Teacher Insights

Hi new teachers, In my earlier posts, I have written about students with learning challenges and how we should provide them with opportunities for accessing our tasks. But we must also remember that everything is so difficult for these students that sometimes, they do not have any internal motivation and it is easier for them to say "I don't know how to do this" so as to not do the work. Once, many years ago, in an international school in India, I had a student in a lower middle years grade with learning challenges. He would not have any in-class tasks completed and they would pile up. So we arranged with the parent for him to stay back after school one day every week when I would work with him.  I quickly realised that the student had no motivation to work and especially after school. Understandable. So I asked him if he liked chocolates and he said yes. So for the next class, I had a packet of Gems (small round chocolates) with me. He had in front of him his notebook wi...

Hi new teachers,  It might happen that students do the exact opposite of what you plan for. I am relating two incidents here. 1. I remember many years ago, in an international school in India, we had a student who needed scaffolds. I remember I would spend hours with the learning support department, showing them my plan for the unit, explaining my learning engagements and then showing them my formative and summative assessments. We would then sit together and work on the scaffolds. I remember one particular in-class assessment where the learning support colleague and I worked painstakingly on the scaffolds for one particular student. We created a checklist and a word bank to help the student. Based on the principle of inclusive assessments, we included this for all students.  However, the student who we wanted to help was the only one who did not use the checklist or the word bank!!!!  We were so heartbroken, my colleague from the learning support department and I...in fa...

Hi new teachers, Why is intercultural awareness important? Many years ago, when I was associated with an international school in India, my African-American colleague visited me from USA. We had many intense conversations about media representation of beauty and how companies making beauty products and clothes make money by destroying people's self esteem and self worth by setting 'beauty standards'. Mental Health problems like body dysmorphia, social anxiety, low self esteem, psychological stress and eating disorders have been a result of exposure to media representation of beauty. She was very particular about not straightening her hair or bleaching her face to be more  'white' or threading facial hair. She was very comfortable sporting an afro. I thought it would be great for our students to listen and be aware of media standards of beauty and how they can be harmful. So I invited her to school as a guest speaker. It was one lower middle years grade with Indian st...

Hi new teachers, How should we react to student and parent complaints?  Many years ago, when I was working for an an international school in India, we were doing dual programmes, MYP and IGCSE. Some students in the MYP4 class were doing MYP-eassessment and some students were doing IGCSE. The Head of Secondary (HOS) came to me and said that a parent of a student complained to him that I was not preparing the student for MYP e-assesssment, I was only preparing the IGCSE students.  Now if I had calmly and objectively thought about this, I could have explained to the HOS that the current IGCSE and MYP content for the unit I was teaching was the same with very minor differences in skills, so I was preparing both groups equally. I could have told the HOS that I am happy to speak to the parent to explain this. I could have shown the evidence of this and the parent would have been satisfied. But my first response was based on my hurt ego and probably years of the traditional teacher i...

Hi new teachers,  Many years ago, when I taught in a school outside India, there was this student who stared at me during the History exam. I was intrigued and went to her and said, "you need to focus on completing your paper" and she smiled and said, "that is what I am doing". After the exam, she came to me and said "Ms.Trivady, while writing the exam, I was looking at you to remember the gestures you made when you taught us this unit and I was able to answer the questions". I used to gesticulate a lot when teaching and I would joke with my students that if I had my hands tied behind my back, I would not be able to teach. Which also meant that I talked a lot. It would be some years before I facilitated learning rather than standing and teaching. However, I was a much improved teacher at that time as I had sat and observed some fantastic teachers in my previous schools and had reflected on what I should do to improve. I recall that I had a great connect wi...

 Hi new teachers, Many years ago, when I was working at an Indian school as a primary teacher, the school organised a visit to the zoo. The students had about 30 minutes with me before we went on the trip. I took the opportunity to speak to the students about why we should not have zoos where healthy animals are caged and don't have any space to move around, why freedom for animals to roam freely is important, the difference between national parks and zoos and how would the students feel if they are caged. I also spoke of conservation zoos, created explicitly for conservation of soon to-be extinct species which was not the case for the zoo we were visiting. It was eye-opening information for the students. One student asked if they should really continue with the trip knowing what they knew now and said that he preferred to not go. We thought about solutions...maybe the municipality could have life like sculptures of animals in the zoo without having the real animals themselves?...

To new teachers, There was this student in my class in a school outside India. He would stealthily read books in my class. He would pay attention while I was explaining something, but when I would give the students some work to do, he would hide his novels inside his notebook and read them. They were not inappropriate books, they were good books, appropriate for his age. He just loved reading and couldn't stop. I did not know whether to get upset with him for not doing work or whether to appreciate this wonderful reading habit he had. But I just couldn't get myself to really get angry or upset with him as it was this habit that I tried so hard to develop in my students but not all of them enjoyed reading. There was one teacher who really worked on the students' love for reading, She worked as an EAL teacher and later became a Primary Homeroom teacher. She was one of the best teachers I have ever known. This was not an IB school, and I knew of trans-disciplinary and inter-di...

Hi new teachers,  SLC is student led conference where students create a portfolio of their work to show parents. Schools conduct it as one way of showcasing student learning. While working for a school that had SLCs, my co-homeroom teacher and I had to divide students. I took all the 'naughty' ones. I told them in advance that they don't have to worry about angry parents or complaining parents on SLC day. One student particularly requested to be in my group. When the mother came for the SLC, she complained about the students' behaviour and academics.  I told her to not find fault with her child. I explained that SLC was a celebration of all the student had accomplished and a reflection on what they could do better. It was their day. If she had any appreciative comments, she could communicate it, but there would be no complaints. And that stopped her. This was a very powerful moment for the student- because he saw that he was advocated for by his teacher, in front of his...

 Hi new teachers, I taught the primary years, in an Indian school with a national curriculum many years ago. The former teacher, before leaving had told me that there was a parent who was very good with art and craft and if I ever needed anything for any activity, I could ask her.  In class, I gave some homework to the students which I asked for the next day. One student told me very hesitatingly that her work was not done as she had gone out with her parents the previous evening. I told her in a kind tone that it does not matter and that she can submit the work the next day. The student did submit the work the next day. This happened a couple of times. In the meantime, I contacted the parent who came to school. I informed her that her name had been given by the former teacher and I wanted to know what her particular areas of expertise were. She then told me that the former teacher was very strict and her daughter was terrified of her. She would refuse to go to school on the d...

 Hi new teachers, We will all have in our classes, students who have learning challenges. We must make sure that they are able to access what we teach. We must make allowances for them. They may need to walk around the room, they may be doodling as that helps them listen better, they may use a fidget for better focus. We need to know our students and what helps them learn. I remember in my early years of teaching in a school in India, there was a student who would use a fidget in my class. I was not aware then about the need for fidgets for students with ADD. My favourite line was, "Show me you are listening by putting both your hands on the table and by looking at me". I tried to take the fidget away from the student as I thought it was distracting him. The student was extremely upset and kept telling me that he needs the fidget and his parents know about it.  I checked with my Learning Support colleagues and they told me that it was advised by his counsellor for better focu...

  Hi new teachers, I have known teachers to call other teachers, Heads of departments, Coordinators or Vice-Principals depending on the school structure to 'talk to the students' who don't listen to them. In one of my earlier schools outside India, the art teacher  requested that I be present in the class to manage students when they misbehaved as they wouldn't listen to her. I would be present for every art class, telling students to focus on the work, not misbehave etc.  I spoke to two senior teachers discussing the possibility of having behaviour as part of the report card. They agreed with me that the idea was good and I said I would bring this up in the teacher meeting. However, when I brought this up, another teacher disagreed and said that teachers should have strategies to manage students and it shouldn't be part of any report. Other teachers present agreed, and the teachers who had a problem with managing students did not speak up. I thought including behav...

 Hi new teachers, What do we teach and how do we test? If we stand and just give out information, and the students do not actively engage with it, chances are that they will not remember all the information we dish out. When I was teaching outside India, an inexperienced and a raw teacher, I was asked by the Social Studies teacher to teach about India as that was one of the chapters in the textbook. I was excited...here was a chance to teach about my country. I prepared extensively and created a presentation. I was planning to teach just as my teachers had taught me - I was planning to just stand there and deliver content. Come the day, I stood there and talked. And talked. The students did ask me some questions, but there were no activities planned to engage students. There was no check-in with the students to find out how much they had understood. But I thought it was a great lesson. After all, I had put so much effort into it!! Then I had to create a test. The test had multiple ...

Hi new teachers out there, During my teacher training, it had been ingrained into me that as a teacher, I had to know everything. It was a loss of face in front of the students if I did not know something, it was a shame. In one of my earlier schools outside India, as a special aide for a student, I used to sit in classes and had the chance to observe some of the greatest teachers. One teacher particularly left an impression on me. She used to ask students spellings when she was writing them on the board or she would write the word on the board and ask if the spelling was correct. She would tell them that she is not there because she knows everything, or that she can spell everything correctly. She was there because she knew how to teach. And students had utmost respect for her as she was a great teacher! I have always used that in my classes. I would say at the beginning of the year that I am not there because I know everything. I am there because I know how to teach. Sometimes my mis...

Hi to all new teachers out there! I have realised over the years that the best teaching and learning happens when teachers connect with  students. Students learn best from teachers who connect with them.  As a teacher, you need to respect students, feel for them, learn from them, accept mistakes, be fair, be their strongest advocate. We must know that this is not about us, this is about them. There can be no place for any ego. Once they know that you are on their side, the rest will fall into place and you will have some of the most beautiful moments of your life.  Teacher-student relationships are very important and every student needs a champion as the inspirational Rita Pierson said . Once, in a school outside India,  I got children in my class to do some work. I don't remember the exact sequence of events, as it was so many years ago, but one student said that he does not want to do the work. I angrily retorted that the choice was his. My traditional teacher's mi...

 Hi new teachers, Managing student behaviour is one area many teachers struggle with and so did I. In one of my earlier schools outside India, some students sauntered late to class. I, with my traditional sense of demanding respect and annoyed at the students walking in late, yelled at them. They yelled back at me. Said that they were only a few minutes late and why am I yelling at them for that. I was taken completely aback and was speechless. My colleague who was leading that class, heard all of this. When class got over, she called me aside and asked how I was feeling. She then told me not to reprimand students when they are in a group. She said that students are more likely to not listen as they think they have each others support. They are more likely to snicker, pass rude comments, make jokes or yell back. She advised me to call each student separately after class and tell them why I am upset. Look them in the eye and speak to them, she said. Do this for all students involved...