For years, I had a classroom. It was Vaudrey’s Room, even when I wasn’t in it; the space was tied to me as the main person.
Then I had a desk that was most-often unoccupied, as I traveled my district supporting teachers in their spaces.
Now there’s an office with my name on it. That hasn’t happened before, and it’s taking some adjusting, but I like it.
Running parallel to that progression is my side-hustle; consulting with teachers and districts across the country, sharing resources and ideas with them.
The space is someone else’s class, or an auditorium, gym, Multi-Purpose Room, or board room, and I’m just a visitor.
“Visitor” is a good description for these gigs. I’m sitting on the airport floor in Bozeman, Montana, after two days of working with every teacher in the rural district of Belgrade, MT.
Since most of my day-job (Dean of Students at Lone Hill Middle School) deals with private stuff I can’t discuss here, this post will focus on a key moment from the last couple days spent 1000 miles away.
Julie 1
“Will this lecture have anything for us? We teach Reading.” Julie and her teammate had unfolded a cafeteria table in the back of the room instead of sitting near to the front, where I had laid out paper and markers.
“Maybe!” I replied, ever the optimist and looking to make an ally right away. “What brings you here?”
“Our principal sent us. We… (she looked back and forth) … didn’t really have a choice.”
Big smile. “Well, I’m glad you’re here! We’re focusing mostly on math activities and practices to support them, and your voice is definitely welcome. Feel free to keep to yourself here and participate if you want.”
Julie visibly relaxed, “Oh, thank God. We really don’t like math.”
I stood with a sneaky smile, “Not yet, but we’re just getting started.”
Julie was quickly won over by the Estimation tasks and discussion-based prompts of Would You Rather, Fraction Talks, and Which One Doesn’t Belong? I caught her setting aside her chapter books and jotting notes and ideas down on paper. Soon, she was chatting animatedly with her seatmates and venturing to other tables.
It probably helped that I was explicit in my prompt to, “Stand when you hear the music and share with someone you haven’t yet spoken to.”
As they packed up to leave, she handed me a sketch. “We think there’s a place for these in our class, too.”
Yesterday's #ClassroomChef workshop included two reading teachers who sat in the back and made their math-anxiety known.
— Classroom Chef (@classroomchef) September 18, 2019
By the end, they were taking notes and sharing thoughts with the room, including this #WODB prompt:
Make your own here: https://t.co/wUFr3losU1 pic.twitter.com/aQ6xA3Ccie
Soon, the morning was over and everyone packed up to leave. As usual, there were some follow-up questions about the book and my promise of lifetime tech-support. I managed to catch Julie before she left and coach her aside from her partner.
“Julie! Lemme talk to you for a sec.”
She looked cautious, but joined me on the side of the cafeteria, away from the earshot of her teammates.
“Julie, you started the day declaring that you had nothing to offer, but you were an active participant today, and your insights were very helpful.
I think… and you may not agree… I think you have a lot to offer the math classroom.”
She rolled her eyes, “Yeah, okay. You’ve never seen me teach.”
I made super-strong eye contact and lowered my voice. “Julie, I don’t mean to tout my resume here, but I’ve taught this stuff all over the country. Not all teachers are as brave as you, willing to take a risk where they don’t feel comfortable.”
Her eyes went wide. “Uh-oh. You’re recruiting me, aren’t you?” She turned and pretended to walk away.
“Yep! There’s a lot of promise for your math class, and to prove that I believe in you, here’s a copy of my book. Well done today.” I handed her the book and she paused.
I wonder how many people have told her that she could be a “mathy” person.
~Matt “Youth Pastor” Vaudrey
*Of course that’s not her real name.