A reader comments with hard-won knowledge. I would summarize it as being prepared with a variety of approaches and strategies and knowing when to apply the one that is right for the situation. No single approach is right for all.
| Diane, I’m an inner city teacher with 14 years of experience.The guiding principle I see for teachers’ practice is to create a teaching style that plays to one’s own strengths as a person and a member of the educational community. I believe that a great diversity in approaches creates a healthy learning experience for all.But this also means that there is a place for the driven disciplinarian.Despite the poorly thought out tone of the excerpt you shared, there is a need for something of an assertive no-nonsense approach to teaching, especially in the most challenging environments. I’m talking about environments with no functioning discipline in the hallways or in administrator’s offices. In some inner city schools, the teacher is truly on their own.
Beneath the Chuck Norris tone, I see the practice of clarity of directions and expectations, immediate and appropriate disciplinary feedback, a commitment by the teacher to infuse the classroom with drive and energy… these are all desirable. I love my students in that special way that is unique to teachers. Part of how I bring that to my classroom is a willingness to “be the bad guy.” But this is only an *approach* to teaching. The goal should be the same as that of a teacher who prefers to only catch flies with honey. They may have a different approach, but the diversity of approaches can– in a well run and supportive school– all be successfully aimed at the same goal. That teacher must temper their friendliness and fun-loving environment with a willingness to develop a tougher side to balance this. The reverse is also true. The same applies to the curriculum. Teach your strengths, but make a conscious effort to supplement what you provide the students with areas where you’re not so strong. This is what kills me about lockstep teaching. The very best of what the most skilled teachers have to offer will be dulled– irrevocably diminishing what it means to be an educated person in our nation. |
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is a good article in that it mentions the fact that many teachers work where there is no support outside of their classroom. What can you do when there is no administrative support? The degree of independence required of you can be overwhelming in some urban schools. Many good teachers will just quit. It is these special situations that are not covered in any kind of teacher preparation. If people are starving, they will go to whatever offers food; if the overwhelming need is discipline, they will do anything for that. I lasted only five years in an urban school district and I have a sense of awe towards those who can prevail successfully in that situation.
This teacher tells it like it is. I was a little guilty reading the list of how-tos from the “graduate course” but then realized, yes, I used all of those techniques and they were valuable, but they were by no means the only tools I used. There is a place for this kind of authority in the classroom even in the subject I taught and art is, in general, highly motivating. Kids are healthy when they challenge a teacher for authority, that is energy that needs to be channeled into the subject matter. But if all you’ve got are skills as a drill-master, what is done after you’ve got their attention? I’m assuming more drill, but good luck holding attention with that.
Thank you for your blog. I loved teaching, I loved the kids and I loved the learning that went on in my classroom. It is good to find a place where that is discussed by people who are passionate about the complexity of learning.
One tidbit of practice:
A high school classmate of mine teaches at the college level and shared her “Lesson planners/writer’s block” on Facebook. I suggested this– when you’re out of ideas, choose a text or subject that you’re confident that your students will know more about than you do– or at least have a more direct connection. Generationally, technologically, culturally, ethnically– something like that.
Open the lesson or unit with an honest “I don’t know much about this.” Students will leap at the chance to enjoy what they know, and you can then take it from there and explore the topic together.
I’m up on my Anglo- and Afro- American lit, and my Brit lit. I have not read and studied enough Chicano/ Hispanic literature. I took the above approach with an honors class reading of a short Gary Soto novel _Buried Onions_. Interest was piqued start to finish and we all got a lot out of a unit. It’s a simply written but deeply poetic book that speaks directly to what we all see going on in the streets of the city where I teach.
One trick of this approach is that there is no law against pretending you don’t know about something and getting a similar result.
This is one way to play with that notion of “authority” in the classroom. If the students respect your authority, it is all the more powerful for them when you relinquish it.
Veteran teachers who’ve been trained in child development are familiar with the primary management/parenting styles and typically implement an authoritative approach.
Career teachers also know that one of the most effective classroom management strategies is a learning experience that engages students. What I’ve seen on videos of lessons in Relay/KIPP and Direct Instruction (DI) classrooms (as well as first-hand observations of the latter), is an authoritarian approach. Everything is scripted and the students are controlled, not engaged. That is very different from promoting intrinsic motivation and love of learning.
Also, DI, often touted as the magic bullet for teaching reading to children from low income families, is not supported by all longitudinal research:
http://www.centerforcsri.org/research/improvement.cgi?st=s&sr=SR003741
That is true teachers will not get anywhere in the classroom if they “catch flies with honey”. They indeed should be a balance. That displays to students that you are not a push over and that you indeed can have fun but we have educational goals. Also I remember when I was doing clinic for CSD and I was having a hard time trying to balance how I wanted to act around the children in clinic. However, after 4 weeks of clinic i realized that it takes time to understand your teacher style.