My First Shadow a Student Challenge
- Martin Thomas
- Mar 11, 2018
- 4 min read
Yesterday I took part in the Shadow a Student Leadership Challenge. The goal of this world wide challenge is to encourage school leaders to live a day in the shoes of a student. Doing this allows leaders to see the school with a critical eye and promotes empathy for the student experience in leadership decisions.
For this challenge, I followed Ruby from Grade 4 around elementary for the entire school day. It is Ruby's first year at CIS and I wanted to see our school through the eyes of one of our new students.
There is so much I could say about my day but to start the conversation I answered the three questions provided on www.shadowastudent.org as these questions encouraged me to reflect critically on my experience and the school itself.
Oh and I have photos from my day, of course. Photos were the only privilege I allowed myself as a student and I let everyone know that I would be using my phone as a camera to document my experience.
Overall, I must say that my day was fantastic and I ended feeling so proud of our students and teachers. I wish I went to CIS when I was their age. Thank you to Ms. Beth and Ruby for letting me be your shadow!
WHAT SURPRISED YOU MOST ON YOUR DAY AS A STUDENT?
I was surprised by may things. When I say surprised I mean I knew the importance of all of these things as an educator, but surprised just how meaningful they were when I lived them first hand.
Firstly, how small actions mean so much. I arrived to class and had a desk and books ready, all with my name on it. As with any new student I felt so welcomed and it felt good. Students were concerned about my well being during the day, helping me to understand the schedule, expectations, etc. It was great to see, not surprising though, that our students are so caring.
I was also surprised at how many distractions there are in a learning environment filled with 10 year olds. Kids move a lot and unconsciously make noise with anything within reach, chairs, pencils, etc. I found it fascinating how those little sounds like, watches beeping, chairs and students moving around, random speaking, distracted me during instructional time but didn't seem to phase students as much. During collaborative group work though the voices, working and talking was always productive, wonderful to listen to and a clear indication of our students overall joy for learning.
Speaking of student attention, something that surprised me (because I was caught once) was how effective teacher's strategies for classroom management really are. During science I was fully engaged in the instrument making part of the activity. So much so that when the teacher said "clap once if you can here me, clap twice if you can see me" I so badly wanted to keep on making my instrument. But as the room quickly shifted their attention to the teacher, I found myself in the awkward position of being the last one to stop working and with everyone looking at me. I had no choice but to drop my almost finished instrument and turn my attention to the teacher.
Along the same lines I was surprised at just how effective positive reinforcement was with me, I loved doing my best and the teacher noticing.
Finally, I was very surprised at how many students have popcorn, chips, pizza and cookies at snack time, especially since I know CIS parents really value healthy eating.
WHAT STUDENT NEEDS ARE YOU MOTIVATED TO ADDRESS AFTER SHADOWING?
During my experience I was happy that teacher instruction and the activities were diverse and engaging and that it wasn't something I became affixed on as a principal or thought needed addressing. I enjoyed the activities throughout the day. I feel even more confident as a leader promoting that type of instruction with our teachers.
Also, I found I really responded well to those teachers who had a soft and caring approach and gave us choices in a lesson. I noticed it helped support me throughout what turned out to be a long day for this old guy. As a leader, it means I will stress the importance of voice, tone, words, message more often when I observe and do teacher appraisals.
Logistically, as a student having the chance to move to specialists classes throughout the day was a welcome change of pace from homeroom. As a leader I always thought it was important to have fewer transitions and increase instructional time during the day. But in fact it was those transitions that felt the best as a student, as they allowed me to breath and recollect myself and my thoughts. So my perspective about transitions has changed as a leader from this experience, and movement around the school is healthy for kids.
WHAT ACTIONS ARE YOU TAKING BASED ON YOUR SHADOW DAY LEARNINGS?
I had a good day, albeit a tiring one as I am not 11 years old anymore. My energy levels were depleted by 1:45 pm but Interestingly enough a game of tag at last recess did give me my second wind for the afternoon... even though I thought it was going to wipe me out. I guess if there is a change that I see worthy of proposing to our team, it would be to provide students with more recess and lunch time. Recess sure did seem to fly by and being out there with the students I see the tremendous value it has on their overall well being in terms of relaxing, refocusing, getting physical fitness , building relationships, etc.
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