On Teaching and Learning

Thanks to starting school on the last Tuesday of August and having Monday off for Labor Day, we have yet to experience our first five-day week of this new school year. We won't this week, as Tuesday was Primary Day in Rhode Island. That said, our educators have been planning and preparing for our children's return long before these first official weeks of school. And by educators, please know that I mean every single employee in East Greenwich Public Schools: From Facilities to Food Service, Technology to Temporary Substitutes, Leadership to Long-Term Substitutes, and Paraeducators to Payroll, it takes every employee to make it possible for the magic to happen in the classrooms. 

Make no mistake about it, what happens in our classrooms in EG is magical. Yes, there's hard work involved and sometimes a little luck, but truly consider what it takes to be in a classroom in 2024. I saw the following graphic from the group Teach English on Facebook, and it captures the reality of education: 

The "What Teaching really is" list includes ten more items than just teaching itself. Add to that list the expectation that we reach all of our students and that a lesson rarely resembles "one size fits all," nor do lessons today look anything like how I learned K - 12. Or, for that matter, what lessons looked like when I was a first-grade teacher in 2001. Nor does this take into account the reality that we are still feeling the ripple effects of the pandemic in our day-to-day lives, and you can begin to comprehend the level of commitment our professional educators make to the more than 2,400 students who come to our buildings every day in East Greenwich Public Schools. 

It is natural to rely on our own experience of education when we think about Teaching and Learning. Without question, we can all name our favorite (and least favorite) teachers. More than likely, not for what they taught but for how they made us feel. Still, education is constantly evolving as we learn more and more about what constitutes best practice in education, and we tweak our professional skills to reflect that. Since almost everyone has gone through K - 12 classrooms as students, it's natural to think that we can critique it and offer feedback, having had the experience. That's akin to saying that I got my haircut last week at DelVecchio's on Main Street - want me to cut your hair? 

Yes, we have this community's most precious resources in our buildings on a daily basis. Yes, parents are the experts on their children, at home. We are the experts on how to best educate them when they're in our buildings. Our goal is to create a partnership to ensure that all students feel safe, welcomed, and included when they come to school in EGPS. If that's the case, they can learn to their fullest potential, making mistakes along the way. 

We are #BetterTogether.