Teaching Thought #47
Add water to your classroom culture.
Cultivate your classroom culture. This podcast takes a very interesting look at culture.
What are the things that are tangible or you can measure to show great culture?
Element #3 – Water – This involves giving your students what they need to grow. This is clear goals and objectives. Are students clear on the learning targets? Do they see how it fits into the larger picture? What is the goal? How do they know if they’re meeting the learning target? What do you do when they meet the target? What do you do if they miss?
I need work here. Not going to lie. I have my learning targets posted. I know how the whole plan all fits together. I just need to do a better job of making students see how every part of our lesson ties back to the learning target. Then I need to do a far better job of illustrating how each learning target fits into the overall unit.
I think of it like this – you’ve got tactical vs. strategic. Tactical is what I’m great at. The day in and day out ‘stuff’ we do in class: dreaming up creative assignments, helping kids individually, leveraging technology, creating engaging lessons . . . I call this ‘hand to hand combat,’ to use another analogy. The problem with this is that I’m too busy duking it out on a daily basis that I lose sight of the overall strategy. If I could rise about the tactical, ground-level view and see the larger picture, I may realize I don’t need to spend three days working on one key concept because I cover it in another upcoming unit, so I could just take three steps to the left and avoid a major obstacle.
And this is what wears on students too when it comes to the culture in my room.
Teaching Thought #48
This one is a must: Use plenty of sun on your classroom culture.
Cultivate your classroom culture. This podcast takes a very interesting look at culture.
What are the things that are tangible or you can measure to show great culture?
Element #4 – Sun – We crave validation and significance. How do you celebrate your team or your class? This is our job as teachers. This involves getting to know your students individually and to show you care. This is where I use cell phones and social media to connect and inspire kids.
Teaching Thought #49
Finally, weed your classroom culture relentlessly.
Cultivate your classroom culture. This podcast takes a very interesting look at culture.
What are the things that are tangible or you can measure to show great culture?
Element #5 – Keeping out the weeds – What do weeds do? Well, to keep up our analogy here, weeds have roots that grow and suck up the nutrients that should be going to the crop. They also grow up more aggressively with broader leaves that block out the sun. If you don’t address the weeds, they will win.
What are the weeds in classroom? Drama. Gossip. Unclear lessons and feedback. Disgruntled students. Anger and sarcasm from the teacher.
Have a clear vision. Grant grace. If I screw up, I let kids know. If I’m pouring it on too much, I’ll communicate with the class and see where they’re at. If they have a Pre-Calc test and it’s Sno-fest and they have three games that week, it might be a good idea to dial back some of the work or give more class time to work on it.
If I do this, the kids will grant me grace.
If I’m just mean, belittle them, and anger them, then no matter how effective my lessons are, they’re going to dislike me and my class. It’s an absolute no win situation.
Communicate your enjoyment and love to your students and start weeding the crop.
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