Teach Like A Champion, Revisited

Cover via Amazon

Last summer, I read Teach Like A Champion, and wrote that entry about how much I expected it to influence my teaching. Towards the end of this school year, I found myself reflecting on this book again, and how it had affected my teaching.

Overall, what I found was that the phrasing of these techniques in short memorable phrases helped me remember them often during the school day and therefore employ them more consistently; what I found in reading the book was that I had employed many of these, but did not honestly employ them daily in my classroom.

The strategies I returned to again and again this year were: Lemov’s phrase for the ideal teacher’s demeanor, “Warm But Strict”; Cold Calling (calling on students even if they hadn’t raised their hands), Right Is Right (only stopping when a student has given the right answer) and 100% (striving for 100% engagement in the room). In my original entry, I talked about the need to protect each classroom minute, and by the end of the year, I was very comfortable saying, “We’ve only got five minutes left and I need every one of them” when I felt my students’ attention wandering.

Looking back on my original entry and some of the ones I linked there, I realize that I have still not solved the bathroom visit issue, so I need to think again about whether I want to use a hand signal or some other visual cue, rather than a raised hand. I also see that I intended to revisit the book during the year: better late then never? Perhaps this is another goal of mine that can be served in the teaching journal goal I’ve set for myself. Also, now that I feel I’ve mastered those strategies, I’d like to revisit the book and see if I want to add any others. I remember Miss Teacha saying in her post that out of the 49 strategies, she already used 14, and would recommend that new teachers aim for mastering at least 15. While I’m not a new teacher, I think it would be interesting to count up how many I feel are already in my toolbox and then think about what I’d like to add.

While I’m reflecting like this purely for my own interest, I think the fact that the book has lingered so long with me reinforces my original statement: it’s a must-buy for any and every new teacher, or indeed, any teacher who wants to feel more confident with questions of classroom management (which is probably all of us, from time to time).