Teaching with Intention, Chapter 8

I've been doing my own little book study of Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller.
 

Whoo Hoo! This is the last "real" chapter. I thought there was one more chapter, but it's just really a page of wrap-up. So this will be it for me. 

Chapter 8 is called The Thoughtful Use of Time. Doesn't that just crack you up? If not, maybe this Calvin and Hobbes cartoon will. {I'm just cruising for the copyright cops to come!}


Debbie Miller acknowledges the tension we teachers are dealing with. But she says, "when getting done takes precedence over doing, when finishing becomes more important than figuring out, we've lost sight of why we became teachers in the first place..." And then she adds, "Learning by doing takes time." Can I get an Amen!

The first part of this chapter talks about time - and then she moves on to conferring with students. She admits that when she is conferring with one student, she could have been touching base with 3 or 4 or 5 or even 6 students. But, she says, "touching base isn't teaching." She tells us when conferring with students, we "support children as they apply what we've taught them in large and small group settings."  

Debbie Miller asks us to try this - to confer with one or two children a day for two weeks. {Doable, isn't it?} And ask this simple question, "How's your reading going today?" If they say good, ask them to tell you more.  

This is something I can see myself doing! I like this idea! What about you - are you a teacher nerd like me? Are you already, maybe just in the back of your mind, thinking about what you want to try next year? 

I almost feel like having a pajama day today, but we're getting family pictures taken tonight, and I'm not sure that's the way I want to be remembered :) Maybe I'll just have a pajama morning. 

Thanks for sharing Debbie Miller and Teaching with Intention with me! 
Sara