“Matchmaker,
matchmaker look through your book and make me a perfect match!”
Sheldon
Harnick, for “Fiddler on the Roof”
As
a mentor, have you thought of yourself as a matchmaker? Sometimes making a recommendation means
finding the perfect match.
This
week, a novice teacher I’m working with continued her struggle with classroom
management. I walked into the room as she
was trying the latest iteration of her (so-far) unsuccessful approaches to get
students to stop and listen. It was the “wait
for silence” strategy. The problem was,
her first-graders didn’t get the message.
Instead of growing more and more silent, they grew more and more
restless until finally there were several students actually jumping up and down
in their circle on the rug. It was time
to make a recommendation.
I
thought about the teacher, her personality and her teaching philosophy. Megan has a gentle disposition, a timid
nature, and an endearing smile. She has
lots of love in her heart and a philosophy that students need a nurturing
approach. What classroom management
technique could I recommend that would be a good match? I decided on the silent signal and sent her
the following e-mail:
Hi, Megan -
Hope you are having a great Thursday!
I appreciate your gentle approach with the children in your class and know that
your love and tenderness will take you far in your career as a teacher. I'd
like to offer a tip for classroom management that I hope would feel consistent
with your personality and philosophical approach to teaching. Here's a short
video clip:
Let me know what you think!
Here’s
the e-mail I got in return:
I
truly appreciate this! I have been having a difficult time with my classroom
management this week and therefore have been trying a variety of different
techniques. Today I tried the "I will wait" approach (which you
happened to see when you came in the room) and realized by the end of the day
that it was not working. I definitely will be implementing the silent signal
approach!
Thank
you so much,
Megan
When
making a recommendation, it’s important to consider not just what you would do, but what the teacher would do. Looking for a recommendation that will be a
good fit increases the likelihood that the recommendation will be tried,
applied, and continued. If a teacher is
requesting help, she’s really asking, “Find me a match of my own!”
This week, you might want to
take a look at:
A
video clip from “Fiddler on the Roof” – to remind you of your resolve to be a
good matchmaker!
How
writing in every class builds connections across academic areas:
Thoughts
about PLCs and teacher learning:
This
video showing debrief circles in math:
This
Reading Today article about using
music and movement to improve reading comprehension:
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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