Immersion is felt by students in ways we don’t even realize. I missed a couple days of school recently and had my substitute teacher show a video. Upon return, several students complained that it just wasn’t the same watching with the sub. I said, “What do you mean? The whole period was going to be spent watching the video whether I was here or not.” To which one of my students replied, “Yeah, but you always pause the video to tell us cool things and build up anticipation for what’s coming. You make little comments the whole time. We like that you watch and react to the video with us. It’s just different when you’re here.” That eye-opening conversation offered dramatic proof of the significant difference personal power, attitude, and full presence of the instructor has on the learning environment. An instructor who is fully immersed in the moment has a special type of intensity that resonates with great power in the classroom, regardless of the activity.
The sun is a powerful source of heat, yet the Earth doesn’t burst into flames each day at noon. However, if you concentrate the sun’s rays through a magnifying glass and direct the narrow beam towards something flammable you can start a fire. That is the difference between dissipated energy and energy that has been captured, concentrated and directed into a powerful laser-like focus. Immersion works the same way in the classroom and will allow you to morph lukewarm lessons into supernovas that set the classroom on fire.
DON’T MISS THE MOMENT
I had a major reminder of one of my seminar principles over Thanksgiving week. I was home with my two children every day all week while my wife was working. Normally, this would be fine, but I also had several things I was working on…like sitting at the computer and brainstorming blog ideas. As my children competed for my divided attention, I felt the beginnings of frustration creeping in (OK, OK, more than the beginnings!). Right before I snapped, it hit me; sometimes I need to take my own damn seminar. I teach this stuff! I was not following the principle of “immersion.” Divided attention is ineffective and creates a major loss of personal power. I set my work aside and made the firm decision to just “be” with my kids. Immersion in that moment meant being fully present, going with the flow, and surrendering my need to be in control all the time.
How did it end up? We had an incredible day exploring the canyons of Tierrasanta and going wherever they wanted. As we chatted along the way, I witnessed the innate creativity children can show when not over-scheduled and “structured” to death. By the way, by personally letting go, I also freed my mind to come up with blog topics naturally. I got more ideas and clarity by taking a walk than I ever would have by staring at a computer screen. Sometimes we need to give our brain the vision and then let our conscious mind get out of the way and let the unconscious do its thing.
The practice of immersion and letting yourself fully experience the moment applies to the classroom in more ways than I can possibly mention. I’m a firm believer in having structure and definite plans for the direction of lessons, but sometimes things happen that demand a change in direction and a “letting go” of the plan. The teachable moment is called that because if you wait it will be gone! It’s OK to surrender your structure in the pursuit of something far more valuable in the moment.
“But wait…the state test is coming up soon. Surely my students will never recover and get back on pace.”
Well, here’s what I say: At some point in your career you have to decide if you care more about teaching to tests or teaching kids. My decision was made a long time ago. I teach kids. Don’t let the current overemphasis on standardized test scores lead to the loss of the teachable moment. Having the right structure and using your time in the classroom effectively allows you the flexibility to let “the moment” happen without any sense of guilt. Sometimes we need to just “be” with our students and take the figurative walk through the canyons with them.
The quote above from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is one of the greatest behavior management quotes in history. Ultimately, we don’t want to develop techniques to win behavior management battles, we want to develop techniques that allow us to avoid the battles altogether.
I know for a fact I have many students who are a living nightmare for the other teachers on their schedule, but present me with very little difficulty. How is this possible? It certainly isn’t that I am more knowledgeable in my subject matter. It rarely has to do with me having a higher level of compassion or being more caring than my colleagues. Nor do I believe those students’ inconsistent behavior has anything to do with me having greater skill in behavior management.
So what compels these “trouble makers” to behave in my class? First and foremost, I believe it’s because they are engaged. It is my opinion and experience that an engaged student is rarely a behavior problem. Misbehavior usually indicates boredom, overwhelm, or lack of connection to the material being covered. The entire second half of this book offers an in-depth study on transforming your lessons into highly engaging presentations that draw in and hold your students’ interest like a magnet. But engagement is only one piece of the behavior puzzle. Equally important to your success in avoiding battles with students is your ability to develop deep levels of rapport.
You can’t effectively develop engaging presentations unless you spend the necessary time and effort to find out what they already find engaging. Many of the strategies I will describe later are universal in nature and designed to work for all audiences. They play off of basic human nature and can be safely and effectively used across the board. However, one of the big secrets and shortcuts to engagement is to spend less time trying to get students interested in what you are presenting and more time making connections between what you are presenting and what they are already interested in.
I start building rapport on the very first day of school with my Play-Doh lesson. I continue to try to learn as much as I can about my students as the year goes on. What are their hobbies? What sports do they play? What types of music do they listen to? What movies do they like? Which TV shows do they love to watch? If you’re paying attention to what excites them, you can connect with them almost instantly. Some of my killer hooks for lessons have come directly from picking up on conversations I overhear between students.
You can also ask students to try to find connections between your content and pop culture. Many times, students bring to my attention the relationship a currently popular song or movie has to what we are studying. You should do everything you can to encourage your students to draw these types of connections.
Similarly, try reading the paper and watching the news with your class in mind. Develop the habit of combing current events from the perspective of searching for hooks and connections to your material. You will be astonished at the gold mine that surrounds you. This habit offers the added benefit of consistently keeping your lessons fresh and more interesting for you, as well.
An additional key to developing rapport is spending informal time with your students. Use the minutes between classes, before and after school, and occasionally at lunch and break to connect with them. For example, several clubs use my room at lunchtime. I believe being available to kids says a lot to them about whether or not you are interested in them beyond your particular class. Try to interact with them during passing periods and stop and chat or say “hi” as you pass on campus during the day. As often as you can, attend extra-curricular activities your students are involved in. Building rapport is all about interacting with your students as fellow human beings, not just as subordinates. Kids can tell the difference between teachers who only seem to care about them when they are sitting in the classroom, and those who see past the “student” to the unique person who resides inside.
Rapport is also incredibly important because it helps create buy-in. When I discuss