Six years ago I had an opportunity.  An opportunity that was unexpected. An opportunity to share.  An opportunity to be honest. Monte Syrie, my colleague and friend, started teaching a Classroom Management class at Eastern Washington University.  Because this is one of the first classes prospective teachers take, he thought it would be beneficial for them to hear from current teachers other than himself.  From that thought came the teacher panel. An opportunity for teachers to share their answer to the question, “What do you wish you would have known when you were in their shoes?”.  And now, having never missed one, I’m 17 teacher panels in and each quarter I struggle a tad bit to pick the one piece of advice to share. I usually share one of these, my top 3 answers.  

I wish someone had told me that relationships are important.  In one of my early education classes there was a brief mention that you needed to have a good rapport with your students, but beyond that there was no further discussion.  I quickly learned, in my early years of teaching, that if kids feel like you care, they will trust you. And if they trust you, they will do pretty much anything for you. How do I do it?  I greet each of my students, each of my classes, each day at the door. Sometimes it’s with a simple, “Hello”. Sometimes it’s, “How are you?”. And it doesn’t end there. This year I’ve started beginning the period each day with smiles and frowns, something good and/or bad that is going on in their lives.  And I share with each of my class periods as well because our relationship is not a one way street. If I’m asking them to open up and share something personal, I have to be willing to do the same. Yes, it takes time, but I believe it’s important because they are important.

I wish someone had told me that each kid deserves a fresh start.  It is true that as human beings it’s natural for us to judge people.  That said, it is unfair for a judgement to be held against a kid. Why?  Well, the reality is they are not perfect. Humans are not perfect. To me it doesn’t matter what a kid said and/or did the day, week, or semester before.  I don’t care who their brother, sister, or parent is. Every student has a fresh start every single time they walk through my door. If I’m honest, it’s not always easy.  There are kids who push your buttons almost every day making it a struggle to start new with them. Granted there are “exceptions to the rule” and “extreme behaviors”. There always is.  But I know that my students value and appreciate the fresh start that they always have with me. I have realized if I don’t give them that, then they will shut down and I won’t get much out of them academically or otherwise.

I wish someone had told me that you need an outlet.  It is easy to fall into the “school trap”.  The trap where you feel like you have to get to school early, stay late, and take mountains of work home each night.  And this trap has a serious side effect. . .you forget to take care of yourself. For me I have to take the time to workout on a regular basis.  When I don’t, when grading, meetings, etc., get in the way, I can feel the difference physically, mentally, and with my attitude. And that difference affects how I am in my classroom and how I am with my students.  They can tell when I’m not myself. The minute I get back into the workout groove I feel like myself again. Yes, I love my job. It’s not just what I do. It’s who I am. But, it’s only a small part of my life, so I have to make time for the other parts of my life.  

Even though I’ve been doing these things for a number of years, this year I’ve realized that they are vitally important in making our select-and-support grading approach successful in my classroom.  There’s no way kids would have been open to this drastic change if I wasn’t myself, if they didn’t trust me, and if they didn’t think I cared about them.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.