What Great Teachers Know About KIDS

It's about the kids.  It's always about the kids.

Some kids act apathetic.  It’s an act.  Every kid cares about something… and great teachers try to figure out what it is.

Some kids come to school ready to learn… and some not so much.  Great teachers come to school ready to make a difference with all of them.

Kids are much more likely to remember how you taught than what you taught.

  

Classroom management is not about having the right rules FOR kids… it’s about having the right relationships WITH kids.

Great teachers remember that not every kid is looking forward to summer break.  For some kids, school is the safest place there is.

Very few kids engaged in a lesson have ever misbehaved.  I’m just sayin’.

  

Kids sometimes do stupid stuff in class, but great teachers don’t sweat the shenanigans. They’re too busy teaching and building relationships.

The kids might not remember how much work you put into your class. But they will always remember how much heart you put into your class.

It’s quite possible that the kids you like the least, are the ones who need you the most.

    

When teachers love their jobs, kids notice.  When teachers are counting down the days, kids notice.  It turns out, kids notice a lot!

Some kids dream of trying to change the world… and some are just trying to make it through the day.  The best teachers meet the kids right where they are.

Not all the kids have hope… and great teachers get it. They realize their job is bigger than any lesson plan or standardized test.

Kids don’t usually remember lessons for a long time. But they remember kindness… and humor… and joy. Great teachers have those qualities in spades.

  

Kids don’t gravitate to subjects… they gravitate to teachers.

Great teachers know that when they show up to work… happy to be there, they’ve significantly increased the likelihood that the students will have a great day.

Before you can win their mind, you generally have to win their heart.

The kids in the school usually know which adults love being there.  Kids are perceptive.  You can’t fake it.

When kids misbehave, it’s not because they like being in trouble.  Great teachers get that. They don’t lower the bar; they seek to understand.

  

As a rule of thumb, kids like the teachers who really like them.  So it’s kind of important to like the kids.

Some kids are a bright spot in their teacher's day.  And some kids need a teacher to be a bright spot in their day.

   

Struggling kids don’t make it because they are in the right class.  They make it because they have the right teacher.

     

Some kids are nervous about going to school.  Great teachers understand that a smile, a high five, or a quiet conversation can change the trajectory of a kid's bad day.

     

Kids are not complicated.  They like to feel supported, encouraged, and valued -- same as teachers.

It’s good to know the content.  It’s great to know the pedagogy.  It’s imperative to know the kids.

The best teachers never forgot what it was like to be a kid.

   

Teachers did not get into education to raise test scores… but to make a difference in the lives of kids.  And that makes them heroes!

                                               

                                               Danny Steele

                                                    @SteeleThoughts