Being a conscious teacher in an unconscious school.

[Ryan]

As the husband of the Rebecca and a veteran teacher who is using the love-based (unconditional) approach in the classroom, I feel that I have a unique perspective on schooling. Let me start by saying that I was much more behavior based in the past than I am now. A few years ago, when I started trying to connect and influence students instead of controlling them is when I became much more effective at teaching. I have been working in my school since then to try to advance unconditional teaching with much resistance and fear.

I am a respected teacher at my school with proven results in increasing student achievement and was elected teacher of the year by my peers. With that said, I have been only able to convince a few of my peers to even try the unconditional model in their classrooms. I am considered too soft on kids by many of my peers because I do not use punishments or rewards. Yet I get results.

I know that a vast majority of teachers truly care about kids and believe that they are doing what is best for children. It is a matter of helping teachers to shift the paradigm from which they see their students and the way they run their classrooms. The change process is scary, especially for teachers.

I can empathize with parents who are trying to get their child's teacher to understand the way we are trying to raise our children. I understand first-hand how scary it is for a teacher to look at students and teaching differently as I was at first resistant. What I had done for the previous 10 years was working, or so I thought.

It will be unlikely that a parent will be able to shift a teacher’s paradigm. There are however ways that parents can approach teachers that can help a teacher to better understand and respond to your child.

Any thoughts or questions, please post!!

Thanks,

Ryan

[Denise]

My 5 year old daughter has a teacher fresh out of college who already knows that punishment doesn't work for most of the kids in her classroom. She is interested in a different approach but I'm not sure how to help her make this shift in her classroom. Any suggestions on how to get started?

[Ryan]

Implementing the model in my own classroom as a veteran was difficult with many of my peers questioning me and nay saying. I still fight the battles on a nearly daily basis. Changing course in an education system with 120 years of inertia behind it is very difficult. But it can be done, especially at the classroom level.

I will cover two points. First, gaining a clearer picture of what it is like for a new teacher. Second, some ideas for implementing change in a classroom.

Being a first year teacher is an extremely challenging and stressful. The transition from a college campus and the safety of a supervising teacher to a classroom and the responsibility of the students is daunting to most, if not all, new teachers. The teacher will be under a great deal of pressure from her peers, parents, and principal to ensure that the kids are learning as well as appear to be learning. Appearance at this point is key for most new teachers. New teachers often feel like they are not allowed to make mistakes and take risks. Any change is a risk. The status quo is safe. The unconditional teaching paradigm is a huge risk to a new teacher and it is very scary to make the leap.

Much of the research dealing with new teachers states that new teachers go through stages in their first year or two: ANTICIPATION, SURVIVAL, DISILUSIONMENT, REJUVINATION, REFLECTION, and then ANTICIPATION for the next year.

In my experience working with new teachers, most spend a majority of their time in survival mode. Even when they move forward in one area, they are still in survival in other areas. Often they may move forward and drop back to survival. Anyone working to survive is going to have a hard time thinking clearly and doing anything causing more risk (fear). Eventually, all teachers who stay in teaching move through the stages. Half of all new teachers leave the profession within 3-5 years. Most of those get stuck in disillusionment and
My suggestion for a teacher at any stage in the first few years would be to adapt over time instead of implement a “new” system in any area all at once. Start making adaptations to existing classroom systems. Then build more change based on what works. An example would be if there is a stoplight system in the room, still use the system, but adapt the way it is implemented and how the teacher interacts with the students. Once interactions are changed, the stoplight will become less and less needed and will eventually fade away.

To change interactions, the first adaptation to make is to think and feel unconditional acceptance for the students. When implementing classroom systems, empathize with where the students are through the unconditional paradigm. Change to interactions will then be obvious. The feelings have to change before any real systemic change can take place

In my experience, teaching is an intellectual and pulmonary pursuit. We intellectually know what methods work and the curriculum that should be taught. Yet it is the heart that guides us in how we implement the methods and curriculum. The key will be to adapt over time the feeling and then the systems. Without changing the feeling first the system will not change.

I hope this give a little bit more information about what a teacher faces and how real change takes place in a classroom.

I welcome any and all comments and would love to continue a discussion.


Regards,

Ryan