by Dianna Newton, middle school English teacher

In his book, Improving Schools from Within: Teachers, Parents and Principals Can Make the Difference, Roland Barth opens with a description of his ideal school:  “…a community of learners, a place where students and adults alike are engaged as active learners in matters of special importance to them and where everyone is thereby encouraging everyone else’s learning.” 

For eight months from January to August 2008, while on sabbatical, I was actively engaged in learning of special importance to me.  During this time away from my classroom, I had the opportunity to immerse myself in teaching and learning in a way that I had not previously experienced.  Professional development and self development merged into one as I visited schools; interviewed teachers and administrators; observed classes; talked with teachers and students; continued my graduate studies; read; wrote; reflected upon my practice; and conducted research. 

Although I already considered myself thoughtful, deliberate and reflective about my teaching and practice, those eight months allowed me to reflect in a deeper, more integrated way about all that I learned. Time and time again, I experienced the trust, generosity and kindness of colleagues, teachers, administrators and students as they opened their schools, classrooms and minds to me.  I was continually reminded of the spiritual, selfless and transformative aspects of teaching and learning that continue to inspire and renew my practice. 

Roland Barth further notes that when teacher learning is off-the-charts, so too will be student learning.  And while that statement made perfect sense to me as I read it, it was not until my return to Friends Select that I came to really know this truth.  Recent student projects and learning about reading motivation and comprehension strategies are some of the fruits of my sabbatical work. 

One project involved seventh grade reading posters, currently on display in the middle school halls. Students worked collaboratively to “sell” the idea of reading by making the benefits of reading explicit to themselves and others.  They built their posters around their reasons for reading that included: reading makes you smarter; reading builds your vocabulary, and reading helps you solve problems.  The students thought, wrote, talked and shared about reading in ways that involved much of our community.  They interviewed parents, faculty and administrators about comprehension strategies. Their posters include entertaining and easily-identifiable reading stories that evoke positive associations and memories in viewers.  They shared their posters with lower-school classes.  My “off-the-charts” learning prompted student learning that was similarly connected and “off-the-charts.”

My sabbatical experience crystallized several of my beliefs about education:  Learning is about collaboration, sharing and connection.  Learning is never about one or about me; it is about us, as a supportive and ever-evolving community of learners.  My sabbatical may have started with me and my desire to grow professionally.  However, it was never simply about me and certainly did not end that way.  Our work at Friends Select is and continues to be engaging, student-centered, rigorous and integrated.  As I continue to learn and grow, that growth informs my classroom, my collaborations with colleagues and my teaching practice.  My learning -- our learning -- triggers and inspires student learning, which continues to fuel the wondrous and self-sustaining cycle of learning for us all.