A consistent finding across our research indicates that these educators create caring environments for students through consistency, accountability, and high expectations (Klei Borrero & Canter, 2018). These educators establish effective classroom cultures by creating orderly, predictable environments so all students can meet their full potential.
Theoretical Foundations for the No-Nonsense Nurturer Model
It is important to note that the No-Nonsense Nurturer model is grounded in sound education theory. While I consider myself more of a practitioner than an academic, my coursework and my continued work with youth, families, teachers, and administrators has taught me the importance of grounding educational practice in contemporary learning theory. When it comes to applying classroom management models and systems—which can be reactive and rigid—theory must guide our practice. Educators have learned this from decades of research about the most effective ways to promote meaningful learning and teaching in the classroom.
Key research regarding meaningful learning and teaching in the classroom, which was influential in the work of the No-Nonsense Nurturer model, is Sonia Nieto (2002) and her writings about the application of sociocultural theory (Vygotsky 1978). Foremost in sociocultural theory is the tenet that learning is social—it happens through relationships, and the context in which it occurs is vital. Thus, for our purposes as teachers, the classroom culture matters. In her work, Nieto (2002, 2008) applies foundations of sociocultural theory to diverse classrooms and shows that effective learning is rooted in the interrelated concepts of agency, experience, identity, context, and community.
Sociocultural theory stresses that students learn in social and culturally embedded contexts. The concept of agency dispels old myths that students are empty vessels teachers fill, and instead asserts that students learn through mutual discovery and relationships with teachers and their peers (Freire, 1970). Teaching is not the practice of transmitting knowledge but rather working alongside learners as they reflect, theorize, and create (or recreate) new knowledge (Nieto, 2002; Picower, 2012; Stefanakis, 2000; Yosso, 2005).
Experience is the second concept of Nieto’s (2002) application of sociocultural theory. In education, we tend to take for granted that experience is necessary for learning. Why? Because we may ignore that our students’ experiences can differ greatly from our own. In order to share and understand a student’s experience, a teacher must build a relationship with each student. When we learn about and better understand our students’ experiences, we can then deliver content and pedagogy that is relevant and worthy of our students’ learning time.
Closely tied to a student’s experience is a student’s identity and context. Identity is closely tied to culture. Culture is complex, and in schools, we often reduce culture to the foods people eat, the holidays they celebrate, or the customs recognized in mainstream society. While these concepts are important, it is only through the relationships we build with students that we learn about their culture, including ethnicity, history, social class, and ways of being and interacting in the world. When we better understand our students as individuals continually navigating multiple cultural contexts every day, we are better able to see them in and through our education environment systems and better position them for success.
The final concept Nieto (2002) presents is community, which is strongly rooted in Vygotsky’s (1978) notion that society and culture influence learning and if used in positive ways, schools can support student learning. Nieto (2002) notes that teachers can best express this concept by acting as a bridge for students. Through relationships, teachers can acknowledge students’ differences and then bridge these differences with the dominant culture in society.
Sociocultural theory supports the importance of relationships in our classrooms and the effort needed to grow these relationships. As educators, it is imperative that we learn about and exercise our relationships with students to provide the best environment for all students to learn, grow, and further develop who they are as individuals and as part of society. This is the true goal of all No-Nonsense Nurturers.
The No-Nonsense Nurturer
Having established the reason for the model’s initial research and the theoretical framework, let me explain the term No-Nonsense Nurturer. I respectfully refer to the highly effective teachers Lee and I studied as No-Nonsense Nurturers because of the way students reference their highly effective teachers in our interviews with them (Klei Borrero & Canter, 2018). Speaking with students about their teachers and why they are successful in their classroom, many use phrases like “She doesn’t play” in the same breath as “She would never let me fail.” And they say, “He wants me to stay after school until my homework is done,” while at the same time noting, “He comes to my game to cheer me on. He really cares about me.” Students essentially talk about the no-nonsense qualities of their teachers—refusing to allow their students to fail—while also noting their nurturing sides—identifying specific actions these high-performing teachers take to build life-altering relationships with them.
The No-Nonsense Nurturers Lee and I interviewed and studied all noted the importance of relationships with students as part of their success (Klei Borrero & Canter, 2018). To understand what a life-altering relationship really is, take a moment to think back to your high school graduation. If you are like me, while the valedictorian and superintendent spoke, you took some time to reflect on your K–12 education experiences. As I did this, certain teachers stuck out to me because they had a profound impact on who I am as a learner and shaped who I became as a person. Impacting me both as a learner and as a person made these relationships life altering. Like you, as an educator, I want my students to remember me not only for what I taught them but also for how I supported them as individuals and how I made them feel. In the end, I think we all strive to be No-Nonsense Nurturers.
No-Nonsense Nurturers are educators who understand the importance of purposefully building relationships with each student, setting high expectations for every academic challenge, and holding themselves and their students accountable for success with little room for excuses. These teachers work to create environments in which they teach discipline, develop expectations and routines, and create predictable environments to establish trust, respect, and a positive culture.
But how do they do it?
The Four-Step Model
Studying these high-performing teachers, Lee and I notice that they create effective classroom environments using strategies and the following four actions, which we eventually translated into the No-Nonsense Nurturer four-step model (Klei Borrero & Canter, 2018).
1. Give precise directions so every student knows how to be successful with each activity or academic challenge.
2. Narrate positive behaviors of students who get right to work and make choices in the best interest of their learning and the learning of their peers.
3. Implement accountability systems to encourage strong choices, self-discipline, and incentives for collaboration.
4. Build relationships with students beyond academics and really get to know them as individuals.