What is success?
I was asked recently what I felt success looks like
for our students. Success to me is when a student is confident in their ability
to work through a problem with others and prepared for challenges that may come
in the act of solving that problem. This doesn’t always look the same in every
subject or grade but the characteristics and skills are similar. Success isn’t
a student’s ability to break the test code or how fast they can read a grade
level problem, rather it is using grit to work through a challenging situation,
seek out assistance from experts when they have questions and the perseverance
to figure out the solution or answer to the problem.
True success is the ability to persevere, articulate ideas and
solutions, collaborate and reflect on the learning that is taking place and
hopefully learning from mistakes. This is the success that I am working towards
for all our students and teachers. This type of learning outcome is something
that we will continue to strive for daily! We are continuously preparing our
students to be problem solvers, building their grit and learning to work hard
until the best solution is figured out.
We are at that time of the year where we start
making financial and human resource decisions and changes to the school’s
appearance. We are in the process of making changes to our learning spaces and
classrooms. Often our discussions are focused on what the educator wants to do
to make it easier or safer for them as the leaders of the learning and not
always focused on how to support the child and their learning, but if they are
not the focus then who is it benefiting? We need to continue to focus on what's
best for our students and their future.
