At a recent staff day, I shared some thoughts about the influence teachers have on our students each and every day. I say teachers, but this of course extends to all staff in schools.
The reality is a teacher’s legacy is more than the explicit curriculum taught but also the ‘hidden curriculum’.
The ‘hidden curriculum' is a side effect of schooling, "[lessons] which are learned but not openly intended" such as the transmission of norms, values, and beliefs conveyed in the classroom and the social environment. (1)
As we all know, it isn’t what we say that is important but what we do! Are we true to our words!
This ‘hidden curriculum’ is incredibly powerful as a teacher’s influence is won and lost by whether they ‘walk the
talk’ of the school’s culture, vision and values.
This is a huge topic but I mention it only to lead into a critical subset of the day to day influence a teacher has.
From an early age, children see whether their teacher really cares about them and the educative / leverage power
of the classroom’s activities depends on the child’s perception of this. You can’t fool them.
This isn’t about bowing to individual children’s whims but just being fair and consistent with the values that are
espoused.
Children want to know they are truly cared for and the teacher has taken the time to really try and understand the
individual’s needs and that their individual culture is valued and respected. ‘To know them is to love them’. This is
a cliché but there is so much truth in it.
Most people, young and old, believe that if others took time to get to know them, they would understand who they
are and why they behave like they do. Children notice when teachers go out of their way to know them and works
hard to use this knowledge to build their learning power. Equally so they also notice if their teacher allows them
to regularly work in cruise mode (low expectations) or is tardy with their own time management and organisation.
The simple message is, as educators we must never under-estimate our influence. Without overstating this,
teachers have the opportunity to help transform children’s self-esteem so they can go on to chase their dreams.
We need to ‘drill down’ into why individual children are not coping with the curriculum or with social interaction.
Teaching is about constant ‘wondering’ and ‘inquiring’ and searching for a way to help. The more we know about
our children the greater our opportunity to connect, intervene and help transform lives.
This poem by C W Morris captures the reality of classroom life.
Teaching Dreams
Some nights
students return to me
like salmon to their spawning bed.
They shake my hand
and sit across from me
and tell me what they have done
what they will soon be doing.
I remember their names
and just where each one sat
in my classroom.
Still, when they tell me
what they learned,
it’s not what I remember teaching.
This poem isn’t suggesting the curriculum hasn’t been taught and learnt but children take so much more out of the day to day classroom and school interactions.
Young people often can go through school in a blur, feeling it’s their fault that they struggle with school and they
are just not good enough. Some of these people later find their passion and go on to lead very constructive lives
but unfortunately some do not. It is not a perfect world and never will be. Teaching is an incredibly challenging
role and I am truly humbled by the amazing effort the vast majority put in. We can’t be all things to all people,
but we can choose to focus on what is most important.
Fundamentally we need to have the desire to really know the children in our care and ‘walk our talk’ in support of
them because once that trust is built (or lost), all else will follow.
Wikipedia
Picture by Annie Hayward
