Great Teachers Stick to the Game Plan

Years ago I had almost completely kicked the habit of listening to sports talk radio. The incessant banter about steroids, who tweeted what about whom, the scandal of the week, and all the woeful Cleveland teams had worn on me to the point where I just could not listen anymore. Sports talk radio is a bastion of negativity, and I simply had had enough.

But I listened to some sports talk one day as I was driving home from visiting my son at school. It was a football preview show in which the hosts were discussing what each NFL team needed to do to win that day. After about fifteen minutes of listening, I came to this revelation: you could completely ignore the names of the teams they were talking about and nothing would change. The show offered cliché after cliché: The Mouthbreathers need to run the ball today. The Slobberknockers need to create turnovers. The Dinglehoppers need to protect the ball. The Knuckledraggers need to play defense.

You could say any of those things about any football team, at any level, playing anywhere in the world, and you would be right. To be a successful football team, you need to run the ball, protect the ball, play good defense, and force turnovers. They are clichés for a reason, and that reason is because they work. They are the universal game plan for winning football.

Like football, great teaching also has a universal game plan. That is, you can say certain things would be successful in any classroom in the world, at any grade level, for any ability level of student, and you would be right. To build that universal game plan, I offer these suggestions.

Build Positive Relationships with Kids

A common saying is “Kids don’t care what you know until they know you care.” It is imperative that you know something personal about each student, something that you can engage them in conversation about. You can tell children you care about them all you want, but displaying an understanding of their interests is much more credible.

Set Expectations That Cause Students to Stretch but That Are within Their Reach

When you know your students personally, you are able to help them individualize goals that challenge them without causing frustration.

Ensure That Students Understand the Objective of the Lesson

This is simple enough. If students do not know what they are supposed to learn, they probably will not learn it. Each lesson should begin with a discussion—not just an iteration—of the learning objectives. This includes why in addition to what.

Assess What You Teach, Teach What You Assess

This point is all about uniformity. Have you ever taken an exam and thought to yourself, “We never covered this in class”? It was likely frustrating. Well, it is also frustrating for our students when we assess them on content that was not taught, and it is a waste of your time to teach content that will not be assessed. Of course, this teaching and assessing should be aligned to your district’s adopted standards.

Use Assessments to Inform Instruction

Hopefully, you work in a district like mine that uses the Professional Learning Community (PLC) model. PLCs meet regularly to look at student assessment data and answer the single most important question: what do we do when kids don’t learn?

Create Lessons that Engage Students

Choice and authenticity do wonders for engagement. When kids work on real-world problems and have a choice about the types of work they are going to do, school becomes fun. Maybe not Tilt-a-Whirl-at-the-carnival fun but the kind of fun that comes from engaging in meaningful work that is going on when you look at your watch and can’t believe the day is over.

Ask Great Questions

Listen to the stem in the questions you ask your students. If your questions start with “who,” “where,” or “when,” you are probably asking questions that can easily be Googled and that require low-order thinking skills

Nothing in the paragraphs above is earth-shattering. We educators have been told to do each of those things a thousand times. I’m sure you can add more items to the list. If every teacher did those things in every class every day, we would be doing pretty well.

But is using a universal game plan easier said than done? Absolutely.

Every football team knows they have to protect the ball, but fumbles happen. Trust me; I’m a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan. I have nightmares of Earnest Byner in the 1987 AFC Championship game against Denver.

Fumbles happen in the classroom, too. We let our sarcastic comment hurt a relationship with a student. We ask questions that too frequently are at the bottom of Bloom’s taxonomy. Our students do poorly on an assessment, and we choose not to reteach to mastery.

When fumbles happen on the football field, great teams don’t quit. They send out their defense and keep fighting to get the ball back. Fumbles that happen in the classroom don’t stop great teachers, either. They keep following the game plan, implementing proven strategies, and reflecting on adjustments to make for tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. Like football teams that watch postgame film, educators, too, need to reflect on our practices and never stop working to improve until every student reaches mastery.

Did you enjoy this column? If so, please share!

If the Dance Floor Is Empty, Change the Song

My first book, If the Dance Floor Is Empty, Change the Song is now available for purchase. What can a deejay teach us about the classroom? What does a superintendent do besides decide when to close school for snow? What makes someone a great teacher or a great principal? In this collection of essays, Dr. Joe Clark answers these questions by offering a model for compassionate, principled, and student-centered school leadership. In the process, If the Dance Floor Is Empty, Change the Song offers leaders a handbook for placing kindness, community, and diversity at the heart of successful education. Click here to find it on Amazon.

Look what people are saying about the book.....

The  raw vulnerability with impeccable humor  and a whole lot of honesty is exactly what Joe has served up for you! If you've ever made a mistake or think you will, then this is a must-read. The lens in which he spins (pun intended) this book is insightfully hilarious!

     -LaVonna Roth, Speaker, Author & Chief Illuminator of Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.®

It's been said that we never know the struggles that someone is going through, so we should treat them kindly always. In If the Dance Floor Is Empty, Change the Song, Joe Clark embraces his own vulnerability to share how he reclaimed his story after a traumatic childhood, and shares how he used his life experiences, and his experiences as a DJ and camp director, to guide his work as a school leader. This book is an often humorous, sometimes melancholy look into what teaching and school leadership is all about. It's a tremendous read that I know you'll enjoy.

     -Thomas C. Murray, Author of Personal & Authentic: Designing Learning Experiences that Impact a Lifetime

If the Dance Floor Is Empty, Change the Song is a look into the world of leadership, education, and how to treat students. Dr. Clark writes to inspire teachers, principals and superintendents to reflect on the mission of being educators while being reminded to enjoy their work. This quick read will help you reflect and smile as Dr. Clark shares meaning and humor in everyday moments.

     -Todd Whittaker, one of the nation’s leading authorities on staff motivation, teacher leadership, and principal effectiveness. Todd has written over 50 books including the national bestseller, What Great Teachers Do Differently. 

A refreshing read for leaders or educators of all levels both! This is the type of read that can rejuvenate a veteran or give new teachers tools to keep their morale and inspiration at its peak. The lessons you learn from this book can carry over throughout the year, even when you don't know if you can. 

     -Amber Teamann, principal of Whitt Elementary in Wylie ISD in Wylie, Texas. Amber has  received numerous awards, including Regional Assistant Principal of the Year and a “Principal of the Year” engagement award. She recently was recognized as the Dallas Down Syndrome Educator of the Year for her work with inclusivity on her campus.

“If the Dance Floor is Empty, Change the Song” by Joe Clark, is a cleverly-written book that will not only make you think about how we approach our jobs as educators, but it will make you chuckle out loud. Filled with personal stories, practical examples, on-point illustrations, and golden nuggets of wisdom, this book will be hard for readers to put down.

     -Jimmy Casas, Educator, Author, Speaker, Leadership Coach

If the Dance Floor Is Empty, Change the Song is a book that will leave you smiling and laughing at times. It will also validate your thinking about education at times. More importantly, it will challenge you to re-think why we serve as educators and what is most important when discussing education and the purpose of schools. This book is filled with scores of reflections on teaching, learning, and leading that are applicable to educators in all roles, especially school leaders.

     -Jeffrey Zoul, Ed.D., Author, Speaker, Leadership Coach, and President of ConnectEDD

As a newly appointed principal, I found this book witty, insightful, and inspiring. The real life stories and anecdotes that Dr. Clark provide, are relatable to teachers, school managers, and, honestly, anyone in a position of leadership. If the Dance Floor Is Empty, Change the Song should be required reading for both new and seasoned school administrators alike. It should be part of every principal and teacher’s motivational toolkit. 

     -David Thomas, Principal, St. Gabriel’s Special School, Bishopstown, Cork, Ireland

Great, another leadership book! That was my first thought when I was asked to read If the Dance Floor is Empty, Change the Song. Once I read the first few pages I was hooked, I truly wanted to dance. Finally, a leadership book with great advice and a vast amount of humor. Yes, school is serious business. But if you don’t laugh and enjoy the experiences then why even be a school leader. Dr. Joe Clark has created an informative quick read that gives you relatable and useful information. I truly did laugh out loud at graphics, pie charts and stories. If you can’t relate to this book, then you truly have never danced to a good song or sat back and enjoyed the experience of being a school leader.  

     -Jack Berckemeyer, nationally-recognized presenter, author, and humorist. Former Assistant Executive Director for the National Middle School Association. 

Copyright © 2020 drjoeclark.com All rights reserved.
You are receiving this e-mail because you opted in at drjoeclark.com