“Don’t smile before Christmas” is common teaching advice that I received myself early in my career. It’s horrible advice. It comes the approach of teaching where authoritarianism is the main tool for classroom management. So you keep a stern face, show your students that you mean “business,” rule by fear, and have a nice orderly, well-managed classroom. Great...
Students learn best when they are relaxed. A classroom should be a space where students don’t fear teacher, and don’t worry about the consequences of taking chances and making mistakes. It is very easy, even for older students to transfer a stern response to distracting behavior to a possible stern response to an academic mistake.
I encourage teachers to smile on the first day to show students that you are happy to see them, and that you are excited to teach them. A genuine smile at an interesting fact a student shares, during a class will motivate students far more to engage in the lesson than a stern looks of admonishment. Students will quiet themselves, and each other, motivated by the positive feedback, and wanting the join “the party of learning.”
Smiles, and expressions of joy are not signs of weakness. Showing a student that you value them and appreciate all that they are through a smile builds community, trust, and a feeling of safety. It is this atmosphere where students feel the most able to take the kinds of chances that lead to deep and meaningful learning.
So, how does this work when you are wearing mask?
I’ve been trying a couple different things. One is to be more expressive with my entire body, like jumping up and down when a student gets a good answer. I’ve been trying to make my voice be more dynamic, and I’m trying to be more explicit through words about positive feelings I have for my students.
I’ve been able to get students to stop doing distracting behavior with my only my eyes. I’m not sure though how much of smile energy is going through my eyes because the effectiveness of transferring joy is harder to measure. If I use stern eyes and a student stops talking, I know it worked. If I give happy eyes, I can’t see in a students’ eyes that they feel the smile I’m trying to express to them.
My smile is one of my most important teaching tools, and I’m not sure what is being lost without it, and what more I can do to make sure my students know how much they mean to me. Maybe I'll use sign language...
Behind my mask, I smile all the time in class, not for my students but for myself. Because smiling is a way to let myself feel deeply the joy of being a teacher. Even in these hard times, the light in our students is still there.
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