Are you a Lifeguard or a Swimmer? - Teach Like a Pirate - Chapter 2

p - Immersion - rate

Are you a Lifeguard? - standing on the sidelines giving orders, hovering above, directing from the side?

OR

Are you a Swimmer? - in the "water" with your students, guiding them side by side, and totally present?

My son, Tanner, is totally immersed when he plays with little ones whether it be swimming with his cousin or teaching the neighborhood boys to play basketball.

In the classroom, on most days, I am a swimmer!  I don't sit behind a desk (and don't have one) and give orders. I don't give an assignment and then go sit and grade papers or chit chat with my assistant.  I am in the floor with my students or walking around beside them at their seats.  How else am I going to really know my students?  

I especially love "swimming" with my students in guided reading and math small groups.  If I am in the moment, fully present, I am able to reach my students and give them just what they need to move them forward.  I don't teach from the sidelines!  

Just as you know when someone isn't really "with" you, so do your students!

However, I have to admit, after swimming all day with my students I often come home and become a lifeguard.  Not in the sense that I am barking orders or halfway doing things at home.  But, my attention is divided.   I am not fully present when I am at home because I am always busy with homework, blogs, and making items for my classroom.  While that might make me a good teacher, I need to learn to STOP and be fully present when at home.  

My family is more than worth it!