Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire - Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Think For Yourself

This chapter is all about problem solving. Rafe explains that he comes to school at 6:30 a.m. every day to teach willing students about how to problem solve better, before class even begins. His goal is to help them realize that problems are not solved with pencil and paper – they must understand the challenge in front of them.

He passes out a piece of paper that explains the steps for solving a problem, in outline form. He then makes sure the students can recite these steps back to him. The steps include understanding the problem, choosing an appropriate strategy, solving the problem, and analyzing.

Rafe wants to get away from telling students to “use their heads” or “read problems again”. He believes it is very important to give them the skills to solve any kind of problem – be it on a math test or in real life.

The methods he lays out can be helpful for young students and adults alike, as math is a subject that is difficult for many to truly grasp. He also mentions a valuable resource (www.mathstories.com) which is useful for finding challenging and interesting word problems.

He ends the chapter with a beautiful story about how a gang once vandalized his classroom while the students were on break, and he was across the country. One little girl was at school for orchestra practice when she saw what had happened, and she took it upon herself to call up her classmates, divide up the work, and fix up the classroom. She attributed this idea to the problem solving she had learned in Rafe’s class. 

Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire - Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Taxman

            Economics seem like a complicated subject for elementary school students, but Rafe lays out a system that helps make it a topic both more easy to grasp and more fun for young people.

            On the first day of class, he explains, each of his students apply for a class job. They are each given a list of jobs and job descriptions to choose from, and most students get one of their first choices. The jobs get different “pay” (fake cash) based on how often tasks must be performed.

            Each child gets a monthly paycheck, which they deposit to the banker. They must save their money, because they have to pay rent to sit at their desks. The closer the students sit to the front, the more they must pay. Students can even save up to “buy” their desks and call them condos, or buy the desks of other students and charge rent.  They can make extra money by participating in certain activities, and are “fined” by the police officer for tardiness, or failure to do work. At the end of the month, an auction is held where the children can buy school supplies.

            Rafe does this activity for a variety of reasons. It is important, he believes, that children learn how to organize and balance their time. It is also beneficial for them to learn about ownership, saving money, and delayed gratification.

Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Put Me In Coach

While students are required to participate in physical education, they often do not get the time necessary allotted to do so. This can be for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the teachers do not want to take the class to do PE. Other times, the class doesn’t go to PE because they are being punished for misbehavior – either as a class or even just an individual’s actions. Whatever the reason, neglecting physical education is a grave mistake.

Students need to be exposed to physical activity, and also to the values that come along with team sports and games. In order to be effective, physical education must be executed correctly. Rafe explains that his main goals when it comes to PE are as follows:

1. The students will get daily exercise.

2. The students will learn the importance of proper fundamentals.

3. The students will exhibit outstanding sportsmanship.

4. The students will learn the value of teamwork.

5. The students will apply the lessons they learn from sports in other areas of their lives.

            He achieves these goals by selecting quality activities, allowing students to practice independently, keeping score, records and statistics, and even taking his classes to watch live sporting events.

This I Believe...

This Is I Believe…

I believe that (to quote Ralph Waldo Emerson), “the secret of education lies in respecting the pupil.” The most important part of being an effective teacher is respecting the students as people first, and above all else. Along with respect comes consistency. It is imperative that we allow our students to feel safe and to make sure they always know what is expected of them. I don’t want my students to ever feel anxious or alone in our classroom – our classroom will be a safe space where the students feel encouraged to be themselves and to make and learn from mistakes. In order to achieve this, I will have certain expectations about how we will treat each other and what we will do in our classroom, and will make sure that the students know what to expect and that that does not change day to day, or student to student. I will be fair and kind, but also in control, because children rely on adults to be in control, and discipline is essential, but must be properly executed.

            I believe that the best way to change the world is to positively influence those around us, and that when those people are children, the effect is even greater. Children are impressionable, and we teachers have the ability to wield our power for good. With most children, we only have one year to help them grow. So we should not waste a minute. I believe the most important job of a teacher is to instill good values in our students – we should not teach them what to believe, by any means, but our character will be closely examined by them, so we must be our best selves and encourage them to do the same.

            I believe that teachers must always do what is best for their students. The opinions of others (like parents or administrators) are important, but not nearly as important as putting the child first. We must constantly work to make ourselves better teachers, and to make the best decisions for our class in every situation we are put in. We must arrive to school every day with the attitude that we will make a difference. We must put aside any personal struggles or daily moods, and focus on the children. It is essential that we start over each day, and don’t hold anything against a difficult child from the day before, even if every day thus far has brought the same trials. We must have open hearts and open minds, and love each child for their own unique set of strengths and difficulties. My favorite quote, (by Haim G. Ginott) reads as follows: “I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.” I believe that this is a quote every teacher should live by. I believe that teaching is a noble profession and a profession that requires a degree of selflessness and patience. The reason we teach must be solely for the children, and we must make sure we are doing what’s best for them every single day. I believe that teaching is both challenging and rewarding and that the challenges are so, so worth the rewards.