A Friday blog - Sept 18

What I learned this week: The power of silence! I enjoyed the article we read for class this week, "The Power of Words." I particularly appreciated reading the "Responsive Classroom" principles, and I thought about my supervising teacher, Judy, the entire time! She really acts upon all of these principles--with great fluidity, I might add! Examples: her choice of questions to students, her positive and encouraging attitude when talking with students, the direct and succinct way she issues instructions, and her wisdom in knowing when NOT to talk. While this approach mostly addresses several means of communicating with students, it also includes the value in the use of silence in your classroom. This use of silence is a skill to be learned and improved upon. As mentioned in the article, silence "opens a space for students to think, rehearse what to say...gather courage to speak at all." For teachers, silence "allows us to listen to students and requires us to resist the impulse to jump in and correct..or finish..thoughts." Judy is awesome in this way...makes it look like a sixth (or seventh) sense. Again--I realize how this is not a natural tendency of teachers (or parents!), so it is a skill I would like to be conscious of and to master. Through Judy's modeling, I can see the power it weilds. Something simple, like waiting ten seconds for students to respond to a question, opens the window of time for more students to respond, and also allows responders to share more thoughtfully with classmates. Finally, as the article states--when the teacher learns to curb the "prattle" often present in the classroom, students will feel more valued as they "speak uninterrupted and uhurried."

Just curious: In elementary schools, the "main" teacher has his/her students the majority of the day...multiple hours. As kids venture off to specialists (music, PE, library, etc.), it seems worthwhile for the "main" teacher to visit and understand how specialists interact with his/her students, in hopes that the learning community is "on board" with students' learning success. Are most schools okay with teachers occasionally sitting in on specialist time? Judy spent a short spell with our kids in music this week because the music teacher was having a difficult time with classroom management. Listening in on their conversation later that day, I was "wowed" to see the positive outcome of Judy imparting her "wisdom" about how to manage our particular group of students. She provided the music teacher with excellent, concrete suggestions to improve music time. And the music teacher (brand new this year!) really, really appreciated her input!! Good for the students--good for the staff!

Anxious? One situation this week that made me feel like a deer in headlights...what I interpreted as student apathy. One of our lower level learners (both math and reading) was struggling with an in-class reading assignment. He seemed to me to not care about the product of his work...rushed through reading (if at all), and then filled in the blanks with very little thought. After talking with him, I felt I had zero affect on his attitude--even while I felt my approach was pretty caring. I talked with Judy later in the day and she offered some great ideas for "the next time." A wonderful teaching moment for me, and kind of enlightening that we may not work our magic on-the-spot, but may need more time to ponder individual situations...maybe even seek help from a colleague.

Excited? As I've joined students in math groups or for reading assignments, I absolutely love to see how excited kids are when they end up teaching the teacher or helping each other! When I ask a student how they figured out a problem or found an answer, and when they can articulate their thought processes (strategies), I can see how this does wonders for their confidence and self-esteem. Nothing better!! I hope to bring a lot of this to my own classroom some day.