When words come along

You ever notice that words come along at just the right time? I have been thinking about my first first graders. They are currently in fourth grade. Many of them are in Jen Barney's classroom. I wish that I could apologize to them for the things I didn't teach them. Oh, the things that I know now! I guess that teaching will always be like that. We should never get to the point where we believe we have this profession mastered, kind of like life. I was visiting Ruth's blog and found that she had replaced her quote that she leaves on the side. Here is the new quote:

"You did what you knew how to do, and when you knew better, you did better."

~ Maya Angelou

I wasn't a terrible teacher back then. I just didn't know what I know now. I didn't know about the 7 keys to comprehension. I didn't know about Writer's Workshop, establishing community, building relationships, working with high/low achieving students, etc. I did know how to teach in small groups, shared reading, phoneme awareness, some writing, etc. I did what I knew how to do. Now I know better, and I am doing better. I feel more empowered by my knowledge. I feel like I also am at a level of helping others. Most importantly, I am looking for knowledge that will help me be better. Isn't that what it's all about?

This is a wonderfully reflective quote, I am glad it came along when it did.