Knowing Your Own Rhythm

If they don't put a nameplate on my door, how will I know who I am?

A successful classroom environment will be different for different teachers. One classroom does not fit all. Keeping pace with a classroom full of diverse marchers first requires that teachers become acquainted with their own distant drummers. It is important that teachers learn to trust their own "inner voices" and use them to guide all they do. It is vital early on to get a sense of self and a sense of purpose.

Will the Real Teacher Please Stand Up?

When I was in junior high (we didn't have middle schools in the Mesozoic Era), I had a teacher, who shall remain nameless ... (okay, Mrs. Waggoner). She was just about the meanest, strictest teacher I ever had. She ran her class like a commando camp. We were terrified of her.

One day I had to take a note from one teacher to another teacher who was in the teachers' lounge. I approached with caution fully aware that I was invading sanctified ground. There was so much laughter in the room the teachers couldn't hear me knocking. I opened the door and was struck dumb by what I saw. Mrs. Waggoner was in front of the group royally entertaining everyone. She was laughing and smiling. I almost didn't recognize her with a smile on her face. Feeling like Pandora, I ran out of there in a shot! When I told my friends about Mrs. Waggoner's behavior, no one would believe me.

Why were we never given the gift of Mrs. Waggoner's laughter and her humor? Had someone told her, as I was told my first day, that "You can't smile until after Christmas" or "You can always get easier, but you can't get tougher! If you go in there and are nice, those kids will eat you alive!"? Some teachers wrongly assume that they have to fit a certain model in order to maintain control and set up a learning environment. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This above all — to thine own self be true; and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.

— Shakespeare

The greatest gift teachers give to their students is themselves.

I think one reason that I did not "burn out" after teaching so many years is that early on I decided to be myself in the classroom, in faculty meetings, at parent conferences, and wherever I was. Unless you are a schizophrenic, it's just too hard to maintain a dual personality. So figure out who you are, and go with it. Just keep getting better at being you.

Researchers have been studying characteristics of effective teaching for the past century. While there are universal qualities regarding a teacher's sense of self and subject matter knowledge that definitely contribute to being an effective educator (Brophy, 1989), there is not research to tell teachers how they ought to be.

I am instantly attracted to random teachers who are smart, witty, quick, and entertaining. But some of the most effective teachers I have known have been the quiet nurturers, the deep analytical thinkers, and the highly structured sequential class managers. My point is that once you get past the fundamental characteristics common to all good teachers, the rest is about figuring out who you really are and maximizing those qualities to help you better relate to your students.

It is my belief that if you dance, you should dance with your students. If you can sing, then sing for them. Whether you love to write or play sports or collect things or keep pets, let the kids in on it. Share with them the wonderful qualities that make you who you are. I used to let my students see my old report cards (after I had carefully applied Wite-Out® to certain teacher comments about my excessive talking and refusal to follow rules). Students are very curious about you, and letting them in on who you really are will help you build a community of trust and mutual respect. (Use discretion about how much you share. If you supplement your teaching habit by pole dancing at a local honky tonk, you might want to keep that to yourself.)

Promoting a Classroom Community

Careful thought should go into such decisions as what is put in the classroom, how things are arranged, all of the ambient touches added, how rules and consequences are set up, teacher and student attire, the structure of lesson plans, assessment techniques, and virtually everything that has to do with how a teacher chooses to teach.

It took me 10 years of trying various techniques to find a method I really liked for getting the attention of students who were busily working in small groups. I tried counting backwards, flipping the light switch, and whispering. None of those methods was satisfactory for me. I finally discovered the perfect solution in a toy store! I bought a child's xylophone. It makes a soothing, calming sound, and it gets the attention of everyone immediately! I've been using it ever since — even for my university students. I know it sounds like a little thing, but it has really improved my classroom environment. It works for me — I just wish I had thought of it sooner!

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Lion Taming 101

Despite common assumptions, a teacher does not have to meet students on the first day with a frown, a whip, and an upraised chair in order to establish order and discipline (even if all the other teachers are doing it). Students are much better served by a teacher who greets them at the door, shows them to their assigned seats, and gets them started on an assignment. Teachers can even smile while doing all that.

I often say that my philosophy of teaching can be summed up in two words: "Whatever works!" Now, be very careful about how this philosophy is interpreted: I am most definitely NOT talking about stopgap measures, arbitrary decisions, or short-term solutions.

I show my preservice college students a cartoon of an unusual classroom scene. In the background is a large cage labeled Mr. Rattles. Inside the cage lurks a huge, fierce-looking snake. The classroom teacher looks sternly at a young man and says, "Tommy, I guess you have just earned yourself ten minutes in the cage."

My students roar when they see it. Then I ask them, "Would that discipline technique work?" They, of course, tell me that it isn't feasible, not humane, not legal, and so forth. Again I ask, "But would it work? Would ten minutes with Mr. Rattles...