Teaching Thought #63

Teacherscribe's Teaching Thought #63

Are you on offense or defense in your classroom?

I think Lencioni’s article can be applied to the classroom and not just the office.  

Defense is easier to learn. It’s mostly about reacting to the offense.  So when you’re in your classroom are you reacting to your students? Are you responding to emails and student work?  

I think I spend too much time playing defense.  And Lencioni makes a great point about playing defense too much in class, it’s exhausting!

I need to play offense more in my classes.  Unlike defense, offense is harder to get down.  It’s all about timing. It’s about being orchestrated and staying one move ahead of the defense.  

I don’t do this enough in my classes.  I think I’m playing offense for the first few days of every unit, but then I naturally shift to playing defense as the students move their way through the classic concept of,  “I do, we do, and then you do.”

If nothing else, look at your time in class and see just show much time you spend on the offensive and defensive sides.