An often heard comment among teachers is "A room full of kids is no problem, but I get so nervous talking to a room full of adults." We feel this way every Back to School Night, whenever we have to facilitate a faculty meeting and most especially when we are teaching other adults. It's scary. We feel vulnerable, out of our element and certain that what we have to say is meaningless.
I went to bed on Sunday feeling all of these things in preparation for my role in facilitating learning at Summer Teaching Institute. My units aren't all that awesome, my students are kinda messy and I sometimes - especially on a Friday - wing it. What could I possibly share with new teachers?
Monday morning on my train ride in, I set a little goal: Get over this nonsense by Friday. And never again say out loud "I'm not good at teaching adults."
Over the centuries of education in America, teachers have been sent and have internalized a very clear message - Do the important work of educating the future, but do it in the ways "we" say. Your instincts and research can only inform school so much. Your power ends at your classroom door and you can only really do what we say.
This, of course, is an over simplification of the situation, but all of us have likely worked in schools and systems and even been in relationships where this is the underlying vibe. And worse still, we've all bought in.
I spent the week in a room of 16 teachers - some new, some seasoned - who wanted to learn about Project Based Learning. I was fortunate to collaborate with a team of thoughtful, creative, empathetic, funny and experienced facilitators, led by a teacher I have admired for a long while. Throughout the planning phases, I leaned on his expertise, knowledge and framework and tried to emulate his overall sense of calm. As the learning progressed, I worked to build a sense of community and curiosity and watched as Josh shared his insights by asking questions and empowering teachers to think, rethink, reflect and revise their ideas - the true work of any good humanities teacher!
What I noticed is that this collaborative and iterative approach made the learning deep and powerful. As a group and as individuals, we grappled with some hard questions and seemingly large obstacles. Rather than telling folks "this is how you should do it," we provided context, examples, discussion, student experiences and questions to allow us all to internalize the whys of PBL and begin to develop our own individual hows. I found that by Monday around 1:30, I was no longer afraid of learning with adults.
My biggest takeaway from the week was noticing that the things that make adult learning purposeful and fun are things that I need to prioritize in my own classroom. Learners need:
- a compelling reason to learn
- opportunities to use their voice
- flexibility with time, workflow, partnership and deadlines
- actual support when they are struggling - investments of teacher time, useful resources, breaks when they're needed and compassion when things go wrong
- questions in response to their questions - rather than pat answers or fluffy reassurances
- respect for the knowledge and skills they already possess and how they might inform the knowledge and skills they are trying to develop
- chances to create things that reflect their learning, ideas and creativity
- space to make mistakes
- confidence in who they are and what they can learn to do
- a community to which they feel a sense of belonging
Summer Teaching Institute taught me that adults are humans, too, and need the same compassion, care, creativity and curiosity that I lend to kids. Spending the week learning alongside them, helping to facilitate conversations and offering questions that could help them move forward was not, in the end, all that different from what I do with 5th and 6th graders (except, perhaps, that the jokes were better...).
I feel fortunate to work, teach and learn within spaces and organizations that value teacher leadership. SLAMS and Inquiry Schools recognize the value in what teachers know, can do and can change. This respect for who I am as a person, a learner, a teacher, a collaborator, a facilitator and a leader has been instrumental in my recovery from being a shy teacher who lacks confidence in the work I do. Sure, I'll probably never write a book, lead a school or give a TED talk, but I can collaborate to lead opportunities that allow other teachers - and myself - to think, learn, create and grow.
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