“Mr. or Mrs…?”
Shared by Breanne Smedley
Brett and I are in a unique minority of couples, I think.
Couples that work together.
Not just that we’re both teachers. But teachers that work at the same school. In the same department. And we even have a period that we pretty much co-teach.
Every once in a while, I overhear kids talking:
“Who do you have for PE?”
“Smedley.”
“Oh, Mr. or Mrs.? I hear you have to do way more work in Mrs.!”
I always think it’s hilarious when I hear that.
Yes, Brett and I have different teaching styles. Different ways of doing things all together when it comes to teaching, actually.
Our department meetings (which consist of me, Brett, and one other teacher) can turn a little awkward for that other teacher.
I mean think about it.
Your spouse, who you spend day in and out with, who knows your highs and lows, and woke up next to your smelly breath and crazy hair just that morning, is also a professional colleague.
It gets hard to separate the two.
I always wonder if the other teacher goes home to his wife and says things like,
“Today, they were bickering about using Google Docs vs Word to take our meeting notes!”
Teaching with Brett has allowed me to see things from a different perspective though.
I get to see him interacting with our students on a daily basis, and just last week thought to myself, “Wow, his kids love him. I want to be more like Brett.”
At the beginning of our class together, you can find him walking up and down the basketball baseline while students are doing their dynamic warm-ups.
He’s checking in with his students.
Giving fist bumps.
Asking how their games went.
Making them laugh.
Telling them a story.
Dancing and being goofy, just to see if he can get just a crack of a smile from a kid that always seems guarded off. And it works.
My favorite, and I think the kids too is when he makes “bets” with them.
“If I make this shot, with my left hand, and eyes closed, then you have to run five sets of lines. I miss, and it’s only three.”
The kids eat it up. “There’s no way you can make that shot! Deal!”
They watch in anticipation as he draws out his pre-shot routine, for dramatic effect.
Puts his right hand behind his back.
Closes his eyes and turns his head towards the class so they can verify that he’s not peeking.
Sets up, then pauses. The class is silent, all waiting to find out their fate.
The ball arcs up toward the basket.
Swish.
“Oh! No way!” The kids laugh.
“That’s FIVE!” Brett reminds them.
And, they do it. (Almost) every student runs with full effort, most with a half-smile on their faces.
Brett gets the most out of his students, and teaching with him has shown me exactly how he does it.
He focuses on relationships.
His kids trust him because he takes the time to get to know them and connect with them.
From the athletes, to the student who only wants to talk about Fortnite, he gets to them all.
This semester, my goal is to be more like Brett.
Because he knows that relationships are the foundation of any accomplishment.
#IntegrallyRelational
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