Laziness is Fear

In Discipline vs. fairness from Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin shares,

“The opposite of discipline is actually laziness, and that’s often associated with fear. Fear of responsibility and fear of the truth. Responsibility and truth are required if we’re going to get on the right track.”

Sometimes when my students appear lazy, it is actually because they are immobilized by fear. You have heard the saying, “deer in headlights?” That is exactly what my students remind me of when I announce we are starting some new skill. They immediately go on the defensive and I can feel the “fight or flight” atmosphere infect the whole class. My students seem to be thinking of ways they can get out of this situation immediately. Suddenly some students find the need to desperately go to the bathroom. Others begin to act silly to distract the class. Some may start doing something at their desks rather than pay attention to what I’m saying. All of these things are common for my students. They are so used to failure that they fear taking the risk to learn something new. Many are not willing to fall down one more time.

It is this situation that makes my introduction to a new lesson so important! I need to find the “hook” that makes them want to learn more. I want them to be just a little curious enough to want to learn a little more. I want them to be just a little interested that they want to fight to learn instead of taking flight. By being really excited about my lesson, they will want to know what the excitement is all about. They can choose to exhibit their defensive behaviors after they find out what this is all about. Then when they get hooked, they will forget about their defensive behaviors.

While I’m getting them excited about the lesson, I continually let them know that they are not alone. They can ask me for help or they can ask their classmates. We will learn together. Knowing that they are not alone is also helpful to the students. When you feel safer, it is easier to take risks.

So when students look lazy, I need to look beyond their behavior. I need to ask myself why they are acting this way. Usually, I find out that none of my students are lazy. They are just afraid. Wouldn’t I act the same way if I had intense fear? How would I behave if I knew there was someone there to catch me if I fell?

How do you get your students past the fear? Please share.

Photo by Anderson Rian on Unsplash

Introductions are Important

In Doing Your Best Work from @DavidGeurin Blog, the author states,

“We do our best work because we want to, not because we have to.”

If it is something I want or need, I will be more motivated to do the work to reach my goal.

Let’s face it, I hate housework. I do it because it is time to do it when I’m embarrassed about how bad my house looks. I don’t want to do it but I need to do it. I don’t consider it fun.

If it is something I want to do or want to accomplish, I usually enjoy it much more but when it becomes an obligation, then I dread doing it.

My students feel the same way.

If I just teach lessons they need to learn and the only purpose I can give them is because I have to teach this or you have to learn it to pass the final test, then I will face resistance to the learning.

They either won’t bother trying to learn it or even remember it. This information means nothing to them.

I need to find the catch that will make it relevant to them. I need to figure out a way to make them want to do the work.

Many times teachers tend to pay more intention to the procedure or activities instead of the introduction. They see the introduction as just a small part of the lesson. Instead, teachers need to see the introduction as the marketing tool for the lesson.

First impressions are so important. That is why the introduction to any lesson is vital to the success of the lesson. If you can hook the students into the learning and make them want to learn more, you have a much better chance of them actively learning and retaining the new information they learn.

Procedures and activities are important too because that is where the students will get the actual learning, but this process will be much easier if the students are engaged in the learning. Without a catching introduction, the rest of the lesson may feel like pushing a heavy-laden wheelbarrow up a steep hill. You hopefully will reach the top of the hill but it will be much harder than if you were going downhill.

We need to learn to teach smarter and not harder.

Do you do anything special to introduce a lesson? If so, please share.

Photo by Hannah Loreen on Unsplash

The Perfect Lesson

In The enthusiasm correlation from Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin states,

“The question: were they enthusiastic because it was a great event? Or did it feel like a great event because they were enthusiastic?”

This had me thinking about my classroom lessons. Some of my lessons are better than others. Sometimes the lessons I think will be great, turn out to be a flop and the ones I think are just okay will be the most engaging.

 I wish there was a magic ruler that I could use for all my lessons to tell me in advance if it measures up. I know that some lessons have to be taught because they are required, and I may try to enhance it a little to make it more interesting. Of course, I may think it is interesting, but my students don’t. Then other times, they find the subject fascinating and I’m surprised.

I think the problem with trying to figure out the magic recipe for the perfect lesson is that every day is different. Students can be affected by the weather, their peers, their family, their health (whether they don’t feel well or have seasonal allergies), or even a chance encounter in the hallway with someone they don’t know. There might be something they saw or heard that puts them in a good or bad mood. The same goes for me. How I feel that day may affect how I teach the lesson.

I know that when I plan a lesson, I need to find ways that will help the student become engaged even when they don’t feel like it. I might be lucky, and it might work. Then sometimes it might not work but I will know that I did my best. Sometimes I try to find things that I think will help the students connect but I’m not sure if it will work. I love the feeling when I try it and it goes well. I always know when I planned a mediocre lesson and I know when I put enough effort into a lesson. But when I put a lot of effort and it doesn’t go over well, I feel disappointed.

I think it is important to reflect on a lesson when it is over. I like to think of the parts that went well and try to figure out why it went well. If it didn’t go well, I want to try to figure out why it didn’t. Hopefully I can use this information to help my next lesson be even better. But I have to remember that if it doesn’t, it isn’t always about me and not let it get me down. It becomes a problem when my lessons aren’t going over well on a consistent basis. Then I need to rethink that it might be my fault and not the students.

When the lesson really feels like it went perfect, I wonder if it went well because the kids were engaged or were the kids engaged because the lesson went well.

Did you have a perfect lesson? How did you know? Please share.

Photo by Jonathan Hoxmark on Unsplash

Chinese New Years Lesson

This year Chinese New Years falls on February 8^th and it is the Year of the Monkey.

This year I have opened a store on the Teachers Pay Teachers site. My first lesson for sale is a Chinese New Years Lesson. It includes a lesson plan, a student reading passage, and a Chinese zodiac chart.

You can find my lesson here.

If you know of some lessons that you would like for me to write up plans and activities for, please let me know. 

Fun Winter Activities

As I mentioned previously, it is easy to get in the winter slump. Here are some activities that your class might find interesting.

Making Snowflakes – it is always fun for students to make snowflakes and decorate the classroom.

Self Correcting Puzzles - You could also make snowflakes with a question written on one and the answer on the other. Put a matching number in the corner of both. Students can check their matches to see if they are correct. This is a great way to practice skills or study for tests.

Make Ice Cream without a machine. Involves lots of shaking. Check out this site for detailed ingredients, measures, and directions.

Snow Science – Make your own snow; determine what ingredients make the best snow.

Search for Ice and Snow – Upper grades; online activity

Writing Prompts: – Life as a snowflake, Letter from an Igloo, If I lived in an igloo…, How to Survive in Winter weather, What to do in a blizzard,

Density of Water, Ice, and Snow experiment

Winter Storm Unit

Photo a Week – Take a photo of the same area of the schoolyard every week. Have students keep a journal documenting the changes they see each week. At the end of the school year, make a video of all of the photos and see how the landscape changes over time.

What activities do you think would be fun in the winter? Please share.

Image: 'lumikko 10' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21404006@N00/91761453
Found on flickrcc.net