Teach Like A Pirate Passion, Immersion, and Rapport by Lisa Lawson

Give an example of a time you were fully immersed with your students and were considered a swimmer? Describe in detail what you were doing and how did it feel? What made you a "swimmer" in this situation?

llawson11 — 2018-04-09 17:34:09 UTC

Give an example of a time of when you were a lifeguard and were more observant? Do you feel that you were still able to connect with your students?

llawson11 — 2018-04-09 17:34:09 UTC

Passion

llawson11 — 2018-04-09 17:34:09 UTC

Discuss your content passion, professional passion, and personal passion? Are these overlapping in anyway?

Ahoy Mateys! Let's do something fun to get going. Post a fun pirate-themed meme.

llawson11 — 2018-04-09 17:34:09 UTC

What are two things you could do now to change from a focus teacher to an immersion teacher.

llawson11 — 2018-04-09 18:08:14 UTC

Rapport

llawson11 — 2018-04-09 18:10:57 UTC

Think about your first day of school. Did your day consist of rules and procedures or creating an environment?

lthomas27 — 2018-04-09 20:34:31 UTC

2018-04-09 20:51:50 UTC

Jaclyn Foster

shaxter — 2018-04-09 21:21:59 UTC

llawson11 — 2018-04-09 22:24:49 UTC

pcollier1 — 2018-04-09 23:04:50 UTC

#tlap twitter chat

pcollier1 — 2018-04-10 01:08:59 UTC

There's a weekly twitter chat that centers around the book--Mondays @ 9. @burgessdave is the author's handle.

acausey — 2018-04-10 11:27:06 UTC

jstafford3 — 2018-04-10 12:55:06 UTC

Rapport Answer -- Set the Tone

jstafford3 — 2018-04-10 12:56:21 UTC

You only get to make a first impression one time - so why is it commonplace to have students sit and listen to rules & expectations on their first day in our class? Dave Burgess describes his first three days and I absolutely LOVE IT! As teachers, we are in the business of creating experiences. These experiences should provide students the best opportunities to learn what we have been tasked to teach them - and so much more. The first time they walk into our class, they should think, "Wow, this is going to be amazing!" Music, being fully engaged and passionate, being EXCITED to see them, having fun activities that get them out of their seats right on day one - that's how I like to set the tone! We do go over rules, but I keep it to a quick, humorous, three minutes or less! Let's dig into the good stuff!!!

vpowell2 — 2018-04-11 14:04:04 UTC

jpage13 — 2018-04-11 14:05:12 UTC

mryan40 — 2018-04-11 17:43:50 UTC

Post Your Favorite Pirate Theme Meme here!

llawson11 — 2018-04-11 23:08:09 UTC

kthomas66 — 2018-04-11 23:18:03 UTC

I am very fortunate to be able to say I am Passionate about my job. My Personal and Professional passion have a direct overlap or connection. Two of my Personal Passions are sports and coaching. Coaching and teaching, while different, have a lot of common aspects. My content area deals directly with sports. Passion is, in a sense, a deep caring for something. Teaching is all about caring. One of my favorite quotes as a teacher is "Kids don't care what you know until they know that you care!"

jwills10 — 2018-04-12 12:31:31 UTC

jpage13 — 2018-04-12 14:30:55 UTC

My content passion is definitely math. I have been fortunate enough to have had an easy understanding of this subject all my life. I get excited when students come to me for extra help especially dragon time and I can explain a concept in a different way than what is taught. It is a thrill to see their face light up with understanding.

vpowell2 — 2018-04-13 13:24:55 UTC

My personal passion and my professional passion definitely over lap. I have taught horseback riding lessons most of my life. As early as my teenage years. I am able to bring in my teaching experience from my past into my classroom and connect with my students and visa versa.

vpowell2 — 2018-04-13 13:27:41 UTC

I use to begin my year with rules and regulations. My inexperience drove me to the rules and expectations. As my experience grew and relationship flourished over the years, I became aware of the value of those relationships. For quite a few years now I begin my year with activities such as "Saving Sammy" . This has immediately given me the ability to not only see the working relationship with the kids, but starting a year off with learning each other in a fun and personal way.

vpowell2 — 2018-04-13 13:31:24 UTC

1)I feel that math is a subject that is definitely a lifeguard role most of the time. The value of mistakes, especially in math, is invaluable. I feel my students grow more in understanding when they have made mistakes and are able to recognize the correct procedure to correct it. 2) I have also felt like math is naturally an immersion subject. This is not a subject that my students can continue independently for long time. My assistant and I are usually sitting with a student guiding them through, prompting and encouraging. During my math classes I sit at the front of the room next to the smart board if I am not with a student. This is the same in my collaborative classes, I usually sit with a group of kids.

vpowell2 — 2018-04-13 13:34:29 UTC

acausey — 2018-04-14 13:11:18 UTC

Lucky for me I enjoy most of my content. My passion definitely is more reading than writing. I have had to dig deeper to be a better writing teacher. I enjoy the look on a student's face when they have finished a book and they say "That was the first book I have ever read." My professional passion has always been making learning fun for students. At the end of the day the things that stress me out are the "other" parts of teaching. The meetings, testing, etc. Don't forget the reason you became a teacher.

acausey — 2018-04-14 13:21:39 UTC

Reading and writing is more of a "swimmer" style approach. I will teach a concept then rotate around the room. When the students write, I write with them and circulate around the room to assist. I teach two collab classes, so the swimmer approach is a must.

acausey — 2018-04-14 13:24:29 UTC

This section of this book has changed my life. I do a good job of getting to know the students, however I do the whole rules and expectations on the first day or two. I can't wait for next year to incorporate his first three days of school theory. I love the "no meanness zone" rule and the group activity on who you would want to be stranded on an island with an why. I also can't wait to have a sign on my door that says "You have heard the stories, are you ready for the experience?"

hshifflett1 — 2018-04-14 14:25:52 UTC

My content passion and my personal passion are the same. I teach HVAC-R at the Tech Center. Before that I was an electrician for 40 years. I also enjoy gardening and making YouTube videos in my spare time. I encorporate that in my HVAC-R lessons. My professional passion is to educate my students so that they can have a lifelong skill as an adult to provide for themselves and their families in this growing field.

hshifflett1 — 2018-04-14 14:35:00 UTC

As an HVAC-R instuctor immersion is a necessity. The swimmer approach is how I run my classroom. Everyday they start with a demonstration and learn through engaging activities. The best way to learn is by doing.

hshifflett1 — 2018-04-14 14:37:31 UTC

Every morning I greet my students with a "Good morning/afternoon" I make sure to say there name and give them a firm handshake. If I am not there they think something is wrong.

My passion is in learning about and telling stories from the past. Many of these stories have heroes or villains, some an underdog that overcomes adversity, while other stories may have a morale truth or life lesson. I love learning about real-life stories about famous and ordinary people from the past that have shaped our world today. This personal passion has often overlapped with my content and my professional passions too. One thing that has been more challenging fro me as a civics teacher is animating the content on a daily basis. This has been achieved by changing the focus at times to vignette narratives about the people behind our laws and economic system. By doing that it has made the content more accessible to the kids.

rstewartGCPS — 2018-04-15 15:40:01 UTC

Arghh...

rstewartGCPS — 2018-04-15 15:58:10 UTC

Lifeguard mode is appropriate for tasks like independent practice but should not constitute the bulk of one's lessons. Many moons ago when I began my teaching career independent assignments were a large part of what I used in my curriculum. However, with time and seeing how students retain more "life-guarding" became a feedback mechanism and not the bulk of what I do. I can relate exactly to the experience the author gave on showing a movie with the class vs. the substitute showing that same movie. Being engaged as a swimmer by stopping to point out specific scenes, pausing to ask students to react to the movie, or prompting them to pay grater attention in certain parts allows the students to gain a deeper meaning and achieve more growth.

rstewartGCPS — 2018-04-15 17:09:46 UTC

Great question; this year I wanted to establish more than ever a good rapport with my students having to establish myself in a new school for the first-time in 14 years. The author mentioned spend time between, before and after classes with individuals to develop connections. I could not agree more. Part of why I love coming to work every day is when a student stops to talk to me about what they did on the weekend or how they saw something outside of class that relates to the content, or just simply stopping to talk to me. The environment that my class tries to foster is a safe fun place where kids can freely talk.

rstewartGCPS — 2018-04-15 17:16:12 UTC

I have taught language arts, social studies, math, world geography (for the first time this year), and for a very short time high school chemistry. I have loved teaching all of these subjects and, like sales, if you believe in a product or are passionate about it, it is very easy to sell it. I am enjoying co-teaching LA this year as I am an avid reader and definitely passionate about students being able to read well. Co-teaching world geography for the first time has been a treat! The content is so fascinating that it is very easy to be passionate about the subject. Besides, who doesn't love learning about other people, countries, and and cultures?

mryan40 — 2018-04-15 20:04:16 UTC

Working with small groups in a collab setting automatically puts one in a swimmer role which works very well when students need the extra support. However, the lifeguard role plays an important role in helping students become independent learners. A good balance helps students grow into life-long learners.

mryan40 — 2018-04-15 20:15:20 UTC

I believe developing meaningful relationships with students is a must in order to support their learning. I have great relationships with most of my students and different approaches work with different students. I want my students to feel they are in a safe environment so they can concentrate on their learning and creativity, but that safe environment is assured only if there is an adherence to the rules that everybody is expected to follow. I hate having to be constantly limited by speed limits and red lights when I am driving, but I would not be safe (and neither would anybody else!) if we did not all adhere to the rules. I can still have fun driving while following the rules and being respectful and courteous to those around me.

mryan40 — 2018-04-15 20:19:51 UTC

kthomas66 — 2018-04-16 00:21:20 UTC

Rapport is simply another name for relationship. Our students are with us more waking minutes than they are with their families so in some ways we are in loco parentis.
Rather than spend the first days establishing rules and regulations, I play games that establish community. For most of my classes I have also had a routine of a restorative circle to start the class after a warm-up. The questions will vary, but even a simple question about how the weekend went, may elicit a response like, "I met my dad's girlfriend and she did not like me." Clearly that student was not ready to learn that day.
The statement made that we are "fellow human beings," resonates!

kthomas66 — 2018-04-16 00:32:23 UTC

I have been blessed since coming to the middle school to teach my first love, Biology. It also can ignite discussions that apply to not only their individual lives and experiences, but also their futures. The term "controlled burn" resonates on so many levels.

kthomas66 — 2018-04-16 00:43:59 UTC

Being the swimmer in Science is so easy since often it is group activities, experiments, and reflections.

alotterhos — 2018-04-16 01:26:36 UTC

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

Passion

alotterhos — 2018-04-16 01:29:00 UTC

My personal passions include reading and creating things (sewing has become a new favorite activity!). These definitely overlap with my content, Language Arts and SpEd. I've always known I wanted to teach reading and I fell in love with the idea of teaching SpEd soon after I met William. Professionally, my passions are split between classroom design/culture, taking innovation to the next level, and building my own skills with how to best teach my struggling readers.

Immersion

alotterhos — 2018-04-16 01:43:30 UTC

Honestly, anytime we do a book study my swimsuit, googles, and swimcap is on (figuratively LOL)!! One of my favorites is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. My students and I had daily, deep discussions about the characters, settings, and plot. I spent hours over the weekend transforming my room into Narnia (I even bought a candle called "Through the Wardrobe") and we fully immersed ourselves into the story. We even created wardrobes out of cereal boxes. We spent two days watching the movie and anytime something was different from the book my students spotted it immediately and shouted it out. My heart was so full every time they noticed the small details. As soon as we finished, I was thinking of what to do differently next year.

Rapport

alotterhos — 2018-04-16 01:53:55 UTC

This was definitely an eye-opening chapter for me. I spend some time the first week going over rules pretty heavily, then touch on them throughout the year. We come together as a class and write "norms" for our room. I've done some "ice breaker" type games but this chapter has really been a slap in the face. I'm looking forward to changing the start of my year and focusing heavily on building those relationships more than ever. Kayla Delzer has an AWESOME chapter on relationships in Education Write Now. I have it if anyone wants to borrow it.

Passion

jnave — 2018-04-16 03:09:00 UTC

As far as personal passion goes, I enjoy traveling and being outside in nature as much as I can, and I started to make that connection with teaching science on a fly fishing trip out west and realized that I could use these trips to collect various items and stories that can prive useful for the classroom. It also sort of bleeds into my content passion as well, as I'm am very passionate about some of the units more relatable to the outdoors, from elements to weather and other phenomena to our solar system. No matter the unit, though, I keep myself in the mindset that i am passionate about my students to realize their untapped potential, to never stop questioning and exploring, and to have a sense of wonder and awe in the classroom.

Immersion

jnave — 2018-04-16 03:29:29 UTC

I believe that during Alien Rescue I was being pretty immersive. Students ended up creating their own factions to solve the overall mission. I would go about from group to group and asked what they were currently working on but also more importantly why they were completing that particular task. Each class would also come up with their own ideas of which planets/moons made the best homes to which wed all interrogate together. I must admit to feeling like a lifeguard when students are on Legends of Learning. While I think that they are fine science based games, I do not feel as involved and instead feel more observant in those regards. Two things I'd do to fix that would be to just stay away from the laptop. Yes, it's nice to get ahead but it takes one out of the whole immersion game entirely. The other would be to throw in more discussions than usual to hear everyone's voice and to share I and comparisons.

Rapport

jnave — 2018-04-16 03:48:25 UTC

This is one of my favorite sections so far. I did attempt to establish rapport with games and a STEM challenge to show this classroom is safe, fun, and inviting. I felt like it was best to get rapport down early and it was easier later to keep their attention later on explaining classroom expectations.

jnave — 2018-04-16 03:59:26 UTC

sgoff — 2018-04-16 10:21:40 UTC

sgoff — 2018-04-16 10:27:24 UTC

Passion

sgoff — 2018-04-16 10:30:22 UTC

My personal passion has always been to continue to grow, learn, and try new things. I remember reading a quote that is frequently attributed to Mark Twain (however, this has been dismissed):

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

This quote came back to me as I was reading TLAP. I realized that my personal passion is why I went into education. I have always wanted to help students in such a way for them to want to become lifelong learners. I want students of any ability or background to be able to: Explore. Dream. Discover.

I enjoyed reading everyone's comments. I really related to Sara Haxter's experience with immersion. We walk a fine line of teaching learned helplessness with our group of students. From reading the book, we really need to practice the right type of immersion. The immersion that gets students excited and allows them to inevitably become independent due to their own desire to immerse into the content. Unfortunately, not every lesson or content can be this way all the time. That is when we need to make sure we are in the right role for the students. It really is like a balancing walk on a plank. : )

sgoff — 2018-04-16 10:53:00 UTC

jwills10 — 2018-04-16 11:55:08 UTC

The nature of a Physical Education class I believe dictates that sometimes I have to be a lifeguard. I love becoming fully immersed in my class and participating right along with the students but need to be careful do to large class sizes and safety concerns. The lifeguard station helps me with safety and making sure all kids are active. I would very much prefer smaller class sizes were I could become more immersed. Unfortunately some kids take advantage of this in our class settings.

jwills10 — 2018-04-16 11:56:48 UTC

gwinfield — 2018-04-16 12:15:29 UTC

Passion

gwinfield — 2018-04-16 12:16:47 UTC

My content passion is teaching systems of equations and teaching factoring in Algebra. For Math 7, I really enjoy the topic of two step equations.
My professional passion is to help students grow in their mathematical understanding. I also want to help students enjoy learning.
My personal passion is exercise and sports. Another personal passion is helping others.
In terms of overlapping my personal passion and professional passion definitely overlap. I really care about all my students and I want all them to be successful. I am constantly trying to think of new ways to help them connect with the math material.

Rapport

sgoff — 2018-04-16 12:19:55 UTC

I am very fortunate to work with several passionate teachers. Everyone I work with has great rapport with their students. Again, my passion for learning allows me to grow as I work with these awesome positive
people around me.

klyons14 — 2018-04-16 12:21:17 UTC

Rapport

gwinfield — 2018-04-16 12:28:52 UTC

I really related to the part in the book where the author says he works to get all the students' names memorized by the end of the first week. Each year, I endeavor to have all my students' names memorized by the end of the first day. I like being able to greet students by name when the walk into my room that second day of school.
As for the first day of school, I would say I do a combination of rules/procedures and creating an environment.

Immersion

gwinfield — 2018-04-16 12:37:44 UTC

I think it is important for students to see teachers in the "swimming" role, especially in math. I think they get a lot out of seeing teachers do the math problems with them, and talking through the thought process.
That said, there are times in the class when I am in the "lifeguard" role, particularly when students are independently practicing content.

Immersion

jfoster35 — 2018-04-16 13:01:47 UTC

Teaching world geography I have to be a lifeguard most of the time while trying to ensure they are comprehending the material. I become a swimmer when we are working on projects. I prefer to be fully immersed and along for the ride with my students. When we are studying about different countries I try my best to connect my students to other students or explorers from that region. I enjoy learning with them and participating in activities that are more meaningful then just reading from a textbook. I guess the difficult task is finding the correct balance that works for you and your teaching style.

ahughes38 — 2018-04-16 13:50:40 UTC

ahughes38 — 2018-04-16 13:56:04 UTC

My passion is reading and helping students find their favorite authors and interests! I love finding interesting ways to engage students. My biggest struggle is time! I have the passion- I do NOT have the time!

jwills10 — 2018-04-16 14:42:25 UTC

Everything we do in Physical Education depends on us building a positive rapport with our students. We start each year with a team building unit that allows us not only to learn names, but other important info about our students (Strengths, Weaknesses, Likes, and Dislikes). This info is useful in helping us diversify our activities to meet attempt to meet the interest of all students.

jherron6 — 2018-04-16 16:55:17 UTC

Passion

jherron6 — 2018-04-16 16:56:36 UTC

As odd as it may sound to most people, I am quite passionate about teaching grammar as it is necessary for one to become a good writer. I have a very logical mind, so I see language and all its components as a massive Lego set that students can use to express themselves effectively and creatively. I also love teaching students to dig beyond the story on the surface and extracting what a writer is truly trying to say in a short story, novel, or poem.

Sometimes soaked but often dry and pacing....

jherron6 — 2018-04-16 17:01:34 UTC

This is an interesting analogy to ponder, particularly as we have been in test prep mode for...well...most of the year. During the past couple of years, I have found it increasingly difficult to truly dive in, be deeply connected, and have a true picture of each student's strengths and weaknesses. There just does not seem to be enough time. Instead, I am administering assessments, teaching quick mini-lessons, analyzing data, and assigning remediation tasks. Most of this takes place from the side of the pool while I go from student to student dipping my toe in each pool where needed.

Sometimes soaked but often dry and pacing

jherron6 — 2018-04-16 17:01:37 UTC

My Passions, Personal and Professional.

cjohnston12 — 2018-04-16 17:06:54 UTC

My personal passions, as many of you know are the great outdoors (camping, hiking, just being on top of a mountain in nature). Another passion of mine is my Harley Davidson. I had a dream of owning one for many years...now I have owned two!

My professional passion is instilling a love of and excitement for reading. Above all else, my passion is to make a difference in the lives of each and every student I teach in some way or another. Just like my dream of owning a Harley Davidson, being a teacher was a life long dream of mine that I finally achieved at the age of 30 (that was 20 years ago exactly). It was a high school English teacher who made all the difference in my life, and now I want to do the same for the students who walk through my classroom door each and every day.

Lifeguard or Swimmer (A Healthy Mix of Both)

cjohnston12 — 2018-04-16 17:11:19 UTC

While I like to think that I am immersed with my students...I tell them from day one that we are in this journey together...there are times when I certainly am a lifeguard.

Direct instruction (lifeguard) is an important aspect of the learning experience. I need to present to my students the tools they need to be successful in reading, writing, and speaking skills. I am the instruction manual, figuratively speaking. Once I have given my students the steps in a concept I am teaching, it is the point where I climb on the diving board and jump in, helping students use the tools I have provided them.

Rapport: It Can Make You or Break You

cjohnston12 — 2018-04-16 17:16:45 UTC

This chapter, as others have mentioned, was an eye opener for me. I only have one rule in my classroom, "Respect Self, Others, and Property," but I spend a lot of time talking about what this rule means and does not mean. I am not as efficient as Gina...it takes me about a week to learn everyone's names, but I have name tags the kids use during the first week and I call them by name each time I speak to them during the time it takes me to learn their names.

I try whenever possible to incorporate student interests into the material I am teaching. I feel that I need to improve in this area.

I like the idea of spending the first day with the "play dough"' activity. It was a bit of an "ouch" moment for me. I don't believe I know as much about my students as I would like and need to know them. I have certain students that I often feel like I have lost to a degree because I don't know what makes them click.

How I DON'T want my students to perceive my class.

cjohnston12 — 2018-04-16 17:26:47 UTC

Rapport

jherron6 — 2018-04-16 17:33:30 UTC

I remember being incredibly nervous when I started my graduate classes to become a teacher. Dr. Carico, whom I had taken undergrad classes from, reassured me by saying, "You have the "it" factor. All you need to do is put the nuts and bolts together." What she meant, based on her observations of me working with kids, is that I connected well with them, and it came naturally. Creating a classroom community where students feel safe and comfortable is one of my strengths as it is vital for learning. While I find myself less in touch with "what kids are doing these days" as I get older, I still strive to make connections and understand each student individually and for students to know each other. I found the author's story about students not knowing one another's names interesting as I've experienced the same thing, which is shocking considering how small Greene County is. There certainly are students, particularly this year, who are hard to crack, but I still keep trying.

My Passions: Content, Professional, and Personal

abinter — 2018-04-16 19:04:36 UTC

My content passions are the ones I use the most in day to day life: converting percentages to decimals, finding the area and perimeter of shapes, comparing integers.

My professional passion includes an interest in inspiring students to be lifetime learners, helping students realize their success comes from their effort. Making sure students understand they're all capable.

My personal passion includes my love of the Washington Redskins, my family, playing board and card games, creating geometric art, photography, cross-stich, playing soccer, lacrosse, swimming, skiing and solving puzzles.

Question I wished I asked

alancausey — 2018-04-19 15:30:27 UTC

I wish I had asked him about an instance where he had a teacher that had taught "traditionally" for years but decided to try the Pirate way and was successful.

Content:

alancausey — 2018-04-19 15:31:37 UTC

I love 20th century history, especially Cold War Era.
Professional:
A well taught lesson and a student that says thanks for making a better person or giving me a safe place to be.
Personal:
My family.