I had the amazing opportunity to shadow an instructional coach at one of our elementaries today. I was both nervous and excited about being in an environment so different from the one I’m used to and comfortable in. But, it turned out to be an awesome experience. I think we as secondary teachers have so much to learn from elementary teachers; namely: enthusiasm, patience, and perseverance.
I picked up a few fun little sayings that I want to try to implement in my own classroom. One of my favorite phrases was, “Kiss your brain.” When a student(s) would say something really smart, the teacher would say, “That’s exactly right. Kiss your brain.” And the students would kiss their fingers, and then place their fingers on their head. IT WAS THE CUTEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN. And high schoolers are just goofy enough that I think we could have fun with it while getting the same message across: value your mind and its power.
In the same class, I got to watch first graders play with shapes as they created new shapes from two or more existing ones. It was awesome. I’m currently working out my own philosophy on mathematics education, and probably will be doing so for the rest of my life, but one thing I’m certain of is this: good mathematicians PLAY with math. And that’s exactly what these kids were doing. I couldn’t help but join in on their conversations. I sat with two girls as they made a hexagon out of two trapezoids (yes, they used those words). I asked them different questions about the attributes of these shapes and was totally impressed by their answers. The girls and I had good conversations (or I thought so, at least). When I left, one girl said, in the most sincere little voice you can imagine, “Thank you for helping us today!”
My heart. I mean, my kids thank me, too; they honestly do. But they’re not quite as cute when they say it.
Not that I’d trade them for anything in the world though…
one good thing 