Successful Students

Education in the last fifteen years has used measurement from standardized tests to determine the success of our students.  This does not sit well with me and is not beneficial for the students in my classroom.  Two years ago my wife Amy, an English teacher, and I put together a list of skills that we believe make successful students.  This list is a collection of notes that we, as parents of a college bound freshman son, heard during several orientation sessions we attended.  We heard from professors, deans and placement officers.  As educators, we thought we owed it to our students to develop a similar list for our high school students and then live it by emphasizing and teaching these skills on a regular basis.

Just last week, I was reminded about the importance of teaching in such a fashion by a tweet from Kevin Honeycutt, an author and educational speaker from Kansas.

Kevin Honeycutt  @kevinhoneycutt

As a teacher I never taught a subject...I taught about life, using the skills and wisdom of my subject.

Teaching about life - now that is real learning. That is meaningful and engaging learning. That is learning that will last. Content can be found in one's phone. Content used to improve the lives of our students can only be found in the mind of an innovative teacher.

Here is our list of skills that Amy and I believe help make Delphi graduates successful.

SUCCESSFUL DELPHI GRADUATES

POSSESS THE ABILITY

TO

CRITICALLY THINK

PLAN/ORGANIZE/PRIORITIZE/ADAPT

COLLABORATE

BE GLOBALLY AWARE

EMPATHIZE

COMMUNICATE

ACT WITH INTEGRITY

CREATE

BECOME AN EXPERT IN YOUR FIELD

OBTAIN/POSSESS KNOWLEDGE

 

Be a teacher that will help the lives of students. Be innovative. It's a lot of fun. It's what is best for all students.