It is a sad sign of our time that I have to add “appropriate” to the title of this post. Without it, our minds quickly slip to inappropriate affection, conditioned as we are by so many salacious stories on the local news about criminally inappropriate teacher-student interactions. Despite the news stories (and the fear they […]
Search Results for: moments of genuine connection
We Become What We Do
The best way to become a certain kind of person is to do what those kinds of people do. This common sense dates back to at least Aristotle, who taught that the paths to both vice and virtue run through our actions. For teachers, this means that if we want to be sharper thinkers, then […]
The Secret Skills of Master Teachers: Reducing Distractions from Students
To produce the clarity of thought necessary for deep and impactful teaching, the teacher has to do something that her environment constantly resists: she must avail herself of distraction-free blocks of time each day in which to do her most important work. I’ll use my setting as an example of what I mean by an […]
What to Do When You Need a Credibility Breakthrough: The Student-by-Student Ground Game
Last time, we looked at the CCP of teacher credibility. Now, let’s examine the top trick I know for building it rapidly. This is useful if you’re new at a school or if you feel like you’re credibility is stagnating. What Kevin Hart taught me about teaching I read a story recently about comedian Kevin […]
Humble-Boldness: A Common Trait of the Greatest Teachers
To be good at teaching, you need to do a few things well, getting better at them as your career progresses. And then you need to do all the rest of the things just well enough. (The “well enough” things get satisficed — one of the most useful terms I’ve come across in my research.) To be great at teaching, you need to keep on doing […]