Being a teacher means embracing constant change. Yet all too often, teachers are told when, how, and why to change. In this monthly column, Mrs. Mimi takes on creating change for herself by rethinking old practices and redefining teaching on her own terms.
One of the best parts of our job is getting to hang out with a lot of really cool kids all day. I know sometimes they might forget their homework, or start a fight or, hey, even poop in their pants, but aside from all that most of them they are pretty fabulous. The key to looking past the lost homework, unkind words, and poop is to get to know them deeply, particularly as readers. And for many of our students, this may mean helping them see themselves as readers or supporting them as the build their reading identities.
Does all this sound too fluffy and touchy-feely while you are in the midst of data collection?! Assessing?! Beginning-of-the-year paperwork?! Running records?! Organizing your classroom library?! I guess it does. But I can tell you from years of practicing what I preach that when I savored the time to get to know my students as readers I felt happier, more in line with what I think makes a good teacher, and more effective throughout the school year. (And that’s on top of feeling fluffy and touchy-feely! Boom.)
When we get to know our students as readers, it means more than asking them to draw a picture of where they like to read at home or name a favorite book. It means reading alongside students to discover what types of authors, genres and text types they enjoy reading most. (And I mean really reading with them. No surface-y stuff, friends. Get into the book, find something to love and talk about it. Honor their choices as readers and take the time to read what they like to read. You might even discover some new faves.) It means sharing your own favorites with them and engaging them in an authentic conversation about the book itself. Let them see your passion for reading, your nerdiness and excitement for reading.
It also means learning about their interests outside of school and using that information to help match them to an exciting new read or push them to try something different. Think about your nightstand (or where ever you stack up your On Deck Reading). Mr. Mimi likes to joke that my nightstand is one book away from collapsing, my pile is that serious. And while to him it may appear to be a haphazard leaning tower of books and magazines, I know it is a well-curated collection of who I am as a reader. I take time to re-organize those piles, moving current issues of magazines to the top, a piece of nonfiction to the bottom, a book recommended by a friend to the up-next spot. Our students should have the same self-awareness as well as the freedom in our classrooms to curate a pile of their own.
So enjoy these weeks of getting to know your students, warts and all. I know there are tests and test prep and graphic organizers and schedules to get together—those are all important pieces of our teacher puzzle. But I think the most important piece of the puzzle and the piece that ties all of these other things together—something that has true meaning and a lifelong impact—is our work growing and inspiring true readers.
Mrs. Mimi,a.k.a. Jennifer Scoggin, is a teacher who taught both first and second grades at a public elementary school in New York City. She's the author of the upcoming “Be Fabulous: The Reading Teacher's Guide to Reclaiming Your Happiness in the Classroom” and“It's Not All Flowers and Sausages: My Adventures in Second Grade”, which sprung from her popular blog of the same name. Mimi also has her doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University.