Answers are part of the process, not the product.

After watching the video, Against "Answer Getting" by Phil Daro, I felt a wave of disappointment flow through me because I have done this myself and a lot of teachers I work with, now and in the past, have done so as well. For years, teachers have been “teaching to the test” in order for students to get the right answers when taking the standardize test. Now that our students do not take the CST, you would think this kind of practice would cease to exist in classrooms, but unfortunately it doesn't. Daro explains that the goal of the American teacher is teach students how to get to the answer, whereas the Japanese teacher's goal is to understand first, what is the content they need to learn from working on the lessons being taught. How can they get them to learn? I found this inspiring. I have thought this way before and have taught this way, but not exclusively. I want to now only focus on teaching my students what they need to learn in order to get to the answer. I also loved what Daro said about answers being part of the process, not the product and that wrong answers are also part of the process. I want to put up those words in my classroom. I strive to not be an ordinary teacher and this video pushed me to be more aware of that and to focus on becoming a teacher that students will remember for years to come. I feel that when you really learn something it stays with you forever, and it's not erased from your memory after the test has been taken. Thank you Phil!