Who Are You? I Really Wanna Know.

With the first month of school behind us, I’ve begun to settle into my school placement. I have memorized the names of all the students in the two classes I’m observing as well as a few in the classes before and after, but I occasionally check the seating chart just to be sure. During my second week I called a student by the wrong name, and I don’t want to make that mistake again. On the seating chart I’ve also written the pronunciation of names that are less familiar to me along with the preferred names of some students. The names and titles we use hold special significance; they identify us as separate and distinct individuals as well as members of families or other groups, and they represent who we are to other people.

One of the most basic human desires is to know and to be known. This is the basis of all our relationships. It’s how we build trust and friendship and love. Taking the time to learn students’ names or the names they prefer to be called is a first step in developing a relationship with them and letting them know that I respect and care about them as individuals. This in turn helps students to feel secure in their developing sense of self.

Learning names and addressing students by them is the first step toward knowing who they are, but there is so much more to learn so that I can successfully individualize instruction to maximize learning for all students. In Teaching English by Design, Peter Smagorinsky recommends using writing assignments and questionnaires as inventories of students’ interests, knowledge, skills, experiences, and goals in order to tailor instruction for both individuals and groups (113).

My mentor teacher conducts just such an inventory at the start of the year via a short unit that also encourages the students to engage in self-reflection and assessment. Students begin by reading Who Moved My Cheese for Teens by Dr. Spencer Johnson (original version PDF here), a fable about motivation and how to handle changes. Next they take a Meyers Briggs type personality test and a learning styles quiz. At the end of the unit students write an essay explaining what they learned about themselves from these three sources, and this essay serves as an inventory of their writing skills. Information gathered from this unit combined with the info graphics students created to introduce themselves during the first week of class provide a rough sketch of who these students are as individuals and what needs they have.

 This is a good starting point for designing curriculum and tailoring lessons, but great educators teach people rather than content. Our students are not flat characters in the story of their own lives, nor should they be in ours. As I explained to the juniors last week in a lesson on character analysis, round characters are like both onions and ogres; they have layers. Our students, too, are deep, multi-layered, complex, and unique. Each deserves to be fully rounded, a star player in our classrooms as well as outside of them. 

Do you see your students as round characters like Shrek or flat like Gingy?

To me, the best stories are those that have the greatest number of interesting characters for the plot to revolve around. How blessed I am to add 57 fully rounded, multilayered characters to my life story this semester! I must admit, however, that I’m also grateful not to have the 121 more I will have next semester just yet. I need time to learn how to peel back those layers and to keep track of all of the characters before the plot thickens!

One thing I have started that should prove helpful in getting to know students is making notes each day in my planner. In the school agenda that my mentor teacher gave me, I write a brief outline of the lesson and activities for each day along with notes about issues that arise with individual students or questions I have about how to better help them. These notes serve as a reminder of things I may want to research at home like strategies for working with ESL students or situations I want to pray about. To ensure the privacy of students, I use first name initials only and keep notes that will jog my memory rather than giving a full description. Since I often write as a way of working through problems, I may reflect in a private journal at home, adding more detail and questions in order to help me chart patterns and progress and brainstorm new ways of handling situations. Whether students struggle with the material being taught, the skills required, or with behavior and attitude, this type of reflection that considers the whole person helps me look past how the problem presents itself in the moment, which can assist me in getting to the heart of the matter and working toward more lasting results.

Rather than writing only about problems students are having, I try to make note of their strengths and interests and to engage them in conversation about these when appropriate. I use the time before the bell rings at the start of class or after they have put their laptops away before dismissal to chat with students using their own discussions, a book they have with them, a band T-shirt, or other clues as a way into conversation with them. Already I have recommendations for several books, and I've listened to all of the favorite songs listed on the junior class info graphics. Knowing who these students are connects me with them personally, and it also helps me to connect them with the skills and material they need to learn. Beyond that, I find that knowing these students and engaging in an interchange of ideas with them enriches my life as much as I hope it does theirs.
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Johnson, Spencer. Who Moved My Cheese? for Teens: An A-mazing Way to Change and 

     Win! New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2002. Print.

Smagorinsky, Peter. Teaching English by Design: How to Create and Carry out 

     Instructional Units. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Print.