In a post we wrote some time ago titled Solving Education’s Greatest Challenges: Unconventional Collaborations , we told the story of Stephane Tarnier, the French obstetrician responsible for inventing baby incubators. We love this story as it illustrates how improving our work life sometimes means leaving our work life at work and doing something else for awhile, such as going to the gym. Today , our friend and colleague, Kara Schwarz, an educator from South Florida, shares a story of how leaving the workplace behind helped to inspire her thinking and her understanding of her work.
Sometimes it is hard to remember back when we first learned to do something, especially if you are excellent at it now. I am a very competent reader so at times it can be difficult for me to remember those beginning stages I went through to acquire the skill. I work with students who have diagnosed learning disabilities in reading, math and writing, which means learning the skills needed to be successful in these subject areas can be challenging. I have to do a lot of thinking when it comes to how to best present a strategy to them. One of my guiding philosophies is to respect that each child who sits in my class is unique and different. This includes the strengths and weaknesses that they have physically, emotionally, mentally and academically. Realistically, however, we are all challenged in something.
I don’t know about you, but I have certain places and activities that lead me to self-reflect about my teaching practices, For me that place is the gym. It actually is even more than a gym, it’s called Crossfit and some of the activities include pulling tires, rowing thousands of meters, doing endless pushups, pull-ups and sit-ups for time. It may seem like a peculiar place to do any “thinking” but it is the place where I get most of my “ahas” because there, I am the most challenged. (This might be the right time to mention, that I am not very quick to learn anything that has to do with rhythm, large body movements coordination and strength activities, such as dancing or aerobics.)
It leads me to see myself as the “learning disabled” student and to focus on what strategies work best in helping me be successful in this area of weakness. What I have found is that I need to see it modeled many times, not just once. After the movement is modeled by the instructor both quickly and slowly in smaller increments, then I need to do it alongside the instructor. I need time to ask questions and practice, sometimes even watching some other gym members as they complete the movement. I also find it helpful when the instructor comes over to me individually during the actual workout, and notices what I am doing right and also gives me a suggestion for improvement. Before I have truly mastered any new movement or activity, I have to practice on my own in front of mirror or in my garage. Finally, the pinnacle of success is when I can help a new gym member learn a movement and share my technique.
This sounds familiar, right? These are things that expert teachers do within their classrooms daily. Finding something that was challenging for me and then thinking through the process of how I learned that skill, were extremely helpful in refining my teaching practice. It gave me fresh eyes on the process and various motivational techniques to encourage students through their academic challenges. It also encouraged me to empathize with my students as they face struggles to acquire new learning.
The top 10 things I know about teaching, I learned at the gym:
10. Everyone is “disabled” in something.
9. The best way to overcome a challenge is to face it, head on.
8. Modeling a strategy should continue throughout the year, but be varied in length and detail of delivery.
7. Every student benefits from the modeling of a strategy, every time.
6. Allowing students to practice while I am modeling is helpful.
5. Let students see stellar examples and non-examples, and independently seek these examples when needed.
4. Welcome all questions at any stage of the lesson.
3. Come alongside students as they are working and encourage and guide them.
2. Allow and encourage a lot of practice.
1. Always provide opportunities for students to show what they know to others, as well as sharing how they arrived at that correct answer.
Where do you go to find inspiration that helps you reflect on and improve your craft?