10 Questions to Help You Become A Better Teacher This School Year, Part 10

10.  What's my focus?

Great question.  And actually, I've been thinking a lot about this lately.

When I first began in 1998, my focus was on the textbook.  Namely how to teach "The Cold Equations" and "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" and A Separate Peace and Julius Caesar and so on. I guess you could say the focus was on the content.

I knew those pieces inside and out.  I knew all the elements and symbols and all that.  I had extensive notes on everything we were going to read so I was going to wow my students with all that I knew about the subject.

Mistake.

Then after three years I took a leave of absence and taught college students as a GA at BSU.  For most of the 2001-02 school year, we learned all about the process of how to teach (mostly how to teach writing).  I had never devoted so much of my time to studying one subject.

It was amazing.

So when I returned to Lincoln in the fall of 2002, I focused more on the process instead of the content.  Instead of knowing the exact format and structure of the thesis statement for a persuasive paper, I focused more on helping students find out what they're interested in and using free writing to generate writing on that.  Later we could take that free writing and put it into the proper form.

Then somewhere over the next few yeas, I'd say around 2006 or so, I had another major shift.  Focusing on the process worked well for me.  It sure was better than focusing on just the content.  But now I found myself (and I've no real clue how I managed to do this) focusing more on the students.

And I have to tell you: this has made all the difference for me.

Now when I walk into my room I don't care so much what we'll be reading or even how we'll go about reading and writing.  What I care about is the 25 various kids sitting at desks with their MacBook Airs open.  I have to start with them and where they are.

Otherwise, the process and content don't really matter.

How do I accomplish this?  Get to know them.

For me, that's where social media comes in.  Yesterday alone I had six students text me questions about their first paper (which is due on the first day of class).

I know where those kids want to go to college.  I know what their strengths and weaknesses are as writers.  I know their folks.  I know I'm damn lucky to have them in my class.

That's my focus.