If the teacher is bored...

I heard a college professor rightfully say in a lecture, "if the teacher is bored, the kids are dead!"

I was thinking about this statement yesterday afternoon on my drive home from school. I thought about the exciting conversations I had with several teachers that were hard at work preparing their rooms for their new students. I thought about the passion and excitement in their voices as they talked about the fun they have in the classroom learning along side the children. I thought about the teaching ideas being generated and shared that will create an exciting learning environment for all. I thought about the teachers that ran into the office ecstatic about a fun video idea that could uniquely showcase our school. I thought about the expressed interest in innovatingly utilizing technology in the classroom in order to make the instruction more rigorous, relevant, and fun.

All this made me wonder, "If the teacher is having fun, the students are _________!"

Finally clarification...

The other day I read this blog post by Dr. Scott McLeod.  It's very short...heck, I'll just copy and paste it and give him full credit for finally clarifying my struggles as an educator.  The reason behind all the nights I have laid in bed tossing and turning struggling with teaching and learning could possibly be summed up in this short blog post.

"How do you reconcile…

principles of standards-based grading; “begin with the end in mind and work backwards;” understanding by design; and other more convergent learning ideas

with…

project-, problem-, challenge-, and/or inquiry-based learning; creativity; innovation; collaboration; and our need for more divergent thinkers?

How do (or would) you reconcile these potentially-conflicting concepts? How should schools navigate the tension between convergence and divergence?" - Dr. McLeod

I have taught for 6 years at a school for inquiry.  However, I have rarely felt that I have been encouraged to teach with a divergent mindset.  I have always wanted to, but I have always been pushed towards convergence.  Standards preach divergence, but practice convergence.  Administrators want the beauty of divergence, but coach towards convergence.  Even I long for and LOVE to see the beauty that stems from divergence, true learning, yet I am often weighted down by the restriction of convergent standards.

As a learning leader next year, how will I "reconcile these potentially-conflicting concepts" with the teachers at my school?