I (had) this friend. He is the type of person who is highly organized and lauds order and structure. He is largely a moral and upstanding person who can get buried in the work, but is trying to do what is best. He started out teaching one subject but moved into teaching teachers. That is where I think things began to fall apart.
This is not a criticism on the man himself, but a criticism on the art of teaching vs. the structure of teaching. See, I feel like once he crossed over he became more officious and more concerned about the theory and rhetoric of teaching than teaching itself. It got me thinking about how I was taught to be a teacher (which happened only after I was thrust into a classroom entirely unprepared for the horde of honors students that awaited me). I believe that the structure of teaching looks at being a teacher from very far away. I believe it is concerned with so-called best practices and rights and responsibilities and often the pie in the sky view of what teaching could be and tends to ignore the ‘boots on the ground’ truth of what happens inside the classroom.
Each classroom is a unique space that builds upon the initial interaction you have with the students and the composition of students in that classroom. There are no set rules that can prepare you for the unique composition of your teaching space. Best practices, while extremely useful, are only guidelines for how to enter the interaction and come to an understanding about various student types. Still, that group of students you encounter on day 1 are yours and yours alone. The style of interaction you set up with them is yours and yours alone. This means that someone else walking into your space might have a very different way of dealing with the specific conditions, which is right for them but not necessarily right for you or your students.
This is a lesson I’ve learned over the years of being a teacher. I have also learned that content is based on this dynamic. You cannot expect to teach the same stuff to every class, because not every class is going to be reached with the same content. This is part of why I waffle with my content from semester to semester. The other part of it is trying to keep it fresh and entertaining for myself. If I get bored, then it is completely over for me as a useful and cogent instructor.
Best practices matter. Rules matter. However, these things are not absolutes or constants. You have to adjust to the population and the relationship you form with your student group.
Some Thoughts:
- Officially back to work today, and that means learning and leaning into the process of organizing my time. Not an easy thing coming off an almost entirely structureless break.