Ernest D. Pierce is a teacher and counselor who holds BS and MA degrees in Education and Counseling from the University of Colorado. He has taught at all grade levels and created innovative education programs for students, teachers, and parents.
Success Secrets of Super Teachers
How to Take Your Teaching to the Next LevelBy Ernest Pierce AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 Ernest Pierce
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4520-3523-9 Contents
Acknowledgments........................................viiForeword...............................................xiPreface................................................xiiiChapter 1. Charlie Morrison............................1Chapter 2. Sue Guilford................................17Chapter 3. Gavin Mayer.................................27Chapter 4. Ronda Buck..................................33Chapter 5. Carl Berg...................................45Chapter 6. Karen Brown.................................57Chapter 7. Pat Crumley.................................75Chapter 8. Robert Parker...............................87Chapter 9. Shirley Yauk................................93Chapter 10. John Harrington III........................107Chapter 11. Molly Niven................................117Chapter 12. Larry Zaragosa.............................125Chapter 13. Karen Gregg................................135Chapter 14. Amy Bainbridge.............................143Chapter 15. Gordon Heaton..............................149Chapter 16. Diana Solis................................161Chapter 17. Dale Clark.................................173Chapter 18. Jeff Talley................................183Chapter 19. Kathleen Good..............................199Chapter 20. Susan Ryder................................207Chapter 21. Kelly Gonzales.............................219Chapter 22. Edna Marie Donar...........................233Chapter 23. Luann Pavlu................................243Chapter 24. Clydene Peterson Smith.....................253
Chapter One
Charlie Morrison
Charlie Morrison taught high school mathematics in Colorado for over forty years, never missing a day of school. He also coached sports teams. After retirement from his regular teaching job, he returned to teaching part time. Charlie was honored by Channel 9 News with a "Teachers Who Care" award.
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Ernie: What inspired you to become a teacher?
Charlie: In about my junior year of high school, I realized I really liked mathematics. A few years previously, the launch of the Russian spaceship Sputnik had led to an increased emphasis on math and science in United States schools, and hence a shortage of teachers of these disciplines. I liked math, I liked teaching, and the government had a good plan for science and math teachers. In addition, the National Defense Education Act provided help for funding a college education. It all just fit into place that I was going to be a math teacher. Also, I really loved sports and played and participated in various sports, which made it natural for me to be a coach. I wasn't really one of those people who absolutely loves kids; I never worked in day care or a summer camp or anything like that. It's more that I'm overall a "people person." Being a teacher fit my personality.
Ernie: Who are your mentors and how have they influenced your success?
Charlie: I had some good math and science teachers in high school that sparked my interest in math and science. It wasn't that I necessarily wanted to emulate them; they were just good teachers who held my interest. I went on to choose math as a major and physics as a minor in college.
Ernie: What did you learn from these teachers?
Charlie: I was most impressed by how much they enjoyed their profession and how their attitude helped develop their students' interest in the subjects they taught. I learned that a teacher could be friends with the students and still maintain respect and be effective at teaching the subject matter. They were good at what they taught (mathematics and science).
Ernie: That leads into my next question: What ideas or techniques have you developed or used to keep the subject interesting and dynamic for both you and the students?
Charlie: I've always said it's my humor-keeping students involved by laughing a lot and not taking myself too seriously. As I see it, there are two kinds of teachers. When I am interviewing a teacher for a job, I want to find out if they are a subject teacher or a people teacher. I like to think I'm a people teacher; my subject just happens to be mathematics. In interviews we sometimes ask questions like, "What is your philosophy of education?" What a silly question! These days, after having taught for many years, I think I have an answer: humanism. I'm a human being first. My students are human. They realize that I respect them for who they are as people. Math just happens to be our subject.
Students know they are being treated fairly, and I get involved in their lives. Early in my career, I was afraid of involvement with students. Well, obviously in areas such as romance, that is something that you absolutely don't do. But to be a good teacher, you have to get involved with your students and show an interest in them. You want them to be interested in you, so why shouldn't you be interested in their school plays, sports, and things like that? You have to be interested in your students and let them know you are human. Don't hide behind the textbook, and don't be afraid to let the mask fall off your face.
Ernie: That reminds me of a story, something that happened many years ago when I first started teaching. I was with the principal and another teacher, and the teacher said, "You know, my biggest problem is knowing when to be Mr. Jones and when to just be their teacher." And I thought, well, just be who you are all the time.
Charlie: That's a good philosophy. You're so right.
Ernie: Kids appreciate your being genuine, I truly believe.
Charlie: That's a key word I've heard from others: genuine.
Ernie: What role has your staff and administration played in your effectiveness as a teacher?
Charlie: Well, I guess the crucial word would be support: they are there for me. We are a really close faculty; we have fun together. Even though there have been changes in philosophy and instructional strategies, I'm not afraid to change. But my administrators realize there is one key ingredient that I won't change, and that is humanness-the human side of me that I've brought into the classroom. Also, they see I have a way of engaging students, enrolling them in what's going on. It's pretty tough to fall asleep in my class. Not that students haven't ever done that, but they have to be on task because they might miss a joke or something funny, or might even miss a joke on them. The important thing is support-knowing that my students are involved and engaged in my classroom, and that the administration supports me in making that possible.
Ernie: What is the most interesting or exciting thing that has happened to you in your years of teaching?
Charlie: This is another question I hear often. There have been so many great moments; it's hard to think of just one. An example would be seeing some of my fantastic students getting into the college of their choice and graduating. For some, just seeing them graduate from high school was a joy because you think they're never going to make it, and then they show you that they can do it. Also, things like visiting an Ivy League college in Boston were happy moments. As a coach I've been part of a state championship baseball team, which also was obviously a highlight. But nothing that happened in the classroom really jumps out in my mind. Every once in awhile you find an effective technique that leads you to say, "Whoa, that's it!" but I can't think of a specific instance.
Also I'm thinking of something along the lines of discipline (classroom management) that I prided myself on. I realized in talking to new teachers (the department chairman and I would talk to new teachers the first week of the school year) that your first twenty minutes with a class are the most important.
One year I had a real hard-core gang member who had come from the Los Angeles Hispanic gangs. I was told to be careful around Alex. Well, I don't get too nervous about such things; I set my opinion by what they do in my classroom. One day Alex was on the side of the room in his seat. I can't recall exactly what he was doing (something like flipping his pencil in the air), but I said, "Alex, you can't go around doing that when you're the teacher's pet. Teacher's pets can't do that." And he said, "I ain't no teacher's pet, man." And I said, "Alex, everybody knows you're the teacher's pet. You just can't go around doing that." He was so frustrated that he didn't know what to do! He'd never been a teacher's pet. I kind of played on the teacher's pet thing with him for awhile. Frustrating Alex helped him realize he was not being judged or put down for his actions or choices. The kids were looking at him, and we laughed with him. He was getting attention, but not in a negative way.
Eventually Alex and I became the best of buds. He would come up to my desk and tell me stories and other things from L.A. that I didn't even want to hear, really. But it was just a way of connecting. I tell my new teachers, "Find who you think might be the worst in your class, and make him your teacher's pet. Enroll him, engage him, and make him feel important. That student might turn out to be your best buddy. If anybody got out of line, I knew Alex would do the dirty work for me. He would say, "Hey, you be quiet over there! Pay attention to Morrison." He was my ally.
Ernie: That reminds me of an idea: that in giving him attention in a totally unique way, he couldn't respond as he typically would have.
Charlie: He didn't know what to do.
Ernie: Yes, exactly. It reminds me of Eric Ericsson, the famous hypnotist. He would find totally unique ways to engage people that would throw them out of their usual state.
Charlie: Yes, that's interesting.
Ernie: What has been your biggest challenge, and how did you overcome it?
Charlie: In the first year of teaching, all of us as new teachers are concerned about classroom control. We're not concerned about knowing the math or science or history or whatever; our concern is the classroom. Of course, when I started, the good classroom was the quiet classroom. That idea has changed somewhat over the years. Students will participate; they talk in groups and things like that. How did I overcome that challenge? I just worked on it. Learning to manage a classroom comes with experience. I tried different things and noticed what worked. Teachers, when they get together, compare strategies and such, so I learned from other teachers as well. But I can't think of a specific challenge.
Ernie: I think you're totally right. Success in teaching comes from experience and the willingness to be flexible and throw out the things that don't work for us.
Charlie: Yes.
Ernie: What have been some of your most effective methods of working with minimally motivated students?
Charlie: Probably the continual pleading or trying to get students to realize they can do it. It can include giving them individual help or asking them to come in for help. Students tend to learn very quickly in my classes, and maybe part of that success is that I make it okay to be wrong. Sometimes we learn by our mistakes. Sometimes wrong answers lead to the correct solutions or ideas-that is, we capitalize on mistakes. I don't just want to hear that a student missed problem number 20; I want to know what they actually did. When we discover that, they probably will never make that mistake again. It helps build confidence that they can do the work and won't be harshly treated or criticized for making a mistake.
For example, one time I heard an elementary school teacher ask a simple question like two plus two, and the student said the answer was five. Instead of saying, "No, that's wrong," the teacher said, "Five. Fantastic answer, Jenny, if the problem had been two plus three." She made the answer a positive by substituting another question.
Ernie: It sounds to me like you make your classroom a safe place to be.
Charlie: Yes! You said it perfectly. My classroom is a happy, safe place to be.
Ernie: So, Charlie, what is the secret ingredient to your success?
Charlie: I'm going to be repetitive and say "humanness" again. I let students know right away that I'm here to have a good time and want them to have a good time too, and that we're just going to have to learn some mathematics along the way while we're having fun. Sometimes the fun could be at my expense, or it might be at the kids' expense. It is said that sarcasm has no place in the classroom, and I agree. But my kids learn very quickly that I'm just as sarcastic with myself and that we laugh with each other. My kids even put me down once in awhile and will make fun of something silly I did.
We thrive on the humor aspect. I have that Don Rickles sense of humor, where he is getting putdowns all the time. I'll do the same to myself, and they realize it. They say, "We can't put you down; you do a pretty good job on yourself." They know they're safe if they laugh at me, laugh at my weekend, or ask me questions about my weekend, because I ask questions about theirs. The comfortable space I create in the classroom helps with my success in teaching. Students walk in the door, and I know they're afraid of math but they realize it's an okay place to be. The class atmosphere is safe.
Ernie: What advice would you give to a teacher just starting out?
Charlie: Set your own style; develop your comfort zones. I've already talked about the issue of how to handle a problem with one student, but the important thing is to be yourself. In their first year, many teachers are trying too hard. I know what that is like; at first I tried so hard to be the mathematician. I never thought about the fact that students might be more interested in relating to me authentically. They learn very quickly that I'm an obnoxious person! But often a new teacher gets caught up in their subject and forgets that the kids need to like it. That is important, but may be hard to do in the first year because you have to establish your personality and reputation. There are kids that look forward to being in my class because I have a reputation now. As a first-year teacher, you have to develop that as you go.
Ernie: What is the strangest thing that has happened to you, and how did you handle it?
Charlie: In one case there was some parental involvement, but you might have to give me two drinks before I relay it! Perhaps you should re-ask the question. You didn't say "embarrassing"; I turned it into embarrassing.
Ernie: I asked, "What was the strangest thing that has happened to you, and how did you handle it?"
Charlie: Strangest. Strangest, strangest.... Boy, there have been a ton of them! They've been worth a lot of laughs. Probably I can handle each strange thing that's happened with a humorous reply. I can't think of any specific strange things. Occasionally every student says something silly or goofy and you have to laugh at it. This year, in the last week of school we were taking semester tests and one girl said, "I know I have a C average right now. I got a C on this test; will it lower my grade?" You have to laugh at a question like that. We all laughed, and then she laughed at herself. She was worried because she had wanted an A or a B, and then she was concerned that her grade might be even lower than a C. That's just one simple example.
Many humorous things have happened; often I take a strange thing and make it into a joke. Since I am an obnoxious Nebraska fan, whenever one of my football players is planning to go to Colorado University to play football, I ask, "What is it like knowing that you have four losses already under your belt?" My point is that of course they are going to lose to Nebraska in all four years. In 1990, Colorado University, after twenty-eight straight years of losing to Nebraska, finally beat them. Three of my former students were on that football team. One day in January, right after lunch, three huge African-American men in black suits and ties showed up. They walked in the door, crossed their arms, and started thumping their feet on the floor. My students didn't know what was going on; they thought poor Mr. Morrison was going to die right there! It looked like these three men (who were so big they hardly fit through the door) were going to beat me to a pulp. One of them looked at me and said, "About those four losses, Mr. Morrison." I started laughing, the guys broke up laughing, and my students were very relieved to know that Mr. Morrison wasn't going to die that day after all! Then, of course, I introduced my class to the three gentlemen. It was hilarious.
Strange things happen often; I just make light of them. If someone walks in the room (even the school principal), I'll say something like, "Well, here's the lovely Mr. Smith." I think people are hesitant to walk in the room because they don't know what to expect. I'll do things like that. I'm back to humor again.
Ernie: It seems to me like a great way to approach life.
Charlie: You have to laugh.
Ernie: What were the biggest mistakes you made in your early years of teaching?
Charlie: We make a lot of them! Usually they involve something I've said that a student might have taken the wrong way. It gets back to a parent, and then of course the parent wants your job. Sometimes we say things and don't realize how they come out. I tell my kids very early that sometimes when you have a bit of a sarcastic humor, you can unintentionally hurt someone without realizing it. I tell them to never let it harbor and fester in their mind. This is a made-up example, but let's say a student has a mole on his left earlobe and I jokingly call him Spot. He has been called Spot since he was five years old and doesn't need a teacher saying the same thing. But I did, and he is sensitive about it. I tell students that if something like this happens, to please come up and tell me, "Mr. Morrison, that bothers me. I was called Spot by my uncle and didn't like it." I will apologize, knowing what I'm apologizing for. I'm not afraid to apologize.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Success Secrets of Super Teachersby Ernest Pierce Copyright © 2010 by Ernest Pierce. Excerpted by permission.
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