What Great Teachers Do Differently

by Todd Whitaker

  It is always okay to gather everyone’s input. But it is more important to be aware of what our best people’s views are. Many students—like many adults—make decisions based on what is best for them. The best students—like the best adults—make decisions based on what is best for everyone. If we seek input from our most capable students and colleagues, we are much more likely to make the right choices.

  If we seek input from our most capable students and colleagues, we are much more likely to make the right choices.

  Effective educators continually ask themselves who is most comfortable and who is least comfortable with each decision they make. When we face a challenging decision, we’ll feel less alone if we ask ourselves, “What will the best people think?” And we’ll feel even less alone if we go to our best people and ask them what they think.

  Great teachers continually ask themselves who is most comfortable and who is least comfortable with each decision they make. They treat everyone as if they were good.

  16

  Put Yourself in Their Position

  In one way or another, every classroom is heterogeneous. Students may come from wealthy families, middle-class families, or poor families (one in five children in America live in poverty). Family makeup differs. We have students who are only children, students with brothers and sisters, students with step-siblings, students who have cousins and non-relatives living in their homes. Some children live in mansions, some live in high-rise apartment buildings, some live on farms, some live in the back seat of an abandoned car. Sometimes the diversity is obvious, sometimes superficial. Our students are males and females, tall and short, thin and chunky. Even when a group looks pretty much the same, every student has strengths and weaknesses, ideas and emotions, troubles and joys that make up a unique personality. Every teacher works with a wide range of students, and the mix changes every year. What is it that enables some teachers to connect and work effectively with every student, while others struggle with a handful or more in every group? The difference lies in their ability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes.

  Teacher Pleasers

  Many teachers were “teacher pleasers” themselves. They did their homework regularly, sat still at their desks, raised their hands, and knew the answers. They liked school and were comfortable there. That’s one of the reasons they chose teaching as a profession. But the classroom looks different from a teacher’s perspective. You can’t just stand in the front and lecture. You don’t just assign homework, give tests, and turn in grades. You have to do all the hard work that was never obvious when you were in school, and that includes connecting with the students in your classroom.

  Most teachers come to realize that students bring the world into their classrooms.

  Some teachers are a bit surprised to learn that not all eighth-graders do their homework “on time, every time.” Not all first-graders cough into their elbows. Not all high school seniors can sit still. But most teachers come to realize that students bring the world into their classrooms. Our schools serve English language learners, children who live in foster homes, students with special needs, and teenagers with after-school jobs. Effective teachers embrace these challenges. Great teachers see the world the way each student does.

  Model the Behavior You Expect

  This does not mean that we let go of our expectations. We want students to say “please,” “thank you,” and, “Can I help?” We want them to know how to apologize when they hurt somebody’s feelings, or accidentally tip the wastebasket over, or forget to feed the classroom iguana. But in reality, not all students have these “people skills.”

  We’ve all seen a student “apologize” by crossing their arms, rolling their eyes, and saying “Sorry!” as if they didn’t really mean it—or really didn’t mean it. Not exactly the “repairing” approach we discussed at length in Chapter 11! When this happens, some teachers’ first response is, “Their parents should have taught them!” That may be true. But it may also be true that the child has never seen anyone apologize in the way we expect.

  Some teachers find this frustrating and even annoying. They respond by living in the “blame frame,” complaining about society in general and parenting in particular. And there is always plenty more to fill the frame, such as students who read below grade level, wear inappropriate clothes, or have poor hygiene habits. A teacher could gripe all day, and some of them do. Even worse, some of them throw up their hands or roll their eyes in a way that sends students the message: “You’re no good.”

  Effective teachers send a different message. When a child on the playground announces, “I want to use that swing now!” they smile and say, “How do we ask?” When a student knocks her neighbor’s books off the desk, they quietly hint, “I bet you’re sorry that happened” and they suggest to the student, “Tell him that.” An effective teacher may say, “Cough into your elbow, please. Thank you!” a hundred times a day.

  All teachers know about the part of their job that involves teaching math or science or reading. Great teachers give equal weight to the part that involves teaching “people skills.” They think of this as shaping the good neighbors, responsible citizens, and capable parents of tomorrow—and they feel good about it.

  How Others See Us

  In my studies of effective principals, one trait that set them apart was their ability to know how they come across to others. They describe their strengths and weaknesses in the same way that the teachers in their schools do. This gives them a great advantage as they deal with the everyday challenges of school leadership.

  This self-awareness is an equally important skill for teachers. We’ve all had the experience of seeing a candid snapshot that shows a different view than the one we see in the mirror every day. Maybe those few extra pounds aren’t invisible, maybe that bald spot is bigger than you thought. A videotape of a teacher’s lecture or math lesson can be equally revealing. Perhaps you talked too fast or too slow. Perhaps your wait time after asking a question was shorter than you thought. Perhaps you called on one student again and again while ignoring others. Perhaps, to your surprise, you did just fine!

  In Chapter 2, I mentioned a “poor lecturer’s classroom.” The point there was that lecturing is fine if done well. The person, not the practice, is the problem. But it’s also a good example of the way teachers can develop—and even cling to—a false impression of how they’re doing. Though a passerby looking in the window could see right away that the students have tuned out, the poor lecturer drones on and on.

  Effective lecturers consistently monitor the connection with their audience. Some are skilled at reading body language, facial expressions and nonverbal cues. Others ask students to give a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.” Still others will call on one or two students who generally struggle with comprehension, knowing that if they “got it,” the rest probably did too. And one memorable teacher had a vast repertoire of puns, funny sayings, and quick jokes that he could slip into the lecture. If nobody laughed, he knew he’d lost his audience!

  What Do You Choose to Be?

  It’s very likely that the “gripers and snipers” don’t know how they come across. They can’t tell how unattractive their behavior makes them. They probably act the same way at home. We can’t control their attitudes. But we do have choices about our own behavior, and we can work on improving our own “people skills.”

  As I’ve said before, at the start of the school year we are all undefeated. Most teachers are in a good mood, rested and recharged. But as the days, weeks, and months tick by, something happens. For one thing, we get tired. The optimism starts to fade, and negativity can ooze in. If another teacher parks in “your” spot near the door in September, you might not mind. When it happens in January, you feel like complaining. You’re stuck in the mindset of your own position.

  One way to deal with this is to focus on your physical self. Park at the far end of the parking lot and walk twice around the building before you go in, and then do it ag
ain before you go home. Eat right. Hungry people can have short tempers! Even staying hydrated can be important in a heated building, so keep a water bottle handy (out of reach of any pranksters in your classroom!). Taking care of yourself helps you “get out of your own way” so you can see the other person’s position.

  Another way to work on putting yourself in a student’s shoes is to become a student again yourself. You don’t have to hit the books. Instead, you might take up bowling, learn to knit, or join a conversation group in a foreign language you once studied. The important thing is to pay attention to how it feels when you’re on that long, wobbly bridge between “not knowing how” and “knowing how.” Think about what blocks your learning. Think about how a coach, teacher, or buddy can help move you forward. Keep those practices in mind when you’re back in teacher mode.

  Finally, remind yourself that you’re not perfect. Ask the best teacher in your school to observe you in the classroom and give you tips about connecting with students. Aim to be the teacher you would want your own children to have!

  Great teachers have empathy for students and clarity about how others see them.

  17

  What About These Darn Standardized Tests?

  As a writer, speaker, and professor, I do my best to stay focused on enduring issues in our schools. I care most about staff motivation, teacher morale, school culture and climate, and student behavior. These core issues have been central to our schools—all schools—for decades. and will remain essential decades from now. Likewise, I tend to stay away from the hot issue of the day (or year, or decade).

  Effective teachers don’t let hot-button issues shift their focus from what really matters. The best educators spend their human resources carefully, aware of the limited value of many mandates from on high. With this context as the backdrop, I’m now going to tiptoe into the shark-infested waters of standardized testing.

  Without Success, Tests Become the School

  If you want to hear an emotional debate, bring up politics or religion. But if you overhear teachers arguing about one of these mainstream topics and want to escalate the battle, ask them to share their views on standardized testing. Although mandated testing has been around in some states for decades, it is still evolving everywhere. The tests change, testing dates change, different grade levels are included or excluded, open-ended assessments are on the horizon. And each change in state or federal testing requirements brings another opportunity to discuss the merits of that change and of testing in general.

  Like everyone else, teachers have different personal viewpoints on standardized testing. Yet, no matter what our beliefs, we must deal with the reality of standardized tests. How do we go about it?

  If we can agree on behaviors, we can move forward in harmony regardless of our personal feelings.

  First of all, we must move away from debating the merits of standardized testing. Strongly held personal beliefs tend to dominate that debate. We must shift our focus away from beliefs and center on behaviors. If we can agree on behaviors, we can move forward in harmony regardless of our personal feelings. Like two parents with differing beliefs on discipline, we can work toward consensus on the consistent behaviors that are essential for success.

  If we brought together all of our different constituent groups—teachers, parents, administrators, board members, students, community representatives—we might be surprised to discover how much we agree on. Here’s an exercise to share with your school. Let’s imagine that we ask all of these people, either collectively or individually, a couple of key questions.

  The first and most important question is this: What should our schools be doing?

  I believe we will find an affirming overlap of answers. Although some may want more emphasis on math or physical education, arts or technology, our different constituent groups generally agree on what schools should be doing. We can represent this area of agreement as one big circle, shown in Figure 1. Now, let’s ask the same groups—again either collectively or individually—question number two: What do standardized tests measure?

  Although there are explicit listings of most state test standards, people still have a variety of beliefs about what they actually measure. Whatever their beliefs are, let’s represent them in a smaller circle, shown with the larger circle in Figure 2.

  Ask your colleagues whether they feel that, on the whole, these two circles depict their personal views regarding the relationship between what schools should be doing and what standardized tests measure. Before they respond, you might note that some may think the second circle, or the overlap between the two, should be larger (or smaller). Don’t get into a hairsplitting contest. Instead, ask whether they agree that the first circle is the core of your school.

  Next comes the essential step: shifting the focus from views and beliefs to behaviors. No matter how we personally see the relationship between the small circle and the large circle, we as educators must achieve success within the smaller circle or it will become our big circle (Figure 3)—and no one in a school wants that.

  Even the teacher who least believes in standardized testing now has an incentive to work toward student success in this area. We can now center on the same behaviors, working toward the same goal regardless of our beliefs. We can maintain our personal beliefs about the merits of testing while we move our school toward success.

  Standardized tests measure only a part of what schools should be doing. Effective teachers focus on the behaviors that lead to success, not the beliefs that stand in the way of it. Effective teachers don’t let standardized tests take over the entire class.

  Raise Those Test Scores!

  Many of us have attended meetings where an administrator ranted and raved about the need to improve our school’s scores on standardized state tests. (The all-too-familiar chant—“Raise those test scores!”—reminds me of a track coach yelling, “Run faster!” If we want our athletes to run faster, we need to teach them how. The same applies to raising test scores.)

  In any case, how we respond to such tirades during that meeting is one aspect to consider. More critical is what we do—how we filter events—afterwards. If someone asks, “How was the meeting?” we can respond, “Fine.” (Or even, “Not too bad, thanks.”) Of course, we’ll continue our efforts to increase student achievement, and avoid spreading our own disgruntlement to others.

  Even though standardized testing is one of the most controversial topics we deal with, some teachers never allow their personal views to affect discussions they might have with student, parents, or even peers. Others consistently choose to fan the flames of controversy. We each make our decisions on what to share and what to leave out.

  Keep Testing in Perspective

  In a study of schools that exceeded expectations on standardized tests (Turner, 2002), the perspectives of the educators were very refreshing. The teachers and principals in those schools did not believe in the value of testing more than others; they just understood the importance of test results to others. They were fully aware that success on standardized tests brought them greater autonomy to do what they believed was best for students. These educators also understood how the tests and state standards could provide a powerful backdrop for improving and aligning curriculum. Before state-mandated testing, for many teachers the textbook was their curriculum. The state standards forced educators to shift the focus to what our curriculum was and helped us center on the real issue of student learning.

  However, the teachers and principals in the more effective schools in the study described student achievement in a much broader sense than did educators whose schools underachieved on standardized tests. No matter what the socioeconomic background, schools that performed poorly defined student achievement only in terms of test scores. Effective principals (whose schools had equally diverse clientele) and their teachers mentioned test scores, but they also listed student social skills, self worth, behavior, responsibility, involvement in school, and other such characteristics
as important components of student achievement.

  The more effective educators were also aware of the risk of making state standards the center of the school. If your school’s core rests on state standards, then you had better hope that the standards never change, because if they do, you have lost the core of your classroom and of your school. Instead, every decision should rest on doing what is best for students. Then when new mandates and programs come into play, you can examine how they fit into what you are already doing that is best for the students.

  So, You Want to Improve Your Reading Scores?

  Last year, a middle school that I had worked with before asked me to help improve its students’ scores on state testing. Ordinarily, I turn down such requests, not because of a lack of experience in this area—as a principal, I worked in schools that achieved tremendous gains in standardized test scores—but because I prefer to focus on more pressing issues. However, because I had worked with this school on other occasions, I agreed to assist them.

  But first, I asked to meet with their faculty. At that meeting, I asked the teachers one question: “Are you so interested in improving your students’ reading abilities that you are willing to change what you do in your classroom? Or do you want to raise their test scores so that you don’t have to change what you do in your classroom?”

  That is really the essence of education, the question that determines what happens in my classroom: the syllabus, or the students? Do I hold up the standards at the finish line and watch the students make their way down the track as best they can? Or am I at their sides, helping them to develop the skills they need? Great teachers know the difference.