Rock Solid

Last Thursday during our professional development time I used the term Rock Solid to describe effective lessons.  I like this term for many reasons.

·         It has a feeling of permanence and strength.  Rock solid teaching means that day in and day out, students are engaged and learning.  This term speaks to consistency and strength.    

·         It rolls off the tongue nicely, and you can play with the words: I rocked the class, you rock, you are educational rock stars, I started off rocky and ended up solid….

·         It is what I want people to think of when they think of HSE.  Southeastern is the Rock of Gibraltar.  This is a place that provides solid instruction for our students and is an anchor for the community of Fishers.

Where We Are

You have finished the process of writing Class SLOs.  You are working to get students ready to reach the Mastery Content Score by the time semester final exams roll around, but most of your day-to-day focus is on planning, teaching, and grading.  Your efforts are focused on helping students.

This is exactly how it should be, and it is what Rock Solid teaching is all about.  You do the little things right every day.  You take care of details.  You make sure lessons are ready and the activities are thoughtful.  You find ways to push the top students and catch the ones who are falling.  You grade papers and get them back on time.  You call parents and contact counselors when needed.  This is rock solid teaching. 

On the Teacher Effectiveness Rubric, “Effective” is Rock Solid, and it is not easy.  It takes determination, effort, and perseverance.  It means doing the right things for the right reasons: because it helps students learn and grow.  That is, however, why you became a teacher.  And Rock Solid Teaching is the reason HSEHS is considered one of the top high schools in the state and in the nation.

You rock, HSE.

Have a great week.

Phil