1 Thing All Teachers MUST do for Students to Succeed
It’s the start of another school year and teachers everywhere are slowly starting to prepare themselves for the rush that is the first few days of school. Energy is at its peak in the halls as people are excited to see each other again, students get to see who is in their classes and check which teachers they have for the year, and so much more. Over the first few days teachers will share classroom rules and expectations to help create structure and a common understanding of what is expected from each person in the learning environment. While this can be a very important strategy to help students succeed in their academic achievement there is something else we must do that can produce a much greater effect on student learning and growth as individuals: letting them know we believe in them.
Believing in our students might seem like a common sense thing to do, but it is more challenging than a lot of people like to admit.
Teachers Please STOP Saying This to Your Students
36. That’s the number of years in my life that I have spent in a school setting both as a student and as a teacher. Throughout this time I have heard many lines spoken by teachers in the halls, classes, and staff rooms that have made me laugh, cry, question, feel confused, get angry and more. While emotions do play a pivotal role in the learning process, I believe we as teachers need to be very mindful of what we say to our students and consider the intended and unintended effects of our words. We want to ensure that we are supporting, encouraging, and challenging our students in appropriate ways and not confusing, misleading or giving them false impressions about themselves and/or the world around them.
While there are many traditional lines that have been used in schools to warn and/or scare students into compliance, there is one that makes me cringe every time I hear it.
Foggy Glasses Clouding My Perceptions: Lessons Learned from an Addicted Learner
It is often said that “perception is reality” and that has definitely been the case for me throughout this past school year. Now that the year is over I have taken the time to step back and reflect on my experiences throughout the year and I have realized that I made an unfortunate mistake: I did not clean my glasses. In saying this I am referring to the fact that I did not effectively take the time throughout the year to reflect on what was going on and what I was learning through it all. As a result, my ‘lenses’ became quite foggy and clouded my mind as I progressed throughout the year. This had a profound impact on my mindset, relationships with others, and strongly contributed to my distorted perception of this year being “the toughest professional year of my life.”
Walking a Mile in Their Shoes
You know that descriptive feedback, and not a mark, is one of the most influential tools to help students move forward in their learning. After completing your assessment of student learning you are quite happy with the feedback that you have provided for them. In your eyes it is suggestive enough to enable them to go back and re-consider the sections that need more attention, but not so directive that they simply change what you told them to. You are eager to see how they use the feedback and progress in their learning.