In
some classrooms, the appropriate answer during roll call is “Present!”
Lately
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it
means to be present, since I recently bought a children’s book with
that title. And I’ve determined that if I could successfully coach teachers to
be present,
much of my work would be done.
Being
present as a teacher means, I think, that we are constantly tuned in to our
students. We are noticing their questions and their quandaries. We recognize
their successes. When a lesson is falling flat, we realize it. We detect when
students are losing interest or confused. We sense when they are engaged – both
physically and cognitively.
For
the past two weeks, I had the opportunity to teach elementary students during a
summer writing camp. I was reminded how hard—but how important—it is to stay present.
When
you have to think not only about kids, but about the schedule, the next thing
in the lesson plan, the technology or book that you’ll be using soon, it is
difficult to be present. But oh, so important!
When
you have 30 students, and one of them is in their own little world, it is
difficult—but important—to be present not only for that one, but for the other
29.
When
it is hot and humid and the air conditioning isn’t working and you are
wondering who you can call to change the situation, it is hard—but important—to
be present for your students.
I
realize how all of these distractions pulled me away from the careful attention
I wanted to be giving to student learning. How hard it was to be in the moment
with my students when there were so many other things demanding my attention.
But
when I was present, I learned that Aleah loves My Little Ponies and will be inspired to write if she can work that
topic into her opinion piece.
I
realized that Devin s-t-r-u-g-g-l-e-d to put words on a page, but if I
patiently listened, he had insight that he could eventually put to paper.
When
I was present, I realized that even though Bella is a foot smaller
than anyone else in the group, she has big ideas!
I
realized these things by really listening during whole group conversations. I
realized these things by kneeling to confer, one-on-one, during work time. My
realizations came when I was tuned in to how students were responding to
mini-lessons and activities.
Teaching
kids, rather than their teachers, has been a good reminder for me about both
the challenges and the affordances of being present. As a coach, I’ve
recognized that focusing on teacher engagement improves student engagement. When
teachers are truly present, it is a great gift to their students. As author Rana
Diorio points out, perhaps that is why it is called being present!
This week, you might want to
take a look at:
Using “Image of the Week” to build
visual literacy and community:
30 Ideas for Teaching Writing (from the
National Writing Project):
Teaching
computer coding in kindergarten!
Why music is a universal language:
Making time for slow thinkers:
That’s it for this week. Happy
Coaching!
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