Breakthrough

Today I had a breakthrough.

Normally, breakthroughs are not things that are needed in the first full week of teaching. Normally, breakthroughs come when the teacher is exhausted, at her wit's end.

Today's breakthrough, though, came about because a student realized for one brief moment what it was like to be a teacher. This moment happened during math, when I'd given my groups an assignment and stepped to the back of the class to talk to another teacher for a brief moment.

When I returned to the front of the class, this student (Sir Talksalot) was not moving at his desk. His head was resting on his fist. The students in his group told me the thought he was asleep. He mumbled out a taciturn reply letting me know that he wasn't asleep and he was very, very upset about something. (It was one word. It was half a word. The other students had no idea what was happening.)

I helped his group get back on task, then had him come to the back of my classroom so we could talk.

"Sir Talksalot," I said, "what's going on?"

"THEM!" He said, not bothering to whisper. "They won't stop talking! I was supposed to read the question but they won't stupid listen! It's so stupid! They're being so stupid! I know what teachers feel like! They can't hear me! They won't stupid listen!"

Oh. I thought as I listened to his rant. A light bulb went off. Lightening struck my brain. Oh. They wouldn't stop talking? It was frustrating him? It was frustrating him, the student who would not stop talking from the moment he stepped foot in my class? The student who was only in my class for math and because of whom I gave my small math groups my class money?

OH. This was indeed good information to have.

"How does that make you feel, when they're talking when it's your turn?" I asked him.

"It's so annoying!"

"And frustrating?"

"Yeah! And frustrating! They won't know what to do because they won't listen!"

"Ok," I said, "are they the only ones in your group who are to blame for this problem? What I mean is are there more people in your group besides them who aren't listening?"

He thought for a second, "Yeah."

"Ok. So there are ways that are effective and not effective for helping people pay attention. And you've seen that, right?"

"Yeah, like asking them doesn't work. Like I say for them to shut their pie holes and they don't do anything."

"Right. Ok. So I'm going--Can I give you some advice? Is that ok? Ok, so one thing that works really well is complimenting the people that are listening. So if someone is paying attention, thank them for it."

"Ok," he said.

"And another thing is making sure to be the example. So if you're always paying attention then that's going to help them pay attention, too."

"Oh. Ok."

"So do you think you can do that?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Alright, head on back to your seat."

Tomorrow's math class might look the same as today's. It might look the same as yesterday's. It might look the same as Monday's. But he listened just a little bit more today after that. He sat up just a little bit straighter. He worked just a little bit harder.

And for me, really, that's a breakthrough.