I am getting ready to begin my 7th year teaching.
Seven is the number of completeness or perfection, so I’m
pretty sure I should be a perfect teacher this year. Go ahead and laugh out
loud, I know I am!
However, I thought it would be fitting to share six of my
biggest teaching failures.
Why?
A few reasons…
- I’ve learned a lot from those failures and maybe reading
about them can be beneficial to others.
- Teachers have exploded on social media—which is a great
thing—but it can also be intimidating, overwhelming, and discouraging (to be
explained further below).
- I think I am finally finding “my way” as a teacher.
So without further delay, let’s begin.
1. Being too strict.
Yes, it is possible to be too strict. My first year teaching, I expected
complete and total obedience at all times and when I was teaching those little
kiddos better have their eyes on me and not being playing with anything! I was
consistent and fair—no exceptions!
Positive: My students were very well-behaved and attentive
during lessons.
Negative: One of my best behaved students got in trouble for
playing with something while I was teaching and I had to spend weeks rebuilding
her trust.
2. Following the curriculum too much.
I was given teacher’s manuals and resources (for which I am very thankful), but
it is against my nature not to “finish” something. I kept to my lesson schedule
no matter what! I taught the terms quarter-to, quarter-till, and quarter after
to first graders who were not ready for it. They became frustrated. I became
frustrated. After introducing these terms, my students seemed to lose the
ability to tell time to the half hour and the hour. But I stuck to the
curriculum!
Positive: We completed the curriculum and covered everything
it said I should, even things not in my standards (like those pesky telling time
terms).
Negative: It caused unneeded frustrations for my students
and me.
3. Communication – lack of it and too much of it!
There really are no positives here, so instead I will
present the alternative of each failure.
Early in the school year, I did not communicate my
expectation and consequence regarding a certain procedure in my room well to my
students which resulted in a HUGE misunderstanding with one student and her
parents. I should have been willing to
slow down when explaining new rules/expectations to ensure understanding.
I have at times not communicated enough (or soon enough)
with my administration regarding problems in the classroom. Better to
over-communicate with your administration so they don’t have to be surprised
when contacted by a parent.
When I saw an “Oops” note on Pinterest, I thought it was the
greatest thing ever! As a parent, I would have appreciated getting them.
However, in some special situations parents don’t want or need to know every
time their child has a problem at school. You know the ones I’m talking
about…the ones that would be getting an “Oops” note all the time. This would be
the rare occasion when it is possible to over-communicate. The notes were part
of my management plan—no exceptions! I’ve since realized that all students are
not the same and behavior management involves taking that and the actual
behavior into account before deciding on the severity of the consequence.
4. Implementing too many new ideas at one time.
You may have realized by now that I don’t do anything
half-way, so when I saw interactive notebooks all over social media I jumped in
head-first. We had a reading INB, a math INB, and a science INB! Fortunately, that
was the year I had a well-behaved, academically high class who could handle the
craziness. I loved watching them actively engaged in their notebooks and taking
pride in their finished work. I hated the time we wasted cutting and gluing. I
knew that it was too much for my next class, so I went down to two INBs: reading
and math. I then watched that class slop through their INBs and perform many of
the activities in a meaningless way. Did I scrap INBs completely? Nope. I still
use a math notebook in the way that best suits my particular class.
Positive: Remember I mentioned how teachers have exploded on
the internet. It is awesome to have so many new ideas at our fingertips. In
fact, I think we should all be willing to try new things from time to time.
Negative: Sometimes those new ideas that are popping up all
over the internet will not work for you or your students (we’ll come back to
this) and you certainly don’t have to try them all at once!
5. Implementing ideas because others were doing it.
In order to explain this, I have to give you a snapshot of
my classroom management plan. I have always used some sort of clip chart. When
I first started teaching, the chart only went down. Then I added the ability to
clip up. As Class Dojo became popular, I gave that a try. I liked it for the positive
reinforcement (did not take away points), so I began using it with the clip
chart only going down again. As a side note, let me make something clear about
my clip chart. It was used with love and compassion. I spent time talking to
students about misbehavior, consequences, and how we could try to do better
next time. It was not used in an unfeeling way that shamed my students (as I’ve
seen some blog posts portray). You need to know that I liked my management
plan. In fact, I’m pretty sure my administrators and coworkers would agree that
I have good classroom management.
Then I saw a new idea—Brag Tags! Oh, they looked so cute and
fun. I was always looking for ways to add in more positive reinforcement. I
could picture myself handing those little tags out and my students feeling so
special for their accomplishments. I was concerned about the name because I
hate to see kids “bragging” to their classmates, but I plunged ahead. I called
them Smart Tags and students earned them for making smart choices.
Positive: Remember I mentioned how teachers have exploded on
the internet. It is awesome to have so many new ideas at our fingertips. In
fact, I think we should all be willing to try new things from time to time.
Negative: Sometimes those new ideas that are popping up all
over the internet will not work for you or your students (we’ll come back to
this). I was not good at giving out Brag Tags spontaneously, which I think is key
to using them successfully. And you know that bragging I was worried about? It
happened. It happened no matter how many times I explained that we weren’t
competing with one another. And it made me sad because deep in my heart I knew
that this particular new idea wasn’t for me and I did it anyway.
6. Making too much work for myself (again, no positives here).
Teaching is hard work! There are so many things demanding
our time and attention. It is imperative that we simplify where we can.
Part of the reason Brag Tags didn’t work for me was because
it was just one more thing I was trying to do in an already full classroom management plan. I need
to simplify and have plans to do just that!
Trouble filling your treasure box? I had one my first couple
years. Not needed! Your students would love choices like show-and-tell, no
shoes, trade desks, etc. Easier and costs you nothing.
Struggle to keep up with your classroom job board? Make one
special helper for the entire week who does all the jobs.
Constantly working on daily lesson plans? Make them by week
so that you can make minor adjustments and reuse next year.
I’m pretty sure I could accumulate quite a list of ways I’ve
simplified my work here, but I’ll save that for another post.
Let’s wrap this up, shall we?
This list is definitely not an extensive list of my teacher
fails. It is also not intended to tell you that if you do any of these things,
you are wrong. I’m a firm believer that we as teachers have to find what works
best for us and our students.
I felt compelled to admit my failures because the season of
new ideas is upon us, and you’ll notice a few of my failures were the direct
result of jumping into those new ideas. I was susceptible to these mistakes
because I was a “new” teacher looking to find my teaching identity among the
abundance of information available to me via social media.
Don’t misunderstand! We should try new things in our
classroom.
In fact, one of my core beliefs about teaching is that if
you think you don’t have anything else to learn and are unwilling to try
something new, it is time for you to retire.
I have to say that Tammy from Forever in First really put
this in perspective for me. I listened to a podcast of her interview on
Inspiring Educators (click here to listen). She said that she considers herself
the “gatekeeper” of her classroom.
That resonated with me.
You see, I’m the gatekeeper.
It is my job to ensure that anything that comes into my
classroom is for the benefit of my students. Those new ideas (dare I call them
fads?) that I see need to be examined critically and researched if possible. I
need to take it slow and really think things through. I need to know myself, my
teaching style, and my students. I need to listen to my gut (also known as the
Holy Spirit because of my relationship with the Lord).
I’m the gatekeeper.
You’re the gatekeeper.
P.S. NEW Teachers – Take it slow. Learn your style. Get to know
your community and students. You don’t have to do everything everyone else is
doing. You’ll still be a great teacher. Teaching isn’t about following the
latest trends. It’s about doing what is best for your students at any given time.
