Ella Fitzgerald surely could have been

thinking about how teachers become

excellent teachers when she sang,

Taint what you do, it’s the way how you do it.

Taint what you do, it’s the way how you do it.

Taint what you do, it’s the way how you do it.

That’s what gets results.

            It is with this premise that our book “Straight Talk to Beginning Teachers” was published and Is used as an instant mentor in print by student teachers, beginning teachers with their supervisors in helping  them become the type of teachers we know they need to be.  Newspaper articles, television items,  government grants, programs, political pronouncements, dwell on determining by what means and measures teacher quality can be determined so poor ones can be ousted from our current school systems. State budgets for public schools are growing leaner and meaner and School Boards are talking about raising class size to double their current size. More than ever beginning teachers must concentrate on the way how to do it so they wont be judged as one of the undesired kind.

             Our book takes Ella Fitzgerald’s message to heart. We emphasize the way how to do it because that is really what gets results.  The balance of our presentation uses a rubric T. E. A. C. H. to illustrate examples of some of the tasks a teacher must master to become excellent.

                T stands for TRAVEL.  Typically, a beginning teacher glues him/herself behind the teacher’s desk, lab table or other obstacle. “Straight Talk’s” view of travel for example is one of frequent trips within the classroom. A major daily trip for each teacher is to be at room entrance as each class enters and leaves the classroom.  Picture the teacher, astride the doorway, so only one student at a time may pass. With one eye on the classroom, the other on the hall, the teacher offers “ten word messages” to every student passing through..  “You had a good idea Fred”, thanks for your help, Sheena, “Geri, I wish you would volunteer more often.”  “Keep trying, Ben. You really are improving.”   ” A  fresh start today, Angelo?”

            And there are all kinds of other trips during class periods. Try teaching from the side of the room, or discover a new world within the class when seated in the back of the room while the class is working on a written exercise. (Another suggested trip, follow the listed fire drill procedure on your own, before there is an actual need.)

             E stands for EXPLAIN A detailed how you do it chapter, entitled Giving Effective Classroom Directions explains these methods carefully and thoroughly. Two types of directions are necessary to explain patiently and often to students, managerial and instructional. Both types enable a teacher to carry out daily activities smoothly.

              A stands for ASSESS.  A  New York Times article by Sam Dillon (12-10-2010) reads “How useful are the views of public school students about their teachers?

           Quite useful, according to preliminary results released on Friday from a $45 million research project that is intended to find new ways of distinguishing good teachers from bad.….Financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the two year project involves scores of social scientists  and some 3000 teachers and their students in Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas ;Denver; Tampa; Memphis; New York; and Pittsburgh. The research is part of the $335 million Gates Foundation effort to overhaul the personnel systems in these districts.

            Bill, for the retail price of “Straight Talk to Beginning Teachers” at $39.95 per copy, we  provide you with nine different pupil assessment procedures of teacher performance which we suggest all teachers use to help them determine how well they are doing.  And there’s another one in the book which we recommend to teachers “Analyzing your test items toward improving them.”

            C stands for CHANGE It may seem a bit weird to connect this key word to lesson planning which is a critical task for successful teaching. Robert Mager who is not a teacher but a computer specialist developed a three part lesson plan to augment change’ Three parts are necessary the plan to be complete.

                      Part 1- A statement of the change the instruction is planned to produce in the learner.

                      Part 2-  A description of the learning conditions under which that change is expected to occur.

                      Part 3-  A statement of what will be accepted as evidence that the change has actually occurred.

We’ve adapted this in simpler language which we call Operational Objectives

          1.       What is it you want your students to learn?

          2.       How are they going to learn it?

          3.       How will you know they have learned it?

            H stands for Hand Stuff, Heart Stuff, and Head Stuff.  Simply stated, we learn in different ways. It’s often said, “No matter how thin a class is sliced, there still is a range of differences. Included in Straight Talk are a host of ways to reach your students in a way they learn best. This adds to the many facets of a teacher’s task, but as Ella says:                     The way you do it is really what gets results.

You only get one first day; one chance to make a first impression. Make it memorable!

Anticipating opening day and meeting your classes for the first time we’re sure you know there’s so much to do and so little time to do it. At the risk of feeling you are in a “catch 22.” we offer some concrete suggestions to help you move from a set of maybes to one of confidence. Here are a handful of items to consider.

There are two kinds of things to do on day one: those things you must do and those things you choose to do. In the must do category the tasks are both easier and essential. 1) Take attendance (a legal requirement). 2) Review fire drill procedures. (You must know the procedures in advance so your class can follow your directions simply and without confusion…an emergency requirement.) 3) Your department and/or school administration may specify additional things you are to do on day one. (Know them; do them, to avoid being that klutz in Room 204.)

Now, to what we believe is the more important part of your first class meeting. You may think the choosing to do on the first day begins with introducing yourself, or assigning seats, or passing out books, or distributing the syllabus, or having the class copy rules of behavior, or myriad other things that you have been subjected to as a student. We believe you can do this stuff on days two, three, four and five, We suggest the first day is different and you should choose to do something else.

Choose to introduce each course to each class in a way that gives your students a positive picture of what they are going to learn. Do it in a way that differs from what they expect, which will paint a picture of the course that is different from the same old, same old. Do something to lead clearly to an expectation that your class is going to be an exciting one.

1. Share with your students what excites you about the subject(s) you teach and how it plays a real part in their world.

2. Use “cliff hanging’ questions that your course will discuss and may lead to useful answers,

3. If you are teaching science, try a science demonstration that brings up a question lacking an immediate plausible answer.

4. A language teacher may present via PowerPoint an example of a text in the language to be learned and challenges the students to find similar words in English they know and try to infer meanings.

Hey, we believe your plans for opening day are building. Does anyone have an example to share of a memorable first day surprise that really introduces the course and leads into an actual lesson for day two? Please leave a comment for discussion.

Detailed explanations can be found in, Bruce, M.H. and H B. Miller, 2007, Straight Talk To Beginning Teachers, (Warminster,PA) Journey Publications.