Encouraging Success: An Educator's Philosophy
This blog is about bringing out the best in people, whether they be family, friends, employees, employers, or as I will focus on here, students and teachers.
To give you context, I am a Secondary School Teacher of several years, teaching in both Australia and the UK – in Catholic schools, Independent, Public, Academy, lower-socio economic and privileged areas. You name it.
While every school is different, the premise is the same: good schools reap good results. But when I say ‘good’, I’m not just talking about academia.
When a school fosters a supportive relationship with its teachers, and teachers nurture their students’ wellbeing, academic improvement will occur.
Unfortunately though (and many teachers will agree), teaching has become less student-focussed, whereby teachers’ time is spent managing excessive behaviour issues, and entering data that is forcibly ‘fudged’ to benefit a school’s overall performance rating. Less time is spent planning for classes and providing students with the quality lessons we so want to teach.
After five years of full-time teaching, I recently stepped back to focus on building my own businesses; however, my heart still longs to teach and give students the benefit of a good education. So, to appease both career paths, I’ve taken to casual (relief) teaching - this time in UK Primary schools. And boy, what a culture shock!
People seem to assume that Primary Teaching is easier than Secondary. Correction. It is not easier, and it is not harder. It is simply a DIFFERENT challenge.
Primary and Secondary Teaching both have their pros and cons - their easy achievements and their hard slogs. But one thing as a casual teacher resonates across both: the casual teacher is only as successful as the hosting school allows them to be.
So in talking about bringing out the best in people, let’s take a look at what both schools and teachers can do to encourage success on school grounds.
Schools should:
Welcome New Staff
Regardless of whether it’s a permanent or a casual role. No teacher should enter the school without being introduced to the relevant staff, and given a warm welcome. New teachers should not be considered ‘outsiders’ by or ‘sub-par’ to existing staff. Staff must to show a united front, and the first step is to welcome all new teaching staff who have taken a chance on your school and students. They are there to help YOU.
Facilitate Inductions
New staff regardless of position must be inducted with: behaviour policies and processes, where to find resources, what to do in situations with particular students, given an explanation of daily timetables (assembly process, evacuation procedures), a student body photo register, and a tour of the school. A formal induction is always necessary, and allows new teachers to become autonomous very quickly, which is of direct benefit to the students in their care.
Set boundaries with TAs/LSAs
As a teacher, I can only show complete gratitude to the many Teaching/ Learning Support Assistants who work one-to-one with certain students each and every day. Often, their presence and assistance calms the student, allowing the teacher to give clear and punctual instructions to the rest of the class, before touching base with that student themselves. But not all TAs understand boundaries. I’ve worked in schools as a full-time and casual teacher where TAs have interrupted my instructions and blatantly undermined my authority. On a personal level, it’s incredibly offensive, but more so, destroys the teacher’s reputation within the student body, giving the children ‘license’ to question and ignore their instructions from there on in. If a visiting teacher in particular appears to need help, advice or further information, speak to them quietly, but never in front of the students. Again, showing a united front empowers teachers and creates a harmonious, organised learning environment for students to thrive in.
Allow for Teacher Autonomy
The best schools I have worked in as a casual teacher have allowed me full authority of my daily classes. If I’ve kept a class in at lunch, or sent a child to sit outside the door for continual disruption, they’ve supported my actions and strengthened my profile within the school as a result, allowing for more cohesive lessons in the future. The worst offenders (and often those with a bad reputation within the community) are the schools without a clear behaviour management strategy, and teachers who are too soft. Worse yet, are the teachers within these schools who correct or criticise your behaviour management in front of a class full of students. And then they wonder why their school performs poorly, and why their enrolments are low?
Teaching is a learning curve that is ongoing, and I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t always get it right. But I adapted to every environment and situation, persevered through the challenging times, and made it my mission to keep in mind what was best for the child at all times. From my experience, the following four points are crucial to creating a harmonious learning environment that encourages the best
from students.
Teachers should:
Ignore the “don’t smile before Christmas” rule. I’ve seen New Scheme teachers take this rule way too seriously. Students feel they cannot relate to these educators, and many teachers take the route of scowling and screaming as a result. Teachers must find enjoyment in their lessons. If they can’t, the students won’t either. Is this approach fostering a nurturing learning environment? Or is it simply scaring children into submission?
Listen to students Whether it’s literature or pollination, fidget spinners or Minecraft, listen to what students have to say. Showing an interest in their views and hobbies makes for a more interesting lesson, and gives teachers the opportunity to make lessons relevant to that age group, as well as teaching students to apply what they’ve learned to real world situations. The result? Engaged students and effective learning! It’s also a great way to compel students to discuss and debate openly, in a controlled environment.
Set boundaries Teachers are educators first, yes, but are also responsible for their students’ overall wellbeing and formation as young, free-thinking adults. Exclusively becoming a ‘friend’ does not ensure safety or effective learning. Set clear boundaries of what is acceptable behaviour and what is not. Likewise, make it clear that you expect their best effort at all times, and nothing less. Remind your class where necessary that slacking off or misbehaving sets them and their peers behind. It is detrimental to THEM, not the teacher! Would they be happy to pay to see a film, only to have the audience talking loudly throughout? No? The classroom is no different. Education is the expected transaction, and disruption is only cheating them!
Laugh! I’m not saying laugh at every student’s joke, but know when it is appropriate to crack a smile or acknowledge a good piece of comic timing! Students love it when adults have a sense of humour, and in my experience, knowing WHEN to laugh, or making clear that I am stifling a smile helps to form a strong bond with the students. Students want to know their teachers are HUMAN, and not just another ‘suit’ demanding respect. Students may not remember what you taught them, but they’ll certainly remember how you made them feel, and fostering a happy, light and fruitful environment instigates all kinds of purposeful learning!
And on a bigger scale, schools and teachers must band together to fight that which threatens our students’ education.
Unite I feel I need to reiterate that successful teachers are supported by their faculties and school. But I’d like to extend this to the many, many teachers who disagree with the current structure in our schools today; putting meaningless, time-consuming data ahead of our students’ practical education and wellbeing is not the way forward. We know this is a failing system, and one that conflicts ethically with what teaching really is, so we need to unite cross-curricular, cross-denomination, cross-country, even worldwide to question and alter the system that teaching has become. Only then will our teachers leave work happy and satisfied with what they and their students have achieved, and rejuvenated for the week to come.
Legitimise data As teachers, we shouldn’t accept ‘fudged’ data for the vanity of our schools. It doesn’t give parents essential information about their child, nor does it reflect a student’s true efforts in class. Students who are struggling need to be identified by what they can or can’t do – not simply given a false number on a report that makes the school look good. Enough said.
So in short, schools should encourage, emphasise, and compliment their teachers, empowering them to become successful educators. And likewise, our teachers will continue to empower students to achieve their absolute best in everything they do, applying transferable academic and life skills to their studies and beyond.
*Disclaimer: all students faces and school emblems have been blurred for privacy reasons. Though some of these images are available to the public for school promotional purposes, I felt it best to keep their identities anonymous.
