Today I asked student teachers to share one thing they’d learned in this last month that they could use. As I sorted the notes into categories, the lessons fell into 3: content, pedagogy and relationships. Being immersed in the field of education, my mind automatically looks for the acronym and there it was—CPR!
Those three categories are a matter of survival for new teachers.The fears haunt them—of a class exploding, of kids not learning anything, of not doing a perfect job. They want to be secure in what they teach, how they teach it and who we are together in the classroom.
They were excited about content they saw kids thinking about, particularly from multiple perspectives. They were inspired by instructional moves and activities, simulations, structured discussions, projects.
Relationship is what we talk about most as there are more gray areas and room for teacher idiosyncrasies. From how to learn 130+ names quickly to having favorites to finding the sweet spot of the unique teacher-student ‘friendship’ or bond that is why many of us don’t quit when the system gets really hard to navigate–certainly why many students engage in classroom opportunities.
We talk about this a lot. To every question in the category of relationships, we come back to seeing each student as a person–then the name sticks, you find something in every student you can appreciate, you know how to connect new learning to their interests and context.
We offer them some basic tools like standing in the doorway to greet students when they come to class, asking about their day, taking photos to study with their names, listening in when they are working in groups, one minute one on one conversations, seating charts in the beginning to study and learn names and then using their names often.
Watching the student teachers discover the connective tissue that holds a class and a school together, keeps me from forgetting as well.
Content, Pedagogy and Relationship—the basics they keep asking for.
Perhaps not Bill Gates’ 3 R’s but perhaps more real, concrete and directly helpful for a new teacher and in turn for their students.