5 things I learned from teaching
1. Everyone has something to contribute.
Some people are creative, some are sensible, some can bring people together, some provide another student the opportunity to take care of them.
2. The relationships students build are far more important than any individual project.
Furthermore, relationships are the reason why a compendium of projects turn out well. Here are my second grade students building relationships while mirror dancing:
3. Two heads are better than one, and 7 heads are not necessarily better than 6.
A good rule of thumb for maximum group size in elementary school students is:
group size ≤ a child’s grade level + 1
Here are 4th grade students working in groups of four:
4. Environment matters.
I learned that it's far more pleasant for me to work in a place where children have enough food to eat, a place to live, working plumbing at home and parents who have time to help them with their school work, than the opposite.
5. The experience of managing a class of 4th graders is surprisingly similar to managing a class of graduate students.
The first day, one of the grad students in my section decided it was just fine to talk while I was talking. I gave this person my teacher stare and by the next class this person was paying attention. I guess people don't change much regardless of how old they are.
That's alright! Here's my 4th grade students working on their group rhythm projects.
Music and Movement Projects
