On Teaching: A Conversation with a Master

Yesterday morning I met a colleague, Jane, and her 14 year old daughter Molly for breakfast at Prime Time Cafe, and the conversation centered on teaching. I arranged our meeting because I wanted to be sure I had a chance to listen to this popular teacher speak about teaching before she embarks on her new profession as a bookstore proprietor. I asked Molly to join us because I was betting that she, probably more than anyone, would know what makes her mother so successful in the classroom.

I immediately asked Molly about that, and she said her mom has an absolutely infectious way of teaching. She said most of her friends simply couldn’t resist getting caught up in what Jane was teaching. Jane also has one of Molly’s key qualities for a good teacher – reliability. Molly said students can count on her mom being pretty much the same, day after day – and she said kids like that in teachers. They like to know that the routines and expectations in the classroom will be fairly consistent throughout the year, as they are in her mom’s classes. In addition, Molly said her mom is always “there” for her students – and not just the smart students, but all of them. She is a thoroughly reliable mentor, leader, and friend to her students.

Jane said she does try to be reliable, and she said she expects her students to be reliable, too. She told me, “My students and I count on each other to do our part.” She often says to the kids, “I need you to be with me. We’re moving now, and we have to be together.”

I asked her how she felt about the idea of “strength” as it applies to teaching, and she replied that, for her, strength equals resilience. She said you simply can’t be a good teacher if you can’t be resilient. She added that you also can’t be a good teacher if you’re afraid to show students that you’re upset with their behavior or performance. She doesn’t often show anger (Molly vouched for that), but she occasionally tells students she’s “disappointed” in their behavior or performance. (Molly added that, for her and many of her friends, teachers who get angry at kids a lot are not as effective as teachers who just quietly share their disappointment and then move on.)

As we were leaving, I asked Jane what would be the one piece of advice she would offer to a new teacher. She smiled, thinking of her daughter, Eliza, who has decided to pursue a teaching career and may need this advice as soon as four years from now. Both Jane and Molly said they would advise the young teacher to not be afraid to look stupid.

As I drove to school, somehow I couldn’t imagine my friend Jane, a teacher whom I greatly admire, ever looking stupid in the classroom.

Or in a bookstore.