Teaching is the subject of a lifetime and I have been reading, planning and obsessing about it since my first Montessori school job in 1995. When a librarian quit a Toronto District School Board assignment in October 1996, I became a public school librarian/French teacher in a tough, funding-assisted school. The learning curve was so steep, I nearly fell off. Back then I could have used a book that combined librarian skills, creativity and excellent classroom discipline.
Instead, I took Librarianship courses in the summer and learned to implement behaviour tracking systems using rewards and stickers. In time, I got better at de-escalating tense situations with humour, appealing to student’s better natures, using peer pressure, and anticipating conflicts in the school yard… There have been books and books written about discipline and I benefited from many in my first teaching years and later on when I switched schools and started teaching gifted students.
While discipline systems have a place, there is another key to classroom management. The best rewards for students are intrinsic. If kids and teens see the utility, improving skills and learning new things are rewarding in themselves.
I often found that students who were most disruptive in my French classes were also the best in drama. Whenever they got a role in my school plays, this new actor-director relationship meant they worked harder in my classes as well. It made me want every teacher to put her kids on stage or showcase their talents some other way. There should be a book that helps new teachers and veterans encourage students to flourish creatively.
I learned to write, direct and produce school plays by apprenticing myself to a master teacher named Mike Taylor. His secret to teaching grade eight was simple and profound. “You have to love them.”
Mike expressed his love by putting on big shows and touring them from school to school. He designed, built and painted sets. He designed and sold cast t-shirts. He booked the light and sound equipment. He spent his free time rehearsing and chasing down props. Not everybody can find a mentor like that. First he let me assistant direct. Later, he ‘retired’ from directing so I could put on my own shows for visiting schools to watch.
I thought maybe I should write a book to help other teachers do plays too, until I became a mother and took on a whole new set of extra-curricular responsibilities.
Have you ever wanted to write a book? We all have wonderful ideas but the time commitment between the spark of an idea and publication seems impossibly long. That’s why Blog-a-Book is such a genius idea.
I just finished reading Nina Amir’s How to Blog a Book for the second time. The first time I read it, I was writing a novel and none of her advice seemed to apply. This month, as I wind down from a self-funded sabbatical and start to get excited about returning to work, blogging about education makes perfect sense.
2024 Update
Closer to retirement than the start of my career, teaching has remained a passion–but not one to write a book about. I have preferred to reflect on my practice from year to year on a constant quest for improvement. That said, creative writing did not fall by the wayside. I wrote and produced original school plays and currently run an extremely popular writing club every November. We prioritize fun, word count totals, and collaboration. Club members write hard for one month, count up our totals for a little friendly inter-grade competition, and celebrate “the end” with a party. It’s a blast!
In terms of my own writing, I’ve published 4 books with a 5th coming to Ream in the form of a serial as of March 12, 2024. You can check out that action on Ream.