During my last teaching observation, at the end of last term, I was challenged to think about the WHY of my teaching?
Do you know your why? Do your students know your why? I know this is an old video that has done the rounds before but it is worth looking at again.
The foundation of Simon Sinek’s “Why” is his Golden Circle. There are three parts of The Golden Circle: Why, How, and What.
Why: Very few people (or teachers) can clearly articulate why they do what they do. This isn’t about getting good academic results. Why is all about your purpose. Why do you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anyone care? Why do you teach?
How: Some people know how they do what they do. HOWs are often given to explain how something is different or better.
What: Every teacher should know what they do. This is the day to day part of our jobs. The things we do to ensure our job is done.
When we start with “Why”, we go from the inside out of the circle. “Why” is the reason we teach while the “Whats” merely represent the tangible things we do.
There are many facets to the why? But when educators understand the why in our own classes then they have a foundation to build on. From there, as the person observing me asked, do your students know the Why? I like the quote from educationalist Craig Kemp said..
Why we do things is the purpose and reason behind anything we do and should be known and visible to all stakeholders.
Craig Kemp
So early next term I am going to revisit my classes statement we made at the start of the year. I have never done this before but I believe it is important following a change of class structure following remote learning.
The Why will be the most important thing in my class this term.
shem banbury 