Resources and Resourcefulness

As a high school teacher I often feel I work inside an extremely restricted environment. Problems include: fixed timetables and block rotations, crowded physical classroom space, academic course loads, one hour and fifteen minute classes, heavy curriculum content, and subject area specializations. Our entire system appears to be designed to prevent creativity and thwart attempts to make learning more engaging and relevant for my students. At the same time, I also believe we don’t capitalize on many opportunities we could take advantage of. We are not as “contained” as we think. A useful exercise to use with teachers and staffs can get people thinking along the lines of achievable methods to increase educational opportunities for their students. It begins with the premise of focusing on what is available and not what we can’t have. It fundamentally deals with resourcefulness as opposed to resources. 

Teachers begin by brainstorming everything that they personally bring to their classrooms. Like students, we all have different strengths. I, for example have a background in home economics and I often use these skills to enhance my English classrooms. This background allows me to organize events such as the Medieval Banquet in my Literature 12 class. I also have a class 4 drivers license and have experience transporting teams around as a basketball coach. This allows me to consider field trips where I can drive my students places on our school bus. Obviously different teachers will have a different collection of tools they can use, the point is, are they making use of those unique abilities? 

Teachers are then asked to list strengths their students could potentially bring to a class. A group of 30 high school students for example will include artists and musicians, video experts and specific backgrounds such as experiences in cadets or construction. Surveying students at the beginning of the semester will enlighten you to many potential resources you have to enhance your class. Students can present material in different ways or bring added expertise to enhance a lesson. Of course the trick is to build and establish an environment where students are comfortable  sharing their strengths and talents and backgrounds, and are willing to contribute towards the learning of the group. This past semester for example, when we were studying Robert Burns in Literature 12, I knew that I had a student with actual experience playing in the local pipe band. He was willing to come in and do a short demonstration on “Scottish Day”. I often ask artistic students to graphically represent key content from courses such as historical events. Another example below are the “stocks” that are required for Shakespeare’s play “King Lear”. A student in my class who was also skilled at woodworking came up with those in about 20 minutes and brought them to class one morning. Just a small example, but they really added to the fun and experience of the play when we performed it. I have used those stocks many times since. Using the talents of 30 people as opposed to one (the teacher) greatly enhances the potential of experiences in a class.

Student illustrations of historical events 

Post-pipe-performance haggis!

Wooden stocks we use each semester for productions of "King Lear"

The next step is to look at your entire school. Resources in the school include both people and physical space and equipment. Brad Gibson is our art teacher and he teaches directly across the hall from me. Besides his obvious artistic ability, Brad excels at dramatic and musical performance (two talents that I personally cannot contribute to the learning experiences of my students!) Brad regularly drops in and provides short and entertaining performances that enhance my classroom.  For the past 6 years he has brought down the house at every Medieval banquet and left students speechless with his monologues. What an incredible resource I have right across the hall! 

Brad gets the crowd going at the Medieval Banquet

In addition to resourceful people there are also spaces available that we seldom take advantage of. While my subject area is English, I consider the entire school to be my classroom including the foods lab, gymnasium, common area, library, sports fields and parking lots outside. I know which rooms are available during which blocks and I know which teachers are willing to trade with me if I need their space for a certain purpose. Different rooms provide different opportunities such as increased space or specific equipment and learning opportunities. Of course this requires a respectful dialogue between staff and consideration if your class is using a room that wouldn’t normally be used for a particular subject. It requires a staff with teachers that don’t compete with one another, but work collectively to provide a multitude of experiences for all students in the school.  Imagine if the entire staff considered the entire school to be their classroom? 

Math in the foods room

Physics in the library

Social studies on the tennis courts outside

Finally, teachers can look outside the walls of the school and into the community. Penticton is not a large town but there are still many many resources available, and perhaps (because of our small size) a greater willingness to partner with local schools in order to help students. Right across the road from us is an extended care home, we have a lake within 10 minutes walking distance and it only takes a short bus ride to get all the way to the other side of town. 

Working with seniors at the extended care home across the street

If teachers can be creative enough to have students make learning connections on the way to and from various locations then little instructional time is lost and so many more opportunities become available. The entire community becomes a potential learning environment. Of course, as well as environments there are also people in the community who can provide expertise or experience to students on innumerable topics.

It is true that as teachers we often feel that the walls are literally and metaphorically blocking our freedom.  There are, however, still numerous resources that we could be taking advantage of, but aren’t. I do believe at its core, that our existing educational structure is fundamentally flawed, and I dedicate part of my time to various groups that are working towards a complete re-design of everything that we consider as “education”. But while that process is going on (a process that may not even see major changes by the end of my own career) there are things we can do within the current structure to provide more meaningful opportunities for our students than we have traditionally provided in a classroom setting. 

Students filming a project at a nearby park

In the past, the number one criteria for an engaging teacher was the ability to lecture in an effective and entertaining way, supplemented by accurate and accessible written resources. Now, the successful teacher doesn’t have to depend on the ability to “perform” in the classroom; they don’t have to be a “performer” at all but they do need to be creative and resourceful and able to make use of opportunities that haven’t traditionally been considered. They need to become experts at constructing a learning experience that allows students to engage with the outcomes using a wide variety of resources and alternate locations. We often become mentally trapped in our routines and past experiences and we then limit ourselves with barriers that may not actually exist.