I highlighted, made notes and dog-eared many pages in my book and will definitely be referring back to it often. What a great philosophy he has, one in which speaks directly to me. The two chapters that I immediately connected with were the Passion and Enthusiasm chapters.
When it comes to teaching, what am I passionate about? Reading. My goal is to help my students fall in love with reading, showing them how to uncover the connections to what and who they are reading about. I love discovering what works for struggling students and guiding them to reading success. I am committed to helping my students become independent thinkers and self-motivated learners. My students inspire me and I learn as much from them as they from me, and finally I love finding that spark that keeps students engaged and motivated.
How do I show enthusiasm in my teaching? That’s easy, just being in front of my students gets me excited. I am always eager to share books, new discoveries, great lessons, and my enthusiasm for those things. I love it when my students come to me with something they are excited about, when they are excited, so am I, and I hope vise a versa. For me, when somebody shows enthusiasm for what they are teaching or sharing it always makes me happy, you will usually see a little smile on my face the entire time. I want a happy classroom, when I see those smiles I know my enthusiasm is shining through. I try to be completely conscious of my mood, if it seems like I don’t care about what I am teaching then why should my students care…my mood matters.
Is there something from the book that I should do and am not? Mr. Burgess talked a lot about music. What I would love to do is incorporate more music into my day. I need to create a list of music that entices different moods, I think this will help amp up the enthusiasm of not only my teaching but of my students’ engagement and learning.
Do I craft engaging lessons? I thought I did, but Mr. Burgess offers so many questions to consider when crafting a lesson. Do I do some of these already? Yes. Are there other things I should think about and incorporate? Absolutely. Will I do it? You bet!
What do I already do? I incorporate art (it seems to be the easiest thing to do), I involve my students, I use mystery bags and I tell stories.
What should I do more of? Get the kids moving, go outdoors, use kids as props, incorporate music, have students design things, and so much more!
Will I do it all at once? No, but because of this book, I now feel like an amazingly huge creative door has been opened and I am ready to take the journey.
Do I think I am great? I think I am a really good teacher, and with books like this, and influences like all of you, I just keep getting better!!
Here is my question to you.
If you have read this book, what did you add, incorporate, change, try or use in your classroom or teaching since finishing it?
How has reading this book changed you as a teacher?
Please write or share a blog post about how you Teach Like a Pirate.
If you link up please use the above graphic in your post so inquiring minds can find all the inspiration and ideas in one place.
Best,
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