Teaching Tip #98

Teacherscribe’s Teaching Tip #98

Be better than everyone else, part 2.

One of my favorite professional development resources is the podcast Entreleadership by Dave Ramsey.

An excellent episode to start out with is episode #115: “Creating Leadership Magic the Disney Way,” which is an interview with Lee Cockerell.

Another unique thing I offer my students, especially in College Comp, is that I write more with them.

I learned long ago that the best way to teach writing is to write with your students.  Google it. You’ll see what I mean.

So I’m fearless when it comes to writing for and with my students.

I love telling them that I was thinking about them and their upcoming essay the previous night (or even during my prep hour or over lunch).  Then I pull up Google Drive and show them the essay I wrote for them as an example.

I’ll put it up on the SMARTboard (as well as share it with them via Drive).  I’ll talk my way through it with them, revising as I go.

This works for me and sets me apart because I don’t know anyone else who uses Drive this way or writes this much in front of their students.  I mean right now I’m on page 63 of my teaching tips.  How many of you, dear readers (whether you’re English teachers or not), have written 63 pages just for fun over the summer?

I also do something that is – as far as I know – unique to me in how I teach composition: when a student is struggling with an essay, I will drop in on that essay via Drive and offer immediate feedback or even write a little bit for them to get the unstuck and rolling.

What unique things do you do with your subject area to set yourself apart?