What Great Teachers Do Differently - Who is the Variable?

Who is the Variable?

This whole school year we have been looking at the book What Great Teachers Do Differently - 17 Things That Matter Most by Todd Whitaker.  Each chapter has examined simple things that separate the great teachers from the good teachers.  We all strive to be great at what we do, using some of the tips in this book can help all of us inch closer to that greatness.

This chapter by far has been my favorite!  This chapter focuses on who is the difference maker in the classroom.  Who is the variable? Whitaker starts with the example of the teacher who gets the award for sending the most students to the office.  It seems the same teachers win this award year after year and we can already predict who will win it next year.  How is it possible we could know this information already? We don't know what kids this teacher will have, but yet we know he/she will have the most discipline referrals.  This example shows that the teacher is the variable in the classroom.  When asking this teacher why there are so many office referrals, their answer will typically start with, "If the kids only...".  This makes the kids the variable, and they are not...the teacher is the variable in the classroom.

Great teachers recognize they are the variable and realize it is them who will need to adjust for anything to improve.  Great teachers know that they can only change things they have control of; themselves. Another great example is a teacher gives a spelling test, and over 1/2 the class fails the test.  Who is to blame?  Poor teachers will be quick to blame other variables...parents, the kids, schedules, snow days, etc...  Great teachers know what the variable is, themselves.  They look within first to realize what went wrong and then make adjustments within.

This variable idea does not only apply to education, but the business world as well.  Great store managers know they are the variable that makes a business successful or not.  Poor managers are quick to blame customers, location, weather, employees, corporate, etc...

Be the variable in your classroom!