I taught for 28 years in both public and private schools. I've been awarded several times as a teacher. The reason I was a very effective teacher had nothing to do with curricula, mission statements, or workshops. Behind closed doors, I directly taught basic skills first, than I taught how to effectively use those mastered skills. The typical class average for entering third graders was 2.0 - 2.5 in math and lauguage areas. The class average for exiting third graders was typically in the range of 5.5 - 6.5. Unfortunately, more and more teachers are simple-minded handmaidens of the NEA, and PC driven state and local curricula.
i taught middle school science for 35 yesrs and did it my way. Had kids mainstreamed that were way below grade level . The teachers of science in our building were a different breed . We taught ( our way )!! Always was a hoot when the state scores for our building had the highest scores in Science over Math and Language Arts ..
It would be interesting to learn if effective teachers such as yourselves used or still use so-called contemporary pedagogical practices to help your effectiveness in the classroom-- that is, group learning, social learning, diversity/multiculturalism instilled in the lessons and curriculum, etc., etc., or (alternatively) if you simply taught the students directly (eg what is now referred to as "drill and kill" and "teaching to the test" in ed schools), or some combination...