tear it down! dismantle it!
My supervisor and I are on a similar wavelength right now and I’m really liking her approach and vision (at least for now….). Aside from being so helpful with problem solving, she trusts my instinct. Which is bizarre since I am so new and my instinct is in its embryonic stage.
Today we were talking about how I go about using and teaching academic language to my students and she says, “I hate (the way the school does) the word wall. You have my permission to tear it down. Get rid of it and use words that they will use. That are meaningful.”
How rockin’ is that?! Not only is she giving me permission to do something different but it’s something that requires me to be creative and do what I think is best. Weird.
Of course part of the reason is she seems to think I am brilliant because I use “big” words all the time. She tells me how she tells everyone about my vocabulary. I don’t think this is brilliance. I just happen to have been raised to prize a good vocabulary and then I had a job that also valued that. It’s all culture not brilliance. Trust me. But I am happy to not have THAT argument with her :)
You had a great upbringing; part of why your instincts are so good. And that has nothing to do with “newness”. You’ve had lots of experiences that stand you in good stead. And how important is vocabulary? Just listen to our new president. He oozes confidence because of his vocabulary; and yet, manages to uplift us all and not treat us in a condescending manner; the way the last leader did even with his limited vocabulary. And the confidence our new president possesses elicits the same response in all of us and helps us keep our hopes alive. I’m sure you give the same feeling to your class; you uplift them and help them know they can do well.