At some point, you knew nothing about what you teach. I teach music, and it’s hard for me to remember what it felt like to not be able to play guitar. I also teach video in the classroom, and editing video seems so easy to me–I’ve been making home movies since I was twelve. My students, however, are new to this stuff. That’s why they’re called students. And I forget that.
I went to Samy’s Camera to rent a fancy lens for my first big wedding shoot. I was a bit nervous walking in; after all, I’m a full-time teacher, not a full-time photographer. When I walked in, I found the rental counter immediately. So far, so good. When I walked up to the counter, I was ignored. I wasn’t sure if it was self-serve, if I was at the wrong counter, if I needed a number, or if I just didn’t know the secret code word. Eventually, a scruffy guy behind the counter gave me the “Wait a moment” finger and picked up the phone right in front of me. In the meantime, there was no sign to help me decide which lens I wanted to rent. When Finger Guy finally talked to me, I explained what I wanted and asked for suggestions. Finger Guy nodded and began paperwork before I had all the info (things like price). Since I was the new kid at the store, I assumed I missed something. Finger Guy 1, Bill 0.
Contrast this with my recent trip today to the UPS store with my mom. We walked in and were immediately greeted by a dude with a huge grin. Smiles asked my mom for her phone number, and her information immediately popped up. My mom asked to ship it to her daughter, Smiles said okay, and he printed out a label. He didn’t even need her address (I’m hoping UPS keeps addresses)! He even reinforced the box with extra tape.
While our students aren’t customers and we don’t work in a business, I think we can learn a lot about becoming a better teacher by how you’re treated in stores. I want my classroom environment to be more like the UPS store, where students feel safe and well taken care of. Too often, though, I feel like I’m Finger Guy at the camera store–expecting people to know what to do without any sort of assistance.
We need to remember what it feels like to be a novice. It is essential for teachers to continue learning, not only to grow professionally, but to be reminded of what it feels like to not know everything.
