Skip to main content

Taking It On Their Own


I have a quote that sits behind me on the wall.  It's a small piece of paper, hardly noticeable.  It reads,

"The object of teaching a child is to enable [him] to get along without [his] teacher"
---Ebert Hubbard

Those very words hold much of what I strive for as a teacher.  Providing my students with the tools necessary to be independent of me in their learning is a goal I employ every year.  The more I work on my goal, the more I help kids learn how to learn, and how to be self-sufficient.
This week I had the distinct pleasure of realizing a part of my goal.  It came in the form of three students who, without even knowing that my goal exists, demonstrated the very essence of "getting along without [their] teacher".

In one instance, a student presented me with a self-made map of England; complete with a key, a compass rose, and major cities marked and labeled.  This came from a discussion we had engaged in this week while learning about the Northeast Region.  Our discussion led to the question of how the names of NE cities/states and even the region (New England) may have come about (specifically those names with the word "New" in them).  We hypothesized that since the pilgrims came to the "New World" they may have carried the names of "Old" England with them and in time people named their "new" cities/states accordingly (New York for example).  The student provided a map showing that England indeed does have a York in it.  The map hangs on my closet door to remind me of the initiative and independence rendered by my student to take the lesson and, completely independent of me, extend the idea and produce evidence of his learning.

Another instance came forth when two students were reading a non-fiction text with one another.  They were taught the day before to look at the vocabulary for the lesson, the "Find Out" question for the lesson, and the "Lesson Outline".  As they sat at a table just a few feet from my desk, I overheard them using all three pre-reading strategies...not really knowing I was paying attention.  Although the assignment didn't ask them to expand on the "Find Out" question for the lesson, they took it upon themselves to document what they did "find out" from their reading.  

The final piece that brought me closer to realizing my goal was delivered to me by the self-reliant actions of one student.  Each week I sit with this one student and we work through an assignment together.  Each time we do so, the student seems to take on more and more responsibility for the work.  Today, when I called my student to come join me the response was, "I already did my assignment".  When I graded the work it was fantastic!  

Those three instances, all coming to me in one morning, reminds me of one of the reasons I became a teacher...

...so they "can learn to get along without me".



Mr. Casten
Nov. 9, 2012

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Looking Out

Looking Out Originally written May 27, 2015 Lightly edited for clarity in August 2026. Just hours ago, my students left. They are on their way to summer adventures, family time, and friends. Just as quickly as they walked into my life, they walked out again. Yet each of them will always be a part of my life. When a school year begins, my new students are just that—students. They arrive as a group, and at first there is little that distinguishes them beyond their physical appearance. They are quiet, reserved, and and still unknown to me. During those first few days, I snap a picture of each one, not yet knowing who they really are. I work to learn their names and match each one to a classroom number. I try to figure out who knows whom from the neighborhood. I share pieces of my own life, hoping they'll eventually share theirs. Time meanders on. Slowly, they begin to let their light shine. Slowly, they begin to share what's important to them. Slowly, I'm afforded the opportu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Art & Science

     The familiar winds of autumn blew rapidly through the playground.   Ponytails flying, unzipped jackets flapping, and soaring playground balls all took errant paths.        Just as fall has briskly left so has trimester one.   Reports cards were sent home today and I plan on placing the final touches to each student’s conference narrative.   The practice of filling out the narrative for my students has become one of my favorite “at home” aspects of teaching.   I look forward to retreating to my little office in the basement, surrounded by the faint noises of my family upstairs, and writing.   I seem to enter into a world only my students and I really know; the life of Room 211 on a daily basis.       My mind pictures each student as I am writing about them.   Their faces make an entrance into my thoughts followed by the smile I see each day.   I travel back in t...
2 comments
Read more

Running...

Running... Original post written on August 18, 2012. Minor changes for clarity made in Aug 2026. Twelve years. That's how long I have been teaching at Lincoln. Twelve years. That's how long I have taken the same route from my house to school. In that time I have seen many houses for sale, then sold. Some were torn down to make room for a new house, a new family, and new students. I've seen the streets that I traverse through Elmhurst being ripped apart and rebuilt to make them safer and more driver friendly, not to mention more car-friendly. Twelve years. I've seen high school kids standing on corners, waiting for the school bus to pick them up for school. Some of them recognize my car while others recognize me as their former teacher. Most of them, however, probably do not pay much attention to me as I pass by. Among all that I see, Monday through Friday mornings there is an unmistakable figure, usually two blocks ahead of me on Fairfield. He is a man. He has slightly ...
Post a Comment
Read more