A Changing Classroom

Every student deserves a fair chance at education. We are not all built the same, so we will not finish school the same. As a student, I have excelled in few classrooms and failed a most others. School has been a struggle, though not because of a lack of interest in what was being taught. A classroom has all sorts of components that work for or against it. The one that has affected me the most is the classroom is the atmosphere. A great teacher will motivate their students not only to learn, but to encourage their peers to want to learn.
One of my favorite teachers was my seventh grade math teacher. We didn't have any one-on-one conversations that I remember, but I excelled in his classroom. He had daily homework that was practice for what we had learned the day prior. It was graded, but only on completion. This made sure he was not punishing students for practicing because they didn't get the correct answer. His classroom was a place that I wanted to go, and I enjoyed listening to his lectures. The other way he pushed his students to excel was by keeping an accurate posting of the class grades. They had our I.D. numbers next to our grade so that we could find it, but others could not see what we had. I believe the benefit of posting grades was to motivate students to have to top grade, or at least be in range with their peers. I loved checking my grade daily, and it was the only class that I remember being on top. He created a competitive atmosphere that was still fun and rewarded students for hard work, whether or not they were correct all of the time.

I believe due dates motivate the children to study, but I don't want to use them in the same way they are traditionally used. For daily work, having the grade be for completion evens out the playing field for those students who work hard, but may not yet fully understand the concepts. It encourages all to practice what we are learning every night. Projects should also have these daily or weekly due dates. It will break them up into bite sized pieces, just as they are intended to be done in. Students will be rewarded for finishing sooner, but not penalized for turning it in on time. I believe grades need to be there for motivation instead of to scare students into doing the work.
I would love to incorporate student choice into my classroom as well. I want them to want to learn, so incorporating games that reinforce concept will be used as rewards. Stations will be set up so that students can work on what they want to at their own pace. We will still do work as a class, just less of it and more individualized work. Students are individuals, and therefore should be treated as such.
These changes are not far away and can be done in my generation of teachers. I hope to inspire my students just as my math teacher inspired me.