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Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
We're In the People Business
As a high school chemistry and biology teacher, I found that my lessons were much more engaging if they got off to a good start at the very beginning of the class period. I wanted my students to know that if they were not on time, that they would miss something important or interesting. I also found that taking attendance at the start of class seemed to counter that objective, so I began to check roll at the end of each class period. That way, I could take care of the "housekeeping" chores while the students packed-up during that last minute before the bell rang to end class.
Occasionally, as I perused the class roster in my roll book (this predates the days of taking attendance electronically), I would have to glance up to confirm whether a student was present. And being the reflective practitioner that I aspired to be... it forced me ask a very difficult question - "How can I teach an entire lesson, and not be absolutely sure if a particular student was in my room?" The answer was simple - if I was not totally sure about a student's presence in class, I obviously did not have a personal interaction with that student during the class time together. Clearly, I failed to greet the student at the door (which was my practice during class change), or to ask the student a question during class, or to have any other one-on-one interaction with that student. As a result, I would always try to say something to that student right before class dismissed. My goal was simple - to have some kind of personal interaction with every student every day.
When I became an administrator, I found that my mantra transitioned to "every teacher, every day". I would try to speak to each staff member as I made my morning rounds, and then try to step in every classroom early in the instructional day. And right before I would head out to the cafeteria to help supervise lunch, I would look over our school staff directory. As I went down the list, the question would be simple - "Have I spoken to that important member of our school family today?". If not, I knew that lunch would be a great time to touch base with those that I had missed.
Adults are like middle schoolers. We all have a hard time hearing the message if we don't trust the messenger. This simple goal - to have an interpersonal interaction with every staff member every day - worked for me. It could be as simple as a "good morning" or as involved as a discussion about an ailing parent. The important thing was that it had to be genuine and authentic. I have had some of my colleagues tell me that they don't have time to speak to every teacher or step in every classroom every day; and I would agree that it is a challenge to do this. This is especially true on days where you have meetings scheduled or a difficult and/or time-consuming situation arises. But I contend that most of our tasks pale in comparison of building those relationships with our teachers and staff. For when it is all said and done... we are in the people business.
This seemed to work for me. I share this, not as a template, but to lead to simple question... what works for you as you seek to build those important relationships with those who allow you to lead?
Occasionally, as I perused the class roster in my roll book (this predates the days of taking attendance electronically), I would have to glance up to confirm whether a student was present. And being the reflective practitioner that I aspired to be... it forced me ask a very difficult question - "How can I teach an entire lesson, and not be absolutely sure if a particular student was in my room?" The answer was simple - if I was not totally sure about a student's presence in class, I obviously did not have a personal interaction with that student during the class time together. Clearly, I failed to greet the student at the door (which was my practice during class change), or to ask the student a question during class, or to have any other one-on-one interaction with that student. As a result, I would always try to say something to that student right before class dismissed. My goal was simple - to have some kind of personal interaction with every student every day.
When I became an administrator, I found that my mantra transitioned to "every teacher, every day". I would try to speak to each staff member as I made my morning rounds, and then try to step in every classroom early in the instructional day. And right before I would head out to the cafeteria to help supervise lunch, I would look over our school staff directory. As I went down the list, the question would be simple - "Have I spoken to that important member of our school family today?". If not, I knew that lunch would be a great time to touch base with those that I had missed.
Adults are like middle schoolers. We all have a hard time hearing the message if we don't trust the messenger. This simple goal - to have an interpersonal interaction with every staff member every day - worked for me. It could be as simple as a "good morning" or as involved as a discussion about an ailing parent. The important thing was that it had to be genuine and authentic. I have had some of my colleagues tell me that they don't have time to speak to every teacher or step in every classroom every day; and I would agree that it is a challenge to do this. This is especially true on days where you have meetings scheduled or a difficult and/or time-consuming situation arises. But I contend that most of our tasks pale in comparison of building those relationships with our teachers and staff. For when it is all said and done... we are in the people business.
This seemed to work for me. I share this, not as a template, but to lead to simple question... what works for you as you seek to build those important relationships with those who allow you to lead?
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