Last August as we sat in our school library and brainstormed procedures and protocols to keep our school a safe and orderly place, I could not define the uneasy feeling that stopped me from fully participating in the conversation. We talked about what our cafeteria, hallways and parent pick up areas should look like, sound like and feel like. We made a list of what our expectations of ourselves as teachers were and we all agreed to them. We agreed on the rules, posted them where we would be reminded of them and committed to enforce them. The whole time what was going through my head was: Why are we here? Is our job only to monitor these kids during the eight hours or so that they are with us so they won't hurt each other and/or damage any property? Or are we here to teach them how to get along and respect themselves and their communities? Are we merely monitors or should we act more like mentors? The job of the monitor is to enforce the rules. It requires no personal relationship with the those monitored. A monitor is not concerned with what came before and what will come after the rule is broken. A policeman is a monitor. The guy at the airport who checks your passport when you try to get into the country, is a monitor. Both respectable, important, valuable jobs; but they are not mentors, they are not and never claim to be teachers. To a monitor the rule is more important than the person following or breaking it. To a mentor it is the individual that is being guided that matters.
My good friend and amazing teacher Andrea says school is fake. What she means is that everything we do in school is to prepare us for the real world. Skills, knowledge, rules and procedures have no value in and of themselves. School is the training ground for someday putting them into practice authentically. The playground, the cafeteria and the hallways are just as much a part of our schooling as the classrooms with the whiteboards and the desks. Our job as a mentor is to guide children to connect the dots between the abstract concepts of the classroom and their real-life applications in the world. The school building provides their first foray into that real world.
A monitor stops a child running down the hallway and reminds them to walk. A mentor sees this simple rule as a way to teach children how to behave in public spaces, how to respect others and think how his behavior affects the safety and comfort of others. I don't know, maybe I am reaching too far. But when I have these kinds of simple conversations with kids that explain the logic and purpose of why we do the things we do, I feel as if I am contributing to a world free of obnoxious drivers, loud neighbors and inconsiderate people who don't want to wait their turn in the movie line.
My good friend and amazing teacher Andrea says school is fake. What she means is that everything we do in school is to prepare us for the real world. Skills, knowledge, rules and procedures have no value in and of themselves. School is the training ground for someday putting them into practice authentically. The playground, the cafeteria and the hallways are just as much a part of our schooling as the classrooms with the whiteboards and the desks. Our job as a mentor is to guide children to connect the dots between the abstract concepts of the classroom and their real-life applications in the world. The school building provides their first foray into that real world.
A monitor stops a child running down the hallway and reminds them to walk. A mentor sees this simple rule as a way to teach children how to behave in public spaces, how to respect others and think how his behavior affects the safety and comfort of others. I don't know, maybe I am reaching too far. But when I have these kinds of simple conversations with kids that explain the logic and purpose of why we do the things we do, I feel as if I am contributing to a world free of obnoxious drivers, loud neighbors and inconsiderate people who don't want to wait their turn in the movie line.
In her blog post on Community, Katie Keir comes clean about what really matters in a classroom and how instead of trying to manage students, she tries to build a community. Our schools are a controlled, safe and manageable setting where we can practice building community, so that we can send out individuals that can contribute productively to their own communities, wherever they may be. And real communities need more mentors than monitors.
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