Teaching as a Team Sport

As I read this chapter, I understood what Sal Khan was saying about how teaching should be more of a collaborative and supportive community. Luckily, I truly believe Kipling exhibits a community of educators that are supportive and there for one another. In this chapter, Sal describes teaching as being one of the loneliest jobs in the world. He said that “there’s no peer support, no one to consult with, no one to ask for help or confirmation (197).” Boy am I happy that this is not how Kipling is. I feel like we are constantly getting support from our team members, our coaches, and other staff members. Many of us take opportunities to teach together and learn from one another.  We do an AMAZING job at asking for help and guidance, and truthfully I feel like teaching is a team sport at our school. I know that in some schools this is not the norm, but I definitely think that the staff at Kipling take opportunities to work together and collaborate, in order to grow and learn from one another.

The chapter was split up into two parts. The first part was about the benefits of multiple teachers teaching a classroom of students. Khan believes that teachers should not teach alone. He thinks that there should be a multiple teacher arrangement in all schools. I truly believe that this is a great idea. It allows teachers to work with one another, build their ideas off of each other, and teach using various strategies that can help all students. I personally love teaching with other teachers, and I think it does make a difference in the education of our students.

Positives of a Multiple Teacher Arrangement:

1. In a one-teacher classroom, what you get is only one teacher. This means that students only get taught the specific way the single teacher teaches. The strategies that the one teacher uses, may not be best for all students in the classroom.
2. A multiple teacher arrangement would provide each teacher the opportunity to focus on what he or she does the best. Since no two people have the same strengths and weaknesses, students would have the benefit of being taught by teachers that know the most of what they are teaching and express their thoughts differently.  
3. Help with teacher burnout. Giving teachers the support and help everyday would make their work less stressful and allow teachers to mentor each other. This would help teachers from feeling less alone and more supported.

The second half of the chapter was about how Khan believes that students like their coaches more than their teachers. I definitely understand his point. He believes that since sports or other activities are the students’ choice, they develop a better relationship with their coach. Since school isn’t really a choice, students do not feel that same connection with their teacher.

Here are two reasons why Khan thinks that kids adore their coaches, but do not adore their teachers:

1. Teachers represent what students have to do, and coaches represent what they’ve chosen to do. Even though we do provide choice in the classroom, students do feel like they have to be there, even on days that they do not want to be.
2. Coaches are always on the student’s side by helping them be the best that they can be, in order to experience the thrill of winning. Khan said, “When kids win, coaches celebrate with them, and if they lose, coaches comfort them (200).”  Even though we may support the students in a similar way, being there for them through the ups and the downs, students do not look at their teachers the same.

What I thought about this part of the chapter is that I want students to chose to be in my classroom. I want them to want to learn what I am teaching them and be an active participant in their own learning. I also want them to feel like I support them and will be there for them no matter what. Even though going to school is not a choice at the elementary grade levels, picking what they want to learn and how they do it, could be a way to have students feel like their classroom learning environment is their choice. With a class of many different kinds of learners, this could be difficult, but I feel like the classroom environment is changing and becoming more student centered (which is a GREAT thing)!

Lastly, I want to leave you with this point that I thought was really meaningful in this chapter.

1. Khan said, “The teacher, like a coach, needs to emphasize that anything less than mastery won’t do because he or she expects you to be the best thinker and creator that you can be (201).”

I think that this point emphasized what we all believe as teachers, that we do want our students to master all of the skills that we teach them in order to be a successful learner. Anything less than that, we should go back and reteach, review, use new strategies and activities, etc,. Having multiple teachers to collaborate with and teach with, could allow more students to master multiple skills and be more successful. Providing more choice in the classroom could allow students to feel more engaged and in charge of their own learning as well, in order to be a more successful thinker and creator. 

As educators, we should always expect our students to strive and master their skills, and it is our job to help them be the best learner and person that they can be.