 |
 |
CHRIS
TOY
Diary #9
When
It Comes to Praise,
It's Best to Spread It Around
I'm thinking
that the key to everything I do as an administrator is communication. Whether
I intend to convey a message or not, my actions, inaction, words, or silence
sends a message, actually several messages since there are always several
audiences and perspectives.
The other day
a teacher suggested that I might consider balancing my constructive criticism
and suggestions for improvements with more public praise for people who
are doing good things. I thought this was a great idea and proceeded to
do just that.
I sent out an
email to the staff publicly thanking the teacher who organized a very successful
staff wide workshop on bullying. The email received mixed reviews. I warned
the teacher I would be doing this so she was prepared. Some teachers appreciated
her work and felt the praise was deserved. Other teachers "rolled their
eyes." I'm not sure what their issues were, but the message was clear that
they somehow were uncomfortable with it.
After a week
or so, the teacher I had praised came to me to ask if I would be sending
out another email soon. I had been thinking about whether or not to do another
one because of the mixed reviews. After some discussion and thinking, I
decided I should continue to send out messages about good things that were
happening in the classrooms. The teacher did appreciate being recognized,
but wanted to make sure she was not alone. It also made sense because teachers
never really hear about the good stuff their peers are doing.
I'm the only
one in the building who has the opportunity to see what everyone is doing.
All this time I've been visiting classes, taking notes, being impressed
with how hard people are working, and I'm the only one who sees it. Teachers
simply do not have the time or the inclination to share what's going on,
much less what's going well in their classes.
Reporting
good news throughout the building
So this week
when I visited I took small pieces of my observations and shared them with
the staff via email.
I shared my
visit to the new art teacher's ceramics class. I participated by sitting
with the 7th graders and worked on a pinch pot. As I sat and watched her
demonstrate the techniques to a rapt, quiet group of young adolescents I
could see she was skilled as an artist, and gifted even for someone in their
first year of teaching. After her demonstration the students lined up to
receive their clay and got right to work, socializing easily as they formed
their clay. She moved among them comfortably, helping, encouraging, and
from time to time, calling the whole class' attention to some detail or
clue about working with the clay.
I also visited
a new 6th grade math teacher's class. He had the students working on converting
improper fractions to whole numbers. The students were playing a game in
which they would roll a die and then they would have to find an improper
fraction on a game sheet that equaled the number on the die. Of course the
catch was that they had to be the first player to fill in a row on the game
sheet. I joined in, choosing to play with a student who had been to the
office a few times. We actually had a good time playing, and he picked up
the concept after a couple turns. I looked around the room and noted that
100% of the students were engaged in the activity. The teacher moved around
the room helping students who had questions. After my visit the teacher
thanked me for visiting and we talked about the class.
Another visit
this week was to one of my veteran science teachers. I could use a school
full of teachers like her. Every year the feedback on her includes comments
such as, "The nicest, hardest teacher", "Never worked so hard, learned so
much, and had so much fun", and "She's the best". She's a team leader, and
someone I go to for ideas. Anyway, when I visited she was giving a quiz
on the periodic table. I asked to take the quiz. She asked if I wanted the
regular quiz or the modified one. I took both. It's been a while since I've
taken chemistry but I managed to pass the quiz. I had to remember things
like the three parts of the atom, atomic number, atomic mass, element, molecule,
compound, chemical changes, physical changes, and more. After the quiz she
treated the kids to a demonstration of mixing zinc with hydrochloric acid,
collecting the resulting hydrogen gas in a balloon and having her student
assistant make an explosion. I'm sure the kids will remember that chemical
change.
Fab Friday
We ended
the week with an activity called Fab Friday. Three times a year we take
a day to do lifelong activities with the students. It's an opportunity
for kids to elect among activities like rock climbing, mountain biking,
kayaking, golfing, tennis, frisbee golf, video production, visiting museums,
working at the humane society, wood carving, international cooking, and
many other activities. The students get to see the teachers as more than
taskmasters. The teachers get to share some of their hobbies and they
see the students as more than sources of late assignments. I took a group
of students kayaking.
We had a
great time. At the end of the day one of the teachers said to another
teacher, "This is great, and we get paid to work with kids." Me too.
Comment
on this diary entry
Read
next week's diary
Read
last week's diary
|
|
|
