5 Things I Would Have Done Differently When I Was a Teacher by Pamela Francis

“Spring Break”, as we call it now that it somehow violates people’s religious rights to refer to this time as “Easter vacation”, is over, and tempers on teachers are at a fever pitch. If you are a student you can be sure you are “whip and nae-naeing” all over your teachers’ last nerves.

Teachers love students. From about September first to Halloween. Then all bets are off. I know. I taught elementary school in the rural south for three years. Not 10, not 13, not 20… 3. And as much as we feel unbounded admiration and respect for the mostly women and some men who can proudly say, “I’ve been teaching for ten”, “thirteen”, “twenty” years, many of us know: that may have been about seven, ten or seventeen years too long. Teaching is hard, and today’s students with their know-it-all tech savvy bravado and children’s rights hyper-awareness can make the job a torment, especially in the days leading up to the last day of school.

By Valentine’s Day kids think they know us real good, and they are super relaxed about everything from arriving late to class, to testing the waters by calling us by our first names. For our part, we can be heard audibly counting down the days to summer vacation, letting our kids know, in no uncertain terms, that we’re as anxious to be done with this stint as they are. What can happen in this time, though, is an undermining of our own power and authority as educators and keepers of the discipline, as the pins in our hairbuns – or should I say, the tracks in our weaves – begin to show.

I didn’t start out as a teacher. I was a screenwriter and a filmmaker with a communications degree and the passion to bring literacy to underserved communities. To that end, I became a trained tutor and soon found myself one of the hotshot tutors at a Hollywood literacy center tutoring the likes of Tom Cruise’s kids. Yes. I started out motivated by the desire to deliver tutoring to the black and Mexican communities of Los Angeles, and ended up tutoring Tom Cruise’s kids. And Kirstie Allie’s. And Priscilla Presley’s. I learned the study technology created and developed by Scientology creator L. Ron Hubbard and found myself rising the ranks of the study tech education field; a field that turned a bit of a snobbish nose up at traditional school in favor of one-on-one tutoring and L. Ron Hubbard’s techniques. This training made me highly valued in areas such as Union, SC (where I moved to raise my son in a “holy” environment), and students of all ages clamored for my instruction in all subjects.

Perhaps my biggest misstep was making the “lateral slide” to “the dark side”: teaching in a classroom setting. Again, I was not a teacher. I was a tutor and a literacy coach. But I was willing, and I had a bachelors degree, so there I was, teaching. The first year it was 5 yr old headstart. The second and third years it was third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade. Like March in reverse, I went in like a lamb and came out like a lion. I actually didn’t even stay all the way through to the last day of school. I remember doing my report cards early, dropping off my keys after hours, and jumping a fence to get off the property, never to return.

Aside from that dramatic and cowardly outro, here’s what I would have done differently:

1. Leave my cell phone in the glove compartment

Nothing says dead meat like a teacher on her cell phone at an inappropriate time. What is an inappropriate time? Any time school is in session, pretty much. When I started teaching I didn’t even HAVE a cell phone, but by that third year I was in a long distance relationship and not only was my cell going off at all times of the day, but I’d stupidly chosen a ring tone that yelled from the rooftops: “stud muffin’s on the line”. And guess what…? So was my career shortly thereafter.

2. Employ Relaxation and Mindfulness Techniques More

L. Ron Hubbard’s Study Technology is an absolute jewel in the learning environment, and one of the techniques that seemingly has nothing and yet EVERYTHING to do with learning, is a communication tool known as Being There. Basically it’s meditation, done in a straight-backed chair for as little as three minutes if that’s all you’ve got time for, but oh so effective in getting kids to calm down and localize themselves as being in a classroom – not out on the playground – and ready to pay attention, focus, and learn. If I had been thinking, I would have utilized Being There – basic meditation – to get my kids quieted down and amenable to non-disruptive behavior. I would have started and ended every class with this.

3. Never let ‘em see you counting down

I remember having a parent teacher conference with one of my kids’ mothers when she threw me a curve ball. She asked me if I liked her kid. Because I’ve always been light on my mental feet I was able to deftly field the question and kept the meeting moving. MY point was that this kid was so disinterested in study that she was actually chomping at the bit to go around the whole school taking out the trash from each classroom than to sit down and utilize study hall to get her homework done. But her MOM wanted to know why her kid had the distinct impression that I didn’t like her. We teachers may think it’s cute and teacherly to call out “60 more days…!” to each other from across the cafeteria, but when we let on like this in front of our students how much we dislike our jobs and, by implication, our students, we’re on a slippery slope of mutual disrespect.

4. Revisit expectations and goals

I was blessed to work in a private school that, while it definitely had high academic standards, was also very open-door in terms of getting in to speak with the principal about expectations and goals. In a situation like that, it was well within my ability to say, “hey, Principal Estes, this curriculum, while award-winning, is a poor fit for our students. Is there a way for us to teach and test on the requirements without having to… (fill in the blanks).” When a teacher is driven to meet standards that have more to do with “what I was told I needed to have taught by now” than what my kids truly need to absorb and take away from this grade level, her stress levels produce an odious environment in the classroom that gives rise to teacher-student tension and a decided drop in the fun factor. Contrary to what one Social Studies teacher declares, history — and school as a whole – SHOULD be fun. And can be.

5. Get regular training at your teaching level

I am forever grateful for the experience of going from being a celebrity tutor to being a full-fledged school teacher, but I know now that training, at the Early Childhood Development level, for example, or at whatever level you are teaching, is an absolute must, and something I should have jumped at the chance to get. Teachers should use their summer breaks – God I used to love those summer breaks! – to get sharp and to stay current in what their profession is doing. Developments in techniques, a renewed understanding of and empathy for the student, and a refreshed viewpoint of the job are just some of the rewards when you return to the classroom prepared to do battle with – I mean TEACH! your kids ; )

32 more days!

Tags: #last day of school, #meditation in schools, #teacher training, #tips for teachers