After receiving some positive feedback on the last posting about "What Great Teachers Do Differently," by Todd Whitaker, I decided to write one last posting on this book. So much of our effectiveness as teachers relies on the relationships that we build, maintain and repair with our students. Without the relationship, little or no learning will take place. Here are a three more of Whitaker's points:
1. Great Teachers work hard to keep their relationships in good repair to avoid personal hurt and to repair any possible damage.
In the last blog posting I discussed treating everyone with respect and dignity every day. We all should work towards this goal and the best teachers come close to achieving it. These teachers recognize that once a relationship is damaged, it may never be the same. So their first step is avoiding actions that cause hurt feelings.
But Whitaker discusses that the very best teachers do not engage in behaviours that cause harm to students (no one is perfect all the time). Rather, they focus on complimenting and praising their students. So despite the fact that they seldom need to repair any relationships, they are constantly working to repair them, just in case. For example, a teacher might come to class one day and say, "Class, I am sorry if I seemed a little impatient yesterday. I wasn't feeling well and I was running late. I want to let you know that I am sorry if I was a little short to any of you." Meanwhile, the class has no idea what the teacher is apologizing for. The teacher, however is being overly sensitive towards having the best relationship possible with the students.
In Whitaker's boook, "Dealing with Difficult Parents," he uses this strategy to defuse an aggressive parent by saying, "I am sorry that happened." Regardless of the facts, this is a great statement as you are showing empathy, but you are not accepting or placing blame.
2. Great teachers have the ability to ignore trivial disturbances and the ability to respond to inappropriate behaviour without escalating the situation.
This is not suggesting to be a push over or take real inappropriate comments or behaviour from students, but the best teachers do not automatically react every time a student steps out of line. Students will identify the teacher whose buttons are easily pushed and then they will keep pushing. This requires the ability to pay attention to the students, recognize and praise their achievements, while overlooking minor errors. It is a delicate balancing act; one which the best teachers learn to master.
3. Great Teachers have a plan and purpose for everything they do. If plans don't work out the way they had envisioned, they reflect on what they could have done differently and adjust accordingly.
There is no such thing as random in the classroom of a great teacher. Everything is planned and has a purpose. A good example would be how the teacher allows for groups to form for group work. One time the teacher might allow students to choose their own partners, giving them more ownership of the process. After seeing groups that do not work together effectively, the teacher will have students pick a partner's name out of a hat for the next collaborative activity, where she can manipulate certain students not ending up working together. Perhaps she will pair students up alphabetically or ask students to choose a partner they have never worked with before. Either way, it is carefully thought through and planned.
Links to Interesting Articles:
1. How to Teach Empathy
2. The Power of Keeping Your Cool
3. Online Teacher Book Clubs: Promoting a Culture of Professional Development
Links to Interesting Web Tools:
1. Three Excellent iPad Apps for Vocabulary Learning
2. Using Google Forms and Docs
Quote of the Day:
1. If You Assign a Project...
2. What Do You Want Leaders to Do with Technology?
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