Sharing Good Practice
Teach your students life
lessons
By Dr Jan L. Jones
E
ducators today are faced with
increasing
administrative
demands
and
changing
academic expectations. For
many, the time available for preparing
lessons is diminishing. Over the years, I
began to adjust the amount of content
that I delivered in a 60-minute class. I
realized that no matter how engaging
I was; an endless set of PowerPoint
slides was not appealing to students.
A few years ago, I also began to
shorten my syllabi. I moved to the
philosophy of using a syllabus and the
class lecture environment as a way to
teach life lessons.
The following are a few lessons
that I have tried to weave into the
classroom environment.
Respect
Instead of looking for ways to punish
that student who consistently shows
up to class late talking on his/her cell
phone, talk to them about respect.
Pull them aside and ask them how
they might feel if they were presenting
and people walked in late during their
presentation. Have conversations with
them from the first day about respect.
Let students know that you respect
them. Ask that they return that respect
to you and to their fellow students.
10 | Nov - Dec 2015 |
|
Discuss ways in which a teacher and
student can respect each other.
them are key steps in determining
appropriate consequences for their
actions.
Actions have Consequences
Each time I created a syllabus I
deliberated on how to list the
regulations for missed classes and
assignments. An idea that worked was
to have conversations with students
about what they think happens
beyond school when you miss
deadlines. Students recommended
harsher consequences for themselves.
Ask students why they missed
deadlines and how they think it should
be handled.
Kindness
This is a concept that we should
focus more on inside and outside
of classrooms. So much can be
accomplished when we relate
to each other instead of judging
immediately. Students will notice if
you are kind and if you care. They
will share with others if you are
not kind to them when they ask
for help. Kindness does not mean
weakness. Additionally, to get
students to perform does not mean
that we must be firm and distant.
Understanding where your students
are coming from and listening to
Class Time
Professionalism
This is extremely important. Be kind
and respectful towards students but
insist that when it comes to doing
a presentation or to interacting
with practitioners; they must be
professional. Simple requirements
like having them dress professionally
for presentations will help them when
they leave school. This is a skill that is
important to any industry. Students
will appreciate that you expect it in
the classroom.
This is not an exhaustive list of life
lessons for the classroom. The aim
is to encourage educators to take a
look at how we are interacting with
students and how these interactions
can be a powerful way to impart life
lessons. Let’s create a dialogue about
the types of life lessons being taught
in classrooms around the world.
While we hope that students
remember the course goals and our
riveting lessons, it is more likely that
they will remember how you treated
them.