Amy and I watched a new show recently, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman. The first episode had a guest who, believe it or not, needed no introduction…Barack Obama. It was a great interview and, whatever your political leanings, is worth watching. One of the many topics discussed by Letterman and Obama is something I’d like to think about in our context as educators, “Nothing right in this world occurs without, at least, some discomfort.”
As educators we have our comfort zones, they are our safe little bubbles that we use to help us stay confident in the classroom. I’m going to ask you today to take a step out of yours, and be a little uncomfortable. I’ve got four things I’d like to ask that we all commit to doing for the rest of the year, they are things we can start today and will immediately improve the learning environment for our students. Some of you may already be doing the some of these things but the I think, on some level, these will apply to everyone…
- Get a basket/box/container or something else and require that students put their phones into it before the class starts (unless you have a specific reason they need it that day.) For our students, and all of us in fact, our handphones and other devices are distractions. They vibrate when we get a message, they ding when we have a new Instragram follower and they overtake our concentration. 99% of the time our students don’t need a handphone in class…get the basket and have them put their phones in before the lesson begins.
- Make kids close their computers until they absolutely need them open. If we remove the handphone distraction but allow students to keep their laptops open, we’ve accomplished nothing. There is very little our kids can’t do from their computers that they can from their phones. You’ll be amazed by the increased level of concentration from your students once you’ve removed these two distractions. (Tip: If you want their concentration back once they’ve opened their computers…have them close them again!)
- Don’t allow students to listen to music while they work. This will come with some controversy, especially from the older students, and will put many of us out of our comfort zones. There is a lot of research that proves that multitasking doesn’t work, it makes people worse at all of the things they’re trying to do in comparison to focusing on one task. Here is one small study that is a good example…basically, if you want your kids to learn at an optimal level, take the headphones out of the equation. (Note: In Arts classes, this step may be skipped…music tends to increase creativity and can be helpful for artists at work.)
- Now that we’ve eliminated a lot of the major distractions, get up and engage your students! If students are using their computers, get up and move around the room so you can see their screens frequently. Kids will still find ways to be distracted despite our best intentions. If students are working, that is your time to be checking their work, discussing with them, and monitoring their progress.
At the end of the day, some of these challenges will be easier for some than others but they are all sound educational practices that will improve the learning environment for our students. As the quote above mentions, “Nothing right in this world occurs without, at least, some discomfort.” These four things will cause some discomfort for you and the students but at the end of the day, they’re all things that are “right” for education.
Pushing Forward 