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Effective Teaching...
by Harry and Rosemary Wong
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This article was printed from Teachers.Net Gazette,
located at http://teachers.net.
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February
2001
A Journey
of the Heart
"Several years ago when I was a new teacher, I was given your book and I can't
begin to tell you the impact it had on my life and the lives of the children
I teach.
"Today, I am a seasoned teacher of 10 years, working on my Ed.D. at Rutgers
and going through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards process.
I am so glad your book was there to get me started on this journey of the
heart."
Gina Goble
North Brunswick, New Jersey
Perhaps when you entered the profession, you never realized the dramatic impact
you could make in the life of a child. Your love for children, the faith and
expectation you have that your students are capable of anything, all manage
to touch the very heart of a child.
However, your deep commitment to the profession often tears at the heart.
"I have taught children with drug-related problems for the last three years.
I am totally frustrated. It takes a minimum of 20 minutes to teach the children
to line up correctly. So much instructional time is lost each day just going
over the basics of behavior. A lesson that would take five to ten minutes with
a regular class, would take me at least two days of hour-long lessons and I
am lucky if one-third of the class has learned the lesson. And if the lessons
are interesting, they become so excited they cannot control themselves."
This letter goes on with an urgent appeal for help and a sense of hopelessness
because the circumstances are so overwhelming. (We hope to address this topic
in a future column.)
Teaching is a journey of the heart. Some days your heart is full of spirit
and is uplifted and other times your heart feels trampled upon and crushed.
So how do you overcome being overwhelmed and get on the road to recovery?
Our advice is "Try Your Very Best." If you reach just one student, your entire
teaching career will have been rewarding. You will never know which one student
it will be and the one who you think you never reached will be the one who comes
back some day to thank you. So don't give up.
Your legacy as a teacher is to make one difference, one student at a time.
Try Your Very Best
We found this in a Farmer's Insurance magazine in 1984 and kept it.
I write this in tribute to Mildred Grote, who, in 1962, was the sixth-grade
teacher and librarian at Public School 94 in the Bronx, New York. We used to
claim her heavy makeup kept her perpetual smile in place. And smile she did-even
in our class. This was no ordinary sixth-grade class; this was the Educable
Mentally Retarded (EMR ) class, the last way station for the trouble-makers,
problem children, and lost souls of P.S. 94. I was the only girl from my fifth
grade class to be placed in that class. I lost all of my school friends from
previous grades because no one wanted to associate with a 'dummy'; consequently
I was sullen and withdrawn.
"After the usual barrage of Iowa Skills Tests, Miss Grote informed me she
was going to seek my transfer out of her class. 'You don't belong here, my
dear,' she said, and began a year-long losing battle to get me out. In the
interim, I was sent to the library daily on special assignments. While my
classmates played games, I read, wrote book reports, did extra work assignments,
and research projects.
"My resentment-already considerable -was increased tenfold when she would
smile and say, 'This isn't good enough, dear. You are not working to your
potential. Rewrite this, and do another one as well.'
"I was never transferred, and perhaps that was the best thing that could
have happened to me. 'You can be anything you want, my dear,' she said, 'if
you try your very best.'
"I will be completing my Ph.D. soon, and I can see her smile and hear her
saying, 'I told you so, my dear.' "
Judith Liu
La Jolla, California
Mildred Grote was quite a teacher. She saw potential and kept trying her very
best to influence and inspire Judith to achieve her potential. But the story
does not stop here.
We've shared this story while delivering lectures with thousands of teachers.
We began to wonder (as you sometimes do with your former students!) whatever
happened to Judith Liu. We managed to track her down and following is the rest
of the story.
"I thought you might be interested in a postscript to that article that was
written in 1984.
"I graduated from the Ph.D. program in Sociology at the University of California
(USD), San Diego in 1985. I was fortunate enough to obtain a teaching position
at the University of San Diego where I have been for the past sixteen years.
"In 1991, I was awarded the California Professor of the Year award from
the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
"In USD's publication about the award, I mentioned how Miss Grote was such
an inspiration to me. Miss Grote was a turning point in my life; without her
dedication and hard work, I would never have succeeded."
The Significance of a Teacher
Research consistently shows that educational fads and innovations are not
the major factors for improving student achievement. The only factor that
is able to consistently impact student achievement is the significance of a
teacher.
If you have taught for over 20 years, then you will understand that teary-eyed,
emotional experience that you call the greatest day of your life-when a former
student comes back to see you.
You're working away and this strange face appears in the doorway. You think
it's a salesperson. So, you say, "Yes?"
"Mrs. Riley?" says the person at the door.
You're still apprehensive, but you again say, "Yes."
"Keith. Keith Marlowe. I was in your 3rd grade class 27 years ago and sat
in that chair." He points. "Remember?"
You don't but you fake it. "Oh, yes. How are you?" you reply.
Keith walks toward you and says, "I'm fine. I don't live here any more. I
live 2000 miles away, but my parents are still here and I came back this weekend
to visit them. As I was driving to the airport, I noticed I had some time, so
I drove over here and I'm happy that I found you."
"For you see. I am who I am today; I am where I am today; and I am what I
am today because of what you represented to me 27 years ago.
"And I've come to simply say, 'Thank you, Mrs. Riley.'"
Then he turns around and walks out of your life forever. And you are standing
there, choking, tears streaming down you face. For you see, there are two kinds
of people who go into education.
- Some people go into teaching because it's a job and in exchange they get
a paycheck and medical benefits.
- Others people go into education to make a difference in the lives of children
and in exchange they leave a legacy.
Who Are the Loving Teachers?
We have been talking since June, 2000, about managing a classroom with procedures
and routines. When you have procedures, you have a classroom that has structure.
A classroom that has structure is a consistent classroom. The students know
how the room functions and there is no yelling or screaming. As a sixth grader
told us, "I like coming to this school (we'll tell you about this fabulous school
in a future column), because everyone knows what to do, so there is no yelling
and we can get on with learning."
The best part about having an organized structure in the classroom is that
the teacher can innovate, experiment, be creative, have fun, and most importantly,
be funny, caring, and loving. This type of classroom environment shows to the
students, parents, principal, school board, and the community the passion you
have for education and your desire and expectation for student achievement.
So, who are the most loving teachers? They are the ones who know how to set
up a relationship with the students; they are the ones who have classrooms that
are organized, structured, and well managed. Thus, they have time to be loving.
How Do You Spell Love
How do you spell love to a child? "T-I-M-E."
A loving teacher is not necessarily someone who even uses the word love in
the classroom. Love is conveyed. One of the best ways to convey love for your
job and love for your students is by inviting your students to come and learn.
This concept called, "Invitational Education" is described in chapter 9, "How
to Invite Students to Learn," in The First Days of School.
When you send an invitational message to your students you are saying, "You
are important to me as a person." If the concept of Invitational Education appeals
to you and you would like more information, please write to Dr. William Purkey,
Alliance for Invitational Education, UNC Greensboro, Curry Building, Greensboro,
NC 27412.
To William Purkey and Betty Siegel, who are the movers behind the concept
of invitational education, we thank them and credit them for such invitational
thoughts as:
- Every new school year is an invitation to success.
- At heart, every student wants to be invited.
- Opportunities are everywhere, but nothing happens until invitations are
sent.
- Invitations are like gifts; to exist they must be given.
- An invitation is a choice someone made and a chance that someone took.
- People want to be affirmed in their present value and invited to realize
their potential.
- Inviting actions speak louder than inviting words.
- To invite is to include; to be included is everything.
- Life loves the person who accepts the invitation to live it.
- Many invitations are not accepted because they were never received.
- To love is to act lovingly; to care is to act caringly.
- The door to a student's heart opens quietly; listen carefully.
All of these thoughts take time to implement, but oh the love behind the action.
From Your Valentine
From our first June column titled "Your
First Day" through to January's "The
Miracle of Teaching" each month we searched our hearts and minds for kernels
of hope, opportunity, and love to share with you. (To access all of our past
columns, go the bottom of the left margin and click on "Gazette
Back Issues.")
Learning is fundamentally social.
The relationship between children and their teachers
isn't incidental, but rather is
the central component of their learning.
Human development occurs within the context of real relationships.
We learn from whom we love.
- Lev S. Vygotsky
It's difficult to establish relationships with only words. But it is our hope
that you've sensed our love for the profession. We devote our full energies
to helping teachers.
When St. Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter
of the jailer. His love for her and his enduring faith managed to heal her blindness
before he was put to death. He left behind a message of hope and love for this
girl to read. And he signed the message "From your Valentine," a phrase we have
been using through the centuries to celebrate his day.
We invite you to leave messages for your students this year and tell them
of your faith in them and the desire for achievement. Sign it "From your Valentine"
and touch their hearts on your journey of the heart.
From your Valentines. . . .
Harry & Rosemary Wong products: http://harrywong.com/product
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