When I was a new teacher, I got wind of a “stellar” teacher who taught at a nearby school. He and I were at the same grade level, so one afternoon I swung by to check out his classroom.
His room was immaculate and the most kid-friendly learning environment I’ve ever seen. It was bright and colorful, with interactive learning centers, math labs, and science experiments set up around the perimeter.
There was a solar system suspended from the ceiling to perfect scale along with model rockets his students had shot into the sky.
The walls were covered with beautiful calligraphic poetry and accompanying water color paintings. There were dioramas, exhibits, and replicas of California’s missions.
There was even a display of a Gold Rush book they were reading as a class bursting from a pot of gold. It was amazing, truly.
And it all made me feel terrible.
I knew I would never be this good. When I entered my comparatively drab classroom the next day, I was even more demoralized.
Cut to Today
In this age of distraction, which we’re all susceptible to, I’m leery of anything that could jeopardize my ability to concentrate and produce content week after week. So I shy away from social media.
But there is also part of me that recalls that visit so many years ago and how awful it made me feel.
Today, there are scores of “stellar” teachers you can find online to make you feel terrible anytime you like. You can visit them virtually, watch their cheery day-in-the-life, and ogle classrooms that put yours to shame.
There are also those Facebook friends and colleagues who seem a little too quick to share the wonderful projects they’re doing with their own class.
It can all make you feel as if you don’t measure up. Even if you innocently go looking for ideas or inspiration, you’ll often leave feeling envious and full of self-doubt.
The Real Truth
Much of what you see today via social media is an illusion. There are deep ulterior motives at work that very rarely reveal the truth: That all that color and beauty and creativity doesn’t necessarily mean you’re an effective teacher.
Effective teaching is primarily about three things:
1. Classroom Management
2. High Standards
3. Content Knowledge and Delivery
A few months after my visit to the stellar teacher’s classroom, he asked me if I wanted to team-teach with him during summer school. I very warily said yes.
And I’m so glad I did.
Because, you see, I learned that in matters of teaching and education things aren’t always what they seem.
I discovered that he spent hours after school working on his room. He prepped well into the evening on lessons and activities for his students—endless cutting and building and testing.
He was stressed-out and exhausted and spent a boatload of his own money. He easily put in quadruple the amount of time and energy than I did preparing each day.
And his students, while periodically excited about his many cool projects, were often lost, excitable, and unmotivated—which is always the case when the greater balance of responsibility resides with the teacher.
Reality TV
One day he confided in me that he struggled mightily with the performance aspects of his job—presenting lessons, building rapport, having fun with his students.
He said that he put in all that time and effort and made such a big show of his classroom in front of others to make up for what he felt were his inadequacies.
Certainly this isn’t the case for everyone who posts their projects and videos of their classroom online. But they are only sharing their best work.
They are posting for views, likes, and comments.
That isn’t to say that every teacher who shares online does so selfishly. There are some who earnestly want to help by posting actual, doable lessons and activities. They are worth seeking out.
For the others . . . well, it’s reality television. It’s more about them and their world than you and yours.
Check them out for a chuckle, perhaps.
But remind yourself that no one is always so bright and perfect and that all those cute posters and projects are far down on the list of priorities that make for effective teaching.
PS – Here at SCM, we believe in simplifying, saying no, and adhering to the 80/20 rule. To learn more, check out The Happy Teacher Habits.
Also, if you haven’t done so already, please join us. It’s free! Click here and begin receiving classroom management articles like this one in your email box every week.
I am awaiting your suggestions for substitute teachers!
Now I feel stupid for putting so much time into preparing my lessons
Really a great lesson to learn from!
So reassuring! Great article! Thank you!
Once again, thank you for bringing the voice of reason back into my head. As a 50 year old in my third year of teaching, I am constantly bombarded with a million different ideas and a million different ways to KEEP students engaged. But I know engagement does not always look the same. I KNOW that for learning to really take place, the students have to have ownership. I KNOW I’m a better teacher when I follow my instincts, when I slow down and give them all think time. I own all your books (I think – unless you came out with a new one when I wasn’t looking!), inhale your blog, and have shared shared shared with everyone I can. When tempted to go to Pinterest or FB, I steer my newbie, somewhat insecure teacher heart here.
This is very true! I have 2 teenagers and as a family we are anti all social media. Pinterest is as social as I get and I use it because of the organizational value in it. However, I am deliberate to what I search for and pin.
Not being on social media has prevented so many problems that we see others go through.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” I do not know who originally wrote that, but it is true.
This is truly reassuring about what matters most. I wish I’d read this when I was first starting out and felt I didn’t measure up, even though many students enjoyed my classes and let me know it.
What was even harder for me than social media in terms of comparison was seeing other teachers that I felt had a more effective way of joking with their students, even though I have a strong sense of humor. It’s helped me in such moments to remember what Michael said about just being yourself and that that’s what students enjoy most about you. I’m learning just to share that humor in my own more subtle way naturally instead of trying too hard. It’s fun to see students surprised and delighted when they realize I’m joking about something!
By the way, I can’t say how much I appreciate your years of work on this site and your books, Michael! It was clear when I started reading your posts years ago that you were doing this to help others rather than making yourself look good, and your successes haven’t changed that. Thank you!
Wow thank you for a timely reminder about comparing! Thanks for sharing such a personal story. I will remember it next time I’m tempted to compare.
Love it! You are right on! I would love it if you could write something for language teachers, especially vis-a-vis content delivery. I have all the knowledge in the world, but teaching a language apparently is not on the students’ priority list… I see my students every day for 1 hours, so I am somewhere between a classroom teacher and a specialty teacher (I read both your books). Much appreciated!
Thank you I needed to hear that!
Entering teaching later in life I came in with some street smarts but felt totally inadequate. I felt out of control with my classes, but I started cottoning onto to the illusion other teachers were presenting when I was timetabled to give some extra academic support to students in their classes. These teachers were the same ones in meetings who actually presented on managing students and providing authentic learning experiences. Their classes were complete mayhem. I saw one senior teacher give a lesson where students were both learning nothing and their behaviour was atrocious. One of the most disruptive students at the end of one lesson gave a behaviour monitoring card to the teacher and she marked it with an excellent in each column. I was horrified. The longer I taught, the more I saw teachers keeping up appearances. Now I never compare myself to others.
Hi. You nailed it! Many is the time when I see posts and feel terrible that I can’t seem to “do that”, but then I see posts of teachers who share their struggles and know that I am not alone. I have had mi highs and lows and will continue to have these for as long as I teacher. Therefore, to the teachers who post their fab stuff – thank you, I have kept tabs. And to those who just keep it real – thank you x 100.
Instead of spending an hour cleaning my room and grading projects after a really hard day, I picked up the phone and started calling parents. I reached a lot of parents who sounded amazed that Jimmy had eaten glue, in 7th grade, and Bobby’s uncle was certainly going to have words about throwing scissors. Lily’s mom had no idea Lily had not done any classwork and had an F, because Lily lays on the floor under her desk during class. I couldn’t get all the parents I needed- phones we’re disconnected or out of service or blocking the school phone number.
I left the desks a mess and a note to the custodian saying to leave it for the kids to clean up on Monday. 80/20.
Great insight!Thanks!
This is so true! Thank you for pointing this out. Your common sense approach to education and teaching is so spot on!
Here’s the thing. My high school students could not care less about the beautiful bulletin boards and the “wow” factor of walking into my classroom. But you know who does? Admin and parents. My secret is that I personally spent zero time on most of it. I have a few girls who love this kind of stuff, so I provided them with inexpensive bulletin board materials and student work to be displayed. They came in durable lunch, stayed after school, etc. They even added their own arts/crafts stuff to it! The only thing I did is to throw away about a ton of papers and junk the previous teacher had left, and I cleaned and organized because I personally enjoy a tidy environment. Not a single student outside the group of friends who decorated has ever commented on my room. But the principal sent out a staff email praising it and parents have oohed and aaahed over it! I wish what the parents see is my classroom management and my solid content delivery, but they will in the long term. In the meantime, I’m the new (to my school) teacher with the beautiful bulletin boards! 🙂