The Teacher is the Key-Day Three

Marcel Proust said, "We don't receive wisdom; we mus discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us."

The Teacher is the Key-Day Two

The teacher can be compared to an adept conductor of a symphony orchestra. H/she directs each musician in order to bring forth the best from the individual. h/she does so in a way that the group as a whole becomes greater than the sum of each part. In the end, the educational experience in and of itself becomes unique; influenced by content, but equally colored by context.

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The Teacher is the Key-Day One

Teachers influence students to make a difference in their lives. They can arouse passion for thinking and learning, or they can become the reason a person believes h/she will never succeed.

The best equipped classroom in the early years does not necessarily ensure a good education. Bricks, mortar, and creeping ivy do not make a great university...It is the men and women who teach who are the key to an effective education.

Teaching is an awesome responsibility which should be given only to the most dedicated individuals. In the ideal world, there is no unprepared, reluctant, or indifferent teacher. The teacher must be secure, vibrant, productive, informed and caring. The teacher must help students succeed, not fail.

The teacher must be the master of his discipline. His passion and enthusiasm for his area of expertise should be real and apparent to his/her students.

The above was written by the best teacher I've ever known in 1992: Dr. Clara R. Chiara. What do you think?

The Teacher is the Key-Introduction

My Aunt Clara was the consummate teacher. Her parents were Italian immigrants (rumors are my Grandfather was fleeing from a little incident in Sicily with the "Black Hand" aka the mob!). Born in 1910, she broke all the stereotypes of her era by attending Miami of Ohio, graduating top of her class in 1932. After graduation, she returned to the Cleveland area and taught Junior High School. She LOVED her kids, she LOVED her profession. She LOVED learning.

In the late 1930's and 40's, my Aunt attended THE Ohio State University and earned her doctorate after which she took a position at Western Michigan University in the Teacher Education Department. She taught Philosophy and for 27 years became an inspiration to a generation of dedicated educators.

Aunt Clara died in 1994, but before she passed she wrote a final essay on the state of the institution she loved so much and dedicated her life to; public schools. The essay was titled The Teacher is the Key. I will be proud to share her insights with you in subsequent postings.

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My "Luggage" Principle

My husband and I often travel. The worst part for us right now is packing. With the additional charges for second pieces, I try to fit everything into one case. However, there is a trick to it; all the big stuff must be put in first. The smaller stuff can fit around it. You know what I mean. It's easy to tuck a shoe, a t-shirt, underwear, etc. into the little nooks and crannies that are formed by your make-up case, your extra jackets, etc. Makes sense?

Did you ever consider this "luggage" principle when it comes to your work? Everybody is always wishing there were more hours in a day, but what about those nooks and crannies of the day that consist of wasted minutes? My particular pet peeve is waiting for others to arrive for a meeting. I can't tell you how many times I've sat ten, even fifteen minutes waiting for folks to arrive. What do you do in that time? Here's some suggestions:
-Keep a file with you of "Stuff I want to read" articles. This is the stuff that you see in a professional journal or magazine that you swear you'll get to, but never seem to have the time.
-Take a "Breathe Break". Research shows that a person's stress level can be significantly reduced by focusing on breathing for just 2 or 3 minutes at a time two or three times per day.-Take notes and make lists like "To Do's", or even better "I've Done". "I've Done" lists help you focus on the accomplishments, not what's still on your plate.
-We never have time to write a little note of encouragement to somebody. Emails don't always have the same impact; we get too many and our inbox can be just another source of stress. Write a note just to say thanks.

These are just a few ideas I have though of recently to help with my "Slight Edge" resolution. What are yours?
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The 80-20 Rule

Also known as the Pareto Principle, this 80-20 Rule can be applied to many things. Victor Pareto, and Italian economist at the turn of the 20th century, studied the land ownership in his country. He discovered that more than 80% of all the land was owned by less than 20% of the people.

You can apply this to almost any social phenomenon; 20% of the people end up with 80% or more of available assets, 80% of the work is completed by 20% of the workers, etc.

When you consider behavior problems in your classroom, or discipline problems within a school, the ratio is similar. 80% of the class or school population comply with rules and policies, 20% need more support. With Positive Behavior Supports, we break down that 20% further to say 15% of thew 20% need secondary or small group supports to be successful in the school environment, and the remaining 5% require more specialized, individual intervention.

So, think about your situation; what activities, kids, problems are part of the 20-percent that takes up 80% of our time? Is there a way to reduce that number by setting up universal systems, routines, etc. that will pay you back in time and effort?

The Slight Edge Principle

I just pulled a book off my bookshelf that I had read years ago about organizing your time. One of the most important things I learned was what the author called "The Slight Edge Principle" which states "Small changes, over time, make a big difference."

Wow, what an insight for those of us who grew up perfectionists. In fact, this is an important concept for schools to embrace. We as educators NEVER do things in small ways. We start a huge initiative, spend tons of money on consultants, materials, teacher professional development, etc. Three years down the line something new comes along, at it either gets lost and forgotten or it actually contradicts what is important at this point in time.

I call this the "soup du jour" method of teacher professional development. We don't pilot it, we don't gather quantifiable data on the outcomes, we rarely are concerned about implementing new initiatives with fidelity (i.e., being sure we implement a program EXACTLY as it is intended to be), etc. We are quick to "throw the baby out with the bath water" as we run like heck to the next "new idea" the powers that be impose on us. No wonder teachers are cynical about training, support and implementation mandates.

My goal is to follow the "Slight Edge Principle" from now on. In fact, that's how I'll use my blog; follow it and each day you may find one small tidbit you either knew before and forgot, heard about but had never tried, or never heard before. All I ask is that you try at least one idea for yourself...just one...and let me know how it went.

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Hello from Sin City
My husband and I are losing our money in Las Vegas this week. I've been playing "video black-jack" much to the amusement of other gamblers around me. I can't stop talking to the machine!

Anyway, the science of reinforcement theory is really evident out here. You bet $3, you get $2 back...and you THINK you've won something. See, whether a consequence to a given behavior is considered reinforcement or punishment is all about whether the behavior continues or not. If you keep putting dollars in the machine, the fact that you actually LOST money is irrelevant; the "gambling" behavior has been maintained and, therefore, reinforced not punished.

When we work with kids, too often we design consequences based upon our view of whether the kid should or shouldn't like something. In actuality, it's all about how the kiddo perceives the consequence. So, when making up behavior contracts or other behavior plans intended to increase or decrease a behavior, the proof is what happens in the future, not what we think should happen. In other words, Einstein was right. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a DIFFERENT outcome."

Later...
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