The 7-2 Rule

            I have had the opportunity to observe another teacher at my co-op school over the past couple weeks. He has a very different teaching style, his classrooms are always loud and chaotic. He believes that students need to feel comfortable in the classroom in order to learn, and that the noise of students talking is working noise. In order to make his students comfortable in his classroom he has integrated the 7-2 Rule. The rule as he described it to me is that the idea is to spend 2 minutes of your day focused on a getting to know a specific student for 7 days and that after you do that the teacher student relationship will improve greatly.

            This idea blew me away, not because it was revolutionary, but that it was such a simple task to create a bond with your students that will help them become comfortable and open to engaging in the classroom. He explained to me that he has actively used this rule and how this has helped improve the classroom environment. He told me that he could go down the aisle in his classroom of over 35 students and tell me something specific about that student’s life outside of the classroom.

            The Professional Growth Portfolio we are to be filling out as teacher candidates has an goal section on affirming respect and dignity for individuals. The 7-2 Rule insures that teachers focus on recognizing and fostering each student’s sense of self worth and developing an environment that supports the individual as a whole person. By getting to know the students, they become more than a body in a classroom. I believe that when teachers take the time to get to know their students, the students are more likely to put effort into their schooling because they know their teacher cares about them as an individual. 

Deconstructing Napoleon

            Today I got the chance to sit in on a History 10 class where they were discussing the French Revolution. For homework the students had to answer review questions and one of them was asked for them to highlight the central tenets of the Napoleonic code. One student answered the question by pointing out that it made all men equal, the teacher stopped the class and asked what about that statement is key. The students were able to identify with some leading that the key to this statement in that every man was equal, not every person. He then led the class in a quick discussion on gender equality, and there have been great strides made for women even though there still isn’t total equality.

            I was quite pleased to see that this teacher had taken time out of reviewing to ensure that the students understand the implications of historical events and the effects that it has on today’s society. The teacher pointed out to students why men are more likely to be hired than women based on the ideas like the assumption that women will take time off for having children. He also made students aware of the fact that our government has seen this and included paternal leave as an alternative to maternity leave.

             Helping students to become aware of the societal expectations and assumptions imbedded in our society will eventually help them to develop the ability to deconstruct our society. Most people find history boring and irrelevant, but this teacher has found a way to make sure that students understand why knowing out history is important for us today. By taking the five minutes it took for him to go over the importance of a single biased statement, this teacher is helping students to develop the ability to deconstruct human history. The students were able to learn that the assumption of Napoleon was that women were not equal to men and therefore did not deserve the same rights as men, and that these ideas have carried into our present day lives where we accept them as norms. By introducing deconstruction to the students in a way that will effect their lives directly, and may already have effected them, students may be able to deconstruct more abstract texts that they will be introduced to later in their lives.

Life is Really One Big Test After Another

            “[L]earners, regardless of their ability of predisposition can learn practically anything if teachers provide appropriate scaffolding” (Appleman, 2009,113). This quote is based on the ideas of Vygotsky, and I feel that it is an extremely important idea. Those students who struggle or just don’t try in class likely do not understand the material yet and want to give up because something is hard. When something is hard, sometimes it’s just easier and to take a bad mark and move on than to work through something that they struggle with that may make them feel inadequate. No student wants to be the one who can’t understand anything and I think that they often convince themselves that taking the bad mark and ignoring the problem will make it go away. If we as teachers can get through to our students that with our help they will be able to understand the material we present them with will greatly help their self-esteem. Ignoring the problem and hoping it goes away is deluding themselves into a short-lived time of being okay until their problems catch up with them. If we as teachers can help our students to work their way through their problems in school, when they leave our classroom we can be confident that they will be able to successfully work their way through the problems life throws at them. Writing this I'm reminded of the quote by Tom Bodett “The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson”. If we as teacher can teach our students  how to face the challenges in life while they are still in school, then perhaps they will pass the test in real life.

Teaching on the Fly

            Today I arrived at work to find that all the National level Gymnasts from across Saskatchewan had taken over our gym. Instead of cancelling my class, my boss informed me that I would be coaching my kids on the recreational side of our gym. Coaching a competitive group of gymnasts on the rec side is the equivalent of teaching a grade 12 English class with See Spot Run as the only resource…. Here goes 4 hours of training made up on the fly…

            I survived by reviewing basics and having my athletes work on making up their own choreography for beam and floor and having the girls work in groups to make up and judge each others routines.

            How does this relate to education you may ask.

            Well as they say “The best laid plans of mice and men”… I had planned a really good day for the girls, unfortunately life got in the way but the equipment I needed to use in order to teach the girls a new type of vault, introduce twisting tumbling on the competitive sprung floor and teaching giants to a few of the girls was taken away from me.

            When I’m teaching I’m not always assured of being able to get access to the materials I need, photocopiers will jam, students will miss class, and books will be backordered. I have been coaching for 8 years now and have enough knowledge stored in the back of my head that if need be I can make up lessons on the fly. As a beginner teacher I may not know the material enough to make up all my lessons on the fly, but being prepared for this to happen on occasion and having back up lessons will mean that if everything goes wrong I can save face for long enough to get through the day.

            I’ll need to remember that I can survive days like today when my teaching life is about to collapse on me.

It Turns Out Embracing Confusion Really works

            Today at work I got to watch an athlete of mine embrace confusion! I coach competitive gymnastics and as I learn more and more in education I try and apply it to my work. Today I was teaching a gymnast to use a different technique for twisting a forward salto. She has been working on front twisting for about a year, but she hasn’t been able to finish the twist so I gave her a different technique to try. Before going I warned her that it would feel weird and that she would probably get lost but to just keep pulling until she hit the ground. Her first attempt didn’t work, she started and got very lost and opened her twist to stop herself. I had her try again and reminded her to keep pulling until she felt the floor. She went for it and even though she had no idea where she was she didn’t stop and she ended up finishing the twist all the way around. As she repeated the skill a few more times she became comfortable with the technique and began to become aware of where she was in the air to land on her feet.

            Like the students I will be working with in schools, my gymnast was hesitant to try this, it was something she didn’t know and wasn’t sure what was going to happen. This wasn’t her first attempt at ever doing this twist, and like the students I will be working with who have been reading for years, she has worked through these on a basic level before. Her first try wasn’t successful, but she didn’t give up, she kept working at the skill and that is the most important thing I have learned from this experience. Sometimes when trying new things you might crash and burn, but if my students and I can pick ourselves up and try again we can succeed.

            I think students have been so conditioned that they have to do everything right that they would rather do nothing, than try and make a mistake. By teaching students that they can make mistakes and try again students will feel more comfortable taking risks and challenging themselves. Confusion is scary, but if students understand that even if they get lost along the way if they keep trying they will eventually be successful. By teaching students to work through their struggles and find their own way, after they leave my classroom they will hopefully be able to work through their own problems in their lives.