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Copyright © Louis Schmier and Atwood Publishing.
Date: Fri 6/27/2003 5:50 AM
Random Thought: Contagion: Another word for My Dictionary of Good Teaching
No walking this morning. I haven't walked since we returned from
two weeks of grandbaby spoiling in three days ago. A wrenched knee and a
stern order from my angelic boss will do that. I may have strained the
knee playing frisbee with my son and daughter-in-law or walking the
wind-swept, fog-shrouded, snow-capped steep peaks they call streets in San
Mateo. You know in that area I think they measure their walks by height
rather than by distance.
So, I was stranded in the morning heat and humidity by the fish
pond. As I sipped a hot cup of coffee in the hot air, listened to the
soothing sounds of the pond's waterfalls, and watched the graceful koi,
three things slowly came together. First, yesterday I had one of those
chance conversations with a student that you dream about and which ended
with a mutual "thank you" hug and has since kept me soaring. Second,
there has been a discussion on a faculty development list about the impact
of enthusiasm on teaching and learning. And finally, Kenny has been
bugging me again for another word.
Putting all this together, if I was to write another word for
Kenny in "My Dictionary of Good Teaching," it would be "Contagion." When
I use this word, I'm not thinking abut small pox or the flu or SARS,
although with some teachers you couldn't tell. No, when I talk about
contagion, I'm thinking about a yawn. Have you ever been around someone
who yawned and you defensively drawled, "Don't do that" as you
involuntarily and reluctantly started your yawn? There are lots of things
that are contagious besides diseases; and some things, like feelings and
behavior that are contagious that have nothing to do with disease. And
yet, these contagious things are influenced by their environmental
circumstance no less than by a virus or bacteria. Students are a lot more
sensitive and susceptible, no less than are we academics, administrators,
staff personel, whomever, to their environment than they or we know or let
on.
Sometimes I think teaching has all the characteristics of an
epidemic. There's the carrier, the teacher; there's the disease,
education; and there's the infected, the student.
Now, what makes someone influential or persuasive? I'm not sure it
is as obvious, simple or straightforward as it seems. I think it is more
a matter of who you are rather than what you do. If you want to enthuse,
be enthusiastic about each student and the subject. If you want to
excite, be excited and exciting about each student and the subject. I say
this because researchers say that when a non-verbal message is sent,
people either dig in their heels or click their heels. But, the small
gesture, a nod of the head, a quick thumbs up, a sublte smile, or a slight
touch makes much more difference than a demonstrative lecture or detailed
lesson plan. It's the incredibly subtlte, hidden, unspoken that is most
influencial because most people, conscously or otherwise, feel it is the
most sincere and authentic. That is to say, do you immediately stop what
you are doing when someone asks for your help or appears to simply want to
talk about "nothing?" Does your face and body look relaxed and focused
when you are listening? Are you listening? Do you see? Are you mindful?
Do you send out a deafening silent "I wish I was somewhere else" or "I
wish I was doing something else" signal? Do you go that proverbial extra
mile? If you are talking by phone, do your tones, words, and
conversational pace encourage others to feel heard and important?
I was thinking about a book I just finished. It's called
EMOTIONAL CONTAGION by Elaine Hatfield et al. It's not particularly an
easy read, but it is an interesting one. The authors talk about how we
each are an emotional Typhoid Mary, how we each infect each other with our
emotions. I smile, you smile. I yawn, you yawn. It's not just mimicry;
it's that somehow and for some reason I'm passing on my happiness or
sleepiness to you, even for a millisecond. It's an interesting idea. A
mood is not just an expression of an inner mood--I feel happy, so I smile.
It's direction is not just inside-out. It's can also move in the opposite
direction. If I smile, I can help you smile; if I am happy, I can help
you be happy. The direction is outside-in as well.
I suppose I could use Daniel Goleman's concept of a tuning
fork-like "resonance" that he discusses in his PRIMAL LEADERSHIP. But,
Hatfield's concept of an infecting-like "contagion" is more of an
eye-catching word. Aferall, we sometimes say "his enthusiasm is
contagious" or "his pessimism is contagious." If we think about emotions
this way, contagion or resonance, as outside going in and inside going
out, we teachers may have an enormous impact and influence on students.
We're "carriers." We sort of dance in a harmonized gestures and
conversational rhythms. We forge a bond with our gestures and movements
long before we utter a word. It's not something deliberate, to ape moving
and talking styles. It's a reflex. It's like knowing when you're on, when
those around are with you, when everyone is in sync.
That is true for each of us. It is no different with students.
When students feel good, when they feel respected and noticed, when they
are valued, when they're loved, they have a better chance of performing at
their best. That good feeling is an oil that lubricates the spirit, the
intellect, as well as the joints. People move spryly, think clearly and
focused. They're nimble and flexible. Then we're feeling upbeat, we more
positively view ourselves and students. It's no different with students.
As important as intellect and subject may be, said Einstein, they should
not be worshipped. They are lead by emotions. Emotions are the glue that
creates community, that commits us to teaching, that commits students to
learning. Emotions affect how people will lead and be led, and therefore
perform. And while "climate" in itself isn't a guarnatee in itself. It
is a powerful influence. Anyone in the heavy, hot summer of South Georgia
or the light, coolness of San Francisco knows that. Good mode, good work;
bad mood, bad work. Moods impact results. What Goleman calls
"disonance," an out-of-tune resonance, dispirits, depresses, caps.
Excitement and enthusiasm elevates, opens, promotes.
A while back, I shared what I thought were the three basic "laws of
teaching": the "Law of Sales, the "Law of Surroundings," and the "Law of
Glue." I've got another one. I call it the "Law of Influence." It says
that we are the true pollinators--or polluters--of each student. We are
dealers in hope or hopelessness. We can arouse or suppress. We can be
respectful or disrespectful. We all influence one another whether we know
it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we want to or not.
We are a part of each others reality, like it or not. And, of that we
must be constantly mindful.
Resonance or contagion, however, is not about something you do.
It is about something you are. Therein is the rub. As I wrote to
faculty developers about enthusiasm:
So, we know that enthusiasm has a positive impact
on instructors, that is, ourselves. Didn't take
a rocket scientist to figure this out. The big
question is: so what?
What do we do now? Do we think that a faculty
development course called Enthuse 101 is going
to be effective? Do we gear up the quick-in-quick-out
"let's be happy" workshop cottage industry? Can
do you do something to someone else to instil that
special kind of energy, that wholeheartedness,
that warmth and feeling to relationships with each
student, that freshness to the class, that
enlivening spring-like climate, that shouting "yes?"
Do we really think that enthusiasm is a learned,
pedagogical skill? Do we really think that it is
simply a matter of being "Bob Fossi-esque:" looking
into a mirror, putting on a smile, and procaliming,
"It's showtime?" Or, is it a deeply rooted attitude,
an outlook, a way of living?
No, the issue is not merely to proclaim, "Be enthused!"
It's more complicated than that. The issue is how to
overcome and/or help others help themselves overcome
disinterest, sameness, sluggishness, and dreariness to
become enthused, excited; to see an interesting and
exciting newness in everything and every person--
including ourselves--each moment. You can't change
what you do unless you change who you are. And, I
assure you that it is a long, hard, scary, challenging,
and sustained small step by small step daily process
that takes perseverance, endurance, persistance, and
lots of patience.
At the end of this day, and everyday, things will be different
because of what we have done. We will have an impact. There is no way to
avoid it. The question, then, is simply what kind of impact will it be?
How will we make use of this power to influence? Once again, the thoughts
we think, the words we speak, the actions we take make a difference. We
are contagious! Our choice is whether or not that difference will be a
positive or negative one; whether we are willing and able to fight what I
call "the three 'lazies'" of convenience, resignation, and resentfulness.
It is an awesome responsibility and a trememdous opportunity.
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