TL;DR:

• Follow the signs our students give us. We must teach the students we have in front of us, not the students we wish we had.
• Successful teaching requires us to know not only where are our students are and where we want them to go, but also to know where we are and how we are going to get there.

I recently found myself taking advantage of the opportunity to travel over a long weekend in order to visit family. As it was the end of the summer, road construction season was in full swing. There were many times during the trip that my wife and I entered and exited construction zones. So I was paying particular attention to the way signs were displayed and the way the other drivers around me responded.

Follow the Signs: Entering Road Construction

At one point in this journey, the regular highway speed was 70 mph. But then a sign alerted us that construction would begin in 5 miles. Shortly after, a sign let us know that the speed limit was being reduced to 55 mph. I slowed down. Then a sign indicated that the left lane was ending and that traffic should merge to the right. So I moved to the right. Another sign let drivers know that the speed limit was being reduced further to 40 mph. I reduced my speed further and finally, although it was really just a matter of minutes, we entered the construction zone.

As we entered the construction zone, another car came speeding up behind us in the left lane at approximately 80 mph. The driver flashed their lights at me and honked their horn several times before rapidly slowing down and merging into the right lane right behind us. 

My first reaction was fear.

There was a distinct possibility that this driver could have hit our vehicle at high speeds, causing a serious accident. My second reaction was irritation. There had been many, many signs to warn the driver of the upcoming construction zone and the changes in driving conditions, yet this person seemingly ignored all of them. My third reaction was curiosity. How was it that this other driver had failed to see all of the signs warning of what was to come?

As the construction zone ended and as the other driver sped away, I found myself reflecting on this experience and how it related to the work we do as educators. How often do we begin a lesson with planned objectives, prepared materials, instructional strategies predetermined, only to carry on without paying attention to what our students are telling us? Put another way, how often do we teach the students we wish we had instead of the students who are actually in front of us?

Follow the Signs: Navigating the Unfamiliar

When going through heavy construction, I was able to see the signs and I was able to understand what they meant. I was aided by clear weather conditions, driving during the day, and having expertise in navigating road construction. 

However, as we neared the end of our trip and were heading to our hotel, these factors changed. It got dark and it started raining. Instead of road work, I had to navigate the extremely confusing system of on-ramps and exits in a large metropolitan area. At one point, we were given the following rapid directions from our GPS: 

Keep right to stay on I-271 S.
Take Exit 18A, 18B, 18C.
Keep left at the fork to stay on Exit 18B, 18C.
Keep right to stay on Exit 18B.
Turn right.

Because we were unfamiliar with the route, we missed our exit and had to circle back to try again. If you know where you are going and are familiar with the road system, these directions probably make total sense. But for me, new to the area, in the dark with poor visibility, we quickly got off track and had to find our way back to our path to reach our destination.

Knowing and Following the Signs

The other day I saw this question posted in a Facebook group for educators: “New teacher here; how do you seasoned teachers plan a year in advance? I am struggling just to plan day by day!”

The question came in response to many teachers discussing a particular course they taught and knowing what the mandated focus for the course would be in the coming year, how they were already looking for and sharing resources with others. To the new teacher, these veteran educators were already planning their instruction for next year and the new teacher assumed that this was what everyone should aspire to do!

Fortunately, the veteran teachers in the group explained that they were not planning lessons a year in advance. They were simply compiling resources to be used in the future as they came across them. They reassured the new teachers in the group that while they may have pacing guides and units broadly laid out, there is still much to be said about day-to-day reflection and adjustment to lesson plans. And they explained further that those lesson plans are adjusted based on the feedback they receive from their students: class assignments, discussions, conferencing, exit tickets, assessments, etc.

In other words, we need to follow the signs in the classroom.

If we don’t, we are like that driver who approached a construction zone at nearly twice the posted speed limit and in the wrong lane. Sure, the driver was heading in the planned direction. But the likelihood of reaching their destination would have been greatly reduced if they did not slow down, move over, and pay attention to what was going on around them!

Successful teaching requires us to know not only where are our students are and where we want them to go, but also to know where we are and how we are going to get there. We need to know what signs to look for, what those signs mean, and how to adapt our plans based on unexpected changes. Successful teaching also requires us to know how to get back on track when our planned lessons go awry, whether because our students were not ready for the next steps or because something unexpected disrupted our plans.

About Alex T. Valencic

Alex Valencic is an educator, former small business owner, Boy Scout, volunteer drug prevention specialist, unrepentant bibliophile, and a geek of all things. He worked as a substitute teacher for three years before achieving his lifelong dream of teaching fourth grade, which he did for seven years in Urbana, Illinois, before accepting his current position as the Curriculum Coordinator for 21st Century Teaching and Learning in Freeport, Illinois, where he not only supports innovative educational practices in the classroom but also oversees social studies, science, and nearly all of the elective courses in the district.