"It's not about impacting your classroom; it's about impacting your school."-George Couros

Our “Internet for Educators,” class was fortunate to be able to Skype with George Couros yesterday afternoon. George made many valuable points, through which I saw a main theme emerge....care. After reflecting on his words, I think his message boils down to how much teachers care about their school and their students. I have no question that he truly cares about his. Teacher’s who truly care about their students, will have no problem taking the following tips from George and putting them into practice.

Tips from George Couros:

1

           Use the internet to build relationships with students.

George is the first speaker that we have had who has addressed not only how we can use technology for educational purposes, but also for enhancing our relationships with students. There are so many ways that we can use the internet to show our students that we care about them individually.

 Connect with students first, teach content second.

How can we expect to meet the needs of our students without first getting to know them? Spending time to get to know our students interests, strengths and weaknesses, and telling them about some of ours is a great way to connect with students. Once you have built a trusting and respectful relationship with your students, teaching them becomes so much easier and effective.

 Have a growth mindset.

I love the education field because I know that I will never stop growing and learning as a teacher. George reminded us to always look for ways in which we can improve. Teachers have the opportunity to attend many professional development sessions throughout their careers to help them in this area. However, the internet and the connections and conversations we have with fellow educators also provide great opportunities to grow and learn, so long as we seek out these opportunities. To quote George, “You do not need to be an expert teacher, but an expert learner.”

 Focus on character education.

An educator’s role involves much more than teaching the curriculum. George challenged us, saying, “How are you working with students to make them better people?” I think that this is so important. As teacher’s we have many opportunities to instill good morals and values into our students through every day trials and triumphs. The best way that we can build good character into our students is by modelling it for them every day. We must be aware that as teacher’s we are also role models and our students are always watching.

  Remember that passion is infectious.

George told us that, “The trick for teachers is to get kids passionate about what they’re teaching...to go above and beyond.” The best way to get students passionate about what you’re teaching them is if YOU are passionate about what you’re teaching them. Students can tell when teachers really believe in the importance of what they’re teaching. If teachers believe this, so will students. Passion is infectious.

Engage your students.

Engaging your students means catching their attention and interest in what you’re about to teach. If you plan on teaching a lesson about frogs, show them an intriguing video, tell them a funny story, or bring a guest frog into your class for the day. These are ways to get your student to want to learn what you’re about to teach and be engaged throughout your lesson. George challenged us yet again, asking, “Would you want to sit in your classroom?” This is a great question to keep in mind when lesson planning. I think the bets learning takes place when learning is fun.

 Have strong communication skills.

George also talked to us about the importance of having strong communication skills, with regard to parents. For example, there are times when it is appropriate to e-mail a parent and times when a phone call is a better option. He told us to NEVER e-mail a parent when there is a problem with their child at school, as e-mails can be easily misconstrued.

When George has a problem with a student, he first asks them: “Why are you here?” He said if you tell them why they are in trouble, they will likely just tune you out.  He then asks the child, “What would you do if you were me?” The child will usually respond with a consequence that is much worse than he himself would. After that, he and the child call home together to tell the parents about the situation, to ensure that the truth goes home from both the teacher and child at the same time. He also makes sure that he builds the child up and lets the parent know that he cares about their child.

After our skype session with George yesterday, I went to my Lighthouse after-school program and ended up having a problem with a student. The student continuously had trouble keeping his hands to himself. I used the strategy that George told us about and it worked great! The child thought his consequence should be to get kicked out of the program! I let the child know that we enjoyed having him at Lighthouse and he agreed to keep his hands to himself for the rest of our time together. I will definitely keep using this strategy at Lighthouse and in my teaching. I will also keep in mind this quote from George: “Our job is not to give consequences, but to help students do better in the future.”

 Be a SCHOOL teacher, not just a CLASSROOM teacher.

George also talked to us about the difference between being a “school” teacher, vs. a “classroom,” teacher. The best teacher’s are the ones that enrich their entire school, not just their classrooms. It is our job to build relationships with all of the kids at our school. Some ways that we can do this is by coaching other grades in sports, playing intramurals with other grades, making a point of getting to know other students when you are out on duty or simply walking through the halls. I think this is such an important concept. If all teachers thought this way, it would improve so many schools. I like the idea of already knowing all my students names before they enter my class on the first day of school, because I have already been working to build relationships with them. Although all of George’s tips were greatly appreciated, this one was my favorite and something I had not thought of before.

I look forward to putting these principles into practice when I am teaching.

You can follow George on twitter: @gcourous