I know a great and innovative teacher who is transforming education. Her name is Heidi Siwak. (check her out if you are not already familiar with who she is and what she does… http://heidisiwak.blogspot.com/)

The other day, I had the opportunity to work in her classroom. I had her Core Language/Social Studies class for the morning. They were in the middle of a self-directed inquiry project about Canada and its trading partners. I knew this because I read her blogs and teach in the school she works at quite often. So, I thought, “Great!” I told the students at the beginning of the day that I had been reading Mrs. Siwak’s blogs and I was here to help should they become stuck or unsure, as well as doing my rounds while they worked in the computer lab.  We were disrupted when another class had there computer time period 2, and had to relocate.  Unfortunately, the students were not as productive as I, and their teacher, had hoped they would be.  I saw the usual things from students when they have a guest teacher: sitting around, chatting about things not project-related, goofing around, playing games and focussing too much on YouTube music videos.

The problem: when the teacher’s away, productivity decreased, or, to put it another way… the students will play.
Why? I know that in itself is not a foreign concept, but I really thought that this sort of project would work well no matter what teacher was in the room. Especially because, Heidi had conferenced with the students to help them set up “next steps” and work through problems. I know this. I read the blogs!

Despite my constant reminders, checking in and offers to help, only 2 students came to me to voice concern. I was able to help them and they were able to work. I was becoming concerned.

I didn’t want to disappoint Heidi and I didn’t want the students to, either.  I figured many of them had already wasted two periods, and we needed to make it better. I thought, “What would Heidi do?”
Aha! I know, she would have a discussion with the students; she would share her concerns, let them voice theirs, and together fix the problem.

I shared my concerns that they were not working to the best of their ability and that the next time Mrs. Siwak was absent they may not get the freedom to do this kind of work. They would likely have the more traditional ‘read the text book and answer the questions’ type of work.

Thinking that maybe they were a little out of sorts simply because their teacher was not there, I asked them.  Some said that was a problem; others were just goofing off.  We talked about what we should do instead.

I made an anchor chart (there’s always an anchor chart!) to guide in their reflection/next steps…

The whole process proved beneficial as the students spent all of the next work period on task, and the trend continued at the end of the day in French class.

I saw Heidi the next day, who said, “that was great. Thanks for doing that. It was great that you texted me in the day. I knew exactly what to expect when I came in to school.”

…. And, no!, it is not because they do all the work and I get to sit at the desk with my feet up, reading a magazine. It has been my experience that I have never actually found myself able to do any of that in all my days of guest teaching – even when some other wonderful person is doing the actual teaching! Usually 5 minutes to sit (and sometimes that is at the same time as having a wee) – Priceless.

The reason why I love teacher candidates is because of the learning opportunities that they provide, like little refresher courses. Think about it; they are coming straight from teachers college where they are learning all sorts of new strategies for keeping students engaged and motivated, for classroom management, as well as fun and informative lesson plans. Further, they come into schools armed with all the current educational jargon that guest teachers often have trouble keeping up with as we are often not privy to on account that we are the ones covering classes when the teachers have PD.
Further learning opportunities – Priceless.

And, I’m not being greedy, here. I share my neat ideas and resources with the teacher candidates, and offer advice to them. Plus, I know when I was the teacher candidate (way back in the day) I enjoyed the odd day with a guest teacher because it felt like some of the pressure was off – they are not the ones evaluating; it was sort of more unofficial. And, as I further remember, any little break helps in those busy and stressful times! An encouraging teacher who is not evaluating – Priceless.

Here’s the bonus… Guess who benefits the most?
The students, whom all of this education business is about anyway! Indeed, whenever there is an extra body in the room, extra help (in the form of a certified teacher) is available to the students who could do with more than what can be provided for them on a daily basis. I am often able to work one-to-one with students who could do with an E.A. in a perfect world but do not have one, or with small groups of students. I have found that with some of these students, it means the world to actually be able to finish their work and to actually earn free time. Let’s face it – a lot of students are never able to do this and they couldn’t even do it if their lives depended on it. So, to be able to help a student succeed, even if just for one day…
Priceless.

In summary, the reason why I love teacher candidates is that they are Awesome!

When a guest teacher enters the classroom to find a teacher candidate preparing for the day – Priceless.