first grader has been asking all kinds of questions about Polar Bears, the Arctic Ocean, and has randomly sparked an interest in pangolin's thanks to an Instagram post from National Geographic. Since she wants to learn I'm just going to spark that interest even more and that means I need to prepare for it. It's amazing that in my digging I can incorporate measurements (the Polar Bear has a huge paw), geography, ocean facts, amazing vocabulary, writing opportunities, reading, reading and more reading. Ah, the power of preparation. 

Although I haven't had a chance to dig into pangolin's; what I'm learning about Polar Bears is beyond cool! I cannot wait to share it with her! Excitement is contagious, so be prepared and get excited.