The Secret to Success

Like so many new teachers, I made a critical error. That error was trying to be the “Cool Teacher.” Being young and naïve I figured I would waltz in the classroom with my hiphop approach and the students would automatically respond to me because of my swag (although back then it wasn’t swag, it was…fresh). While it was true that the students loved being in my class, it wasn’t because of my depth of knowledge and intellectual creativity, it was because I was a pushover. By refusing to discipline students in fear that they may not think I was a cool teacher, the students ran circles around me. However, I observed teachers with the exact opposite style, yelling and screaming at the students, writing referrals and sending students to the office, and they too failed to positively impact their students academically. By the second semester, I discovered a balance that is still effective to this day. I set the tone in the class. I was the teacher and they were the students. I made the rules and they followed the rules. I set high expectations and they did their best to reach them. I acknowledged their accomplishments and affirmed them every opportunity I had. There were some casual moments in the classroom but I also made sure there were tough and focused moments.

Tip 4: Create an energetic learning environment

One of the most difficult tasks when dealing with grade school students is figuring out a way to harness the massive amount of energy that accompanies children under the age of 12 years. I often found myself dreaming of a classroom where I was able to execute my lesson plan without interruptions; the kids sat down the entire day, remained on task and didn’t have to use the bathroom every 30 seconds. I quickly realized that these thoughts were just a fantasy and soon discovered a way to use their energy to my advantage. By creating an energetic learning environment where students were encouraged to use their energy for problem solving and learning, my student’s performance quickly accelerated. Using a balance of collaborative learning and individualized learning methods with icebreakers, quiz bowls and jeopardy games, all while keeping the energy high pace and fun, my students began to gravitate towards learning and quickly went from a “Do we have to?” attitude to a “Can we please?” attitude. I also incorporated a heavy culturally relevant pedagogy to make their learning experience more engaging. In short, a culturally relevant pedagogy uses “the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning more relevant and effective for students. It teaches through and to the strengths of these students. It is culturally validating and affirming.” Therefore, create the environment that challenges and allows your students to be creative and critical in their thinking, trust me you’ll thank yourself later.

Tip 5: Involve the parents as much as possible

One of the most difficult challenges I faced while working in a low-income school was trying to get the parents involved in their student’s academic life. As I stated earlier, many of these students come from a single parent home (usually mom) and the parent often does not have the time to check on his or her child during school hours. One of the ways I was able to combat this issue was by making positive phone calls home. I realized that the only time I ever made a call home was when a student was failing or had poor classroom behavior. It never dawned on me that positive calls could have a positive impact on student improvement. Not once in my first year of teaching did I call home to tell a parent that their child did an excellent job in class and that I wanted them to acknowledge the child the first chance they had. As it turns out, parents are much more likely to have a conversation with you when their child is doing well than when their child is doing poorly. By taking small steps like making positive calls home, I was able to build a rapport with the parents. As a result, when it was time to make the “your child is struggling call” they were much more willing to listen and take action.

Tip 6: Be a Life Long Learner