A Quote
“We tend to believe that to change the world, we have to think big. Confucius wouldn’t dispute this, but he would also say, Don’t ignore the small. Don’t forget the ‘pleases’ and ‘thank yous.’ Change doesn’t happen until people alter their behaviour, and they don’t alter their behaviour unless they start with the small.”
Source: M. Puett and C. Gross-Loh, The Path, pp. 52-53
A Thought
Here are three small things I did that changed everything for me and the students:
Observation
I found this so hard. It went against all my training and ideas of what a good teacher was: be an active presence in the classroom.
Ritualising it helped turn it into a habit. So, I committed to a number per week and a time each lesson.
I saw so much! This was helped by documenting things in a notebook, which became my planning book. I had two headings:
What I am seeing and hearing (filled in in the moment)
What I need to do next time (filled in later, after reflection)
Spray and walk away
This helped me find a place in the play because it allowed me to see I could help without saving / dominating / controlling / swamping …
It worked best when I did it after an observation.
I always asked - What can I offer that will enrich the learning? I tried to have an exit strategy so I didn’t get stuck.
Listening
You can’t orient learning around student interest if they won’t reveal it to you, and they won’t reveal it to you if they don’t know you. Saying, What are you interested in? doesn’t work.
Sometimes I would sit with them and do stuff, just be a part of things. I would listen, join in conversations, get to know them and them me.
I would try to act on what I learned through listening by adding something to the environment that connected to their interests. They noticed that I noticed.
An Action
Inspire us: I invite you all to leave a comment in response to this question:
What’s a small action that’s led to big changes in your practice?