LTR Learning has changed my life as a teacher! A year ago, after just 3 years of teaching, I felt bored and questioned whether or not teaching was what I wanted to do. I struggled to understand how to extend children and help them all progress. I noticed that children were getting 12/12 in their spelling tests, but were not able to spell simple words correctly in their writing. I also felt frustrated and discouraged because I wasn’t effectively preparing my students for the next year level.
This year I have been introduced to LTR and it has changed the way I teach – not just the way I teach literacy, but the way I teach overall. It has taught me to set a high standard of work in my classroom and give the children the skills to achieve that high standard. I have learned how to challenge children’s thinking skills and that it is important to expect, even demand, children to think, analyze, conclude, question, form an opinion and learn how to respond effectively in different situations.
In my experience, LTR teaches children how to think logically and creatively, how to work in groups, how to respond in a respectful manner, how to respect someone else’s opinion, how to form an opinion and how to communicate their thoughts. It has sparked a love of learning and a culture within the classroom that celebrates and values hard work and progress. All these are important life skills that children should be developing in order to be successful in the future.
I believe that teachers using LTR can change the way they teach, can change the way children learn, can develop young, clever, wise minds that will have a positive impact on our society!
I also believe that LTR is most successful when teachers share with each other their successes and failures, collaborate and work together, celebrate and add to the different gifts, skills and ideas that we all bring to the table.
(Year 2 teacher)
9th October 2015