Going Into Educator Mode

I Still Have My Teacher Voice. This is more of a personal story than being very helpful I guess but maybe you will enjoy the story.
We recently took a cruise in the Caribbean where there were some teenagers on the ship. I’m not sure why they weren’t in school or who they were with. On one ship, there was a curfew where anyone under 18 could not be unsupervised around the ship after 2am. Well, on this ship, there was no curfew but I really didn’t see any problems so it really wasn’t an issue. As some of you know, I get up at 5am every day so I would take my lap top to the Lido deck and stay out of the cabin so my husband could sleep peacefully. On this one morning, these two teenage boys wanted lemonade and were quite upset they couldn’t get any. Then they proceeded to use profanity loudly at a crew member to show their displeasure. After that they approached me asking for a cigarette.

I felt that once they spoke to me, they became fair game. I unconsciously went into teacher mode and proceeded to scold them for their actions and their profanity. I didn’t scream at them or talk disrespectfully to them, but I told them that they offended me and that I really don’t think that their parents would approve of their behavior. If they wanted to be treated like adults, then they should act like adults. I told them that there was no excuse for using profanity and talking to a crew member that way since he was only doing his job. I’m glad they were smart enough to stand there, look embarrassed, and tell me that they were sorry. Then they quietly walked away and out the door. When I saw them a little while later sitting around the pool, they were talking quietly (without any cigarettes.)

I felt proud that I still had it in me! Of course I have seen this happen a few times where older people just shake their heads and move away quietly. I think as adults we have a responsibility to the younger generation to guide them. I saw this as an opportunity to do what was needed. I know I risked the chance that they could blow up at me but I’ve handled worse than that in the classroom. By talking with them, I felt that I made a difference. I felt this was a way to model a way of handling conflict.

Have you ever been out in a public area and gone into educator mode? If so, please share your story. I think once you have it in your blood, you can’t help yourself.

Original image: 'Media Centre, 22-12-2006' http://www.flickr.com/photos/46258685@N00/335704362 by: David Jones

Am I Supposed To Be An Entertainer?

In Let's Make A Deal! from Teacher Food , Mike Rush states,

“Our students are so uninterested in the experiences we give them that they are the most excited when what we give them is time away.” He is talking about how his students want to have “free time.”

I have heard so many teachers tell me during my career that they are not entertainers and they shouldn’t be expected to entertain. These are the same teachers that I’ve observed teaching page by page out of the book and speaking in monotone for the entire class period.

I agree that we shouldn’t be entertainers but I don’t think that it is asking too much for us to be interesting enough to engage the students. I do not want to be the type of teacher that I myself would hate to listen to. If I was in a class like I mentioned above, I would be totally bored and hate the subject. Is this what I want my for my students? Or my own children?

When I walked into a classroom at the beginning of the year, I could “feel” the attitudes of my students flying off of them. If these feelings could talk, these are some of the things I would hear:

· You can’t teach me anything!
· This is so boring!
· Why am I here?
· What a dork (nerd, jerk, add your own words)!
· This is so stupid!
· I don’t even need this course but they put me in this.
· How am I going to last the year with this person!

I like to keep them off balanced and not be anything like they expect. Over the first couple of weeks, I ask their opinions and input. I talk about lessons that I think are interesting and ask for their help in coming up with activities. I also ask them about topics that they are interested in learning about. Then I try to come up with activities to teach these topics and still meet my goals and objectives as well as state standards. If the students have something vested in their learning, I think they will put more energy into learning. Maybe you can’t veer off the required topics given by the administration. Then it is time to lay it out on the line with the students and have them help with the planning of the topics. If students feel they have some control, I don’t hit so much resistance to the work.

Usually by the end of 3 months, my students are energized about learning. They still say the token responses but they don’t have the power behind the words. I usually have students who start talking about new topics and ways we could learn more about them. Some students actually collaborate with each other and try to come up with new approaches. I ask them to write out their proposal so we can look at it together. This helps them think the ideas through as well working to make their thoughts clear enough to communicate. I ask them to write in their proposal what the topic they want to learn more about, give a reason (which could just be that they find it interesting), and some activities that will help the class learn about it. Then when we discuss it as a class, we might brainstorm more activities that the writer did not think about and we add it to the list. I take these activities and choose the ones that I think are appropriate and fine tune them so they are learning skills that I meet my school/class goals and objectives. It is really not hard for me to adapt these lessons to include reading, writing, math, history, science, and art or music. The students actually look for ways for me to incorporate them in the topic because they know that I have to justify teaching them this topic if an administrator walks in. These students feel like they are included in the planning process.

Since the students helped plan these future units, I do not hear as much grumbling about the work they need to do. Sometimes the activities are divided according to different ability levels and different interests. Then they love to share their results with the class as a whole.

My students didn’t ask for much free time because they were doing many things they wanted. I guess this was more like a compromise than making a deal. They understood that we had a job to do but if they could do it in a way that was more interesting to them, it would help them feel better about it. This strategy has really been successful in my classroom.

Original image: 'Soffio di vita' http://www.flickr.com/photos/12146105@N05/2934821357 by: Andrea Nissolino

Educarnival v2 Issue 7

The Educarnival v2 Issue7 is up on the midway at Epic Adventures are Often Uncomfortable. Don’t miss out on all the fun! See what is going on in the Edusphere. My article On the Playground is there but there are lots of other great articles to read too! See you there and don’t eat too much cotton candy!

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 10/2/09

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my Personal Learning Network (PLN). As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Clean up the Classroom with Clorox® - classroom activities and tips for teachers

Blogs, Wikis, Doc: Which one is right for you? – great comparison of the three tools

Museum of Humor - lesson plans that are fun for both you and your students, free printable worksheets, puzzles and other cool stuff, and lots of information on using humor in the classroom.

Fablevision posters – free motivational posters

Gotofreebie – “GotoFreebie.com makes it easy to find and share the hottest freebies, free stuff and free samples. GotoFreebie offers useful and quality free samples and giveaways on everything from baby and healthcare products to games and music.”

Original image: 'The Toolbox is Organized!' http://www.flickr.com/photos/95248808@N00/178177044 by: Dan Thompson

Are We Experts?

In Learner experts or Content experts? from Technology Teacher, fivbert begins by asking,

“Should teachers be Experts in Knowledge of their Subject Matter or Experts in How to Teach Students?”

and finishes by stating,

“Teachers should be facilitators of learning, Information Facilitators, not just Information Dispensers.”

This reminded me of the many times that my students thought (and expected) that I knew everything about anything. Many were shocked when I could look them in the eye and actually tell them that I didn’t know the answer. I also was quick to say that they asked a good question and that I was interested in knowing the answer so I would guide them towards finding the answer. Do you remember that old story about “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” I always feel like that when I can show a student how to find an answer to their question.

I think it is important that students know that we aren’t experts. Some teachers have an ego problem (or maybe an inferiority complex?) and refuse to tell students they don’t know an answer.

Now after saying all that above, I believe that my answer to fivbert would be that we need both. Just like there are doctors who are general practitioners, there are other doctors who are specialists. If I need brain surgery, I would hope that I could find an “expert” in this field rather than just going to a “facilitator.” I am so glad to know that because there are so many different educators with different interests, students are able to have both.

I’m not saying that as educators we shouldn’t know what we are teaching or that everyone should be experts. I think teachers need to have basic knowledge about their subject area but wouldn’t it be great to be able to help individual students travel on different journeys in order to meet their needs. I think it is important for us to teach students how to learn as well as have the information we are giving them. By having basic information, they will be able to grow and move forward.

I also think if a student is interested in a specific subject, it is good that there are teachers who specialize in these subjects. These teachers will be the one who can quench a student’s thirst for more information about a topic and stimulate discussion and deeper thought. I see this as fine tuning a student’s education.

If educators who are facilitators and those who are experts work together to meet the needs of students, I believe students will be successful in life.

Original image: 'Trust us, we're expert' http://www.flickr.com/photos/35034348187@N01/35555985by: Paolo Massa