Ever wondered how we could maximize the untapped potential of the 'good kids' in the classroom? Prepare to be enlightened as we venture into the frequently overlooked realm of the academic high-achievers. Drawing from my own 800-day journey as a substitute teacher, I'll reveal how the quiet power of these students can be harnessed to boost overall classroom engagement and performance. We'll explore how their assistance to their struggling peers not only enhances their academic prowess but also builds bonds of friendship and understanding.
Imagine getting so engrossed in storytelling that you lose track of time and curriculum. I did just that, and guess who guided me back on track? The good students! I'll share this and other personal anecdotes that underline the crucial role of these observant young minds in maneuvering classroom dynamics. From being our inadvertent compass when we need to switch gears, to influencing the formation of lasting friendships - these students are the unsung heroes of their classrooms. I'll also emphasize the importance of a balanced approach to teaching - an engaging class that also meets assignment deadlines. So, lend your ears and let's embark on this journey to appreciate and understand the good students a bit more!
Ever wondered how we could maximize the untapped potential of the 'good kids' in the classroom? Prepare to be enlightened as we venture into the frequently overlooked realm of the academic high-achievers. Drawing from my own 800-day journey as a substitute teacher, I'll reveal how the quiet power of these students can be harnessed to boost overall classroom engagement and performance. We'll explore how their assistance to their struggling peers not only enhances their academic prowess but also builds bonds of friendship and understanding.
Imagine getting so engrossed in storytelling that you lose track of time and curriculum. I did just that, and guess who guided me back on track? The good students! I'll share this and other personal anecdotes that underline the crucial role of these observant young minds in maneuvering classroom dynamics. From being our inadvertent compass when we need to switch gears, to influencing the formation of lasting friendships - these students are the unsung heroes of their classrooms. I'll also emphasize the importance of a balanced approach to teaching - an engaging class that also meets assignment deadlines. So, lend your ears and let's embark on this journey to appreciate and understand the good students a bit more!
Well, I guess if there was ever a topic that you thought may never get talked about on the show, you're going to be surprised today. Think about it. You walk into a classroom, you size up everybody, maybe even in the hallway you're sizing up kids and you're thinking, man, which of these students should I keep an eye on today, which are going to give me the most trouble? Well, I'm here today to tell you, maybe it's time we keep an eye on the good kids. You know, I was trying to think just a few moments ago. I started substitute teaching in November of 2018. I had just a recog. I had just retired from an accounting career which I realized I never did really like any of the 38 years I did that. I like the people, I like the people, but I didn't really like the job In those years. Since then, I've calculated maybe I'm right around 800 substitute teacher days. That's about what I think I'm up to now. You know, every day it's like every week at least that I have observations. Maybe I'm getting philosophical in my old age, but I observed something this week that I thought. You know this may be a pretty good topic for discussion, because one thing we don't talk about very often are the good kids. What to do with the good kids and maybe, more importantly, should we watch the good kids? Well, I'm going to tell you several reasons why we should watch them. One of them will be an obvious one and think you might say Greg, I mean, that's too simple. I hope you give us more meat than that, and I will, I guarantee you, by the time the show is over, I will mention some things to you that you haven't thought about, but I've got several reasons why we watch the good kids. Okay, now here's the most obvious one, and this is low hanging fruit, I guess, is the phrase, but I'm going to bet that maybe at least the minority of you don't do this. I said that backwards. Now, maybe the minority of you do this. The majority does not do this, but one of the best things that I have discovered that is good for the good kids and the bad kids at the same time.
Speaker 1:Now, this is one of those things that you really want. If you're just doing a day at a time, most of the time this probably won't apply as much, but if you want, it gets a long-term job. I always said, of course, I never wanted another one until they gave the long-term teachers a $60 a day raise. So if I get that opportunity again, I will take it, because, even though I jokingly say I do this more for fun than money, well, $60 a day, which in my area is a 60% increase, would obviously push me over the top and get me to do that. If you're a long-term sub or if you're a sub of the same students very often because you like a grade in a certain school and you tend to sub for a $50 a day raise then you're All of the teachers in that grade and you see the same kids all the time. Here's what I would encourage you to do with the smart kids Decide who they are, decide who the ones are that get their work done most quickly, and there's not a greater feeling that you can give those good kids than letting them help with the, the struggling students.
Speaker 1:The very first class I ever subbed for probably did this better than any other class I've ever subbed in, because I observed the teacher a lot, or I guess, now that I look back, this was Five years ago. I guess it was more the students just let me know what the teachers Let them do and I went with it, the kids that were the smartest. This was in a math class. Were allowed to go around and help the kids that weren't getting it as fast. Now, math is good for that or bad for that, depending on how you look at it. Math I've always said this, that you're born with some of your math ability. There's just some kids that are better at math than others Right as soon as they start school. They just arts the way their mind works, their Logical thinkers, that kind of thing. Well, those students really get a great feeling for being able to help others. Now you got to monitor it because I have seen especially younger students might have a tendency to Tell those other kids I can't believe you don't understand that. So you got to make sure that you're observing them.
Speaker 1:But I think that's a great idea. Have your smart kid smart, I don't want to say smart. Have your good kids the kids that get finished first. Help the ones that are struggling or just a little bit slower. Helps the good kids. It helps the kids that are struggling at the same time. Do stand points.
Speaker 1:This one will catch you a little bit by surprise, obviously from the work. Now we're not talking about the smart kids doing the work for them. We're talking about them, helping them to understand the work, the Thing that you might not be thinking about. That actually develops friendships, you will. I've had students come up to me. I guess I should say and, and they'll ask me Ken, julie, help me with this problem. And it's because they built those relationships the last time Julie helped them with the problems. So that's the first and most obvious thing to Observe why you need to watch, I should say, the good kids. Now we're going to go from one extreme to the other and I'm going to make it Transition to two other things before we get there. Okay, the next thing, which is negative slash positive because it helps you understand the good kids.
Speaker 1:Now I hate to say Smart kids, so instead I'm going to use this phrase. I'm going to say it's the kids that choose to be smart. Now, what in the world do I mean by that? The kids that I have developed a good relationship, but I know they can be let's just say it like this they could get better grades. When I feel like I know them enough, I will say to them you know, george, you are as smart as you wanna be and you know, a lot of times they will smile back at me because they know exactly what I'm saying. If you applied yourself, you could be smart. I just like to say it the other way. You're as smart as you wanna be. I've had them tell me, smile at me and look and say you sound just like my dad. And because their parents have told them the same thing, they're smart. Why don't you apply yourself? You know one thing I told them I'm digressing a little bit I told kids today even though this sounds sad the kids that you're trying to show off so much for in school, guess what? After you get out of high school, you won't see them very often anymore. So those kids you were trying so hard to impress aren't even gonna be a part of your adult life. So if it's hard to think about that right now, but if you realize that, don't misapply yourself just cause you're trying to show off in front of your friends okay, so you can be as smart as you wanna be.
Speaker 1:But one thing I've noticed with these smart kids more times than not let me use math again, because it seems to be the most obvious place where this happens the smartest kids, even if you're teaching six hours of. I was gonna say algebra. Let's bring it down to middle school classes. Let's say you're just, I don't know, I can't think of specific middle school. Let's just say algebra, because some of your eighth graders will take algebra, high school level algebra. In fact, those are the students I'm really talking about now, the smart kids in a math class. They all seem to be in the same class. Now that's okay because, if anything, that means you can keep the students in there on the same pace because they all wanna do well, they're all ready for some tougher material, so that's a perfect place for them to be.
Speaker 1:But here's what happens substitute teachers and regular teachers. What I've observed is, since they're smart kids, if you let them be idle, they will be a little bit more rowdy than you used to, because they need something to keep their mind occupied. My favorite group of eighth graders ever is a group that I'm teaching right now and you can't hardly get them to talk. I can't hardly have a social conversation with them, because they are so much into the classwork. You'll occasionally run into a class like that, but as a substitute teacher, that's another type of class that you probably have some. You need to have some good tough back pocket ideas, because a lot of those kids are not only smart, they want to get finished as soon as they can, just to kind of show off a little bit. So if you don't have enough material or keep them busy for that whole hour, they will start talking. They will start talking loudly, they will start becoming more animated not in a way that needs to be disciplined other than just the out of control talking. But you know they don't get like that if you give them plenty of material. So in this case, you need to watch your smart kids and make sure that they have enough to do.
Speaker 1:Okay, now the final thing that I've talked about, and really the reason I thought about this, was something I substituted taught today. This episode's coming out on November 28th 2023. I'm recording it the night before and today I noticed that when I teach sixth graders, by the way, I tend to be a bit more social than I do with seventh and eighth. I'm social with everybody. You can probably tell that by the way I act on this podcast. What was it one of the girls told me today? She said oh, you're the dramatic substitute teacher. That's the way she described me. I kind of like that. I might get a T-shirt printed up that says I'm the dramatic substitute teacher.
Speaker 1:I wore in a Christmas Hawaiian shirt today and I got so many comments from them. I probably wouldn't have gotten that many comments in high school, but the sixth graders were all over it. A lot of them made good comments to me. But here's what I noticed as I was trying to be social, to social to them and told them some of my stories, some about volleyball, some about when I was in middle school, how there was no middle school when I was their age. There was only junior high. And just hearing the phrase junior high made them laugh. Although there is some schools within probably 50 miles of me that still is under the junior high system where sixth grade is still part of elementary and seventh and eighth is your junior high.
Speaker 1:But here's what I've noticed when I'm telling those social stories the good kids in the class. They're not paying as much attention to me because they're doing their work. They would rather get their work done than listen to me tell those goofy stories. Even though the majority of the other kids think they're funny, they're laughing at me. I did a math puzzle on the board and the kids. It was one of those jaw dropping puzzles that I've shared before and the kids watched it, but there was probably half a dozen students that never looked up because they just wanted to get their work done.
Speaker 1:So I guess what I'm saying for your own benefit keep an eye on the good kids, because they are starting to show me when I might be going over the edge a little bit. I remember a middle school a couple of years back that I was teaching and we got I digress so much and they were just so enthralled with the stories I was telling them I don't even remember what we were talking about, but all of a sudden I looked up and 35 minutes of the class had gone by and I had talked so much they weren't going to have time to finish their assignment. Well, you need to keep an eye on the good kids so that their actions will let you know whether maybe you've gone just a little bit too far, because if you're telling more of your goofy stories and they're not looking up and they're not paying attention to you, maybe it's their brain's way of saying Mr Collins, I really feel like I need to do this work right now and maybe you just now they're not going to say it like this. Maybe you just need to shut up and let me do that Now. That's my observation.
Speaker 1:You can observe anything you want to, but always keep an eye on your smart kids because I said that wrong on your good kids, because they will. Their body language will let you know when maybe things need to change. Maybe you're talking about something that makes them uncomfortable. I embarrassed a girl today only because I talked about her sister, and I think her sister is a great student and that's kind of what I said and what I said are you smarter than her? She blushed a little bit because I think she thinks she is, but she's such a nice person that she didn't really want to say it that way. So keep an eye on your good kids and let them tell you through their body language most often when maybe you should change the direction you're going. Mr Collins, this is okay, but maybe let's do this at the end of class so I can get my work done. The good kids will let you know that.
Speaker 1:The kids that don't care as much, they'd rather hear you talk, but don't forget you're in there to teach those. Help those kids learn. I told them today one of their projects was to write three things that they liked about middle school, and some of them hated that. They asked me to say. I said well, I'll be honest with you guys. My observations as a substitute teacher have been substituted now for six years. I think the best part about being especially in middle school it's not the education, it's the friendships that you develop, because you're at a perfect age now that you're going to develop some friends that will be your friends all the way through high school and maybe even beyond that. So you've got a bunch of reasons to keep an eye on the good kids and you may be amazed at how much you learn from them.