Variety is the Spice of Education

When I was a student teacher, I was placed in two different schools during the semester.  Because both schools I was placed in were largely upper-middle-class, majority-white student schools, there were some in my university program who were concerned that I wouldn't get varied experience.  They needed not worry.  My experiences could not have been more different.  I know the differences they had in mind were cultural and socio-economic, and in those ways, the schools were similar; but the classrooms bore no resemblance.  

The first teacher I was placed with taught juniors and seniors physics, astronomy, and AP Chemistry.  He ruled that class like a judge rules a courtroom, and the students did exactly what he wanted them to do exactly when he wanted them to do it.  He could leave the room, and nothing would be different when he returned because they wouldn't dream of stepping out of line.  My second placement was in a basic skills level freshman science class with a very pregnant (our last days were the same day), very relational, very casual teacher who would come in some mornings and say, "Okay, what are we doing today?"  She would not ever leave the room because she might return to a pile of rubble if she did.

In the defense of my experience, a panel member asked me, "If he is on one end of the spectrum, and she is on the other, where do you see yourself?"  It was a good question.  I knew I absolutely could not have been either one of them.  She was so casual that her room was chaos most of the time, but her kids loved her and wanted to be with her.  I'm not sure how much science they learned, but they knew she loved them.  That level of daily chaos and uncertainty would make me insecure.  His room ran like a Swiss watch, but when the bell rang, the kids left like they were being fired from a cannon.  They learned a lot of science, but I doubt he knew their names outside the classroom.   

During my first couple of years, I found my own style.  I was fortunate enough to have a principal who recognized that talent came in different forms.  In case you are wondering, I am extremely planned but open to changing on the fly if the plan isn't working.  I enjoy bantering with students, but I don't let them just all shout out whatever comes to mind.  You won't walk by my room and find me playing hacky sack with a bunch of kids, but I have been known on occasion to lip-sync the entire run of Toto's "Africa" and cannot control myself when it comes to dancing along with Kahoot music.  I have planned exactly what I want to accomplish during the day, but some classes require a lot of focused examples while others take me down a few rabbit trails along the way.  I have expressed deadlines, but I also know that students have different challenges outside of class and that misbehavior is often an expression of unmet needs, so when a student communicates with me, I am open to extending said deadline for individual students.  I do not allow eating in my class (because bugs), but fidgets are fine unless they become distracting.  I find as many reasons to say yes as I can, so that when I have to say no, it is actually meaningful.

The one year I taught in the North Carolina Public School System, I was miserable (like gain 30 pounds in a school year miserable).  There were a lot of reasons for that, but one of the primary ones was that my supervising administrator seemed to feel that there was only one way to be a great teacher (which was, conveniently, the way she taught when she was in the classroom with no acknowledgment that she taught a high-level elective while I was teaching a course that was required for all freshmen (a third of whom were on IEPs).  We were supposed to accept all of the differences of our students, but teachers were expected to fit in a box.  I grant you that the teacher in the box was an excellent teacher, but it just wasn't me.  Thankfully, it was not my first experience, or it might have been my last.  

We, in education, have sometimes sacrificed common sense on the altar of consistency.  Yes, it can be challenging for kids to remember the policies of several teachers, but that is training for life.  Kids need different kinds of teachers.  For one thing, they are going to encounter different kinds of bosses.  In their adult lives, they will encounter all kinds of personalities and have to adapt.  If we don't teach them to adapt, we are not equipping them for life.  

More importantly, kids need different kinds of teachers because there are different kinds of kids.  Some kids need the teacher who shows them how to not take themselves so seriously (Thanks, Mr. Dorrin).  Some need the teacher that challenges their thinking and believes they are capable of meeting that challenge (You're the best, Mr. Sandberg).  Believe it or not, some respond well to a well-crafted lecture (I was mesmerized by yours, Mr. Freeman).  Some students respond to the passion of the teacher and find a love they didn't know they had (I cried in an art museum because of you, Mr. Watkins).  Students that connect well with some teachers don't connect at all with others.  If all teachers were the teacher in the box, we might only reach a small percentage of our students.  We need different teachers to connect with the nerds than the theater geeks.  We need the inspirational English teacher that inspires a love of poetic imagery AND the one that teaches them to craft a proper grammatical sentence (That might be the same teacher, but it might be different teachers over the course of several years).  

Experienced teachers, you probably have a good idea of who you are in your classroom.  Yet, you may sometimes feel guilty that you aren't like the teacher who gives each kid their own personalized greeting at the door.  Or, you may be the cool teacher and exhaust yourself with the effort to be more like the serious teacher down the hall.  Don't.  If your classroom environment is working and your kids are learning, you don't need to be like the teacher down the hall.  Young teachers, it may take you a while to figure out what works for you.  There's much to be learned from your colleagues and mentors, but don't try to be them.  Take from them what works for you, but adapt it for yourself.  You'll find your style, and it will be exactly what some student needs.

Poet William Cowper wrote that "variety is the spice of life."  It's also what keeps school interesting.  Don't fear it.  Embrace it.