Planning Ahead

As a form of stress management, I try to live in the "here-and-now" as much as possible.  I am often not very good at doing this, but I am trying to get better.  Anyway, with a career as an educator, it will never be possible to live strictly in the here-and now.  Our responsibilities require that we plan far ahead, and maintain a vision for the objectives we need our students to achieve as we scaffold and build toward our instructional goals.  Teachers are also constantly making efforts to improve their practices.  In order to do this, we reflect back on previous lessons and try to build on things that went well, and modify or eliminate components that didn't work.  We incorporate all of these things in our lesson/unit plans for the school year. 

There is a quote by Dwight Eisenhower:  "plans are useless, but planning is indispensable".  Eisenhower was discussing preparations for battle, but I think that the same philosophy holds true for educational practices.  Good teaching can still often be done "in the moment", but good planning will strengthen these moments and improve their structure and frequency.   Some of my best moments as a teacher have stemmed from on-the-spot improvisations.  My confidence as a teacher is highest when I feel that I am balancing all of the conflicting demands that come with the profession.  For example, the need to be prepared with lessons that have been "thought through" vs. the need to be flexible enough to alter plans when necessary (another example of educators' conflicting dichotomies:  using strict classroom management techniques vs. making learning fun and engaging for students).

As I prepare to teach The Global Environment via distance learning, the task of planning has taken on even greater importance.  It is imperative that I work with the Syracuse City School District's educational technology experts to master the implementation of the Moodle interface this year.  As a pilot program for distance learning, it is expected that we will all encounter "growing pains".  As the instructor for the course, it is important that I have gone through all of the difficulties that my students will inevitably encounter so as to be better able to teach and assist them.  As a participant in the "We Learn" distance learning grant, I want to see the program succeed and the district build upon these courses in the future.  When the course goes online next September, it is likely that we will encounter an entirely new suite of issues and problems.  Therefore, it is essential that we have our units and lessons completely planned out and detailed so that we can better focus on the delivery of the content.  If our planning is complete then we will be better able to overcome any pitfalls with the technology.

The upshot is that it is February, and I am already planning a course for September (while still planning for and teaching my course load for the current school year).  It feels a little strange to plan so far ahead, but there is no doubt that it will improve my instruction and give me more time to fine tune and tweak various components of my lessons.  I will also maintain the flexibility required by all teachers, and continue to search for "teachable moments" where ever I can find them.