Rest. Recharge. Relax. Refresh. Recuperate. Regain yourself... and your classroom!

Winter break is here: Educators, you deserve it.

I still can remember the absolute, extreme exhaustion I felt as a teacher during the last week before Winter Break. Luckily the energy, excitement, and holiday spirit from the students helped carry me through to Friday afternoon. I can also still feel the exhilaration I felt when that bell rang and students poured into the hallways and I was able to head home to collapse on my couch (this is pre-Valentina, my 6-year old of course!). I relate to all of the funny Teacher-Before-Break-Memes. It's real.

The time now is yours. Breathe.

While you may curse me for bringing up a return to school when the official first day of break has not even commenced, I did not want to squander the opportunity to plant something for you to ponder or maybe share with a colleague.

**Breaks from school are also the perfect to time to …

Reflect. Reboot. Reset. Reimagine. And Regain Your Classroom **

I did not realize the importance of this moment until I finally followed the wise words of my expert colleagues at South Miami Senior High and seizing this moment not only transformed the teaching and learning in my classroom, but also helped carry me through five more months. I still cringe thinking about my classroom management my first year or two of teaching, and in retrospect I recognize I was lacking something simple:

While complex pedagogy and strategies are critically important to our craft, sometimes the basics like establishing expectations, routines, systems, and norms are overlooked, yet are the specific leverage points that can have the greatest impact on teaching and learning. And they are actually the easiest to implement.

Have no fear—if you missed this opportunity during the first few days of school, or if the start of school did not go as smoothly as hoped, or it’s time simply to refresh and reinforce what you had already established, seize this moment. Whether you’re a novice teacher or a veteran, this is a quintessential moment to reboot your classroom and there is no more quintessential handbook to help you with an effective reboot than Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov, or, as I affectionally call it TLAC.

Almost every principal or coach or teacher I have supported or collaborated with knows at some point I am going to break out Teach Like a Champion. I do so unapologetically because there is no single book or professional development that I have experienced during my tenure as a teacher or administrator or in any graduate program that provides teachers with concrete, actionable techniques to effective, stronger, more positive classroom culture—and it’s quite a comprehensive guide stretching from Principles of Classroom Culture to Academic Ethos to Checking for Understanding.

I have shared this book with teachers new to the craft in need of hard, fast techniques to get started; I have shared it with expert teachers to validate and often provide context as to why their classroom techniques are so successful; I have shared with administrators who lead in so many different kinds of schools (charters, magnet, public, private, low or high socio-economic status) serving so many types of students (racially, culturally, motivationally diverse); and I have used as a principal to implement school-wide expectations, routines, systems, and norms to make every teacher's job of classroom management a bit easier. Heck, I’ve even shared it with some parents.

The top three reasons I love this book:

1. Concrete and Actionable Techniques. Yes, educational theory and philosophies are important, yet we must not forget to arm teachers with concrete and actionable techniques that work. This book is easy to read, simple, describes how to execute the technique and provides a quick justification as to why it will work. Here’s a great overview:

http://teachlikeachampion.com/wp-content/uploads/Teach-Like-a-Champion-2.0-Placemat-with-the-Nanango-Nine.pdf

The book is direct, easy to read, and included video examples on a CD and on line. You can flip through a browse different techniques to target the areas you would like to improve.

2. Emphasizes the Importance of High Behavioral and Academic Expectations. There are very few things about education that I am not open-minded about, but I will not budge here: EVERY STUDENT IS CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING HIGH EXPECTATIONS. Some may need more support and guidance than others to achieve, but they are all capable. Regardless of grade level, gender, socioeconomic status, race, family background, previous schools, etc.—not only are they capable, but they are deserving. Also keep mind, holding students accountable for high expectations is most effective when done warmly (Technique 60: Warm/Strict).

Whenever I got push back from my students, I replied:

“I’m asking this from you because you can achieve it and I because I care about you and I believe in you.” That was really hard from them to argue with.

It wasn’t unusual when students would playfully call me mean: “Miss, you’re so mean—you’re making me revise this assignment!” Or “Miss, you’re so mean, you keep challenging my answers!” I would reply, “Yes, I am a M.E.A.N. teacher—I’m Making Excellence and Necessity.” My students got it and smiled, then complied.

2. Positive Classroom Culture. Throughout Teach Like a Champion, Lemov emphasizes the joy in learning; in fact, his last technique is The Joy Factor. Last but certainly not least. This is another non-negotiable in my classrooms. Schools need to be a JOYFUL place. Places where we work hard, but we have fun doing it. Celebrate the joy in learning. Celebrate successes no matter how big or small. Find ways to infuse joy into all you do whether it’s how students enter the classroom, answer questions, re-practice and assignment or routine, or even what your classroom looks and feels like. Create a classroom where students can’t wait to come to learn.

So where to start?

1. Reflect on areas you want to work on and pick the techniques to address these areas. Begin by looking for the greatest leverage points and areas easy to implement. Most of the time, I usually recommend starting with techniques that set the tone of your class-- Part 4—Principles of Classroom Culture: Systems and Routines, High Behavioral Expectations, and Building Character and Trust. I also pepper in a bit of Part 1—Check for Understanding: Gathering Data on Student Mastery and Acting on Data and the Culture of Error.

2. Select a few techniques at a time. You will overwhelm yourself and your students when trying to tackle too many at once.

• Pick a few related techniques.

• Visualize what you want this to look like in your classroom.

• Script it.

Once you’re back in your classrooms,

• Share with your class what you want this to look like.

• Practice.

3. Practice. Practice. Practice. Technique 50: Do It Again. Give students more practice when they’re not up to speed--not just doing something again, but doing it better, striving to do their best. Practice the technique or routine until it is mastered.

I don’t know one teacher who feels she/he/they has enough time to teach. While it may seem crazy to lose instructional time practicing routines, the front-end investment pays off in the long run. Think about it—if there is no entry routine and it takes about 8 minutes each class period to start the class, you lose:

8 minutes x 180 days = 1,440 minutes or 24 hours of instructional time!

5 minutes x 180 days = 900 minutes or 15 hours instructional time!

Add in the lost instructional time between transitioning from one activity to the next, and you are losing so much more time than devoting practice time when you return from a break.

4. Repetition and Consistency. In order to achieve consistency, you will need to plan ahead of time. Predict errors ahead of time and create a plan to overcome these errors. Build a foundation of well-taught procedures and systems that, with repetition and consistency, become routines – actions that students do automatically and with little-to-no teacher prompting.

In closing, I wish you the most restful of breaks; self-care is of critical importance especially in one of the most demanding careers there is. Yet, if you’re anything like I was, even over my breaks, I was thinking about my practice and my kiddos. I hope this blog has given you something to not only ponder, but also excite you for your return!