Unbreakable Rules of @TheTeacherJames – James Taylor
There’s been a lot of talk about breaking rules here on the iTDi blog recently, and while I completely agree that rebellious behaviour is necessary, I would argue that there have to be some rules that we must stick to. It’s the process of rule breaking and rule making that makes us better teachers.
As John Fanselow states in his excellent blog post here on the iTDi blog:
< https://itdi.pro/blog/2012/10/01/breaking-rules-john/ >
I do not advocate breaking rules to be different or distinctive but rather to explore
and I agree with him, but in this post, I’d like to say that:
I do not advocate following rules to be obedient or to fit in but rather to be principled.
Like John, I’m a bit of a rebel too, and I don’t like to have too many restrictions and impositions placed on my teaching from the outside. As far as I’m concerned, what happens in the classroom is an agreement between me and the learners.
However, there has to be some sort of structure to a lesson, which has to come from a source, whether that’s the teacher’s own principles, the rules as laid down by their institution or the structure as imposed by a coursebook. Simply put, there always have to be some rules for us to do our jobs effectively.
The problems arise when those rules become fixed and the teacher refuses to doubt them in order to improve themselves and their lessons. That’s where the rule breaking is required because it prevents atrophy and gives the teacher momentum to grow as a professional in their field.
The final stage, which completes the circle, is when this new found knowledge feeds back into the structure which the teacher believes will work for their students. And as this process continues, the teacher will acquire greater knowledge about themselves, their students, their materials, their institution and their profession, and some of these things will stick. They will become principles that the teacher believes they and their lessons embody. These should be an integral part of any teachers professional identity.
So while I am always questioning my classroom practices and evaluating what I’ve done in order to make the lessons better for my students, I also have my principles which remain. They aren’t fixed and I can’t promise I won’t change my mind about them in the future, but for now, these are my unbreakable rules:
1) It’s the students lesson, not mine.
2) The classroom is a place of work, communication and respect.
3) The learner knows why they are with me, and my job is to help them reach that goal. It’s not my job to tell them what their goal is.
4) Support the student as much as is possible. If they are not happy at the end of a course, it will not be due to a lack of commitment from me.
5) Never ask a student to do something I wouldn’t do myself.
6) The student must never be underestimated. Always dare them to achieve.
7) Never, ever, ever give a boring lesson.
8) Never stop breaking rules.
