Second Week of School

Seriously, after the first week highlights -

1:1 technology
Excellent classes both at LHS and UND
Dave Burgess (author of Teach Like a Pirate) giving me a shout out via Twitter and recommending my blog.
Several students dropping off gifts and thank you's and well wishes for the year.
A very talented staff, especially our department, that inspires me every single day.

I didn't think things could get better.

Yet, this week topped it.

Not only did my classes keep getting better, but also my students are really taking to using the 1:1 technology.  On top of that, I got an email that will forever remain one of the highlights of my career.

It was from the mother of two past students.  She was visiting with a co-worker whose son struggled with school and actually had to take summer school.  When she heard him talk about how much he actually enjoyed one specific class, she asked who the teacher was.

When she heard my name, she decided to email me and thank me for the work I had done with not only her kids but all kids.

Talk about making my year with an email!

I didn't now it at the time, but she also sent it to Mr. Zutz, my principal, and Mrs. Larson, my superintendent.

So when I walked in to school Thursday morning, I saw Mrs. Larson coming down the hallway.  Laine and I get along very well, so I smiled and waved.

"I am actually here to see you," she said.

Now, when the super says that, it's not always a good sign, but judging from the smile on her face, I figured it was a good sign.

"What an email!" she said.  "It actually caused me to tear up."

Then it dawned on me that the parent had also sent it to Mrs. Larson as well.

By the time I got to my room, I had received an email from Mr. Zutz as well.

What a day!

But that email actually proves a point I made to my UND Teaching and Learning class.  I stole this idea from a podcast I happened to be listening to on my way to GF.

I saw that the new Dave Ramsey "EntreLeadership podcast" featured one of my biggest influences: Seth Godin.

As Ramsey interviewed Godin, one thing Godin said stuck in my mind, he said if you treat customers well they will pay you in three ways: money, trust, and referrals.

When I head that, I couldn't help but apply it to teaching.

I thought, okay, how do our "customers" (our students) pay us?  I think they pay us in work (for they are willing to work for me.  I think of my College Comp 2 class - all 28 students submitted 6-8 page research papers on the first day of class.  They were willing to work on it over the summer and have it completed by the first day of class.  They are willing to work very hard for me). They pay us in trust (my students trust me with their topics - when they lay everything on the line in an essay - whether it is writing about the death of a loved one, an embarrassing moment, or even something as monumental as coming out of the closet - they have to trust me before they can do that).  Finally, they pay us in referrals (this was evident during my first night class when a student said that her roommate was a former student of mine.  I knew that this former student would be a great advocate for me with her roommate.  And the email that this parent shared with me was another example of how we are paid in referrals).

So they next time you walk into your class, think about how the three ways students will pay us: work, trust, and referrals.