Just this week, I've been inspired by the following individuals:
- One young man that has learned to appreciate math in a whole new way after arriving to our high school informed me Wednesday that his grade was "only a B" and stated, "Mr. Rowe, you and I both know I'm capable of better than that. What can we work on together so I can demonstrate my understanding at a higher level?" After I gained my composure after a statement like that, we identified one math standard where he could use Extra Practice and more get more feedback. We worked together with questions alternating between he and I. The connection we have has developed over our school year and is one reason why this is his best year of math.
- A young lady who shares a math class with me in addition to our Interdisciplinary Block weekly communicates with me as to how she can get more practice to connect and integrate our learning at higher and higher levels. She has become an exceptional student of mathematics with an unending desire to reach greater levels of proficiency. Her sense of humor and willingness to help me and her peers contributes significantly to our Culture of Learning. I've been asking her if I could call home to share with her parents how significantly she contributes to our learning. She has been reluctant saying "Mr. Rowe, no teacher calls home to say good things about their students." She does not know about our nationwide movement of #GoodCallsHome that continues to empower Learners, Parents and Teachers about the great learning happening in our schools. On Wednesday, she finally gave me the okay to call her home!
- A young man in one of our math classes has transformed his attitude towards math and it has enabled him to reach success like he's never seen before. He and I have worked through many challenges this year. Our dedication to each other has enabled him to finally like and look forward to math. We can both attest to the fact that our dedication to our Culture of Learning has not only improved our ability to communicate math more clearly but to also appreciate others with different strengths and interests. He gets our "Transformer Award".
- As I was leaving school today, another young man in one of our math classes shared with me how this year has opened his eyes to appreciate and value mathematical understanding and reasoning at a whole new level. I'm very grateful when our Learners communicate to me that they look forward to our time together and enjoy learning with me. Learning can and should be this enjoyable. As we parted today, he said, "Mr. Rowe, I'll see you tomorrow first block for math". What a way to connect with our Learners!
- Yesterday I was greeted by a prior student who returned to our school as a substitute teacher. He shared with me his appreciation for how we learned together. He is just finishing his undergraduate study at college. He said he wanted to support learning and really enjoys the one-on-one connection teachers and students can and should have. He thanked me for my influence on his life. Seeing him again and sharing with him really made my week.
In our classes, we Yearn to Learn every day! Thank you for reading.
