Collaboration

A teacher approached me about working with her classes on an overlapping interest. In this case, storytelling. She works with students who want to teach in early childhood education, and an important part of their curriculum is modeling fluency through powerful read-alouds.
Many associate storytelling with a peppy young kindergarten teacher reading an oversize book to children seated on carpet squares. This is not entirely accurate. Storytelling is actually a performance art, and I will have the opportunity to show these students how the skills transfer.
Collaborating with another teacher is exciting in and of itself. Collaboration is trending, a hot buzzword in the educational community, and the ideas fly fast and furious. However, theory proves simpler than fact. There are countless obstacles, especially at the middle and high school levels where each child has 6-8 teachers. The logistics of content alone would be a nightmare without allowing for individual teaching deviations.
Despite the inherent complexity, collaboration is necessary. Nothing reinforces information learned in required courses like connection in elective courses. Students need the foundation of a classical education to support the ideas and skills taught in their electives. Finally, teachers need each other. Our complementary skill sets prepare students for college and career readiness.

My boys posing at the 2012 storytelling festival