Thats the way to do it - according to a behaviour guru
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25 / 03 / 2008 | Author: dnorris
That’s the way to do it - according to a behaviour guru.
I was teaching in a small school close to the Ugandan Border. A colleague came into the classroom to take some photographs of the school and the pupils. As an afterthought she took one of me sitting at the desk in the corner.
The flash went off. The comment was, “I’ll send this one off to my friend as an example of old fashioned teaching.”
I don’t suppose for one moment, it was meant to be cruel but all teachers constantly evaluate their own teaching. After all, teaching is a career in which techniques fluctuate almost as much as fashion, and I had been through the valley of doubt that afflicts most teachers on many an occasion. Once again I found myself wondering. Was I doing it right?
At times like this it is often useful to reflect back over your experience of working with other teachers. They can act as markers of good teaching.
In my own career I had seen the flamboyant ones, the strict ones, the motherly ones, the organised ones, the chaotic ones, the fun ones and the ones who made it look easy.
In some ways too much observation is pointless because unless you are the complete actor we all know that we can not change our temperament. I for one could not change mine.
The very first school I taught at was a small school next to Armley Jail in Leeds. The headmaster remarked that he felt it a privilege to teach and indeed said that he would do it for nothing if he could afford it. His small piece of wisdom was that he taught all children as if they were his own.
Ironically, the next head teacher, who worked in a small church school near the Elephant and Castle, had a similar philosophy. He also pointed out that the behaviour of children in school was rarely different from that at home.
Both had that benign presence that made you realise that they were in charge; they both had infinite patience and both put learning at the forefront of all of their teaching.
When it came to charisma, there was no greater exponent than a head teacher in Zimbabwe. His assemblies were like a firework display and his lessons were brilliant. He chalked the numbers of Phi all along the blackboard and around the walls of the classroom to show that they did not recur. He divided up cakes to illustrate points about fractions, all with the hitch of his trousers to show that he meant business. Yet despite the showmanship his record keeping was immaculate and he knew the individual limitations of every pupil in the class.
My very first class mentor started each day with a joke. My college graduate friend was a master of the positive attitude.
All of them helped shape my teaching persona. I put them into the mix just as a music hall entertainer crafted their act. My teaching was not an exact copy of all their styles, more a back stop when analysing the lessons that went wrong.
They also served as a reassuring check list when lined up alongside the mantra of educational guru John Bayley.
He recently listed the following points for successful teaching.
1. Be positive.
2. Give direction and choice
3. Don’t invite confrontation
4. Teach great lessons
5. Treat pupils like your own kids
6. Recognition is important
7. Set the controls
8. Make someone’s day
9. Have some fun
10. Think about the body language
Most reassuring of all was the homily that stated the obvious. He said “remember, you are the adult, they are the children and you are in charge.”
The odd thing is that we all know these facts to be useful building blocks for good teaching. Why then do we elevate the people who list them to the level of Guru? It seems to me that we are all capable of being a guru if only we had the time to write it in a book.
Why not send us your ten points for successful teaching and we will publish them in otn?
