Day 30 - Fearless Educators

I've always thought of myself as a fearless educator, pushing the limits and doing something different with my class, as I'm not afraid to get it wrong and say I'm sorry.  I love the feeling you get when you push it that little bit further, the excitement in the class when they are doing something different.

Reflecting upon this, it has always been within the limits of the school.  So, to answer the final 30 Day Reflective Blogging Challenge topic - what would you do as an educator if you weren't afraid?

*Skype experts across the world
*Tweet more often
*Share with the world the amazing things we do
*Present at a conference
*Ask why more often

Imagine what the world would be like if we were all fearless educators!

Day 17 - Challenging issues in education today

Education is forever changing and since graduating in 2006 the following issues have always been the same for me.  My biggest issues in education today are:

• Paper work: many questions spring to mind...
  Who is this for?
  When am I supposed to have time for this?
  Why do we all have to have the same format?
  Can't I personalise this to suit me?
  Why does this feel like no one trusts me?
• Class size:  there is a lot going around about class size and I sit on the side that it does matter because of the following reasons:
  Getting more 1:1
  Making stronger connections with students
  Ability to personalise every student
  The time need for: paper work size, report writing, assessments, moderation, etc.
  
  I know that if you're a good teacher it doesn't matter what size class you have however it does beg the question of if you have 30+ students in your class how much authentic time do you spend with each of them over the period of a day, whether it is 1:1 or in small groups?  For me my answer would be not enough.
• Demand on teachers to do more and more is too much - something has to give.  As educators we are expected to not only do a great job at teaching students but we're also expected to be a coach, nurse, councilor, mentor, teacher of values and manners, keep up with the latest trends in education, and the list goes on. 
  
  My question is:  When is there time to do all this?
  
  We are all human, we too have a family of our own, and too want to have a balanced life where we can go and exercise, have hobbies, and so on.  So, when is enough, enough? 
  
  Don't get me wrong, we do love our jobs and going the extra mile for the right reasons is always necessary, my issue is balance for teachers are way out!  How can we get this balanced restored?

There is so much more that is out there that is working against us but I'm reminded of we can only do what we can do, but make sure what we do is the best that we can do.