Leadership, Longevity and a culture of Learning New and Early Career Teachers are provided with the strategies, mindset and mentoring needed to not just ‘make it through’ their beginning years but to ‘make an impact’ during this time.
CONTENTS 3 LEADERSHIP TEACHER AS EXPERT 4 THE MILLENNIAL CLASSROOM 5 SPACE TO LEARN 6 BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT STUDENTS ARE THE GREATEST TEACHERS 7 ACHIEVEMENT SOMETIMES YOU WILL NEED TO HOLD THEIR BELIEF 8 ALLOWING TIME FOR CREATIVITY 9 CULTIVATING PRESSURE 10 CLASS DISMISSED 11 ALWAYS THE LEARNER
First of all, I’d like to say thank you for all that you do. The time, the energy, the sleepless nights - it all matters! You’ve come into Education at an interesting time. And this program was created because being a Teacher in a Millennial Classroom can be tough work. Add on top of that curriculum requirements, unit planning, admin meetings and the unexpected moments that pop up each day, the balls in the air can begin to multiply – and that’s without mentioning marking, reporting, playground duty and parentteacher interviews! At the same time, I am a firm believer that if we can ensure the essence of teaching and learning remains a priority; that the interaction between Teacher and Student is nurtured, then structure and order in all areas of school and working life will follow.
The professional discussion, teaching ideas and actionable strategies covered here are difficult to find anywhere else. So, I wanted to provide a sample for you in a way that makes finding the knowledge and underlying principles you need to overcome your current classroom challenges easy and accessible.
Enjoy the gold right here and if we haven’t met yet, I sincerely hope that we do in the near future.
This is that package and it’s all yours to keep!
In the meantime, never underestimate the impact you have on these kids’ lives.
Before you know it terms will turn into semesters and then into years. Instead of just trying to ‘make it through’ the day, I implore you to ‘make a difference’ while you’re here. Because the time will pass anyway. I ask you to receive the insights that follow and use it in a way that best suits your development as a teacher and throughout your time in education moving forward.
If there is anything extra I can do to help enhance teaching and learning within your classroom, just say the word.
Love your work,
Patti Williams Lead Trainer for Teach with Impact Group Organiser: Hey Miss Alumni p: 0466 250 580 e: patti@heymiss.com.au
Teacher as Expert: Striving to become The Expert in the room, is an out-dated ambition. Leadership: Authority for the sake of authority no longer appeals to our students. Kids, today, call for Conscious Leadership. Here, we are required to ‘Lead-up’ with a sense of presence, certainty and service in all that we do. It was Oscar Wilde who timelessly stated that nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Be an example by giving so much value that your students can’t ignore you. Show them you care so much more than they thought they deserved, because they do. This is how you create impact and influence.
In the Age of Information, the classroom is no longer a place to exclusively prioritise ‘what’ we learn. For our students to be of value in a modern world, the focus needs to shift to ‘how’ we learn. To master the learning process itself by knowing how to learn, how to think, how to focus and how to solve problems.
The Millennial Classroom: For some, the learning they receive here may be their only avenue to a better life. For this reason, I ask you to never underestimate the impact you have on the lives of these children. And this is coming from someone who ABSOLUTELY used education as a way of designing a better life.
interaction? Have I made an effort to connect, question and understand what it would take for them to feel safe to step up and speak out?
and make meaningful connections with this generation?
remind yourself DAILY of the valuable role you play here. To silence the noise, stay curious and focus on those faces that sit before you. They’re waiting to connect with someone and something meaningful. And you have the opportunity to share this gift with them.
It may seem overwhelming but the beauty is that this type of conscious leadership can be learned. There is a definite skill to this Students are often portrayed as being and with the demands of an overcrowded entitled, impatient and predominantly driven curriculum, it can be easy for teachers by instant gratification. While this may seem to become caught up in data-collection, true some of time, there is a call to action for assessment outcomes, unit planning and leadership to nurture national standards. our young people and Which is why, now ...it can be easy restore meaningful more than ever before, for teachers to connections with we need to return become caught up in them - as they are, to the needs of the data-collection, essentially, a byindividual and ask assessment outcomes, product of what WE ourselves these very unit planning and have created. important questions. national standards. Which is why, now But the question So please, to our more than ever remains – how exactly teachers who are before, we need to do I create an impact exhausted and return to the needs in the classroom? How stretched beyond of the individual... do I bridge the gap limits, I ask you to
The first step is to understand how I communicate. Do I give demands as the expert in the room? Or do I speak to the student in a way they best understand? Perhaps there is a need for both but am I aware of when it’s needed? Do I provide order and structure but also allow for flexibility when the time calls? What about the child who sits quietly and avoids
The Space to Learn: A particular class of mine was covering some fairly complex content and I was anxious about taking an unexpected 'sick day' as my daughter was unwell. I decided to leave some instructions about how to approach this Avant-garde post war style of theatre but wasn't sure if my students would be able to grasp the concepts. After all, how could I expect them to fully understand it if I wasn't there to instruct them, show them and teach them? I arrived at school the next day expecting to re-cover the lesson. Instead, I was met with beaming faces eager to show me the whole class performance they had created, complete with sound and lighting. I was even asked to leave the room so they could rehearse to refine it! When I was finally allowed back into the classroom, I watched on in awe as they came to life on stage, seamlessly weaving these complex theatre techniques into their performance. It was the best work they had created all year - I saw it, they felt it and they didn't need me for any of it. In that moment, I was reminded of the power of letting go; getting out of the way and trusting the process. Sometimes we hold on so tightly and in doing so we make it all about us. It doesn't serve us or anyone else as the opportunity to learn, grow, discover and evolve is lost. There is power in letting go and allowing your students to completely immerse themselves in the wonder of learning. This can only happen if you take a step back some of the time.
There is completel
power in letting go and allowing your students to ly immerse themselves in the wonder of learning.
Behaviour Management: The illusion of behaviour management is that you think you have the ability to change their behaviour. Instead, you merely provide compelling choices so they have no other option than to manage their own behaviour. It’s self-management and self-directed learning in action. You simply facilitate it.
Students are the greatest Teachers: Stay open to learning from your students. Ironically, they will teach you more than you could ever anticipate. Don’t miss this opportunity to reflect and refine your craft as a teacher.
Achievement: Remind your students that the results they receive on an exam has nothing to do with their self-worth and it, in no way, is an indication of whether or not they will ‘succeed in life’. It doesn’t define them. And with standardised testing on the rise, this is an important message for our young people to hear. Plan. Prepare. And perform. But it will never define them - we are so much more than our accomplishments. As a teacher, please don’t overlook this.
Sometimes you will need to hold their belief: He walks in avoiding eye-contact. But you see him. He sits quietly as others battle for attention. But you know he’s there. Softly spoken with loud ambition. Searching for reassurance. A quiet word is all you need to say. To him, it may seem a bit out of reach but you’ll back him 100%. You see what he doesn’t and that's why you’re there; to reveal the possibilities. Because all that you see is all that he is. So remind him to stand tall, dream big and work hard. *Inspired by a student in my class who, on the final day of the year, simply said, 'Thank you for believing in me when no one else did.' A reminder that sometimes all they need is to be seen.
Allowing Time for
Creativity:
One of my senior classes had finished their assessment for the term and it was the last lesson of the day. After the onslaught of assignments, exams, spoken presentations, athletics day trials, live performances and media submissions I decided to give them some much needed 'down time'. My first instruction was for the class to form a circle as I had organised some activities to play with them. But they had different ideas. All they wanted was music. It started with a few of them listening to songs on their phone and showing off some dance moves. When they connected the music to a speaker, a few others joined in and eventually the entire class was dancing, singing and air-guitaring their hearts out. I decided to see how long they would last before I would have to step in and do something more organised, structured and
teacher-led. But as it turned out, they didn't need me. All they needed was each other, their energy and the space to just 'be'. At a time in their lives when there's so much pressure to 'fit in', here all they wanted was to stand out. To be unrestricted, spontaneous and free. It reminded me how important it is for us to play - to let go and have fun. So, what does fun and play look like to you? And how can you incorporate it into your classroom? Whatever it is, I urge you to explore this - fully and unapologetically. Creativity is the commodity of the future. It can’t be automated or out-sourced. But it does need to be fostered. I promise you, your students will thank you for it.
Cultivating Pressure: She was starting to feel the pressure. She asked me if it got any easier after school. I could have lied and told her the answer she hoped for but it wouldn’t help her in the long run. ‘No. In fact, it gets harder,’ was my brutally honest response. In that moment she was devastated but I wanted her to be prepared for the reality awaiting her beyond the classroom walls. I went on to explain that there would be moments where she would feel a sense of calm and complete control; which would more than likely be followed by moments of chaos and overwhelm. But the beauty of this is that the pressure of the chaos forces you into action, to keep swimming, to find a solution, to persist, to push, overcome and conquer.
The pressure is actually helping you to find your way, learn, grow and discover exactly what you are capable of. And then when you transcend the chaos, calm is restored. And so the cycle continues. Truth is, I wouldn’t want a life where struggle and hardship didn’t exist. Because your challenges are exactly what makes you stronger, more resilient and better equipped to take on the next lesson. So when I talk to my students, I encourage them to embrace the struggle and relish the challenges life has gifted them. Because that is what is going to make them unstoppable wherever they go.
Class Dismissed: My final class with Yr.12 Drama went something like this 'You're about to go from the classroom stage to the world stage. And there's a few things I need you to remember. 1. It's going to be hard. And after you've worked you're face off, you need to have some fun. Which is why, after a year of hard work and assessments we're going to go into the costume room, don the most outrageous outfit and have some fun today... 2. Don't take yourself too seriously. You're not going to get it right, the first time, every time. Humility and being able to laugh at yourself in those challenging moments shows strength of character. Which is why we're going to walk down the street to the shop in our ridiculous costumes to buy our lunch today - for a bit of a laugh. 3. Sometimes you'll just need to improvise. You're not going to have a set timetable for life, lesson plans to follow and teachers to hold you accountable. You may have to
make it up along the way. Fifteen years after my graduation and I'm still improvising. Daily. And today, we're going to put together our final improvisation. As we walk to the shop you'll need to come up with a creative and engaging scene to deliver when ordering your lunch as a class. 4. Always remember who's got your back. And choose those people wisely. They say you're the average of the five people with whom you spend most of your time. Surround yourself with people who will lift you up - right now, that's going to be the faces you see around you. We're in this together. So, take a deep breath and let's go do this.' At first, they were intrigued. Then worried. Then Anxious. Then 100% committed. Their final scene together was incredible and received a standing ovation from the chip lady behind the counter. Farewell to this graduating class. This may be the final curtain call but the truth is, the show's just about to begin. 3, 2, 1, Action!
The pressure is actually helping you to find your way, learn, grow and discover exactly what you are capable of.
Always the Learner: Today I saw an ex-student get into a car accident. I was travelling behind him when, through no fault of his own, a car dangerously attempted a U-turn forcing him to swerve onto the other side of the road before crashing into him.
I’m sorry that I didn’t stay with you longer. To make sure you were okay. Like, really okay. I want you to know that you handled the situation with integrity.
Everyone is okay; albeit a little shaken. I’d like to say sorry to this young man.
I’m also sorry that you were forced into this situation because someone else didn’t pay attention. Or wasn’t willing to admit their weakness. I trust they will now.
YOU REMAINED CALM AND TOOK A MOMENT TO GATHER YOUR THOUGHTS INSTEAD OF MINDLESSLY REACTING.
I’m sorry that no-one came over to see if you were alright. As I pulled over to call police about 12 people rushed to the elderly woman who caused the accident. Thank you to the one lady who did stand by your side. Maybe it was the red P-plate on your car. Or perhaps because you were young, people assumed the worst. I don’t know. But we should have been there for you too.
No lashing out. No blame or aggressive behaviour. No putting anyone down to make yourself feel better. You remained calm and took a moment to gather your thoughts instead of mindlessly reacting.
Your parents should be proud to know that, as a young man, you stood tall in this moment of uncertainty. And ironically, we’re the ones who learnt a lesson from you today.
TEACH WITH IMPACT For more information, please contact Patti Williams p: 0466 250 580 e: patti@heymiss.com.au