The Dog Whisperer is big on on body language. So am I.
In almost every show, Cesar shows owners how to interpret his/her dog's body language. Is the tail up or down? Mouth closed or open? Ears up or back? Pupils normal or dilated? (Can you see dog pupils? I do not have one handy.)
It is fairly simple to interpret middle school student body language, since it is very similar to normal humans. Eye movement, stance, and posture can tell you whether a student is bored, thrilled, lying, or about to drop-kick the nearest 6th grader across the gym.
I had never thought about my own body language until a year ago.
Before I started teaching, I read a chapter from a book for one of my teaching classes about how students could read a teacher's body language and the effect it had on them. There were diagrams about posture, shoulder placement, eyebrow raising, and even the horizontal distance between your chin and your neck. I remember glancing at the page, laughing hysterically, and then closing the book.
(Obviously, I wouldn't have told that story if it hadn't turned out that I was completely wrong.)
It was actually a teacher last year who pointed out to me that crossing my arms over my chest, hunching my shoulders, and keeping my hands super close to my torso told my students, "Hello. I am weak. Please disrespect me." I was a little offended at first.
"I've never said those things!" I protested.
"You've said everything," she said, gave both my shoulders a good-natured squeeze, and walked off.
It wasn't the type of change where I then went to class the next day with my shoulders back and all my students started turning in their homework. Actually, I specifically remember trying to keep my shoulders back one day while teaching and a student asking, "Miss, you got a itchy bra?" I sort of gave up after that and didn't give body language much thought. But sometime between that moment and now, a gradual shift in body language must have occured. It looked something like this:
My 1st year body language
What my 1st year body language looked like to my students:
My body language now:
What my body language now looks like to my students:
Cesar sure does know what's up.
Love,
Teach
P.S. Sorry about the non-cropped phone photos of Post-It Notes propped up on coasters on my kitchen table place mats. It's been a long week.
LOL, I love your post-it illustrations. Next post: Your mom's caricatures of your fav students ; )
ReplyDelete"Miss, you got a itchy bra?" HAHAHA
ReplyDelete1. Reading this post makes me sad because it means I've finally caught up with your entire blog, and now have to wait patiently only getting to read one new entry at a time. (Read: thank you for some lovely nights of laughing myself silly and feeling that someone else knows my pain. Also for some truly great ideas.)
2. As I've said previously, the Dog Whisperer analogy is perfection. I must tell you, though, that I believe he spells the redirection sound "TSCH". I only know this because I bought my husband a shirt off of CesarsWay.com that says it in huge letters on the front, with the phrase, "Be A Pack Leader" underneath. (You should get one and hang it in your room as inspiration.) LOL :) I should also add that it works amazingly with our two dogs, but it's become such a habit that I sometimes use it on my students. Oops.
I'm glad you have laughed yourself silly :) Laughing's my favorite. Also, Desiree, if I go more than 4 days without posting, will you please "TSCH" me? I need you to be my pack leader.
DeleteHappily, when I returned to your blog a couple of weeks after I posted the reply to this one, you had two new entries. Affection is in order for you! LOL
DeleteDear Ms. Teach,
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be a teacher in the same kind of situation as you next year and I LOVE your blog! Can I use you body language illustrations for an education class?
Katie Lee, please feel free to use my illustrations! Also feel free to share my blog with your class, with the instructions, "Look at this crazy person and think hard about the profession you're entering." You'll get an A.
DeleteThanks! I did share your blog with my TFA corps member group today! They all loved it!
ReplyDeleteI work in a school as an Assistant (hopefully teaching somewhere next year) and your green post-it's seem to pop up in my head whenever I cross my arms or legs now! Haha. Love the blog!
ReplyDeleteI agree, I subbed for an eighth grade class yesterday, and I kept thinking about if I was standing "first-year weird" or "second-year in control". I think it was the latter because they were pretty good! Thanks :)
ReplyDelete