It starts on the first day of school. Actually, it starts in the summer, when spiral notebooks go on sale at 10 for $1.00. I stockpile the notebooks and tape the poem "Dear Mrs. McKinney of the Sixth Grade," by David Kherdian, to the front page so that they are ready and waiting on students' desks the first day of school. From the minute my students step into my classroom, my goal is to confirm positive constructs about school and to revise constructs for those who believe they cannot succeed here.
As students pick up their notebooks, I introduce myself and launch into the first reading of the poem, knowing that their heads are filled with thoughts like
"You bought us notebooks?""What about the rules … the syllabus … the grading scale???"
Before I start my second reading of the poem, I ask students to think about a teacher who has been one of their "hands-down favorites." When the poem concludes, students turn their notebooks to page two to find their first task:
Your first homework assignment is connected to the poem I read to you today: "Dear Mrs. McKinney of the Sixth Grade." For me to understand the type of teacher who motivates you to do your best work, I want you to write about a "good" teacher from your K–8 school life. Include specific examples from his or her class. Remember, first homework = first impression. Spend time writing your story. I am looking for the details in the story, not punctuation and spelling (at least not this time).
To model both content and length expectations for this assignment, I share the story of my favorite teacher. I tell them that it is important for me to hear and to take notes about each of their stories. So, over the next two days, the class will listen to each student's story. This process gets everyone in class speaking (from their desks), and the fear of that first-time sharing in front of class is over immediately.
When everyone has shared their teacher story, each student rereads their story silently and lists three adjectives that describe their teacher. We then make a master list of the adjectives and count how many times the same adjective (or a synonym) occurs. The following day, I distribute a typed master list of these adjectives to each student and ask them to circle the five characteristics they need to have a successful learning experience. I share that I will use their top-five list to plan and to reflect on the lessons I create. Here is an example of a list created by a freshman English class:
Characteristics of an Effective Teacher
These are the descriptors that you wrote in the margins around your favorite teacher stories. Please check the five characteristics that are most important to you as a learner.
_____ Fun/funny (9)
_____ Nice/friendly/kind (5)
_____ Understanding/caring/giving (5)
_____ Enthusiastic/exciting (3)
_____ Flexible/not strict but semi-serious (3)
_____ Interesting (2)
_____ Helpful (2)
_____ Relationship builder (2)
_____ Crazy/loud-mouthed (2)
_____ Positive/uplifting (2)
_____ Teaches so we learn (not memorize)
_____ Accepting
Please add any descriptors that you believe are important but were not on the original list:
Then I turn the tables just a bit, and share my "characteristic of effective students" list, and tell a few stories about students whom I will always remember because of how they lived one or more of these characteristics.
Characteristics of Effective Students
Positive
Willing to try new strategies—open-minded
Look for the good in people
Willing to work with (and learn from) any student in the class
Honest
Share concerns in a productive way
Balance listening with contributing
Come to class prepared (materials, homework, and attitude)
Then I tell students that, after nine weeks, I will ask them to give me feedback about which teacher characteristics I exhibit, and where I have room for growth. In return, I will give students feedback on which student characteristics are their strengths and which could be areas of growth during our second quarter together.
Trust Comes First
When I share this practice with educators, I often hear the argument that this just takes too much time away from the content we are mandated to teach. I argue that opening the school year by busting constructs creates a foundation of trust and credibility that will push students to deeper levels of thinking, because they believe you are making decisions based on what is good for them as students and as individuals. I post both the teacher list and the student list in our room (different lists for each class I teach), and I consciously name the characteristics I considered when I planned the day's lesson so they can see how seriously I take their input. I now have 15 years of these lists. Although the data is anecdotal, I believe this activity minimizes time spent on discipline and increases homework completion rates increase. The benefits of adding "trust" as one of the constructs students associate with learning are worth the time it takes to establish these initial relationships.
