- Get rid of the clutter and the crap: Your classroom should transform into a learning lab, creative station, or collaborative think tank. That means you don't need those classroom sets of books and supplies. We are in a digital age, and probably will be for awhile which renders a lot of that stuff useless anyway. I am not a proponent of classroom sets of novels (crucify me English teachers, I used to be one of you, and I had class sets of novels) or textbooks. You don't need those cheesy "inspirational" posters, or rows of desks either. A few work stations, standing room, and nicely painted walls will mimic the modern work space very well. Get rid of your teacher desk, and become proactive in the student learning.
- Quit spending hours assessing and grading: In fact get rid of grades, they are a flawed motivator. Move to standards based grading or competency based education. Simplify things to benchmarks, transfer skills, or competencies. Requirements have become too complicated and we need to broaden these to make the learning personalized. If you are still grading stacks of assignments and tests you need to seriously reconsider your assessment strategies. Create a list of skills, from there define what meeting that skill means, and then set your measurable concepts and create easy to follow rubrics. Talk with your students and craft reports that specify how each student is doing. It seems like a ton of work, and I think it is, but it doesn't involve all that mind numbing grading.
- Change your teaching strategies: I always think lecture is tough. Don't do it. Guide your students through content and skill sets and advise where needed. You do not need to be the broken record every day, and you shouldn't be. Move around the room, become active in the learning process, and you will feel so much better about the teaching you are doing. Your voice will still be there at the end of the day and you will feel like to simplified your teaching, even though what you have done is just made yourself more available.
- Quit championing your content: I kind of stile this wording from Dave Keane the principal of Fort Dodge Senior High, but it makes sense. We need to stop calling ourselves (insert content area) teachers and start referring to ourselves as teachers, advisors, coaches, guides, etc. This is tough, but isn't complicated and demanding to have to cover all that material in a content area? Get away from it then and simplify your approach. Your content area is not more important than any other, necessarily, but I argue that your content area may be useless to any number of students. A student heading out into the work force to become an electrician probably doesn't need to memorize the classifications of animals or accurately type a 5 paragraph essay in MLA format. Get off your high horse and start adapting your teaching to your students and quit trying to adapt your students to the content. Let your students help mold this path. Make things relevant. The best part that makes this a minimalist concept is you don't have to cover.
Understand that these four things don't cover everything, and by know means am I saying this makes teaching easier...in fact if your reading this trying to make your teaching easier, please click out now and try to find a different profession. We should be searing for effectiveness, and efficiency, but more importantly we need to focus on why we are doing what we are doing. I believe the above is a step in the right direction. Let loose, quit wanting to control every aspect of your classroom, and let the learning happen.
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