In the past two years I have said, on more than one occasion, that I feel like a therapist/cheerleader more than a teacher. There are human and affective aspects to teaching that just cannot be ignored.
While observing students over the years, I have found myself seeing sadness, self-doubt, fear, and anxiety on too many faces I care to count. It is no coincidence that testing is at the heart of such feelings. The rapid pace of instruction and measurement of progress with assessment result after assessment result have created a new breed of student. This type of student may want desperately to achieve and please others but are fearful that they will not succeed. Resulting in a student who shuts down, a student that cannot try something without assistance, or a student that acts aloof and the class clown to hide their true feelings.
Everyone wants to be successful. We all have a need for approval and encouragement. So I began to think of how we can get the message across that there are times in life when you are going to have work hard, persevere, and be okay with knowing you are not the best at something. The poster in my classroom that says, “Citius, Altius, Fortius!” just was not cutting it.
I began thinking how I could change the class climate and culture to foster the acceptance of failure and approximations of a goal. Additionally, I wanted my students to know that being the first to shout “DONE!” when you think you have completed an assignment is not our end goal. Quality over quantity.
Two years ago I started a routine that I saw on The Teaching Channel where for the morning meeting the students have an opportunity to share how they are feeling. Not only does this allow me to gauge students’ moods (and get a handle on things happening outside of school), it allows the class an opportunity to expand our vocabulary while developing words for self-expression. The morning meeting also includes a time to celebrate and reflect on what they did well the previous day, and a time to make a goal for what they would like to do better today.
This summer I read Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell and I thought about the message that you have to fail in order to succeed. I began sharing this message with my students. It turns out that this is easier said than done. Students have to believe that there is a glimmer of success on the horizon- the motivator- in order to persevere through tough times that pop up in the beginning of learning.
How is this working out? Well, a student of mine expressed that she felt that things in school were going “too fast” and that others are “ahead of her.” The day before she spent a miserable hour staring at a book and her text-dependent questions believing that she could not do it on her own and it would never get done. I reassured her that she was not the only one feeling that way. After explaining that, as a teacher, I care more about her understanding what we are doing than completing 20 more items than someone else, the most amazing thing happened… The next day, the same student was smiling when she found the answer to the first question. She allowed herself to celebrate this “little” success before moving on to the next.
My students care about school and they want to do well… so if I have to find time in our busy day to “slow down,” embrace mistakes as learning opportunities, and celebrate the steps that lead to bigger successes, I think it is well worth it!
