At the end of SLOCA High School’s winter and spring terms, students are “immersed” into a short-term elective course. These Immersive courses include a wide range of options: from Textile Art, Film Studies, and CAD/3D Printing, to Marine Biology, The World of Tolkien, and Psychology (among many more!). This past winter immersive included a course called “The Teaching Life,” in which students who have an interest in working with young children and/or education have the opportunity to be mentored by our Grammar & Middle School Director or Early Education Director as well as a classroom teacher. They are essentially folded into the world of one of our highly qualified SLOCA teachers to participate in the daily routine of a classroom.
This short series of blog posts, authored by “The Teaching Life” students, gives us a glimpse into their experiences and takeaways from this incredible immersive. Enjoy!
What Does It Mean to be a Good Teacher?
by Lily Moore
Hi! My name is Lily, I am a senior at SLOCA High School and recently participated in the winter teaching immersive class. I have been going to SLOCA for a long time and have loved this school and will miss it dearly. When I came to Mrs. Cote and Mrs. Rey’s classroom I remember the exact place I sat during middle school. It was quite a surreal experience. There really is no place like it.
During this immersion, I was able to work as a teacher’s aide in the middle school, mostly alongside Mrs. Cote. I came to this program as a mildly unenthusiastic girl who was reluctant to leave behind winter break. As much as I love school I also love my freedom. On my first day, I received a warm welcome from all the students. I was shocked, it was not what I was expecting. Something I noticed about the kids is that they were kind and they were also curious…about me?! I was waiting for the kids to “roast” me, but they didn’t. Surely their positive role models had something to do with this? In this post, I will examine what I have observed it takes to be a good teacher and how all of us can be our own kind of “good teacher.”
At SLOCA, goodness is emphasized at the individual level, but what does it mean to be a good teacher? In my 3 week career as a teacher’s intern, I will try to explain. I’ve observed that one of the cornerstones of being a good teacher is to listen and learn. As a teacher, you need to listen to the needs of your students and ultimately put their needs above your own. As Parker Palmer, author of The Courage to Teach notes, “Unlike many professions, teaching is always done at the intersection of personal and public life (18).” Even though I’ve been mostly in an observational position, I can tell how much heart it takes to be a teacher. Mrs. Cote herself said that being a teacher has taught her how to “persevere and overcome fear and anxieties by doing hard things but not being hard-hearted.”
Being in classes with 5th and 6th graders has taken me back to my middle school days when I was in need of a kind figure to look up to. I had the wonderful Mrs. Rey. Sure having amazing parents is great too, but when someone who isn’t your mom tells you you’re doing a good job it somehow means more. Sorry mom! Watching Mrs. Cote, Mrs. Clark, Ms. Stevens, Mrs. Derbish, and more I learned just how lucky these kids are. A part of being a good teacher is also being a mentor to someone, having a mentor, or working to be like a mentor. When I interviewed Mrs. Cote for this blog I asked her who her biggest role model was and she said “Wendy (Mrs. Rey), I really hope I can be like her–she leads with humility.” What I find so interesting is just by having a “mentor” Mrs. Cote is a teacher who leads with humility. We all have the ability to be like these good teachers, all it takes is some determination, kindheartedness, and creativity. Once we have some of these traits we can become a mentor to others. On that note, being a good teacher has so much to do with opening up the creativity within each of us. This “opening up” is an important step in every person’s life. Having a mentor can be helpful when trying to decide a life path of some sort. Some ways that I’ve seen this done is through the HRJ’s, LRA’s, science experiments, and of course theatre class.
In my time, I observed a boy who seemed to be more analytically minded –very strong at math, exacting, and no-nonsense, thrive in Ms. Stevens’ theatre class. What I saw her do in her class was beautiful. Students who were typically shy emerged from their cocoon a beautiful butterfly. She is not all fun and games though, it is THEATRE. They play games and have fun together but she takes the kids and their abilities seriously. In The Courage to Teach the author writes how we need good mentors who “awaken the truth within us (18).” In order to be awakened from our melancholic slumber we need help! Students who were typically more contemplative and closed off lit up and giggled with Ms. Stevens’ theatrical remarks and demonstrations. Even I felt happier and more free after doing this class.
Continuing with the theme of liberation, The Elements of Teaching by James M Banner Jr, and Harold C Cannon, talks about how “True teachers liberate the thinking of others (19).” What is most often wrong with us is of our own creation. By the students’ consistent attendance at school, their teachers can observe their behavior and decide where they need to be freed up. Teachers set their students free, or at least a good one does so. During Friday Grids we were doing an experiment with makeshift bird wings. One student was struggling to get his wing to fly, he started to get frustrated because the others’ wings had already worked. Mrs. Derbish let him try a few times before suggesting some small adjustments which when implemented made the wing fly just as well as the others. Her lack of discouragement even though things weren’t working left hope for the student himself. Another example is in Mrs. Cote’s class where I helped some students who were consistently struggling. What I noticed about most of these “struggling” students is that they were actually good, even great at the task that was troublesome. All they needed was some guidance from either me or Mrs. Cote. Something that this week has taught me is that we all work at different paces to arrive at the same destination. Some students can crank out beautiful work in no time, others, it takes a bit longer. The teachers know this too, and they make sure to help out the kids when and where they need it without highlighting their struggles. At my other school, I perceived a lot of unhealthy competition which would lead to discouragement on my end. In my memory, I wouldn’t get something right, and the teacher would make sure that everyone knew about it. At the beginning of my internship, I would ask the kids if they needed help, most would say no, but after building a small connection with them a little piece of trust would emerge and then I could observe who needed some help and make sure that they didn’t feel singled out when I did so. Good teachers don’t force help, unless absolutely necessary.
We all have the ability to be like these good teachers. It is important to note however that not just anyone can be this kind of teacher. My definition of a “teacher” is someone who can influence positively and create change in a person by understanding their needs. From hearing teachers talk I’ve gathered that being a good teacher isn’t all about being kind and encouraging. Even though they haven’t named names they discussed how teaching is actually quite hard. Mrs. Cote told me the hardest part of teaching is “all of the expectations you put on yourself for the sake of the children and parents.” In The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer he notes how as a teacher, one needs to access deep gladness. He says “Even the difficult days will ultimately gladden me because they pose the kinds of problems that can help me grow in a work if it is truly mine (31).” I heard similar sentiments echoed by Mrs. Cote. She said that those difficult interactions with parents are “what the most good ultimately comes from.” She also said that having things you “can’t change or influence” is really hard. From these weeks I’ve gathered that being a good teacher has a lot to do with upholding high standards for yourself and your students amid all the chaos. In all of the teachers I interacted with I observed this “deep gladness.” One of my favorite things about my time at the school was observing all the different personalities and how they all work together. What I observed Mrs. Cote doing was finding ways to keep the kids positively interacting even when their strong personalities clashed. In opposition, another happy thing to see was just how much these kids care for each other. There are strong friendships and jokes are always flying in the class. I used to think that middle school was a hellscape void of kindness (yes, I know, a bit dramatic), but now I know that even though it is rough there is a lot of beauty and kindness amid the rocky times.
As I said, I came into this immersive class unenthusiastic and prepared to be met with the same energy. However, this experience has been one of my most positive ones at SLOCA. Just being able to observe these young people at the beginning of their lives has been rewarding. Even the attitude on the lower campus has been lovely. Middle school is inherently hard, but being able to go to a school like this one during such a time is a blessing I wish I had recognized earlier. Even though this time is hard, I also remember being more free at this age. These students have shown me that returning to this more carefree mindset would set me up for a more happy life. We all have so much to learn from students this age. On my first day, a brunette girl came up to me and made me feel so welcome, another student – a boy with short blonde hair asked me so many questions about my experience expressing curiosity. The list goes on. That is another message that I have taken away from the students and teachers. Be curious. As the Elements of Teaching says, “Information is to knowledge what sound is to music (9).” Although this was a short interaction with the teaching life, it has taught me so much more. Teaching, although a job, also seems to be a lifestyle. This lifestyle requires discipline, having joy during hard times, listening and learning, growth, and more. After this class, I could certainly see myself being a school teacher. It does not seem easy, but it certainly seems rewarding. From this career we can apply advice that is rather simple on how to live a good life.
