The student who tried to remember my gestures during exams!
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 with my students and tried a variety of ways to inspire them.
These are some highlights:
1. Lunch was outside the school building under a covered area. When teaching 'Racism', I took permission from the Head of School to have some students not eat in the covered area. The Head of School gave permission. He said that he would also be present there. I picked a day when I had class right after lunch. When my students came for lunch, I gave them numbered chits that they picked. I said that students with odd numbered chits get to sit in the covered area and students with even numbered chits get to sit in the benches on the grass, in the sun, outside the covered area. The students were perplexed and kept asking why. I told them that they will know soon. When they finished lunch and came to class, we discussed how each group felt. The group that sat in the sun felt that they were treated differently even if they were equals and the group in the covered area said that they felt horrible for being given this preferential treatment while their classmates were out in the sun!! That was a fantastic beginning to our unit on 'Racism'.
2. I had to teach 'Renaissance'. I read about the Sistine chapel and how artists lay face up on boards very high near the ceiling to paint the figures with no safety nets, nothing to catch them if they had a fall. I wanted my students to experience how difficult painting like this would have been like. I spoke to the Head of School. He was extremely supportive and asked a carpenter to buy wooden boards and nail it to the legs of the big lunch tables. Underside the table, I stuck white big thick chart paper. Then I collected eye protection goggles (much like swimming goggles) from the Science lab. During class, I asked students to lay on the boards, face up and create a painting of their choice with water colours, on the chart paper fixed on the underside of the table. I joined the students and did the same. Painting in this position was so difficult and we instantly empathised with all the people who painted the chapel putting their own lives at risk. We displayed our paintings in the school - badly done work, splotches of colours that no one would understand but a stunning testimony to the great artists who risked their lives to give us beautiful art!! Of course we discussed about other aspects of the Renaissance, but this activity stayed with all of us for a long time.
3. I had to teach Gandhi. I don't recall if I had a chapter on Gandhi in the text book or a chapter on non-violence featuring Gandhi. I spoke to the Head of School and took permission for students to come on a Friday evening for a 'movie night' of Richard Attenborough's film 'Gandhi'. We put carpets for the students to sit. There was popcorn provided by the school. The whole setting was very different, much unlike a classroom. Students loved it. Anytime there was a question, I would pause the movie and answer the students. The movie night experience was a memorable one! After the movie, in the classroom, we dwelt on important aspects like violence vs non-violence, whether leaders were perfect or had to be, whether we would do the same in the face of difficulties etc. The movie night served as a perfect platform to to build from!
4. I had to teach about conflict. I had students research a conflict of their choice and write a short autobiographical novel with them as the protagonist. Students wrote in notebooks at that time and computers were in the computer lab. I booked the lab for all my classes and students would type the novels on the computers. There were many EAL students and I gave them one-on-one help to complete this. After writing their own novels, students knew about their chosen civil wars really well. I assessed students through information in the novel itself and through interviews. The novels were proof read, printed, spiral bound and were kept in the school library. I don't know if the copies are still there. This was an unforgettable experience for both the students and me.
Both the Head of School and some teachers told me that it was the first time that students left the class room to learn History- whether it was the lunch racism activity, whether it was the movie night, whether it was sistine chapel painting or whether it was the novel writing in the computer lab... it had not happened before.
I was not there at the school when this batch graduated, but people I was in touch with told me that one student, as part of her graduation speech, particularly said that it was impossible to complete her speech without making a reference to me and that I was an unforgettable teacher!!
I loved teaching the students in this school, but learned a few lessons as well:
1. Never think you are perfect and that you know everything. There is always room for improvement. If I thought I was a good teacher, I would never have been prompted to sit in classes of other teachers and learn from them and become better!
2. Reflect, reflect, reflect. Reflect on your teaching. I would constantly reflect on every class to see what I could have done better.
3. Try to think of fun ways to introduce a lesson or give your students some unforgettable experiences during the lesson or after. That will make them look forward to class.
4. I also realise that I was at my creative best as I was working part time, three days a week. I would go for my classes and come back and be present for meetings. Other times, I would be home, planning my lessons. This tells me that planning time is crucial for teachers. If schools give sufficient planning time, teachers will able to be to prepare thoroughly for class and be their creative best!
5. I would not have been able to do any of this if my Head of School did not support me. He approved the last minute plan, asked the carpenter to purchase wooden boards and nail them to lunch table legs and thus supported me and let me be my creative best. So schools with budgets that have provision for some un-forseen expenses will go a long way in supporting teacher creativity.
Cheers!!
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