A pretense is defined as a false appearance or action intended to deceive. I know that definition very well, and that is why I tell parents upon their entry into our school that “I make no pretense about the education your child will receive here…what you see is what you will get.” If you want a quiet, passive educational setting, this school isn’t the place for you. We have a school of energetic learners who are often driven to check everything out, to question things as they are, and who know the art of manipulation and use it often.
Because of the types of students we teach, our teachers must be bold, sure of their own convictions, and pretty self-assured. The average teacher might wilt when a student looks at him or her and says in class, “You need a complete make-over, Mrs. Johnson. I think you need to dye your hair red! I also think you should wear a mini-skirt!” I just answered quickly, “I don’t like the color choices I’d have in my wardrobe as a red head,” and I went on teaching. Needless to say, a good sense of humor and comedic timing is quite an asset.
I tell parents that I will guide and direct my students to learn and to make every effort to put that knowledge to good use. I will give every effort to challenge their thinking and to make available any resources which might be helpful to these students. However, I will often use a great big heaping tablespoon of mother’s guilt when it is necessary to back a child down from behaviors that impede the class from learning as a whole. I refuse to let chaos reign in our school classrooms. Far too many teachers have thrown in the towels at their schools, and the misbehaving students seem to enjoy preventing good, well-intentioned students from learning.
In the same manner that I make no pretense about the fact that I am a disciplinarian when it is needed, I expect my students to make no pretense as to their understanding of the skills taught in my classes. It takes honest cooperation and evaluation for student and teacher to work together to master the skills being taught. In the same manner, I teach students to evaluate their mistakes in math and to tell me what mistake they made in their calculation. Many want to change their answer quickly and just say, “I got it wrong. I don’t know why.” I have to show them that such pretension doesn’t help their brains to understand how to correct their thinking for the next problem they will solve.
Since we are a school for the gifted and talented students, many students feel the need to make a pretense of how smart they really are. It is our task to help them to realize they are unique and we do not want to compare them to others. It is our desire for them to learn something new every day. At the same time, we want our students to feel comfortable when they make mistakes…all people make mistakes and live to talk about it! Our task is to teach them to reach the bar and then go to the next level. If our continuous progress model is used correctly, the child learns to measure his progress against himself. Then and only then will he/she be comfortable in evaluating his/her own work and making corrections to perform correctly next time. No guilt…no shame…just on-going progress!
Parents are surprised to learn of our desire for them to visit our classrooms at any time. We seem to be unlike many schools who desire to keep parents away. However, with a “what you see is what you get” attitude, we don’t have to worry about pretensions, and thus parents are welcomed. Kay