Think Like a Teacher

Recent revelations about Penn State and its fabled football program leave me with many questions about roles, adults and children, authority figures, and more. Most of all, as an educator, I think about the decisions that are at the core of education, decisions about how we prioritize our attention every day.

When does correcting culture take precedence?

The culture of our classrooms is more influential than any lesson strategy, study aid, pedagogy plan, or self-adjusting app for ensuring that our students learn what they need to thrive. As in any culture, the subtleties of what is unacceptable, preferred, or revered guide what we do in our classes. Even among teens who claim to “do their own thing,” there is a culture of what is lame and what is cool. As teachers, we develop a sixth sense of culture, a sense that tells us when cultural shifts demand that we temporarily delay content while we readjust the path of culture. On September 11, 2001, many of us stopped what we were doing in the interest of culture as breaking news spread through the school. We dropped the lesson plan, changed the homework assignment to “watch the news and hug your family,” and tried our best to answer all the questions.  In elementary classrooms, classroom culture adjustments are as frequent as bathroom breaks as young students learn how to ignore disruptions, “keep their hands to themselves,” treat others kindly, or simply listen. We teach and tweak classroom culture before we teach anything else.

Developing that sixth sense before culture goes completely awry is one of the intangibles we cannot easily explain to a student teacher — or even to parents. When I mentored beginning teachers,  this was one of the  most challenging and persistent topics of our conversations. But I gave credit to newbie teachers as they voiced  their feelings that something was not right, even if they did not know what to do about it. Their “sixth sense” was emerging.

I have to wonder what happened to Penn State’s sixth sense. How did they miss the alarms that culture was out of whack? I hope our teacher sixth sense is far more attuned. Young lives — and learning — depend on it.

[Full disclosure: I have a graduate degree from one of Penn State’s campuses, but I have never been a PSU football fan. Maybe my sixth sense was working?]

Remember the Klondike bar ads of a few years ago? As back to school time approaches, teachers are very much like the people in those commercials. We will do just about anything to be sure the school year gets off to a smooth start. Around the middle of July, the dreams (or nightmares) begin:

• A first day without any furniture or in a double-booked classroom shared with alternative ed
• A first day without air conditioning — and you forgot deodorant
• A first day when someone took down all your bulletin boards and replaced them with brown kraft paper and old staples
• A first day when every student cries (well, maybe not in high school)
• A first day with high school students cussing and screaming at you
• A first day when the fire alarm rings three minutes after the first bell

What would you do to get the school year off to a smooth start? After a couple of years, we each develop our own rituals. Start going to bed early a week before – check. Exercise like a maniac to relieve stress – check. Make two weeks’ worth of copies so you don’t end up waiting in line at the copier on day 1 – check. Send a letter to your new little ones two weeks before school – check.

But there is a danger in ritual. July is a time to consider new back to school rituals and ceremonial starts. You might even find something new to make the start even smoother. I was helping pull together back to school ideas on TeachersFirst today, so I thought I would share a few:

1. Appeal to the visual. Our kids are bombarded with things to LOOK at in their “real” lives, so your classroom should scream “Look at me!” too. Try Bulletin Board Hangups to grab wandering minds. Find fresh bulletin board ideas using this keyword search. Don’t forget to OPEN the reviews to read the full details and ideas.
2. First impressions last, so make one. No, teachers should not feel obligated to try out for Comedy Central, but why not plan a great first day with one of these first day ideas?
3. Make homework a team sport. Get parents involved in supporting their child’s study skills. There are great tools that kids might even enjoy using (though they will never admit it!).
4. Get everybody organized. Specifically address organizational skills like time management, dividing larger tasks into smaller pieces, making lists, etc. We adults need help with this, so why wouldn’t our students?
5. Share with a teacher friend. Use tools like Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook,  or a good, old-fashioned face to face lunch to share some new ideas. Share with friends you don’t know yet by making and reading comments on TeachersFirst resources– a free feature with free membership. Simple ideas can make or break that first day.

May your July be filled with positive dreams and a few Klondike bars

Happy Independence Day/week to all. I am on hiatus from full blog posts as my own Declaration of Independence. Given the recent storms and resulting havoc for technology based in the Washington D.C. area (i.e. TeachersFirst!), perhaps independence from technology for a few days would be a good idea. Have a picnic or go for a swim. It’s too hot for much else.