Know your Personnel by Brandon

Know your Personnel by Brandon - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

If you could give a teacher one piece of advice to help you learn, what would it be?

If I could give a teacher some advice to help myself and others learn, it would be “KYP: Know your Personnel”. There’s a lot that goes with this statement so let me unpack it.

A teacher’s classroom is very similar to an office work environment; in that people are there to reach a goal (for the former it’s education, for the latter it might be money, recognition, or social mobility). In order for these environments to function efficiently, the leader needs to know how each “worker” is motivated and more importantly, how to connect with them. From the classroom perspective, teaching a certain way may not engage or connect with certain students, in the same way a soporific office seminar may make your co-worker’s eyes glaze over. A leader has to find a way to keep the group engaged and interested. This might involve using examples your audience is used to such as popular trends or people. Other examples may have you rephrase an idea in question students can relate to and answer to encourage more discussion.

This may seem like a lot of work, but others, including myself, have found success with this teaching method. It make you more than just a educator pontificating knowledge, but a person who can show they can adapt in order to better communicate ideas.

In addition, by “knowing your personnel”, you as a teacher will have a better idea of what works and doesn’t work with your students. You know what interest them, frustrates them, challenges them, and so on. Having this knowledge makes lesson planning and paradigm shifting activities all the more interesting and (to some) convenient. By knowing what motivates and idles your students, it will make class management easier.

It may take some time to get to know your students and what fuels them, but most life events have a learning curve. Once you know what motivates your students and how to motivate them, you’ll be ready to address just about any issue that pops up in the classroom.