Dear “Every- Teacher”

Just a little something to cheer you on your first day

You’re probably wondering whether you’ve made the right decision, Teaching, as a career that is.

The little surfer in the dome is to remind you of my favourite quote and is something you need to remember everyday when you’re working with a variety of students

“You can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust the sails.”

Everyday student will need to be treated differently, you may need to change tack for every student, everyday. It is a given, so be prepared for change.

In your first week

1. the most important thing is to get to know each student individually. Knowing their background, the lives they come from, may help you to deal with their individual problems. You need to earn their respect and build positive relationships with all your students. Show them that you care.

2. Start slowly, Rome wasn’t built in a day. You’re training readers, writers and listeners for life. Be patient and kindly firm

3. Remember it’s your job to motivate and engage. You have to try and stay upbeat most of the time and don’t give up on any of your students

I’ve included a list of traits necessary for a successful business, my father passed it on to me in the early days of my teaching, after he had attended a Chamber of Commerce meeting where the guest was a motivational speaker from America. (*) My mother added the notes.

Relationships are key. Customers don’t buy products from people they don’t like. A condescending capitalist will struggle to turn a profit.

A teacher who expects respect from his students — or parents or colleagues — without giving any in return is bound to fail.

Business marketing must excite the customers; they are your bottom line. Successful businesses effectively market their products or services by linking them to positive feelings. Slogans, jingles, attractive models, and celebrities are tools of the trade for accomplishing that goal.

Being able to motivate and engage learners is of paramount importance for any teacher. Our paying customers — parents and other taxpayers — really do take note when their children come home from school engaged and excited.

Being able to deal with change with a positive attitude is a key to success. What ever became of the tech exec who proclaimed in 1979 that home computers would never be practical?

While many teachers might not be endeared by “No Child Left Behind,” most of us are able to strain its vital message: the status quo isn’t good enough. Thinking outside the box to reach under-performing students is a cause whose time has come.

MORE IN COMMON THAN YOU THINK

Experimentation — and, yes, failure — is a part of every business; it is at the root of almost every success. Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.” A certain level of that adventurous spirit is required to succeed at developing new products and services to woo customers.

Teachers must honor the best of education’s established practices, but they can’t shy away from investigating new methods to reach students. Instructional methodology must be perpetually evaluated and improved upon — or tossed aside as ineffective.

Sweat the details, and go the extra mile. Our speaker regaled his audience on how movie actor Jim Carrey goes to great lengths to choreograph his antics in each scene of a movie. Similarly, he said, business people must anticipate and have a plan for meeting their clients’ needs; they must always be willing to go the extra mile to accomplish that.

The most successful teachers take time to write students congratulatory notes, dissect the pace of each day’s lesson, and give concerned parents timely updates. And they use their summers to develop new skills. Successful teaching, like a successful business (or successful acting), is not a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants operation.

Lead your people; don’t push them. The speaker’s most animated comments were reserved for the relationship between a boss and the worker bees. A business manager who can appreciate and capitalize on the strengths of each employee is one who can develop a well-rounded team and a business that will thrive.

One of a teacher’s primary objectives is to recognize and build upon each student’s strengths. Often a student’s strengths can be used to improve skills that might not be so strong. Our aim is to engage all students — one student at a time — in achieving our learning goals.

WITH ONE BIG DIFFERENCE…

While I was one of just a handful of non-business leaders in the audience, I found little in our speaker’s remarks to which I could not relate. I found myself nodding in total agreement until he made one last comment. “I’ve never gotten angry with my personnel,” he said. “I’ve only gotten angry with the suppliers of inferior material. I really let those suppliers have it for jeopardizing my business!”

And therein lies the difference between teaching and business: Teachers may rage internally at the dysfunctions of families and society that our students endure. We cannot, however, unleash our anger at the materials we are expected to transform. Businesses can reject inferior material; we embrace our “materials” and nurture them.

I left the awards ceremony wondering how many of the movers and shakers of local business in that audience really understood how closely their best practices relate to those of teachers. With such significant common ground, I have to wonder how much more could be accomplished for students if members of both professions worked together more closely. If business leaders connected with schools in their communities they would quickly learn what you and I know: Those who can, do… teach!

The thoughts on the similarities between business and education were outlined by Max W Fischer

in an article written by Brenda Dyck; Education World® Copyright © 2005 Education World

It is posted at the following web address

http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/voice/voice141.shtml

Remember teaching is very labor intensive: It’s practicum and practice. Like sports players, teachers need to practice on the “court” in order to learn the skills.

Above all trust in yourself and realise that teaching is one of the most important professions around.

Anne E Stewart July 2008