Ten Tips from the Trenches: teaching primary students

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With my head swimming with Christmas concert details, and having just finished first term report cards, I doubt I have much in the way of wisdom to impart to my esteemed colleagues. However, I am offering you a lighthearted look at some of the things I have learned “in the trenches” from teaching some of the younger students who enter the hallowed halls of our educational institutions. I am sure you will recognize some of your students in these descriptions. Have a read and a smile and know you are not alone!

Tip #1
Plan copiously and then be prepared to throw those lessons out completely when in the middle of your carefully planned lesson on the migration path of the Monarch, one child asks, “Do butterflies poop?” and you must seize the teachable moment and try to salvage your lesson. (Note: The answer is, “If it eats, it poops.”)

Tip #2
After planning copiously, when the primaries come to your room and do whatever they do regardless of your carefully laid plans, pretend THAT is what you had planned all along. This may give you some semblance of being in control (but it will not be justifiable, nor realistic).

Tip #3
When asking new primary students the first letter of their name (as in, “Tell me the first letter of your name and I will try to guess what your name is) beware of the student whose name is Katie, who insists that the first letter of her name is “A” and only discloses her name after you have exhausted every “A” name known to civilized humanity.

Tip #4
If your class is practicing fire drill procedures, be prepared to lead your class from the room and end up losing a few students by the time you reach the meeting area. Or, if you bring up the rear, don’t expect to go in the right direction or out the correct exit. Also note: the only time primary students DO follow the leader is if they are going in the wrong direction or to the wrong location. Growing up on a farm and trying to move pigs from one location to another has prepared me for the above inevitabilities. From this exasperating experience I have concluded that there is one distinct similarity between primary students and pigs: you can’t drive them and they won’t lead.

Tip #5
When a student asks you, “What is your first name?” and you answer, “Mrs.” this will only appease their curiosity for a brief moment.

Tip #6
Remember this phrase when your students are inclined to tattle about every little thing and it is driving you to nervous distraction: “I don’t want to hear it if it starts with someone else’s name.” (Note: holding your fingers in your ears, humming and chanting, “I’m not listening, I can’t hear you,” is not considered a good teaching strategy.)

Tip #7
Never lie to a primary student.

It was my birthday. The students knew it and one student asked me how old I was. Not wanting to disclose my advancing age (I was in my early twenties at the time), I replied that I was 102. I overheard two earnest students discussing this revelation.

“Is teacher really 102?”

“Teacher doesn’t lie. If she says she’s 102, then she must be 102.”

It was the last time I ever falsely gave my age to a student.

(Note: There are ways around this, such as telling them the year in which you were born and letting them do the math, or by saying, “I am older than my son, but younger than my mom.”)

Tip #8
Remember (and tell your students) that life is not fair, no one ever said it was going to be, it is not written down anywhere, and sometimes the way it is, is just the way it is.

Tip #9
Whether or not he or she is your student, encourage every child you know under the age of five to learn to tie shoelaces. Your colleagues who teach primary students will thank you for it.

Tip #10
Remember that these living, breathing “question marks” come to you for direction and instruction and those who deal with children on a day-to-day basis are blessed with the best job in the world.

I hope you have had a chance to enjoy some music during your Christmas/Hannukah/Kwaanza celebrations. Our traditions and beliefs are carried on and made strong with the emotional, aesthetic and spiritual renewal music can provide through the seasons of our lives. Music gives us the opportunity to share in the celebrations of those who are of different faiths and can help us truly experience “respect for diversity” as we share what makes us unique as well as what we have in common. If you haven’t done so, put on a great CD of music, sit with a cup of something pleasurable and relax for a few moments. You will feel refreshed and renewed and it may help put into perspective why we do what we do every day. Until next time, keep music alive in your heart and in your life, and share that gift with all who will listen.

Donna Rhodenizer is a composer, professional performer, recording artist, publisher and music educator in a public school in Kentville, NS.
www.redcastlepublishing.com.