We've talked about it in Principles as well as Practicum: one of our most important jobs as educators is to lead by example. One thing I picked up during my stint in AmeriCorps is that children pay A LOT more attention to what we do than what we say. I think it bears repeating that we all need to be very mindful of how we present ourselves and interact with all our visitors, because even when you might think no one is watching, a pair or two of little eyes probably are. I know I have been trying hard to keep this in mind, and I tried to be especially mindful with the Stanley Clark kids. This is purely hypothesis, but I imagine that the closer the students are in age to us, the more they may want to emulate us. No specific examples come to mind aside from just always being upbeat and excited about what we were doing; however, the theme is there.
This is a great area to be able to keep each other accountable, too. I would certainly hope that if I were unwittingly doing something that sets a bad example for the students, one of you would tell me about it. I vow to do the same for you.
That may just be an accurate hypothesis. When I was a teenager, I found role models among college aged leaders. When I was in college I found role models in the younger professors (who were only 1-3 years older than me).
ReplyDeleteI think part of it has to do with being close enough in age that you know the person understands you, but distance enough in age that you respect their years in experience.
People of every age can find a role model in people of every age, for sure, but it does seem that there is generally an increase in emulation for those closer in age.
Tom, I can relate... I lost my grandfather when I was a junior in high school. We were very close, as you seemed to be with your Pappy. Great teachers everywhere.
ReplyDeleteIn teaching middle and high school aged students, they definitely watch you more as a person than the younger kids do. They are closer in age to myself, they think I am younger than I really am. High schoolers have almost tried to be friends, sometimes.
Great advice - watch what you say and do, you never know who is watching...
The saying, "Do as I say, not as I do" was coined for a reason. Adults realize that their behavior can often fall short in what they want to see in their children. But we all seem to agree that little ones want to model our behavior more than do what we tell them to do. It is like what you were telling us one day Matt about modulating your voice to different levels to see if your class did the same and discovered that they did. If we want calm behavior, we have to be calm. Sometimes that's hard to do when you are not feeling so calm inside. Thanks for reminding us Tom of all those little eyeballs watching us.
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