Over the holidays I have taken great pleasure in 1) having a holiday and 2) reading lots of books as I unpacked the last few boxes from our shift last October. One of these books was the Power of One by Bryce Courtney – an old favourite. But (as with all good books I guess) this time I picked something else out of it, which was about ‘St John’s’ people at Peekay’s school.
It got me thinking about my ‘crew’ of kids. Maybe we all have them, or maybe I am alone in having a few kids that I seem to be able to do more for. I don’t like to use the word favourite, but I guess in that traditional sense they could be. The ones that pop in during a break to ask a question, make a point of trying something different or being brave, or email me links to coding tutorials during their holidays (thanks Ben), or makes silver nitrate (amongst other things) in their own ‘lab’ at home. A couple of them probably don’t even realise I go out of my way to catch up with them, or check in on them (these tend to be the ones not doing so well…….)
Because these are the kids I am especially excited to teach. In fact, some of them aren’t even in my classes, but I will see them round school and have some sort of conversation. I might have them in previous years, or just bumped into them some-how. Some of them are the kids that ‘are fine in my class’ but not in others that drive so many teachers bonkers.
So, I started to wonder if I was to like Singe ‘n Burn, and neglecting the many for the few. Not deliberately, or as focussed as Singe ‘n Burn perhaps (there is certainly no interview process) but subtly am I putting more effort into these few students at the cost of others.
Or is it simply that these kids are demanding more effort because I can support them in ways that other teachers can’t? I am sure that there are other students interested in other things who connect with other teachers out there – perhaps not even at school but a sports coach etc.
And then the question rattling around in my brain is does it matter? Does it matter if I put a little more time and effort into 5-15 kids out of my ‘140’ odd in my classes. If I am making sure I am still doing the best job possible for all my students, then I suppose it doesn’t matter if I make more of an impact on some than others. There are always going to be students who prefer another teaching style, or just another teacher. Beating myself up over this is pointless and unhelpful – I just need to do my best for each student as I find them. With this in mind, I guess it is perfectly fine to do more for some than others, so long as I keep in mind to not let the many suffer for the few.
So I will keep thinking about my crew – how can I extend them and nurture them, while not making a big deal of it or being exclusive of others, or at the expense of others, or at the expense of myself. But I am certainly looking forward to seeing them in Term 1 and putting some ideas into shape for what 2017 can bring for them.
That is not to lessen the all important challenge of how can I impact those students ‘who come with minds already narrowed’, who I am ‘forced to fatten with sufficient information to pass the matriculation exams’ to quote Peekay’s reflections on education in the 1940’s. Doesn’t sound all that different to now does it………
ibpossum takes on tech 