Teach Like a Pirate.....Finished!

I fully intended to read only part two, write a review and then do the same for part three; sorry that didn't happen. It was too good to put down and every page had an "Oh my god, that makes perfect sense" realization.

The Rest of Part One:

Burgess goes on to say just how important it is for you to mentally be there. He basically wraps up the rest of the section saying that you need to at least fake your enthusiasm for the lesson. If you fight to be "in" the moment, it is hard to actually stay out of it and your students will benefit dramatically.

Part Two (arguably the most important section of the entire book) - Crafting Engaging Lessons:

 For a full 70 pages, Burgess gives you questions to guide your lesson planning. I am not being dramatic or over exaggerating at all when I say that every question led to a great lesson idea or at least the start of one. He calls them hooks and some of the 33 he included are:

• Kinesthetic Hooks
• Student Hobby Hooks
• Board Message Hooks
• Storytelling Hooks (my favorite)
• Mission Impossible Hooks
• Contest Hooks 
• Extra Credit Challenge Hook

Each hook had a series of 5 or 6 questions related to it that will help you adapt it to your classroom. I have a "planning binder" I keep during any lesson planning session. I am going to type up all the questions he asks and put it in that binder. Comment and I will gladly send you a copy!

One important thing he adds about the hooks is that we shouldn't be afraid to pull back from what some would call "rigorous" content. Teach your standards and then some. For example, teach a lesson about WWII and the bombing of Japan but don't be afraid to teach a lesson on compassion and hope by focusing on The Thousand Paper Cranes and spending a day teaching students the techniques of folding origami cranes. He points out that helping students become well rounded, compassionate leaders is more important than a society that can tell you the exact date of The London Blitz. 

Part Three:

Aside from a masterfully written attack on standardized testing, this part is all about getting your feet wet. He saves this whole section for a motivational chapter on just getting started. He says the top 5 reasons anyone fails to try anything are:

1. Fear of failure
2. Believing you have to have it all figured out before you begin
3. Perfectionism
4. Lack of focus
5. Fear of criticism or ridicule - His advise on this one is GET OVER IT. People will always have negative things to say about teaching but just move on, know you are doing what you love and try anyways.

I had an extremely had time finding my groove in my first year of teaching and figuring out what I was "supposed" to do. This book has alleviated about 97% of my stress about the coming year. I will do my best and that's all anyone can ask of me. 

Teach Like a Pirate; Setting the Stage

I usually don't put notes in the margins of books but I had a college profession tell me once, "A book is never truly read until you've inked it up a bit." Teach Like a Pirate is definitely one of the books I have "inked up" quite a bit already.

• Price: $20.31
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.
• ISBN-10: 0988217600
• ISBN-13: 978-0988217607

Pages 1-32

This is the first half the Part 1:Teach like a Pirate. I was going to review it section by section but there is so much good information already that I needed to break it down a little more.

Subsection 1: Passion

He begins by talking about your passions for teaching and breaking them down into three different categories:

• Content Passion- What you love to teach about? (Sociology, culture, specific time periods) 
• Professional Passion- What specifically about the field are you passionate about? (student achievement, making learning relate-able, answering the students' question, "How can I succeed?)
• Personal Passion - What are you passionate about other than teaching? (Football, music, science fiction)

Burgess goes on to say that the key to being a passionate teacher is to use all three together. For example, if you love football, use it to your advantage when teaching about a content you are less than passionate about.

Subsection 2: Immersion

This section is simple; if you are not completely invested in your students for the 45 or 90 minutes that you have them, they know. He put it this way; are you a lifeguard or a swimmer? A lifeguard is outside of the action looking in and always detached to some degree. The swimmer is completely in the middle of the water and in the center of whatever is going on. Burgess says always be a swimmer.

Subsection 3: Rapport

This is so far the most useful part of the book; though I am only 30 pages in. According to Burgess, the only way to have a successful school year is to have a successful beginning. Every teacher knows this simple fact; students need clear expectations. Burgess proposes a three day program focused simply on setting the stage.

• Day One: Be intriguing. He gives each student Play-Doh and after going over the short, sweet, to the point rules, allows them time to shape their Play-Doh into something that showcases who they are. This can be anything school appropriate and when completed they will introduce themselves and explain what they have crafted and why. This is also the time to encourage students to get to know each other as well (further fostering a safe environment). 
• Day Two: As dramatically and enthusiastically as possible, introduce some sort of creative problem-solving group activity. This does two things, has students engage with one another right off the bat which further builds on the safety dynamic and gives you a chance to showcase the proper group procedures. 
• Day Three: Still no content, only setting the stage. He writes this section so elegantly that you must read it for yourself but, the heart of day three is; sales, sales, sales. Sell them on the fact that they can succeed, that all learning styles are valued and no one can fail if they simply try.

Summer Vacation?

I get the following statement all the time: "The only reason anyone in their right mind would become a teacher is for the summers off." As this being my first "summer off" I have already established the very typical, very accurate, three step summer system.

Step One- Holy Cow; It's already June, what just happened?

This involves the first two or three weeks of summer. Let me stop, reflect and analyze what on earth just occurred. How did 9 months already pass and what did I accomplish in that time? What did I do with students that worked; any lessons especially successful? Any so incredibly terrible I can't remember why I decided to do it in the first place?

Now comes the list making. Everyone knows that a successful teacher, to some degree (though looking at some classrooms it is obvious that it is really deep down), has some innate organizing ability. This is when all your freshest ideas are written, labeled and carried out. Some serious "you just wait until August" epiphanies are hatched.

Step Two - Oh yea, it's June!

This next step is quite simple; we come to the ever satisfying realization that it is indeed summer and we are in fact on vacation. For those with two or three jobs or maybe a millionaire spouse we spend two or three weeks touring Europe. For the other 99% we enjoy a couple well deserved weeks of rest. Read a trashy novel, catch up on some highly interesting Netflix or simply spend with your family. This step is also where the aforementioned question comes into play. Yes, we do take time off in the summer. Yes, we enjoy our two-three weeks of mind-numbing uselessness. Tell me; What do your vacation days look like?

Step Three - Open House is only weeks away.

Finally comes the inevitable task of preparing to do it all again. Hopefully that sounds more like, "I'm so excited to get started for next year." and less like "Oh crap, those kids again;" he latter being another reason for our lovely opening question. For the remaining weeks of summer, we pour ourselves into research, research, research. We put down the trashy novel and pick up a Henry Wong masterpiece, we stop watching Season 3 of Orange is the New Black on Netflix and begin watching YouTube videos of lessons that worked and we steal a couple hours after bedtime to put it all together. 

So there you go; the evolution of the "summer vacation". As I am currently in Step Three, the first bit of research I decided to pick up is "Teach like a Pirate" by Dave Burgess. Seeing as how the first quote is by Johnny Depp, I may have chosen wisely. 

And so it begins.....

The incredibly long school year has come to an end. As of 3:15 today, instruction time is finished and all that remains is field day activities. The stress, anxiety and insecurities felt in the first nine months of a career are over.

As I look back with fresh eyes, however, I am confronted with a host of questions such as "Why did I do that?" "Why wouldn't I have handled that differently" or "Next year, I wonder if I should do this?"
So here is my promise to future Ashley Smith: You will make more mistakes but you will get better by having made them in the first place. Some of my down falls looking back are, the lack of reflective thinking, organization, student accountability, parental interactions and a slue of other things that I just can't think of right now or my head might very well explode.

Step 1. Be more honest with myself. The "first year novelty" is officially over. You are help accountable for the mistakes you are going to make. Are those made after trying as hard as you possibly can? I certainly hope so and making the habit of active reflection weekly if not daily will be an asset to making sure that is the case. This begins now. Summer is not vacation; it is an extra long planning period!