Years ago Don Graves, one of my most cherished mentors, wrote a book called The Energy to Teach. I was thinking about it today as we near the end of the semester. It changed so much for me.
You know when you buy those budget books, the ones you buy when you SWEAR that this time, for real, you are going to get that budget under control? The first thing they tell you to do is keep track of every cent you spend, then tally it up to see where your money is going.
Don had those of us in his "energy study" do the same thing. He wanted to know the answer to a very simple but important question: What gives us the energy we need to teach? So for a week, seven straight days, I had to keep a journal and jot down everything I did and code it: TE for take energy; GE for give energy; N for neutral. Then total it up at week's end and see where all that energy was going.
I won't go into the details. What matters is knowing what gives you energy (and what takes it away). I had several encounters today that absolutely gave me energy. The point is to know what gives is and get more of that; know what takes it, and avoid or otherwise try to prevent against it.
Why am I always trying to get out for coffee with colleagues, to walk through the lovely trees of Washington Park on the way to Peet's? Where there's laughter and light there is life and energy.
I, too, find the students who ask over and over and over what it will take to get an A very draining. When their parents keep asking what their kid needs to do to get an A, it's even more draining. It's one of the reasons I'm glad I don't teach Honors classes.
Posted by: Lori Jordan | December 15, 2009 at 04:50 PM
What a great idea to track our TE and GE! Today I had a TE moment that might sustain me until the break. I'm a Literacy Coach and was in an Algebra II class where students collected data and were writing about cell phone use in education. They had to look at their data and decide if cell phones should be used for instructional purposes. The kids were so invested in the topic; no one complained about writing in math class!
Posted by: Christy in MI | December 15, 2009 at 05:54 AM
Hi Franki! Yes, I feel exactly the same: things have changed! but that frame has stayed in my head as you say. I find myself thinking ahead: Okay, I'm going to be a in a situation (meeting!) where I will feel a tremendous loss of energy, so better bring something to do, to read (without people realizing it), and prevent energy loss.
Posted by: Jim Burke | December 14, 2009 at 07:23 PM
I was involved in this too-- a definite life changing experience to keep track of every single thing that gives and takes energy. Times were a little different then too. It would be interesting to do this again. I think I do it informally now all of the time--just because I became very aware. We could all use a reminder about spending more time doing the things that give rather than take energy.
Posted by: Franki | December 14, 2009 at 06:32 PM
I thought the same thing, but it was different than what I expected: kids who wanted to improve, who were willing to work and were earnest about their learning gave energy; those who would essentially say, "If I do that will it be an A?" over and over TOOK energy. There are small differences that make a difference. Our work is a marathon not a sprint, so we need to pace ourselves!
Posted by: Jim Burke | December 14, 2009 at 06:15 PM
What an interesting way of keeping track of your sanity I suppose! I might actually try to write down what takes my energy and what gives me energy. I can almost predict that the same things that take my energy are what give me energy though! (difficult students and getting them through). Thanks for your post.
Posted by: Skorlaki1983 | December 14, 2009 at 05:51 PM