It’s that most exciting time of year
for teachers, Anticipation Season! School supplies are on sale, new organizer
tools have been bought, color-coded charts are being made, and absolutely
anything is possible for next year’s class. Actual students haven’t shown up
yet, and for those of us who are optimists, this means our dreams are full of
bright-eyed, eager children who love to learn and enjoy coming to school.
However, Anticipation and Planning
Ahead will only get you so far. Some years, my elation ended on Open House
night as soon as I met my actual students. My dreams and extensive planning
were revealed for what they really were – unrealistic visions of a perfect
classroom. Meeting my students brought reality crashing in – some students
didn’t have the money for school supplies, others couldn’t focus long enough to
have a conversation with me, and some parents seemed to be mad at me already
and we’d just met minutes ago.
The truth is there’s no point in
making detailed plans for the beginning of your year. As Eisenhower once said,
“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but
planning is indispensable.” In other words, we can make loose plans for what we
want our students to accomplish based on the standards, but we can’t know how
to teach them until we know them. How
much do our students already know? What are their strengths? What worries them?
What motivates them?
Donald Graves, guru of writing
instruction, once said, “You are not ready to really teach a kid until you know
10 things about his or her life outside of school.” When we really know our students, we respond to
them as individuals and they do likewise. Kids who feel like their teacher
knows them and understands them will work much harder than those who feel like
a number in a crowd.
How do we learn at least 10 things
about our students’ lives? One of the simplest ways is through letters. Smokey
and Elaine Daniels have written a great book called “The Best-Kept TeachingSecret” about the power of written conversations between teacher and
student, parent and teacher, and student to student. They recommend, as DebbieMiller did years ago, that teachers ask parents
to write them a letter sharing three important things they should know about
their child. I found that asking parents for input right away not only gave me
valuable insight into their child, but also set up the parent and me to have a
closer relationship from the very beginning of school. Asking about their child
showed that I cared and wanted to start the year off right.
The Daniels’ also suggest the teacher
sending “get-to-know-you” letters at the beginning of the year. While this can
feel like a lot of effort for teachers, it is often a highly anticipated event
for the children. One of my teacher friends shared a picture of her daughter so
eager to read the letter she knew was coming from her teacher that she tore
into the electricity bill, convinced her teacher had disguised her letter
inside. If kids are this excited about communicating with their teacher before
they’ve even met us, think of the power we wield once they’re actually in our
rooms. Our every word and action matters.
Enjoy Anticipation Season! It’s a
great energy boost during a time when we really need it. But at the same time,
think of ways to gather the information you need to make your plans realistic
for the students you have this year, who may be very different than those from
last year. Your students will thank you for it.
