Reminding myself of some critical attributes to effective instruction:

• Rhythm. Teaching -very much like- leading in any ballroom dance. Being clear on the lead while open to the perception of the uniqueness of your dancing partner. As every dance partner is unique, every child and every group of children is unique.

• Having fun teaching and learning, bringing an attitude of joy to the classroom.

• Allowing a high level of flexibility, using perception to sense when teaching tools have to be revised, adapted, or changed.

• Be clear with the students about what is expected of them at the level of academic achievement, healthy behaviors, pro-social and citizenship skills.

• Be consistent about what the consequences of not performing at the expected level would be.

• Backward planning with clear goals in mind, both academic and pro-social skills.

• Planning academically rigorous, inquiry based 'age appropriate- lessons within the curriculum.

• Finding meaningful connections within the given curriculum to enliven it and make it relevant to the students.

• Teaching students the tools to be successful in their various standardized tests while helping them to make curricular connections to other subjects and experiences in their lives.

• Working with essential questions.

• Exercising a let it begin with me attitude resorting to the teachers own authentic enthusiasm, curiosity, and passion for teaching and learning. This attitude towards life 'and learning- is contagious.

• Having high expectations of my students, and scaffolding the curriculum for them to be able to feel successful and reach our common goals.

• Using healthy rituals, and role modeling best attitudes and behaviors to students, parents, and coworkers.

• As a teacher, being always willing to learn how to continue to become a better educator!

• I want students’ success is a given. Every single student have many chances to be successful, to experience the thrill to know that they are great at something, that they have mastered a skill, that they now are so good at it, they can even teach it to another person. (That is one of my preferred assessment methods, I call it: “teach it to learn it”).