Who Are You When You’re Teaching at Your Best? A Fun, Insightful Activity

Season 6 Episode 87

Listen to this episode to learn a fun, quick strategy that will give you insight to who you are when you are teaching at your best!

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

Who are you when you’re teaching at your best?

Today’s episode is an exploration of who we are as teachers, and what this means for our lives in and out of the classroom. Together we will complete an activity that is inspired by an exercise from the book, The Courage to Teach, by one of our favorite educators of all time, Parker Palmer.

We’re sharing a fun and reflective activity what will get you diving deep into who you are as a teacher.

You might laugh, you might cry, but at the very minimum we guarantee that 20 minutes from now, you will see yourself as a teacher and a person in a whole new way… and we will have some fun in the process.

In this episode:

The following show notes are a summary of key points in the episode.  To get all of the examples and stories we share, listen to the podcast.

Introduction:

If you have listened to any of our podcast episodes, you know we love talking about teaching. We especially like talking about teaching when we can make connections between who we are as teachers and who we are in our lives outside of school…. because there are definitely connections. Today, we are going to share with you an activity what we love to facilitate because, besides being fun, it is insightful into who we are as teachers and as people.

First, we need to give credit where credit is due. Several years ago, we read about this activity in the book The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer. Even though this activity was only talked about in 2 and a half pages of the 200 page book, we loved it so much that we took his premise, changed it up a bit, and expanded upon it.

So without further delay, let’s get started.

First, here is what you don’t need- You don’t need a pen or paper. You don’t need self-doubt or judgement. There is no room for any of that in this activity.

You do need- to come into this activity with an open mind and an honest heart. We will both share our examples with you, and we will share the examples of two teachers who completed this activity with us in the past, just to give you context. We will call them Becky and Charlie. Your responses will be different than any of us, they will be unique to you. That is part of what makes this so fun and insightful.

This activity involves a series of questions about who you are as a teacher but as you will see, you will learn about yourself as well.

Question #1- How would you complete this sentence? 

Say the first thing that comes to your mind to complete this sentence. Don’t overthink. Just answer.

“When I am teaching at my best, I am like a _____________________.”

Because this idea was inspired by Parker Palmer, we will share his metaphor first and then share our examples. Parker said, “When I am teaching at my best, I am like a sheepdog- not the large, shaggy, lovable kind, but the all-business Border collies one sees working the flocks in sheep country.“ He goes on to say that sheep dogs maintain the space for the sheep to graze, holds them together and brings back strays, protects them and moves them to other places when the grazing ground is depleted. He feels he does that when he is teaching at his best.

Paula: When I am teaching at my best, I am like a great hostess at a gathering of friends. I am the “Hostess with the mostest.” The great hostess weaves through the crowd flowing in and out of conversations, making sure people are getting out of the party what they came for, making sure the environment and conversation are engaging, creating a safe place with all the amenities to make it a charged environment that no one wants to leave when it is over. That is exactly what I feel like when I am teaching at my best.

Michele: When I am teaching at my best I am like an interior designer. I make the environment warm and welcoming and a good place for learning. People will feel comfortable and safe, and know that they are welcomed and that they will be heard. My space could be beautiful, but it also functions well, with room for all kinds of activities.  It’s is fun and pleasant but if I’ve done it well, you don’t necessarily notice all the elements in the room but it somehow works well for you. It meets the needs and activities of the people who are there.

Here are some examples of teachers we worked with:

Charles: Charles is one of our favorite teachers on this planet. He said, “When I am teaching at my best,   I am like a unicorn, I make the classroom a magical place.” We just want to add that we have seen Charles teach and it really is like watching magic.

Another teacher we worked with is Becky. Becky said, “When I am teaching at my best, I am like a tour guide. I am leading my students on a journey. I  am guiding them through an amazing tour of all of their learning”.

So what is your metaphor?  When I am teaching at my best I am like a ….

Once you have this question answered you are ready to move on to the next questions. However, if you have not answered this question yet, do not move on yet because the rest of the activity is based on your answer to this.

Question #2- What are the “strengths” you have related to this metaphor?

Now, list the strengths of the metaphor you listed. Don’t be humble here. Be honest. You chose your metaphor for a reason. Let’s say you said, “When I am teaching at my best I am like a rainbow” then start listing your favorite things about a rainbow (colorful, hopeful, awe-inspiring, bright). If they match you, own those verbs, adverbs, or adjectives with pride.

Paula: Because it is easy to Google “the strengths of a good hostess” I did and here is what I got- The strengths of a good hostess that mirror my strengths- friendly, personable, welcoming, outgoing, confident, composed, team spirit, willing to learn, and sets a positive tone. The crazy thing about this is that I have kept a note on my desk for my WHOLE teaching career, and I still have it there that says, “I set the tone” and tone setting is literally one of the top ten things I read about good hostesses when I did an online search. I know I picked a good metaphor.

Michele: Paula, that is amazing. I have seen those sticky notes in various colors in your office through the years. The traits of an interior designer I selected are creating a calm, welcoming, safe, comfortable, space.  A good interior designer also knows to understand the people and who will be in the space and what they need to be comfortable.

In the example of our teacher friend who is a Unicorn, he is magical and captivating, full of personality and rare as teachers go, which he is! Our tour guide teacher, Becky, is charismatic, genuine, energetic all words to describe a tour guide.

Now take a second to think of your strengths that align to your metaphor.

Question #3- What are the “Bright Spots” that happen in your classroom related to this metaphor?

Think of specific bright spots that have happened in your classroom in the past related to your metaphor. They may be general feelings or specific events that have brightened your day.

For example, we said Charles is like a unicorn when he is teaching at his best. He does unique activities that other teachers may be too afraid to do. He dresses up. He sings. The students are totally under his spell like a magical power that he has over them. The parents of his students talk about how their elementary students love him, which is a magical thing. Every day he walks into the classroom dressed up as another historical figure, he has created magical learning that will never be forgotten.

That is not for everyone.  Not all of us can be magical. We don’t all dress up as characters, that is his gift.

Becky talked about how she, as a tour guide when she was teaching at her best, could expose her students to information they would never have had exposure to. As a world traveler herself, she brought back artifacts from around the world that students could hold in their hands to experience foreign places in ways that could never be replicated with just a book. She animatedly told them about people and places that they then aspired to learn about.

A good teacher does help to open up the world to students, helping them understand other people, places, and experiences they have never had. Both of these teachers are great teachers. They are also different from each other but they are teaching with their gifts.

Paula: When I am like a hostess, I know that students feel comfortable in my classroom. I make sure there is a sense of community, making sure everyone has a chance to talk to different people and hear different perspectives, just like a hostess would make sure people were doing at her party.

I welcome my students with excitement and truly enjoy their presence which students will tell me years later that they appreciated about me and my classroom. They tell me years later, “We always thought you loved teaching our class. ”  That is because I did. They also tell me, ” We felt that you loved us as individuals,” and that’s because I do.

Michele: That is who you are as a teacher. This is not a stretch to say these things, it is who are you. In my interior designer magical home or bright spots, I think of the people who will be in the space and the exquisite conversations that will take place there. I love setting up the right chairs, a fire in the fireplace,scented candles, maybe some soft music and in my home, often with a glass of wine.

Everyone is engaged in the conversation, they are listening and sometimes even arguing. They are all wrapped up in the discussion and it goes on and on, until someone says, “oh look at the time, we have to get going!”  No one wants it to end.

I love it when that happens in a classroom and you have those exquisite conversations. You are walking towards the hallway after class and everyone is still talking. Those are the golden moments for me.”

Isn’t it amazing how each of our unique teaching and personal characteristic are already clear in just these few questions based off our metaphors?

We could expand upon our bright spots for sure, but we will keep it short for the sake of this podcast. Now think about yourself. Take time to pause this if you need to. List bright spots that happen in your classroom related to your metaphor.  You can dive as deep into this as you want. You can keep your list short like we did, or sit and think on it for a long time. The longer you think, the more bright spots you will come up with and you will think of many if you give yourself the time.

You will also get the warm and fuzzy feeling as you bask in these good memories.

Question #4- What are the “Shadows” of your metaphor that may apply to you?

While it is fun to look at the bright spots, we also need to explore the not so wonderful traits. Parker Palmer calls them the “shadows” of your metaphor.

What are the potentially negative parts of your metaphor? Google if you want or just list them from your memory or experiences.

Paula: For example, hostesses can get way to pre-occupied with details and forget the real reason they are there, for the people. I do that for sure. They can become indifferent to the needs of their guest if they decide they need to stick too closely to a predetermined party plan or get to focused on the logistics. I can  work on that.

Our unicorn teacher friend worried that other teachers might not take him seriously, that unicorns are often perceived as fun but unrealistic. Unicorns are also seen as a fantasy vs being the real thing and he wanted to be taken seriously as a teacher because he really knew how to teach.

Charles is a really phenomenal teacher. He has serious teaching skills and content knowledge, and he also does things in a playful way. We’ve all know those teachers who are all flash and no substance. He didn’t want that.

Michele: My shadow is that interior design might feel very superficial. I know a lot of people couldn’t care less about how their environment looks. They don’t pay attention to how it feels. Some people think I am obsessed, then they turn around and ask me to help with their house!

I also worry about being thought of as all flash and no substance. If you pay attention though, there is substance and function. There are reasons for why things are the way they are. It is about how the space makes you feel and how it helps you to understand yourself and how you are in the world. It’s actually pretty deep.

Parker Palmer noticed the irony in his “sheepdog” metaphor, that he could potentially just see his students as sheep who follow and not notice them as individuals.

What are the shadows of your metaphor? This isn’t meant to make you feel bad. It is meant to draw awareness.

Question 5#- What are the “Darker Spots” that happen in your classroom related to this metaphor?

Think about how the shadows of the metaphor could play out in your classroom, causing darker spots in the day or the environment. Like the bright spots you may be able to come up with generalizations or specific instances of darker spots in your classroom related to your metaphor.

Michele: For me, it is when someone doesn’t connect to my environment. I have failed to bring them into my world, my environment didn’t work for them.

Paula: Like a good party planner, I like to plan. When I come up with a great plan or activity, I am excited to see how it plays out in the classroom. If it starts to bomb, I go into full “hostess mode” trying to make it all right again, trying to salvage it so everyone is still happy and engaged. Because of this, I can leave a bad lesson feeling worse than other teachers who might be able to shrug it off. For me it can feel like I personally failed to plan and implement the plan right.

Our tour guide friend mentioned tour guides already know the material so they want to move on to the next thing and get bored easily, even when the people on the tour aren’t always ready to move on. She mentioned that she can get impatient when there are one or two students who aren’t ready to move on with her and the class to the next topic. She worried that students could sense her impatience.

What are the darker spots that happen in your classroom related to your metaphor? Again, this is not meant to make you feel bad, but instead to increase your awareness so you can be on the lookout for it in the future.

Question #6- How does this metaphor play out in other areas of your life?

This is an interesting concept. We regularly talk about “Work Life. Home Life. Best Life.” So many of the things that we discover about ourselves as teachers can help us in our home life, and vice versa.

What does your metaphor tell you about who you are outside of work?

What about our tour guide teacher, Becky.  No matter the situation she lead those around her on a journey….and people follow. It is her gift and it can work no matter the life situation.

Paula: I love to act as the hostess in a group. I can do well in a crowd of people I don’t know and like to introduce people so no one feels left out. That plays out in my life as I attend my husband’s work events when he is more introverted, it is the reason my children’s friends feel so welcome at my house.

Michele: I have the same example. My house is the one everyone wants to come to. I have the baby showers and graduations.  All the kids hung out at my house. People feel comfortable there.

How well does your metaphor align with other areas of your life? We are guessing it does. What examples can you think of?

Question #7- How can your metaphor strengthen you and make you more resilient?

Palmer suggests that the guidance you need in tough times can be found in your metaphor.

For example, when Charles is struggling at school or at work, he could ask himself, “What would a unicorn do in this situation?” Probably spread the magic! And that is a quality that he could use no matter where he is in his life.

What about our tour guide teacher, Becky, no matter the situation she lead those around her on a journey….and people follow. It is her gift and she can call on it to work no matter the life situation.

Paula: My hostess comes in to help me be more resilient. I have a friend who just passed away from cancer and yesterday I sent her college aged daughter a Venmo with a message to get a coffee on me, that I loved her and to have a good day. My only goal was to brighten her day and to make sure she felt noticed and loved. It’s what a hostess does. A few days before her mom passed, I told her mom not to worry, that she would be well looked after. It was the same thing I said when that little girl was dropped off at slumber parties we hosted at our house as an early elementary schooler, and when she got dropped of at our house for the get-ready-for-prom-girl-gatherings, all of which I loved to host at our house.  I am glad to still be able to look out for her from afar and set a tone for her day. It helps me to be more resilient and helps with loss.

Michele:  When I thought of this one, yes, interior designers can make a room special, but I can also make people feel valued and special. I know I have achieved that when I have very long standing relationships for many, many years. People who have been out of my life, such as students from my early  years, have come back into my life.  They’ll tell me, ” you always noticed me, you always made me feel special, like I belonged.”  That’s the bigger picture I can take away from creating spaces.

There are so many different questions you could ask yourself to expand upon your metaphor. We hope you explore a few.

In his book, Parker Palmer suggests to do this activity with colleagues you feel confident with. He suggests, “…the pay-off in self-understanding can be considerable.” We agree. So grab a friend and a cup of coffee. Sit down and explore your “Teaching at my Best” metaphors together. It will one of your vest conversations!

Recap:

The “Teaching at Your Best” activity helped us to explore who we are as teachers. It is important to remember that our teaching metaphors also have implications for our lives out of the classroom. Even though it started as a fun little game, a simple metaphor, you likely saw yourself as a teacher, and a person, in a whole new way.

If you would like more help in living with intention, check out our book, The Inspired Teachers Journal: A Weekly Guide to Becoming Your Best Self. We set you up with some insight and then give you journal prompts and amazing advice from other teachers who are on a journey to live their inspired lives. 

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Co-hosts Paula Schmidt and Michele Vosberg are award winning educators with the experience and skills to help teachers thrive in life and work. They’ve taught at all levels, worked with thousands of teachers, and conducted workshops around the world. They are also the authors of the #1 best-selling book The Inspired Teachers Journal: A Weekly Guide to Becoming Your Best Self.

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