Richard Parenti

Stand Up and Listen

I never sit down when I teach a class. I can't. When I'm in front of a classroom I feel like I'm on. It's my obligation to engage my audience for the next 1 to 2 hours and I take that seriously. Sitting down, to me, implies that class is a converstation. And while there will be dialogue, I want to ensure that the words go in the direction that is best for the material being learned. I rarely have behavior problems in my classroom because I seek out the students that aren't engaged in the work and do what it takes to reel them into the course. It may be catching them doing something good and telling them I notice. It may be a compliment in the hall, or a private "thank you" for coming to class. Also, there is an old saying in education, "You will never know how much your student can do until they know how much you care." So, I let them know I care. Sometimes telling them is enough. Sometimes I have to show them. Showing them sometimes means giving them a break on a late assignment, with a promise that they won't get behind again. No two students are a like and sometimes it's not easy to know how to reach a particular student. That's where listening comes in for me. In the words of Stephen Covey, "seek to understand, and then to be understood." Of course he was talking about it a slightly different context in his book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," but I believe the principle still applies.