What kind of teacher am I? This question has caused me to look more closely at my teaching practice, and consider my experiences over the course of the last 14 years in the classroom. I can identify with elements from all of the curriculum styles, but the holistic teaching style resonates most deeply.
Holistic teaching aims to recognize the whole student, and address the learning needs of the whole student. Holistic teachers see the connection between student emotion and intellect, and in my teaching experience, I have found that connection to be strong. Many students who struggle to retain content have emotional issues acting as barriers to learning, and holistic teachers recognize that emotional needs must be addressed before learning can occur. Learning occurs at deeper levels when relationships are formed among students as well as between students and their teacher. Holistic teaching seeks to improve emotional literacy, or viewing the self in relation to others. To achieve this goal, I have utilized “social contracts” in my classroom for several years. The social contract outlines how students will treat one another, and how they would like to be treated by the teacher. Further, the contract details how the teacher would like to be treated by the students. These areas are negotiated as a group, with the teacher having final power of approval.
This negotiation extends to classroom rules that are negotiable. Most holistic teachers favor clear, simple rules, but classroom procedures are more complex. For instance, many students are in favor of working in groups. We are able to negotiate together how often group work is done, and how many students are in each group. In addition, students negotiate within their groups which tasks will be assigned to each member of the group. This leads to problem solving and self-esteem, as well as social literacy.
Another facet of holistic teaching seeks to view the students as individuals. I do not require each and every student to tackle learning tasks exactly the same way. Every teacher should practice differentiated teaching, but holistic teaching, in my view, takes it a step further. For example, in my classroom I have students who do not have Individual Educational Plans, because they do not meet any special education criteria. However, if I am aware that a home situation means that a student is transferred from one caretaker to another at 1:00AM in the morning, I allow that student to put her head down at the end of the day when others are completing “busy” work. Similarly, if a student is extremely shy, I do not require him or her to speak in front of the class in situations that are not essential to mastering the objective. I want each individual to feel safe, seen, and valued for who they are and the experiences they bring to the class.
I believe that being holistic in the classroom also means appealing to students’ schema, background knowledge, and natural curiosity to the fullest extent possible during a lesson. When reading a historical novel in class, for instance, I bring in real examples of items mentioned in the novel whenever possible. If concrete examples are not available, we watch a video from an educational video streaming service that addresses the subject. In the novel “Johnny Tremain”, the main character is an apprentice silversmith. My students had no schema for silversmithing, so I located a video that interviewed a silversmith. He demonstrated the methods and means used in the time of Johnny Tremain, and this information made the content more accessible, while also appealing to tactile learners and giving them a glimpse of a hands-on career path.
In summary, the holistic teacher views the student as a whole person, whose emotional, social, and cognitive domains affect academic achievement. Recognizing these domains, and nurturing the whole individual, adds a layer of authenticity to the classroom experience.
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