This past Friday, I was fortunate enough to attend a masterclass given by Neal Larrabee.  It made me realize how much I miss excellent teaching. 

And I was saddened, frustrated, and found it hard to believe that NONE of the other teachers of our organization came to attend this unique opportunity.  I have heard some of them say that they are “just not into masterclasses” or that they don’t have the time or that their students don’t play that advanced literature.  Sad, sad excuses. 

Stephen Covey in his Seven Habits talks about sharpening the saw, the necessity of sharpening the saw.  Attending masterclasses, to me, is a wonderful way to do just that:  observing another teacher work with a student – how do you decide what to work on? With some students there are so many things – I wouldn’t even know where to start.  What I like best is not so much hearing what the other teacher works on, but how they do it, what kind of language, imagery, vocabulary they use.  I always learn a new way of saying something I’ve said a million times, but now I have an increased vocabulary. 

So so sad that other teachers elect to miss out on that.