Teaching is Everywhere

I’m not the only one who sees teaching connections wherever they go am I? 

Some of them are obvious. Like when we are at puppy training, and there’s a comment about a puppy having learned to refuse to do something, because it just wasn’t fun. Ha, sound familiar? We have to learn to do things that aren’t fun, but perhaps we can find fun ways to learn how to do them! 

But then there are less obvious times, like when the vet tech comes outside to pick up the puppy – in these COVID times things are aa little different – and I find myself telling her glowingly about my puppy, about how she knows how to sit, how she’ll behave better if she’s bribed with a treat, how she does have ‘down’, but she won’t stay there very long… I’m pretty sure that the vet tech knows all these things. I’m also fairly certain that every puppy owner believes his or her puppy is the cutest and best puppy in the world. Yes. There’s a definite connection.. I felt a little bit like multiple parents at open house 🤦‍♀️

Then there’s those things that you see, that you’re experiencing, and you think… Oh my goodness, how can I integrate this into my teaching? Like lines at Disney. Instead of being bored waiting, we are engaged and interested by the by-play, the characters, the little signs… We know exactly how long we’re probably going to wait, and there’s something in between this sign and the next sign, and we’re ready for it. The ride is such a small part of the whole experience. Well, how can I replicate that in my teaching? How can I make the boring slow learning the engaging part, so the ride is the cherry-on-the-top. I might add, that my husband was not amused by all these musings while at Disney.

Then there are dining experiences, obvious things like creating a playlist that’s like a menu, but then more importantly, how to entice… How to tempt the customer to try something new? How to use images and word play to make something sound more interesting?. Taste tests, samples ... so much that can be brought into our teaching.

What about arguments, threads on social media? How do our interests and passions direct our thinking? Can social media commentary be used as a tool?  I saw the quiet kids participate when behind a screen (during distance learning), so there’s an important connection there too.

Everywhere I look, I see something that ties to my teaching.

Everywhere.

Ideas to grab interest. Real world connections. Valuable to me. Connecting with my interests. 

My husband calls it an obsession. I call it good practice. If it isn’t interesting or relevant, if there is no purpose ... then how do I compete with everything else out there? If students are enticed into the learning, if they see a point in the content, if they are shown how this is replace them to their lives - if all those factors are in play, then I’ll have success.

Wow - it's been a while!

Last year was a strange year, and looking back at my lack of blogs, there is nowhere clearer that this shows than right here on my website/blog.  Good gracious...for someone who thrives on writing, who loves to put the proverbial pen to paper (or finger to key), it's pretty pathetic to see the lack of writing. No, it isn't as if I have a huge fanbase, hanging on my every word, but I need to write for reflection, for deeper thinking, to share my ideas with myself and dig a little deeper.  It's a little concerning that I didn't carve out time for it.

So, with a new school year, comes the time to renew and refresh.

The teacher rebirth.

That's one thing that is so cool about this profession. You can literally reinvent your practice EVERY SINGLE YEAR!  Right the wrongs, adjust the learnings, change the nuances, change the path...what didn't work can be easily removed, what did may be honed.  It's one of my favorite things about what I do.  Recreating the space and the moments each year.

It's actually been hard starting back up this year.  My first summer, I worked almost every day to reinvent myself.  My second year I did a lot...and the pattern continued. This year, as I ended my fourth year and approach my fifth, I switched off instead.  I stopped the thinking, didn't do the reading, let the cotton wool invade my brain.  It was good - but starting up again has not been easy.  I had to worry that I had lost my passion.  I started to get concerned that I wasn't as excited, that I wasn't going to be able to give as much to my future students.  I mean, that's what I have loved about teaching, the way it fires me up every day.  But as time has moved on, a couple of conferences and good books later, I am beginning to feel the fires ignite and the desire rise up again.

Take last night for example.  A restaurant with a good group.  My poor friend just asks one question about teaching, and I was OFF! Lecturing the crowd about the creation of moments to make connections and impact learning (shout out to the Heath brothers and their AMAZING book, The Power of Moments).  As I listened to myself (something I seem to do upon occasion), I cast an inner smile. Ahhhh, there it was.  The fire is back in belly.

Let's go!  Room 1113, we have one heck of a year ahead!