Planning is STILL an Important Part of Teaching!

It takes hard work and dedication to be a great teacher and part of the hard work is designing a great lesson through focused planning.  Is it okay to use the same lesson plans year after year when you have different students year after year?  Is it okay to use the same lesson plans this year if your student achievement was low last year?  One of my favorite quotes is Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”  Are you a teacher that pulls out the same lesson plans from the previous year?  What has happened to art of lesson planning?  Why do teachers put so little effort in planning?  Yes, it takes a lot of effort to design a lesson that aligns with standards, is engaging for students and is effective.

I always taught my students like I would wanted someone to teach my own children.  I took lesson planning very seriously and it would take a lot of time to develop a complete lesson that included what I considered, essential components.  It is not easy designing lessons and activities that align with the rigor of the standards, are student centered, engages students, includes various level range questions, scaffolds learning and effectively uses instructional time from start to end.  To design a lesson that includes the mentioned components takes a great deal of time, effort and resources.  A lesson plan is your blueprint or map of what your expectation or goal is for your students, not for you.  It is what you want those students to be able to do by the end of that class, concept or unit.  A lesson plan is not just a required document that you have to turn in weekly.  How would you feel if your surgeon just showed up to operate and did not have a plan as to what the best procedure or tools would be needed for the best results?  What if your lawyer just showed up and did not prepare for your case beforehand?  I think you get the point, or at least I hope you do.  Teaching is an exciting and wonderful profession and I believe the best job ever, but you have to go above and beyond if you want your students to do the same.  Take the time and plan with your students in mind.