Title: The Art of Teaching and Quilt-Making
By: Alpha Sanford
Learning the different classroom management techniques looks more complicated when reading about them than getting all the pieces together as one. Sure it does take time to nail down the components of a workable and a successful classroom management but sometimes what we all need as teachers is a good frame of mind to start what we want to see in our classroom: cohesiveness, cooperation and productive students. This is similar to starting a certain project with the utmost desire to see the final product yet the steps seem unbearable even fearful to plunge in. This particular issue reminds me of watching how my grandmother used to make quilt out of fabrics she no longer needed and how at the end of each gruesome process, out came beautiful blankets she used to give us!
I thought classroom management is definitely like the process of quilt making or at least very similar to it.
First, we need the basics: the three layers of a quilt consist of the top pattern, the batting and the backing. The top pattern usually consists of the geometric elements that we would like to showcase. The designs and the shapes that are printed on the fabric are carefully chosen so as to present the beauty of the project. The batting is usually made of cotton or low loft polyester. The last layer, is In order to make a durable and lasting quilt, these three pieces have to be sewn in together making sure each layer is secured and smooth. Each layer has its own purpose in place therefore each is important in the completion of the quilt.
As teachers, there are three basic roles we need to fulfill to be able to manage our classroom. The first layer that what most students see first is as an instructor. This is the design and the image we project in the eyes of our students. The second layer, the batting, usually the one that is invisible to the students yet contains the weight that holds the image of being a teacher is as a person. The third or the backing part, and usually comes to support the initial undertaking of a teacher as an instructor and as a person, is as a manager. The beauty of these three layers is that the top and the backing part of teaching is interchangeable just like how we use a quilt. Depending on our moods, we like to flip it from the geometric, more colorful top when we feel jovial but immediately shifts it to the plain usually monochrome backing when we feel somewhat unsettled. In everyday teaching, we present ourselves as the indefatigable instructors, feeding the minds of the students but as the moment arises, we turn to our role as the classroom manager to maintain the proper decorum of the class.
As an instructor, we as teachers must be careful to show to our students that we are fair and devoid of discrimination. Whether it be according to the income status of the families they belong to, their achievement level and/or their ethnic backgrounds, grounds of fairness and equality must be an important element in the image we are presenting to them. This is what they see in us first and foremost and we need to make a lasting connection that tells our students how deserving we are with the honor they are giving us as instructors in the classroom.
To most students, this is what we are solely to them, just instructors. They do not see the many other roles we fulfill. Hence, it is the most coveted job we must aspire to be, making sure every aspect of their learning environment is geared towards their wants, their goals and their own thinking of how to use us as their “instructors.” (Yes, we are here as instructors as a resource for them to use, and not the other way around.) It is then our responsibility to think of ways to get down to their level of thinking, of their cultural background and match their beliefs in their pursuit of learning to who we are as instructors. Only then can we see our importance as “instructors” to them as how important the quilt is when we use it as shield from the coldness of the night.
As a manager, teachers are deemed to be the righteous keeper of safety, control and compliance. According to a book authored by Andrew Carnegie, he said “First, arouse in the person an eager want. He who can do this has the whole world with him. He who cannot walks a lonely way.” In managing a classroom, we as teachers must always ask the question, “How can we make the students want to do what we want him to do?” and work the issues around this question. It is necessary to cultivate the “want” in each student to meet the solution. Without pinning down what the students entirely want, we fail to do what we originally planned for.
The last role of being a teacher as a person is the hardest to do. Teaching is a people-oriented profession therefore being a people person is a major personality in staying in this field. When we say, people person we mean individuals who are not just clocking in at 7:30 in the morning to serve the minimum working hours according to their contract, but real persons who go to school cheerfully and always ready to lend a hand. As a people person, teachers must show to their students that they are true to them, genuine, honest, willing to provide feedback that is not judgmental, willing to praise students who have shown excellence as well as encourage students to be what they can be. All of these are indispensable in creating a desirable person in the heart of a teacher,
When all the three layers of teaching are in placed and ready for sewing them as one, it is highly recommended to use a thimble or some sort of protection just in case the process of putting them together hurts the teacher’s ego. There will be times specially when sewing these layers by hand, that we will be pricked by the reality of the materials (maybe one layer is not compatible to the other, etc.) and we must be prepared to accept the fact that there will be mistakes. These mistakes might be indelible but they must server as our lessons on our way to perfecting the art of teaching.
One last thing that my grandmother told me about making a quilt that we could follow as teachers: A good rule of thumb, when making a quilt follow the shapes you have and the stitching pattern will become easier to manage.
(Translation in teaching: A good rule of thumb, when teaching, follow the “shapes” of the students you have and the teaching pattern will become easier to manage).
