Teach Like a PIRATE is divided into three parts:
PART I: TEACH LIKE A PIRATE
This is the heart of the PIRATE system and philosophy. It is divided into six chapters, one chapter for each letter of the word.
Passion—You know you’re supposed to be passionate about your job as a teacher. This chapter explains how to feel passionate, even if the subject you’re teaching isn’t all that exciting to you.
Immersion—It’s easy to shout directions from the safety of the sidelines, but the safe approach isn’t the most effective one. To really engage your students you must be immersed in the moment. You’ll learn in this chapter why your class needs your full attention.
Rapport—Getting to know your students on a personal level, showing them they are more than just a grade, and giving them a safe, fun environment sets the stage for learning. This chapter offers ideas on how to build rapport naturally and authentically so you can connect with your students.
Ask and Analyze—Coming up with creative ideas begins by asking the right questions. Making sure those ideas connect with your audience requires constant analysis and openness to feedback. This chapter will help you ask and analyze better so you can be a more creative and effective teacher.
Transformation—If you feel as though you’re constantly hitting roadblocks with your students, maybe it’s time to transform your expectations for what’s possible in the classroom. This chapter explains how to reframe your subject—for yourself and your students— so you can break down those barriers.
Enthusiasm—Above all, enthusiasm is the most powerful tool in the classroom. This chapter explains why you must use it freely. You’ll also learn how to ramp up your enthusiasm so your last class of the day receives the same high-impact lesson as your first class.
PART II: CRAFTING ENGAGING LESSONS
Are you tired of trying to talk over students who seem bent on ignoring you? This section will help you engage them and magnetically pull them into your lesson. In this crash course on designing presentations you’ll find captivating hooks you can add to your content, as well as brainstorming questions to help you generate unbelievably engaging ideas for your lessons and skyrocket your creativity. The questions will spur you to think outside the box, and the applications give you some immediate and practical experience for implementing the creative process.
PART III: BUILDING A BETTER PIRATE
Before you set sail, you’ll want to read these final instructions. In this section you’ll find the reassurance and guidance needed to ensure that you reach your final destination and receive a treasure worthy of the voyage.
Welcome aboard!
A huge secret lies deep in the heart of teachers all over the world. I know, because I am a teacher. You don’t want to talk about it or admit it because you’re fearful of the judgment of your peers. You see, you believe you are the only one who holds this seemingly terrible, ugly secret. It’s like when Betty Friedan, in The Feminine Mystique, wrote that women all over the nation were lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and asking themselves, “Is this all?” They didn’t want to discuss their feelings of emptiness and dissatisfaction with their peers because they thought they were alone and would face scorn and shame. Well, I’m hoping to be the Betty Friedan for you and I’m hoping this book will forever free you of this deep, dark secret that burdens your soul.
Here is the secret: We are not passionate about everything we teach. It’s OK! Let the freedom wash over you. Now that the secret’s out in the open, let’s talk about it.
We know we are supposed to be passionate about teaching. That’s why we feel guilty when that passion simply isn’t there. We go to seminars and conferences where speakers explain why, as teachers, we must bring passion into our work. From the stage, we hear: “If you can’t bring passion into your work then, by God, find new work!” It sounds great! We remember why we became teachers in the first place. We really want to help our students grow and succeed. For a moment, the enthusiastic messages get us excited and pumped up. But then the speakers leave the stage and we are left cold because they never explain how to find and maintain passion for teaching.
You know there are days when you look at the content standard and realize it’s going to be tough to get yourself fired up. What do you do on those days? How can you consistently bring passion into your work as an educator even on the days you’re teaching material you find boring or uninteresting?
I should, perhaps, mention there are rare exceptions…teachers who find everything about the subject they teach exciting. I call them freaks. I have one of them in my history department. He eats, sleeps, breathes, and “dresses” history on a daily basis. His house is like a museum. He is a reenactor in his spare time and has been an extra in numerous historical documentaries and movies. He, and people like him, don’t need this section of the book. Good for them. The rest of us must intentionally find ways to bring passion to our work every day.
To solve this problem, I break passion into three distinct categories: Content Passion, Professional Passion, and Personal Passion. By consciously focusing on identifying, developing, and using all three of these categories, it is absolutely possible to become a powerfully passionate teacher every day of the school year. Take some time to answer the questions listed for each of these categories. To most effectively use this section, I recommend actually writing your answers down so you can refer to them later. At the very least please take the time to mentally complete the exercise before moving on.
Within your subject matter, what are you passionate about teaching? In other words, of all of the topics and standards you teach as part of your curriculum, which are the ones you most enjoy?
I am most passionate about teaching the Civil Rights Movement. I love everything about it, and within that unit there are even areas I am more passionate about than others. For example, I especially love to teach the edgier side of the movement. I don’t need any extra help getting fired up when teaching about Malcolm X or the Black Panther Party. I don’t have to work very hard to energize the room when discussing the ideas of Malcolm X. I enjoy meeting that
“energy” head-on to try to open the minds of my students. I also love to teach about the resistance to slavery. And the counterculture of the sixties…no problem! My students love hearing the music from that time period that I use to help deliver the content.
On the other hand, I am not passionate about railroads! I understand their historical significance, but I don’t stay up at night in anticipation of teaching about them. I’m also not real excited about the Industrial Revolution. I don’t get too fired up about military history. So what can you and I do on the days where the subject matter doesn’t fall into our content passion? That is where