Sunday, May 27, 2007
Blog Has Moved
This blog has moved. Please update your links to reflect the change. Go read my latest posts at www.SoYouWantToTeach.com.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Be The Best Teacher In The World
Dave Ramsey recently wrote an article entitled High-Performance Achievement and it's about his training to run of a marathon.
Seth Godin's latest book, "The Dip" (which I'm going to read this summer), he talks about being the best in the world. That term is defined basically as the best in your sphere of influence at doing what you do. My goal as a band director is to be the best band director in my school district. Then my goal is to have the best band at whatever competition we go to. Then my goal is to have the best... and on it goes. One step at a time.
So the question you may be asking is: "What in the world do a financial guy who runs a marathon and a marketing guy have to do with educating children?"
I'm glad you asked! I am convinced that customer service is at the root of education. I am convinced that customer service is at the root of everything that we do. Redefine your world view for a second and see if it works for you.
I look for ideas that can directly or indirectly apply to my job in many places. If all we do is read crusty old educational journals or just talk to other teachers, we miss it. We lose the wonder and newness that we once had with this whole thing.
When the summer rolls around, I will be able to begin working on writing an e-book and put many more updates on this site. This time of year gets so so busy...
Here's Dave's article High-Performance Achievement for you...
Seth Godin's latest book, "The Dip" (which I'm going to read this summer), he talks about being the best in the world. That term is defined basically as the best in your sphere of influence at doing what you do. My goal as a band director is to be the best band director in my school district. Then my goal is to have the best band at whatever competition we go to. Then my goal is to have the best... and on it goes. One step at a time.
So the question you may be asking is: "What in the world do a financial guy who runs a marathon and a marketing guy have to do with educating children?"
I'm glad you asked! I am convinced that customer service is at the root of education. I am convinced that customer service is at the root of everything that we do. Redefine your world view for a second and see if it works for you.
I look for ideas that can directly or indirectly apply to my job in many places. If all we do is read crusty old educational journals or just talk to other teachers, we miss it. We lose the wonder and newness that we once had with this whole thing.
When the summer rolls around, I will be able to begin working on writing an e-book and put many more updates on this site. This time of year gets so so busy...
Here's Dave's article High-Performance Achievement for you...
"Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve." - Mary Kay Ash
Recently I set an intimidating and seemingly unreachable goal for myself - to complete a marathon. Overwhelming? Definitely. Crazy? Probably. Reachable? YES. There was no question of whether I would do it halfway, just doing enough to get by. I was going to give it my all. To do this, I knew I was going to have to change some habits and sacrifice in ways I never had before.
Just a few weeks ago, after months of training, I did it. I completed the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, and you know what? All the sacrifices were worth it. All the people I've talked with agree. The early-morning runs, the loss of sleep, the physical pain, the mental battles... all are worth it in the end. Yes, I achieved my goal and learned a lot about running, but I didn't tell you all that just to say I ran 26.2 miles and got a medal for it.
Here are 3 keys points I took away from my marathon experience. I hope you will take these valuable lessons that I've learned recently and apply them to specific areas in your life - your money, getting out of debt, marriage, parenting, spirituality, you name it.
1. High-Performance Achievement vs. "just getting the job done." You have to go beyond your normal efforts to achieve high performance. You have to sacrifice intentionally. You have to do something different from what you've done before to reach a new level of personal excellence. People who reach a level of high-performance achievement grasp this. That's why they're different. If you want to distinguish yourself from people who are normal and just want to "get the job done," aim high, set clear goals, and give it all you've got.
2. Keep away from negative people. If you're trying to reach a positive goal, what benefit are negative people to you? NONE, so get away from them. Stick to positive influences in your life. It was so great to see people along the course that were cheering and encouraging me to keep going while I was running. There's nothing like encouragement while you're trying to achieve a big goal, is there? It may be tempting to have a "pity party" or jump on the cynical bandwagon, but it won't be worth it in the end. Continuous negativity brings you down, so stay away from it.
3. Visualize achieving your goal. While I was training, I studied the course route over and over. I knew where I would be in the city at every mile marker. I knew where the hills were and where the straight stretches would be. The course wasn't going to surprise me because I visualized myself working toward achieving each small goal along the way. The same goes if you want to get out of debt. If the big goal is to be debt-free in 2 years, that may seem a little overwhelming. That's why it's important to set small goals along the way - paying off your debts smallest to largest. Quick wins will give you momentum to keep working toward the larger goal and help you visualize achieving it as well.
Be sure to talk with those around you who have achieved great goals they set for themselves. Find out what they did to overcome their intimidating obstacles and what they learned throughout the process.
Always aim for your absolute highest and best - "gazelle intensity" is what I call it. Doing anything halfway should not be an option. Extend this kind of intensity and focus into all areas of your life, and you can and will transform your life for the better.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
How To Effectively Deal With Important People
If work just isn't seeming to work out for you, maybe you are focusing your attention in the wrong place.
Here is a list of the people in the educational world of your school who should get the most attention.
Basic Social Skills
Much of what I have learned about social interaction was learned when I was 21 years old and read How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
Trent from The Simple Dollar covers 9 social skills to practice here. These are priceless and really should be common sense. But as Dave Ramsey points out frequently, common sense isn't usually all that common.
All of these things should be practiced regularly with all of the people on the list above. Too many teachers forget to do these to their students and the parents of those students.
A wise man once said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). While these words were spoken in an eternal sense, they also can be applied to other aspects of life. If you are truly interested in people, you will focus on them. If you aren't, then no amount of putting on a show will ultimately be effective for long-term personal development. Teachers should be teaching because they love children. Not because we hate doing administrative paperwork or because we want to complain about this or that. This brings us to the next point...
Stay Out Of The Teachers' Lounge (Avoid Gossip)
Teachers' lounges breed gossip and negativity. I only go in there to get the junk out of my mailbox, and even then not every day. There's usually nothing pressing that I have to respond to immediately, and it just adds clutter to my life (although I have learned out how have a permanently clean desk).
Set Up A Blog Or Email List For Parents & Students
I began emailing parents last year about two times a month or so. It does two things directly, as well as having some other residual effects. First, it increases the amount of communication I get from parents. I get less phone calls than before, but much more email. When they know that I am available, they contact me. I even had a parent email me last summer who had just finished her teaching degree, she was asking my advice on whether she should take a job in another town or one here. The second direct result of the emails is that the parents have a better idea of what is going on. I email concert dates, some grading information, etc. While increased email activity can be tiring at times, it is better to put out the fires before the problem rather than after!
Toward the end of last school year, I set up a blog. Every email that I sent out to parents first went to the blog. Feedburner is available so parents can sign up for emails that way. I also included an email address blank on the student information sheets at the beginning of the year in case they couldn't figure out how to subscribe or simply didn't have the time to do it. So the procedure is that I email the information to blogger from school (or post from home since it's blocked at school). I then forward the email that FeedBurner sends me (which is formatted much nicer than the plaintext emails that I send from school). The parents get the information and then begin flooding my email box with replies. And if they delete the email with important information, they can always go to the blog and check it out. It's beautiful!
Here is a list of the people in the educational world of your school who should get the most attention.
- Students
- Parents
- Secretaries
- Assistant Principal(s)
- Principal
- Counselors
- Other Teachers In Your Department
- Custodians
- The Rest Of The Teachers
Basic Social Skills
Much of what I have learned about social interaction was learned when I was 21 years old and read How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
Trent from The Simple Dollar covers 9 social skills to practice here. These are priceless and really should be common sense. But as Dave Ramsey points out frequently, common sense isn't usually all that common.
All of these things should be practiced regularly with all of the people on the list above. Too many teachers forget to do these to their students and the parents of those students.
- Look People In The Eye - Something I have been doing a LOT more lately, but still struggle with
- Smile - Carnegie's advice but so many people fail to do this
- Remember As Many Names As You Can - Learn the names of your students! Even if the students don't know your name. Use the names of the secretaries when you call them. Even if they are at another school.
- Offer Greeting To Anyone And Everyone - Especially if someone greets you first!
- Ask Questions - Questions inspire learning. Answers will also educate you.
- If You Don't Know What To Say, Ask Another Question - Don't make up an answer!
- Talk About Your Own Mistakes - People like to know they aren't the only ones who don't measure up. Especially from 6th - 9th grades.
- Take An Interest In What Is Important To Them - Go to basketball games, choir concerts, one-act plays, etc.
- Keep Clean - Both physically and morally
A wise man once said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). While these words were spoken in an eternal sense, they also can be applied to other aspects of life. If you are truly interested in people, you will focus on them. If you aren't, then no amount of putting on a show will ultimately be effective for long-term personal development. Teachers should be teaching because they love children. Not because we hate doing administrative paperwork or because we want to complain about this or that. This brings us to the next point...
Stay Out Of The Teachers' Lounge (Avoid Gossip)
Teachers' lounges breed gossip and negativity. I only go in there to get the junk out of my mailbox, and even then not every day. There's usually nothing pressing that I have to respond to immediately, and it just adds clutter to my life (although I have learned out how have a permanently clean desk).
Set Up A Blog Or Email List For Parents & Students
I began emailing parents last year about two times a month or so. It does two things directly, as well as having some other residual effects. First, it increases the amount of communication I get from parents. I get less phone calls than before, but much more email. When they know that I am available, they contact me. I even had a parent email me last summer who had just finished her teaching degree, she was asking my advice on whether she should take a job in another town or one here. The second direct result of the emails is that the parents have a better idea of what is going on. I email concert dates, some grading information, etc. While increased email activity can be tiring at times, it is better to put out the fires before the problem rather than after!
Toward the end of last school year, I set up a blog. Every email that I sent out to parents first went to the blog. Feedburner is available so parents can sign up for emails that way. I also included an email address blank on the student information sheets at the beginning of the year in case they couldn't figure out how to subscribe or simply didn't have the time to do it. So the procedure is that I email the information to blogger from school (or post from home since it's blocked at school). I then forward the email that FeedBurner sends me (which is formatted much nicer than the plaintext emails that I send from school). The parents get the information and then begin flooding my email box with replies. And if they delete the email with important information, they can always go to the blog and check it out. It's beautiful!
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Recruiting People Into Your Program
As a band director dealing with beginning band, a substantial part of my energy each year is spent on recruiting 5th graders to be in band next year. I have generally done a pretty good job getting kids enrolled in the program, but this year I began to look at it from a marketing standpoint. The results have been incredible.
We still have some more recruiting to go, but we have already increased the enrollment by about 35 from what it was at this point last year, and it looks like it may very well be more than 60 more students next year than we have this year. That's huge. We still have some marketing left to do in the next three weeks, but I want to use this space to sit back and kind of reflect on some of the things that we have done better this year over last year.
While these concepts are delivered from an educational setting, I believe they could very easily translate to marketing. Much as I have begun to translate Seth Godin's concepts from IT and use them in the educational/band world.
We have 8 elementary campuses that all feed into our middle school. It's interesting when we analyze the numbers from the various schools and compare them to the numbers from last year.
I want to focus on one school in particular for now. The enrollment from that school this year is somewhere around 18 students. The projected enrollment for next year is up to 46. Obviously something happened there that was crucial.
Technique
I ended up going to this one particular school the same week that the counselors from our school came and talked with the students. And the same week they were supposed to fill out their schedule cards for next year. I went to every music class, one each day of the week. I tested the students on instruments outside. As a result, other students got to see us trying the instruments. They got to hear the clarinet squeaks, they got to hear the brass mouthpieces. This gave them both anticipation for when they would have music that week as well as a reminder for those who had already been to music.
Teacher
Another key is that the teacher who was there last year retired. The one who replaced her was telling the students while I was there about how great band is. I can only assume she had been telling them that most of the year and continues to do so, at least from time to time.
We still have some more recruiting to go, but we have already increased the enrollment by about 35 from what it was at this point last year, and it looks like it may very well be more than 60 more students next year than we have this year. That's huge. We still have some marketing left to do in the next three weeks, but I want to use this space to sit back and kind of reflect on some of the things that we have done better this year over last year.
While these concepts are delivered from an educational setting, I believe they could very easily translate to marketing. Much as I have begun to translate Seth Godin's concepts from IT and use them in the educational/band world.
We have 8 elementary campuses that all feed into our middle school. It's interesting when we analyze the numbers from the various schools and compare them to the numbers from last year.
I want to focus on one school in particular for now. The enrollment from that school this year is somewhere around 18 students. The projected enrollment for next year is up to 46. Obviously something happened there that was crucial.
Technique
- We went to each of the campuses and talked with every 5th grade class about band.
- We let a lot of the students try the instruments.
- We had fun with them.
- They had fun.
- I let my 6th graders help me completely revamp the brochure that we give the kids.
- It contains basically the same information, but was totally repackaged with larger and cleaner fonts, "Cooler" pictures, and colored paper.
- We're taking our beginner band on an end of the year competition trip.
- My students helped me design a website with information specifically for the 5th graders. I've discovered that kids like different colors and fonts. Computer geeks like order. This is why MySpace drives us crazy!
I ended up going to this one particular school the same week that the counselors from our school came and talked with the students. And the same week they were supposed to fill out their schedule cards for next year. I went to every music class, one each day of the week. I tested the students on instruments outside. As a result, other students got to see us trying the instruments. They got to hear the clarinet squeaks, they got to hear the brass mouthpieces. This gave them both anticipation for when they would have music that week as well as a reminder for those who had already been to music.
Teacher
Another key is that the teacher who was there last year retired. The one who replaced her was telling the students while I was there about how great band is. I can only assume she had been telling them that most of the year and continues to do so, at least from time to time.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
4 Tip's For Being Respected
An Alarming Trend
One of the things that I have come to realize is that, by and large, educators have a poor grasp of grammar and spelling. Maybe this is isolated to the United States, but part of me fears that is not the case. Since nearly all of my adult life has been spent in educational circles, I have no first-hand knowledge of other fields. It amazes me how often I get emails from secretaries, teachers, and even administrators which contain a remarkably poor grasp of the English language. The sad part is that it's often not accidental. They reuse the same misspellings throughout the same email, or even repeat them in further correspondence.
But The Problem Is Deeper
I could almost blow it off as technical or typographical difficulties. I really wish that I could do that. I so desperately want to, but I hear bad grammar when they talk. I don't even mean conversationally breaking rules like ending sentences with prepositions or using slang terms ("Y'all hurry up," etc.). It's simply bad word choice such as "Set up straight," "Do that for him and I." Dangling participles, made up words, unnecessary redundancies, double negatives, you name it, I've heard it come from the mouth of a teacher.
But This Isn't English Class!
That's the excuse that my students give me when I correct them in class. My response is always that we speak English in this class, so we might as well speak it correctly. I admit, I was something of a grammar Nazi when I was in high school and it has carried through to this day. I generally am getting better about correcting adults, but it still bothers me.
But The Title Says 4 Tips
You may have noticed that I messed up the title. Obviously that was done on purpose, since the content of the post is about spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The job of a headline is to draw the reader in. If you are here, the headline did its job! So what are the four tips?
[EDITOR'S NOTE]: Seth Godin illustrated this concept in his blog today (4/21/07).
One of the things that I have come to realize is that, by and large, educators have a poor grasp of grammar and spelling. Maybe this is isolated to the United States, but part of me fears that is not the case. Since nearly all of my adult life has been spent in educational circles, I have no first-hand knowledge of other fields. It amazes me how often I get emails from secretaries, teachers, and even administrators which contain a remarkably poor grasp of the English language. The sad part is that it's often not accidental. They reuse the same misspellings throughout the same email, or even repeat them in further correspondence.
But The Problem Is Deeper
I could almost blow it off as technical or typographical difficulties. I really wish that I could do that. I so desperately want to, but I hear bad grammar when they talk. I don't even mean conversationally breaking rules like ending sentences with prepositions or using slang terms ("Y'all hurry up," etc.). It's simply bad word choice such as "Set up straight," "Do that for him and I." Dangling participles, made up words, unnecessary redundancies, double negatives, you name it, I've heard it come from the mouth of a teacher.
But This Isn't English Class!
That's the excuse that my students give me when I correct them in class. My response is always that we speak English in this class, so we might as well speak it correctly. I admit, I was something of a grammar Nazi when I was in high school and it has carried through to this day. I generally am getting better about correcting adults, but it still bothers me.
But The Title Says 4 Tips
You may have noticed that I messed up the title. Obviously that was done on purpose, since the content of the post is about spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The job of a headline is to draw the reader in. If you are here, the headline did its job! So what are the four tips?
- Write Correctly. If you don't know some grammatical rules, ask your local grammarian, or just look them up online.
- Spell Correctly. If you don't know, look it up. This saves time (and shame) later.
- Don't Trust Spell Check. If it's underlined in red, it's probably wrong. If it's not underlined in red, it's potentially right. But there are no guarantees. This is why it is best to spell correctly in the first place.
- Proofread Before Printing. If you don't have mad language skills, find someone who does, befriend them, and take advantage of their free time. :)
[EDITOR'S NOTE]: Seth Godin illustrated this concept in his blog today (4/21/07).
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Do you run the risk of becoming successful?
The time from spring break to the end of the school year often seems like a battle between students and teachers to see who is most ready for the summer to begin. One of the teachers I worked with in my first job was fond of saying, "When you look forward to Monday more than Friday, you run the risk of becoming successful." I find this to be true in most anything. Success comes on the heels of both starting well and finishing strongly.
Applied to the teaching profession, I have come to the point where I look forward to the beginning of the school day more than to the end. I look forward to Monday more than to Friday. I look forward to August more than to May. Okay, maybe not entirely. But I do like the possibilities that the fall semester holds. I like that I have nearly unlimited opportunities awaiting me.
During my evenings, I often plan what I am going to accomplish the next day. During my weekends, I often plan what I am going to accomplish in the next week. During vacations, I often plan a large chunk of the semester. During the summer, I plan what I am going to accomplish in the following school year.
Success comes from looking forward. Looking back was the downfall of Lot's wife. Planning ahead also pertains to classroom management, as you can more easily circumvent problems that you foresee coming up. The greater vision you have, the better you will be able to lead people. In the classroom or the boardroom.
Applied to the teaching profession, I have come to the point where I look forward to the beginning of the school day more than to the end. I look forward to Monday more than to Friday. I look forward to August more than to May. Okay, maybe not entirely. But I do like the possibilities that the fall semester holds. I like that I have nearly unlimited opportunities awaiting me.
During my evenings, I often plan what I am going to accomplish the next day. During my weekends, I often plan what I am going to accomplish in the next week. During vacations, I often plan a large chunk of the semester. During the summer, I plan what I am going to accomplish in the following school year.
Success comes from looking forward. Looking back was the downfall of Lot's wife. Planning ahead also pertains to classroom management, as you can more easily circumvent problems that you foresee coming up. The greater vision you have, the better you will be able to lead people. In the classroom or the boardroom.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
How Not To Waste Spring Break
"I'm bored"
No success will come from squandering time. Time is too precious to waste. The summer months and holiday weekend that we are afforded in the education business should not become an excuse to catch up on all the latest greatest movies and pack away the bon bons. Instead, these times seem to be best spent by analyzing where things stand with your current teaching position. What has worked so far this year? What will work better if I start doing it after the break? If it's summer, how can I start out the school year more prepared than I did last year?
Another good thing to do is catch up on house upkeep. Sell extra CDs you have at home. Throw away old papers. Have a yard sale. Not only will it give you some extra cash, but it will also make the home less cluttered and you will feel better while you are there.
Teaching summer school is an option. Personally, I would prefer to develop other aspects of my life rather than teaching year round. I have work I can be doing at church. I have volunteering that I can be doing. I can go visit my parents. I can read. I used to spend the time playing video games or messing around on MySpace. Now I have come to the point where I see how much valuable time those things have been wasting for me.
So what will I be doing over spring break? For one, I will be starting a business (go to the courthouse to file, open a checking account, do some web design work for it). I also plan to go visit my parents while my sister will be in town to visit them. I'm planning on organizing my office at school, selling around 75 CDs, going to a basketball game with a friend, and playing with my dogs. Valuable things that the typical school year time doesn't really allow me to do all that much.
No success will come from squandering time. Time is too precious to waste. The summer months and holiday weekend that we are afforded in the education business should not become an excuse to catch up on all the latest greatest movies and pack away the bon bons. Instead, these times seem to be best spent by analyzing where things stand with your current teaching position. What has worked so far this year? What will work better if I start doing it after the break? If it's summer, how can I start out the school year more prepared than I did last year?
Another good thing to do is catch up on house upkeep. Sell extra CDs you have at home. Throw away old papers. Have a yard sale. Not only will it give you some extra cash, but it will also make the home less cluttered and you will feel better while you are there.
Teaching summer school is an option. Personally, I would prefer to develop other aspects of my life rather than teaching year round. I have work I can be doing at church. I have volunteering that I can be doing. I can go visit my parents. I can read. I used to spend the time playing video games or messing around on MySpace. Now I have come to the point where I see how much valuable time those things have been wasting for me.
So what will I be doing over spring break? For one, I will be starting a business (go to the courthouse to file, open a checking account, do some web design work for it). I also plan to go visit my parents while my sister will be in town to visit them. I'm planning on organizing my office at school, selling around 75 CDs, going to a basketball game with a friend, and playing with my dogs. Valuable things that the typical school year time doesn't really allow me to do all that much.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Six Steps To Motivating
"What are you doing to motivate them?"
I was talking with a friend this afternoon about her class. She is a second year teacher. She taught elementary last year and is teaching seventh grade this year. What a change! In the process of our conversation, I asked her, "what are you doing to motivate them?" She had no clue.
Why motivate?
Without motivation, your class is just another one block of time that the students have to suffer through. With motivation, you hear things like "hi, favorite teacher!" and "I love this class!" As a teacher, those are the kinds of things that we absolutely love to hear. They say that about half of all teachers stop teaching before their sixth year. I am on the home stretch or my fifth now. I would guess that most teachers who quit teaching do so because of the lack of these kinds of comments; they do so because they do not have enough motivated students.
Steps to motivating?
As I have written before, "Motivation comes from ... loving what you do." That is the crux of the issue. If you do not love what you do, then you cannot create blissful followers. So we now see some steps to successfully motivating people
I cannot stress enough how essential it is to love what you do. This applies for everything in life. Dave Ramsey talks about it. Steve Jobs talks about it. Po Bronson talks about it. Andrew Wee talks about it. Success in any endeavor demands that you love doing what you are doing. If you don't, and you don't love the idea of doing it, then get out before you regret wasting time and wasting lives of children.
But what if you love the thought of teaching, but don't enjoy teaching? If this is the case, then there is still hope for you. Stick it out. Before I started my first year, I was given the advice by a friend that when I accept my first job, I should make a mental commitment to myself that I will be there are least three years. This allows me to work toward long-range goals and respond to incidents accordingly rather than just reacting in a self-centered kind of way.
Emanate passion
Passion is defined as the trait of being intensely emotional. You must be intensely emotional about children, about teaching, and especially about teaching children. If you are, then they will feed off of that energy.
Have fun
If passion is the key, then having fun is the way to activate that passion. I joke around a lot. I mess with other teachers when they come in. I make fun of myself. I make up lyrics to go along with the music we play. I talk about my puppies. I ask them what they did over the weekend and then make some fun (non-critical) comments on whatever they did. I smile. A lot. I laugh. I say stuff to the kids when I see them in other parts of the school. I have a cool website for my class. I have a blog to keep parents updated on what's going on in our world.
Stop being selfish
Whenever kids don't do what I want them to do, I have come to the realization, that it is usually because I didn't tell them to do exactly what I wanted them to do. I try to avoid getting mad when they do normal kid stuff, especially if it is not a specific violation of what I told them to do. Admit you made a mistake whenever you do. That makes you more real and more relateable. Look at people when they are talking to you. I am trying to do that more. talk to parents. About good stuff and bad stuff. Let the students be nice to you. Let the students be mad at you. Your life is not going to end if a child hates you. At the same time, you don't get too many bragging rights with friends when you tell them you have a fan club made up of people half your age or whatever.
Be prepared
Kids can sense fear and unpreparedness from a mile away. Why do you think subs are so much fun for them? I have come to realize that no matter how good the discipline is when I am in the classroom, anyone else will get different results if I'm not there. After I started to begin figuring out classroom management, that used to really bother me. I would get back from a day off and have a report from the substitute saying that certain students had talked back or argued or whatever. Or I would get reports like, "good class, these six people were talking." Now that I am prepared for those kinds of comments and realize that most people don't expect as much out of the children as I do, I am fine.
I also have found that my least productive teaching days are those where I am not fully prepared for the class. Or when we don't have enough copies of something. I am getting better about these things more and more. I find that as I get better about them, classes run much more efficiently.
Continue learning
Read books about teaching. Read books about your subject. Read books about personal development. Read books about art. Read books about customer service. Read books about productivity. Read books on motivation.
Some great specific books:
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
How to Win Friends and Influence People
The Total Money Makeover
The Millionaire Next Door
Revolution in World Missions
Bus 3: a case study
As a band director, I get to go on out of town trips with the high school band. On those trips, I end up being assigned to be in charge of one of the buses. Last year, it happened to be Bus 3. We had a tire blow out on the way to one of the games in September. I took that opportunity to hype the students up about being on "Bus 3: the bus that cares." If they were too loud, I would say something like, "You're too loud, that kind of noise belongs on Bus 4." If an individual got out of the seat, it'd be something like, "Do I need to make you ride on Bus 1?" When I saw the kids at rehearsal, I would flash the Bus 3 sign and we would nod in understanding.
So what was so special about Bus 3? Absolutely nothing. Despite that, I was able to create a little community. We all had to ride a bus to get to the games. I was either going to have to fight with the kids to get them to behave, or I was going to have to get them to buy in to my system. So I pretended that they were in an elite club; that they had insider information that nobody else had.
The established procedure is for the students to arrive somewhere and all force their way to the front of the bus as quickly as possible. The result is that people get upset, they leave trash everywhere, and they get out of the bus and don't know where to go specifically or when to be back. So I fixed that, Bus 3 style. Whenever we get somewhere, I stand up, ask them to be quiet, and then give them information before they get off the bus. I tell them and have them repeat how much time we have or what time we need to be back on the buses. I go over bus departure procedures. Finally, I ask if there are any questions and then we begin disembarking. It works every time. At the completion of the trip, I make sure they all check for trash before they get off the bus. This saves the time of the driver and parents. It's a win/win situation.
And it worked. It still works. Now they understand my system. The parents and bus drivers love taking my bus. The kids have fun. I am able to relax and have an enjoyable trip even though I am in a school bus. How much better could it be?
I was talking with a friend this afternoon about her class. She is a second year teacher. She taught elementary last year and is teaching seventh grade this year. What a change! In the process of our conversation, I asked her, "what are you doing to motivate them?" She had no clue.
Why motivate?
Without motivation, your class is just another one block of time that the students have to suffer through. With motivation, you hear things like "hi, favorite teacher!" and "I love this class!" As a teacher, those are the kinds of things that we absolutely love to hear. They say that about half of all teachers stop teaching before their sixth year. I am on the home stretch or my fifth now. I would guess that most teachers who quit teaching do so because of the lack of these kinds of comments; they do so because they do not have enough motivated students.
Steps to motivating?
As I have written before, "Motivation comes from ... loving what you do." That is the crux of the issue. If you do not love what you do, then you cannot create blissful followers. So we now see some steps to successfully motivating people
- Love what you do
- Emanate passion
- Have fun
- Stop being selfish
- Be prepared
- Continue learning
I cannot stress enough how essential it is to love what you do. This applies for everything in life. Dave Ramsey talks about it. Steve Jobs talks about it. Po Bronson talks about it. Andrew Wee talks about it. Success in any endeavor demands that you love doing what you are doing. If you don't, and you don't love the idea of doing it, then get out before you regret wasting time and wasting lives of children.
But what if you love the thought of teaching, but don't enjoy teaching? If this is the case, then there is still hope for you. Stick it out. Before I started my first year, I was given the advice by a friend that when I accept my first job, I should make a mental commitment to myself that I will be there are least three years. This allows me to work toward long-range goals and respond to incidents accordingly rather than just reacting in a self-centered kind of way.
Emanate passion
Passion is defined as the trait of being intensely emotional. You must be intensely emotional about children, about teaching, and especially about teaching children. If you are, then they will feed off of that energy.
Have fun
If passion is the key, then having fun is the way to activate that passion. I joke around a lot. I mess with other teachers when they come in. I make fun of myself. I make up lyrics to go along with the music we play. I talk about my puppies. I ask them what they did over the weekend and then make some fun (non-critical) comments on whatever they did. I smile. A lot. I laugh. I say stuff to the kids when I see them in other parts of the school. I have a cool website for my class. I have a blog to keep parents updated on what's going on in our world.
Stop being selfish
Whenever kids don't do what I want them to do, I have come to the realization, that it is usually because I didn't tell them to do exactly what I wanted them to do. I try to avoid getting mad when they do normal kid stuff, especially if it is not a specific violation of what I told them to do. Admit you made a mistake whenever you do. That makes you more real and more relateable. Look at people when they are talking to you. I am trying to do that more. talk to parents. About good stuff and bad stuff. Let the students be nice to you. Let the students be mad at you. Your life is not going to end if a child hates you. At the same time, you don't get too many bragging rights with friends when you tell them you have a fan club made up of people half your age or whatever.
Be prepared
Kids can sense fear and unpreparedness from a mile away. Why do you think subs are so much fun for them? I have come to realize that no matter how good the discipline is when I am in the classroom, anyone else will get different results if I'm not there. After I started to begin figuring out classroom management, that used to really bother me. I would get back from a day off and have a report from the substitute saying that certain students had talked back or argued or whatever. Or I would get reports like, "good class, these six people were talking." Now that I am prepared for those kinds of comments and realize that most people don't expect as much out of the children as I do, I am fine.
I also have found that my least productive teaching days are those where I am not fully prepared for the class. Or when we don't have enough copies of something. I am getting better about these things more and more. I find that as I get better about them, classes run much more efficiently.
Continue learning
Read books about teaching. Read books about your subject. Read books about personal development. Read books about art. Read books about customer service. Read books about productivity. Read books on motivation.
Some great specific books:
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
How to Win Friends and Influence People
The Total Money Makeover
The Millionaire Next Door
Revolution in World Missions
Bus 3: a case study
As a band director, I get to go on out of town trips with the high school band. On those trips, I end up being assigned to be in charge of one of the buses. Last year, it happened to be Bus 3. We had a tire blow out on the way to one of the games in September. I took that opportunity to hype the students up about being on "Bus 3: the bus that cares." If they were too loud, I would say something like, "You're too loud, that kind of noise belongs on Bus 4." If an individual got out of the seat, it'd be something like, "Do I need to make you ride on Bus 1?" When I saw the kids at rehearsal, I would flash the Bus 3 sign and we would nod in understanding.
So what was so special about Bus 3? Absolutely nothing. Despite that, I was able to create a little community. We all had to ride a bus to get to the games. I was either going to have to fight with the kids to get them to behave, or I was going to have to get them to buy in to my system. So I pretended that they were in an elite club; that they had insider information that nobody else had.
The established procedure is for the students to arrive somewhere and all force their way to the front of the bus as quickly as possible. The result is that people get upset, they leave trash everywhere, and they get out of the bus and don't know where to go specifically or when to be back. So I fixed that, Bus 3 style. Whenever we get somewhere, I stand up, ask them to be quiet, and then give them information before they get off the bus. I tell them and have them repeat how much time we have or what time we need to be back on the buses. I go over bus departure procedures. Finally, I ask if there are any questions and then we begin disembarking. It works every time. At the completion of the trip, I make sure they all check for trash before they get off the bus. This saves the time of the driver and parents. It's a win/win situation.
And it worked. It still works. Now they understand my system. The parents and bus drivers love taking my bus. The kids have fun. I am able to relax and have an enjoyable trip even though I am in a school bus. How much better could it be?
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Customer Service Approach to The Classroom Experience
In The Beginning
When I was in college, I had an assignment for one of my classes. The assignment was to write up my own philosophy of education. It was somewhat noble ("I teach children to be better people through music" or something like that). It was substantially trite. Most importantly, it lacked any passion behind it.
The Interview
In my very first teaching job interview, the principal interviewing me asked me what my educational philosophy was. I gave some sort of flimsy answer because I wasn't prepared for the interview. He gave me a chance later on to ask me if I had any questions. I asked him what his educational philosophy was. What he said has stuck with me ever since.
He said that he views education as a customer service industry. That caught me off guard because I had never heard of that approach. He went on to say that we as teachers provide a service. We provide the community with educated children. We provide the students with a safe learning environment. We provide the students with useful and relevant education.
Paradigm Shift
This philosophy did not mesh with my paper I had written in college at all. In fact, this was completely foreign to my concept. Customer service? Isn't that the people who answer phones and punch buttons on the cash register at stores? I even worked in the customer service department of Best Buy very briefly. But I didn't serve customers. I served myself. I wanted my $5.50 an hour, so I showed up to work, answered some phones, punched some buttons, scanned some SKUs, and checked credit card signature panels.
As have begun to integrate that principal's philosophy into my own, I have come to understand much more what it means. This past summer, I began to really realize that my classroom model should be based more on that of a small business than of a university or even the classrooms that I had experienced in high school.
Then And Now
As a first year teacher, I never made contact with parents, unless they contacted me first.
As a fifth year teacher, I send out emails to parents, post updates on a blog, have a website on the district server, have misbehaving students call home to inform their parents of the problems, and even give parents opportunities to come up and help out at school.
As a first year teacher, I tried to make students to learn what I felt they needed to learn.
As a fifth year, I try to motivate the students to learn what I know they need to learn.
As a first year teacher, I had all the answers, but the kids just didn't listen to me.
As a fifth year teacher, I seem to have less answers than I did then, and I listen to and learn from more experienced teachers. I also share with less experienced teachers or anyone else who is willing to listen to me.
I realize that if I am going to have kids who absolutely love coming to my class, I must give them a reason to want to come back. The same is true for any business that is successful.
When I was in college, I had an assignment for one of my classes. The assignment was to write up my own philosophy of education. It was somewhat noble ("I teach children to be better people through music" or something like that). It was substantially trite. Most importantly, it lacked any passion behind it.
The Interview
In my very first teaching job interview, the principal interviewing me asked me what my educational philosophy was. I gave some sort of flimsy answer because I wasn't prepared for the interview. He gave me a chance later on to ask me if I had any questions. I asked him what his educational philosophy was. What he said has stuck with me ever since.
He said that he views education as a customer service industry. That caught me off guard because I had never heard of that approach. He went on to say that we as teachers provide a service. We provide the community with educated children. We provide the students with a safe learning environment. We provide the students with useful and relevant education.
Paradigm Shift
This philosophy did not mesh with my paper I had written in college at all. In fact, this was completely foreign to my concept. Customer service? Isn't that the people who answer phones and punch buttons on the cash register at stores? I even worked in the customer service department of Best Buy very briefly. But I didn't serve customers. I served myself. I wanted my $5.50 an hour, so I showed up to work, answered some phones, punched some buttons, scanned some SKUs, and checked credit card signature panels.
As have begun to integrate that principal's philosophy into my own, I have come to understand much more what it means. This past summer, I began to really realize that my classroom model should be based more on that of a small business than of a university or even the classrooms that I had experienced in high school.
Then And Now
As a first year teacher, I never made contact with parents, unless they contacted me first.
As a fifth year teacher, I send out emails to parents, post updates on a blog, have a website on the district server, have misbehaving students call home to inform their parents of the problems, and even give parents opportunities to come up and help out at school.
As a first year teacher, I tried to make students to learn what I felt they needed to learn.
As a fifth year, I try to motivate the students to learn what I know they need to learn.
As a first year teacher, I had all the answers, but the kids just didn't listen to me.
As a fifth year teacher, I seem to have less answers than I did then, and I listen to and learn from more experienced teachers. I also share with less experienced teachers or anyone else who is willing to listen to me.
I realize that if I am going to have kids who absolutely love coming to my class, I must give them a reason to want to come back. The same is true for any business that is successful.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Classroom Management
Above all else that you do in education, classroom management skills will pay greater dividends. I cannot tell you how much more teaching I actually get done now that I have learned how to get and keep children quiet. This one skill was the single thing that prevented me from being useful at all during my first two years as a teacher. This one skill was the single thing that allowed me to be supremely useful in my third year of teaching.
No matter what you do, do not underestimate the value of spending time learning and refining classroom management skills. No other educational endeavor will be as fruitful.
No matter what you do, do not underestimate the value of spending time learning and refining classroom management skills. No other educational endeavor will be as fruitful.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Five Keys To Educating People
A Matter of Priorities
During my first two years of teaching, I discovered that I had a whole lot of information, but the students just weren't listening to me or learning from me. It is not, mind you, because I was giving them wrong information. It was, however, because I had placed the priorities in the wrong order. When we have the proper perspective, we will end up teaching far more than we ever imagined we might teach.
When I first got into the business of education, my priority was to educate children. So my philosophy could be summarized as:
"Nobody cares what you know until they know you care"
The reason I wasn't impacting them was because I didn't have a friendship with them. Of course! "Nobody cares what you know until they know you care." Although I knew it and had heard it many times, I misunderstood. My understanding was that this meant I was to primarily focus on building (appropriate) relationships with the students, and then giving them all sorts of information. So my priorities were something like:
"Why should we listen?"
When children know what they are supposed to do, they will do it most of the time. When they know why they are supposed to do it, they will do it more often. When they buy into it and really want to do it, they will do it every time. So the problem is more than simply getting them to understand why they are supposed to follow directions. However, if you are only able to get to that point and make sure they understand what to do and why to do it, you are way ahead of the game. But if we simply stop there, we are missing out on so much more.
As a side note, I would like to add that most of the time we find ourselves getting mad at people, it is because they are doing something they were not specifically instructed to not do. This is true, especially in the case of kids in a classroom. I still find myself doing that...getting upset at kids for acting like kids when I didn't tell them specifically not to. Before we yell at them for tracking dirt into our room, we better make completely sure we have specifically told them to wipe their feet before they come in here. Or else, we are punishing them for our own stupidity!
Motivation comes from where?
Motivation is the result of the first two keys interacting. The first is absolutely essential. But it only comes after the philosophical foundation is in place. We will look at the five keys to educating people in order and address the top three as one unit, since they actually are all interdependent.
To radiate is simply to give off a warmth. That comes from loving what you do. But, as I hinted before, you cannot truly love what you do until all of the components are in place. Then it will become a self-recharging cycle.
In my first two years of teaching, I would go home at nights and cry. It made me miserable. Oh yes, I loved the fact that I was a teacher, but I didn't love the fact that I was not impacting lives the way I had once envisioned that I might. After my understanding of classroom management changed, I began to see results. I began to see the proverbial light bulbs coming on and learning began to ensue. It was, and still is, a most incredible feeling. To know that they know something now that they did not know before. They have a skill now that they didn't enter the school year with. What an awesome thing!
But why entertain?
Have you ever heard Ben Stein? He is incredibly funny and a wonderful financial writer. But for the uninitiated, his delivery is relatively lacking in energy. "Dynamic Speaker" would not be an appropriate description for him. When you are working with a large group of children, regardless of age (even ten five-year-olds would be a large group), then you must be able to make them enjoy the time they spend with you, or else run the risk of having them blow you and the subject matter off completely. Anecdotal evidence abounds (here, here, here, etc.) as well a scientific research that confirms the positive learning benefits of being in a good mood.
I want to clarify that our role as educators is not to entertain children at the expense of instructing them. Simply that while we are instructing, we can use entertaining methods of delivery. Keep in mind that children running out of your classroom as soon as the bells rings is not a good sign.
So how did you say we motive them?
Motivation comes from a wide variety of sources, but one of the greatest is simply loving what you do. That comes after you are able to get them quiet, which has a lot to do with classroom management techniques. We'll discuss those more later.
During my first two years of teaching, I discovered that I had a whole lot of information, but the students just weren't listening to me or learning from me. It is not, mind you, because I was giving them wrong information. It was, however, because I had placed the priorities in the wrong order. When we have the proper perspective, we will end up teaching far more than we ever imagined we might teach.
When I first got into the business of education, my priority was to educate children. So my philosophy could be summarized as:
- Educate
"Nobody cares what you know until they know you care"
The reason I wasn't impacting them was because I didn't have a friendship with them. Of course! "Nobody cares what you know until they know you care." Although I knew it and had heard it many times, I misunderstood. My understanding was that this meant I was to primarily focus on building (appropriate) relationships with the students, and then giving them all sorts of information. So my priorities were something like:
- Relate
- Educate
"Why should we listen?"
When children know what they are supposed to do, they will do it most of the time. When they know why they are supposed to do it, they will do it more often. When they buy into it and really want to do it, they will do it every time. So the problem is more than simply getting them to understand why they are supposed to follow directions. However, if you are only able to get to that point and make sure they understand what to do and why to do it, you are way ahead of the game. But if we simply stop there, we are missing out on so much more.
As a side note, I would like to add that most of the time we find ourselves getting mad at people, it is because they are doing something they were not specifically instructed to not do. This is true, especially in the case of kids in a classroom. I still find myself doing that...getting upset at kids for acting like kids when I didn't tell them specifically not to. Before we yell at them for tracking dirt into our room, we better make completely sure we have specifically told them to wipe their feet before they come in here. Or else, we are punishing them for our own stupidity!
Motivation comes from where?
Motivation is the result of the first two keys interacting. The first is absolutely essential. But it only comes after the philosophical foundation is in place. We will look at the five keys to educating people in order and address the top three as one unit, since they actually are all interdependent.
- Radiate
- Entertain
- Motivate
- Relate
- Educate
To radiate is simply to give off a warmth. That comes from loving what you do. But, as I hinted before, you cannot truly love what you do until all of the components are in place. Then it will become a self-recharging cycle.
In my first two years of teaching, I would go home at nights and cry. It made me miserable. Oh yes, I loved the fact that I was a teacher, but I didn't love the fact that I was not impacting lives the way I had once envisioned that I might. After my understanding of classroom management changed, I began to see results. I began to see the proverbial light bulbs coming on and learning began to ensue. It was, and still is, a most incredible feeling. To know that they know something now that they did not know before. They have a skill now that they didn't enter the school year with. What an awesome thing!
But why entertain?
Have you ever heard Ben Stein? He is incredibly funny and a wonderful financial writer. But for the uninitiated, his delivery is relatively lacking in energy. "Dynamic Speaker" would not be an appropriate description for him. When you are working with a large group of children, regardless of age (even ten five-year-olds would be a large group), then you must be able to make them enjoy the time they spend with you, or else run the risk of having them blow you and the subject matter off completely. Anecdotal evidence abounds (here, here, here, etc.) as well a scientific research that confirms the positive learning benefits of being in a good mood.
I want to clarify that our role as educators is not to entertain children at the expense of instructing them. Simply that while we are instructing, we can use entertaining methods of delivery. Keep in mind that children running out of your classroom as soon as the bells rings is not a good sign.
So how did you say we motive them?
Motivation comes from a wide variety of sources, but one of the greatest is simply loving what you do. That comes after you are able to get them quiet, which has a lot to do with classroom management techniques. We'll discuss those more later.
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