Funnel Vision

I imagine every week like an enormous funnel with the large end containing this vision of what I hope to accomplish and the small end containing what actually ends up happening. It's a pattern.

In the fall, when I was a permanent substitute, much of my instruction did not feel as intentional as I wish it could have been. Now that I have more time, and an experienced teacher to collaborate with, even these "funneled" weeks can feel successful. While the narrow end of the week can still be disappointing, there are net gains over time because it is strategic.

This week the students taught each other about body systems. Their models were spectacular, but the best was watching the hands-on kids feel all the esteem usually reserved for the reader/writer types we consistently serve so well in public education. Almost everyone loved the opportunity to be a teacher for a day.

So, of course, I'm thinking about other opportunities to do this since it connects to the "speaking and listening" arm of the language arts core common standards. The challenge is find time in the busy week!

There I go again. . . .but really, I hope I never lose my funnel vision because sometimes the reverse happens, and the week blossoms into something I could never have imagined. It's like a little gift, and people, I'll take it. I'll take it all day long, especially from these guys: