The Median Sib

Ever notice that people who spend their money on beer, cigarettes and lottery tickets are always complaining about being broke and not feeling well?

I mixed Rogaine with Viagra, and now I have hair like Don King.

Note: (You should thank me.  I selected only my two favorite of 28 “inspirations” that were emailed to me today.)

In the May/June 2006 issue of Instructor magazine (p. 33) there is an article by Pamela Wheaton Shorr entitled “What’s On Your Principal’s Mind?”  In the article Shorr posed questions to principals and reported the results.  One question, in particular, caught my attention:  What qualities matter most in a teacher?  Here’s Shorr’s report:

Passion for teaching and compassion for students topped the list for most principals.  “I’m looking for people who teach with dedication,” notes Dr. Yvonne Chan, an award-winning principal at Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Los Angeles, California, and a member of the State Board of Education.  “Skills can always be learned.”

But, administrators say, this passion for teaching must be paired with compassion – a love of students and the wish to advocate for them and help them reach their full potential.   Mike Scholz, who was an assistant principal for 13 years and is now in his first year as principal of Mascoutah High School in Mascoutah, Illinois, says he wants his teachers to be involved with kids outside the classroom.  “I look for teachers who give extra of themselves,” he says, noting that it’s important for teachers to run extracurricular activities and clubs and show up at school events to show how important the kids are to them.

Other key teaching qualities include an interest in continuing professional development, commitment to the overall school community, subject knowledge, and understanding of the developmental stages of children.

Oh my.  Where do I begin in responding to that?  Am I the only one who thinks that’s a bunch of hooey?  Okay, maybe not hooey, but while those qualities SOUND good, they’re not the real world, necessary, use-every-day qualities of excellent teachers.

Understanding of child development, knowledge of subject matter and how to teach it are givens as long as our colleges and universities are doing their job of preparing teachers.  Passion for teaching, interest in ongoing professional development and compassion for children should also be givens for anyone contemplating a career in teaching.  These “givens” are the basic requirements to be even considered for a teaching position.  Excellent teaching is much more.

There are two sentences from the article that bother me.  The first is: “Skills can always be learned.”  Well, no they can’t.  Part of good teaching is knowing when to teach what.  That’s part of the “knowing about child development” requirement.  Teachers can love teaching and have boundless compassion for their students, and then love them right into ignorance. I’ve seen it happen. Unless they know how to motivate students and teach the necessary skills and subject matter, the passion and compassion aren’t worth much.

The second thing that bothered me was: “. . . he wants his teachers to be involved with the kids outside the classroom. . . . to show how important the kids are to them.”  The best way I can show my students how important they are to me is to be an excellent teacher for them.  Teachers can’t be everything to students, and if we spend our non-school hours running extra-curricular activities and clubs and attending school events, we will burn out quickly.

I love teaching and I love the fact that I am making a positive difference in the lives of children. However,  I don’t attend school activities outside of school hours - not much anyway.  I participate in events when I can and when they’re interesting to me or when children I teach are directly involved in them.  I already put in many days of work beyond my contract in order to get my classroom ready each year and to finish the things I’m required to do and the things I want to do for the children I teach.  I come to work early and leave late many days in order to do what I need to do for my students.  However, I value my time, and I have many interests outside of my job.  Teaching is a noble and wonderful and necessary profession, but it is not my life.  If I died tomorrow, another teacher would quickly take my place.  My family, my friends, my church, and myself are ahead of teaching in my list of priorities.

Ok, so I disagree with what the principals who were interviewed said were the qualities that matter most in teachers.  What, then, are the qualities I think are important?  After teaching over 25 years in just about all the elementary grades, in different schools in different states and in varying environments, I would say that the following qualities are necessary for a great teacher:

(1) A great teacher is flexible: Schedules are changed, a child throws up, you have a fire drill, it rains and you lose your planning time because recess must be indoors, an assembly is called, a school bus breaks down,  upset parents meet you at the door.  A good teacher MUST be able to roll with the punches and not get flustered with a constantly changing environment.  You adapt your plans to the new circumstances and move on.

(2) A great teacher is a team player:  No teacher is an island.  You work with a team of either grade level or subject area colleagues.  Your schedules are entertwined.  If you can’t work well with others, you won’t be successful.

(3) A great teacher is professional:  You will be privy to confidential information about students, parents, and sometimes other teachers.  You keep that information to yourself or share it only through the proper channels. Professionalism is about respect for yourself and others.

(4) A great teacher has a thick skin: You’re working for hours each day with the pride and joy of parents.  No matter how conscientious and diplomatic you are, at some point you will have conflict with parents.  You have to be able to take criticism and questions and respond professionally and with compassion - always keeping what’s best for the student in mind. 

(5) A great teacher is organized: The amount of paperwork involved in teaching is staggering.  There are papers to grade, records to keep, assessments to make, lessons to plan - and teach, letters to write, meetings to attend, phone calls to make. . . It is mind-boggling at times.  If you’re not organized, you will never be your best.  Teaching is multi-tasking at its highest level.

(6) A great teacher is a cheerleader.  This ties in with passion for teaching and compassion for students.  Sometimes we are the only cheerleaders our students have.  We must encourage them and brag on them and push them and guide them and love them. 

Those are my six necessary qualities for a great teacher.  What do you think?  In your opinion, what are the most important qualities in a teacher?

As far as I’m concerned, the “immigration” rallies were a big zero.  I’m only one minute cog in the vast wheel of our country, but the rallies/protests/boycotts didn’t affect my life one bit. There was the usual traffic on the roads and the usual crowds in the stores.

Any reasonable American understands that it is detrimental to our country - to our self-respect and to the respect that others have for our country - to tell millions of people that it is okay to break our laws - not only okay but that we’ll reward them for breaking our laws.

Nope.  It’s a stupid idea.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with racism.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with hate.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with compassion or the lack thereof.  It has to do with not wanting people in our country who have blatantly broken our laws and who have shown disrespect and a willingness to take advantage of our generosity.

We welcome legal immigrants.  Follow the rules, and you’re welcome here.

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If you are an elementary school teacher or parents of elementary school age children, you might be interested in the reading newsletters that are posted at the top of my sidebar.  Click “Reading Newsletter - May 2006″ for the latest edition.  I have a newsletter each month of the school year, along with a summer edition and a back-to-school edition.  You are welcome to read and use it. 

My father was a Methodist Minister.  From the time I was in fourth grade through seventh grade, he was the minister at a wonderful church in a mountain town in North Georgia - Watkins Memorial Methodist Church in Ellijay, GA.  Sometimes he would visit a prison to provide a Sunday afternoon service for the inmates.  It was out in the country, and it seems it was more like a work camp than a typical prison.  Since I could play the piano a bit, I occasionally went with him and played the piano to accompany the singing.  Although my memories of that time are a little fuzzy, I remember eating dinner with the prisoners after the service - sitting in the prison cafeteria next to my father while he talked with the men.  The plates were metal rectangles with sections for different foods.  I also remember feeling perfectly safe and at ease.  The piano at the prison was out of tune and some of the keys stuck, but I was able to do all right.  My father made sure we only sang the songs I knew how to play.  The men there apparently had classes where they did various crafts because one very vague memory is that I was given a leather wallet that one of the prisoners had made. 

Looks like there will be lots of people demonstrating today, Monday, May 1st, for “immigration reform.”  Sounds good, but it’s not what the demonstrations and boycott are about.  It’s about legalizing the illegal activity of millions of people.

(1) This is a nation of laws.

(2) If someone from another country wants to become an American, that person should follow the lawful channels.  It isn’t too much to require people from other countries to follow the established procedures to obatain admission to the United States.

(3) Giving amnesty or any concessions to these law-breakers will only make more people willing to become illegal invaders.  It is also a slap in the face the the millions of immigrants upon which this country was founded.  It is a slap in the face to the millions who have followed the law to become citizens.