Many of you know that I like to camp and hike. Last fall, I took a trip down to Bishop, CA and spent a really frigid night up in Sierras. The tent that I had brought with me was not up to the task of helping to keep me warm when the temperatures dipped down in the mid-20's. I learned a hard lesson that preparedness matters. I recently purchased a new tent (pictured here) after months of research online. It is an insulated tent, and is actually unique on the market in that regard. It keeps the occupants warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather. It uses some new "space age" fabrics and thoughtful engineering to produce a tent that is actually insulated. This is something that "hard core" tent campers have been asking for in their equipment since tents were invented. So far, I have only tried it in temperatures down to the mid 40's, but I can report that it is warm and toasty inside! Lesson learned; preparation matters!
One of the tricks of the trade for teaching is the art of being prepared. We know from years of research and plenty of anecdotal evidence, that teachers who put emphasis on planning and preparation are the most effective in terms of student success. All of the love for students, positive relationships, and good intentions, can't replace the absolute necessity for a well-planned and solidly executed lesson.
One aspect of being prepared that is often overlooked is the preparation for failure. What do we do when our students AREN'T learning? As teachers, we can look at the data and plan the best we know how, but for whatever reason things don't always work out the way we had hoped. Our kids just didn't get it for some reason. We need to have a plan for when that happens. It's not always easy to know what to do when your students aren't having the success that you think they should; but I can tell you that the WRONG plan is to start assigning blame. There are so many variables in a typical classroom, that assigning blame is almost always a fruitless endeavor. It can also lead to regret, bitterness, and burnout; a combination that is toxic to the classroom and to the school.
Being prepared is as much a psychological task as it is an intellectual one. As teachers, we have to approach our students from the correct psychological aspect. Teaching a great lesson is only partly concerned with the transmission of facts or skills, it involves connecting with students. It's difficult to make those connections when we aren't emotionally and psychologically prepared. Teaching is hard work precisely BECAUSE it calls upon the teacher to be both intellectually and psychologically engaged and prepared. The kids know when we are just "phoning it in" so to speak; and the results from those efforts are often simultaneously disappointing and to be expected.
Teaching is no spectator sport to be sure, and it isn't for the feint of heart. In fact, it is HEART work and HEAD work from start to finish. Just like an athlete who is in training and EXPECTS to win, proper preparation is THE key ingredient to ensuring that ALL of our students are successful.
Have an awesome week!!!