The other day I noticed the fun I experienced marking students’ work when I chose to remain open, relaxed and connected to what they were learning. I opened myself up to see beyond what the curriculum requirements were, and was instead assessing the level of connection I made with each student.
For as long as I can remember I had always thought marking needed to be done quickly and was a burden on my teaching time. The piles were never-ending and the pace with which marking was done was fast, with little regard for the student and their work. Darting around the classroom in order to mark the work before I began another set of teaching instructions felt like the norm.
The levels of exhaustion I experienced made me feel racy and there was no connection with the students or with their work. I gave little consideration to how I could support them to go to the next stage of learning, or to consolidate their current levels of learning.
The teaching phase was fun and by far the most enjoyable stage. I would introduce the topic and get the ball rolling with practical examples and engage the children in each step. The children would share and laugh whilst learning. Everyone was focused and the learning was meaningful, relevant and there was a sense of ease in which this was done. Every lesson was simple and the children were part of the teaching rather than doing all the learning. This unfortunately was lost once I moved to the marking mode. I could feel my relaxed and open body turn into a hard machine, ready to race through the assembly line of paper marking.
When I made the choice to stop and connect more to the steady pace in which I was teaching, I noticed there was no need to go into the overwhelm of what the idea of assessing and marking brings to teaching.
The playful interactions that took place with the simple daily over the shoulder marking made me realise how much the students enjoyed the ‘one to one’ connection they were receiving. Every interaction with a child was simple and varied, according to what they needed:
A supportive hand on the shoulder…
A playful gentle tap on the head …
A tender touch of the hand…
A knowing glance of ‘you’ve got it’…
A cheeky wink to say… yep! …. You’re on the right track.
With this way of marking their work came a deeper level of understanding about how the children crave this connection and wait patiently for their turn. I could feel them nuzzle into their chairs, brushing gently past my arms as I began to mark. Their eyes were open and engaged in what I had to share. They talked more and their voices had a giggling tone that invited more connection. They were not disappointed or hard on themselves if they didn’t fully understand the teaching concept, as they knew the support was always there.
Marking and assessing can be a task that overwhelms and overloads but with that comes a fall in the quality of connection that the children are clearly receptive and open to.
Assessing how to connect to a student is what true marking is about. When we assess what is needed at each moment the marking becomes simple, fun and straightforward.
By Anonymous, Teacher, Mentoring Teacher and Program Facilitator, Australia
Further Reading:
The power of relationship in the classroom
Circle time: an opportunity for connection and expression
Education, Schools & Teaching our Kids: ‘Quality of Presence’ in the Classroom
Teachers are Gold
507 Comments
When in connection everything is given to us, no need to stress or push through just the surrendering of our bodies to the what is.
As with all tasks and movements in life, if we make teaching and marking about the people and the space first, all else is taken care of. If we get swept up in the motion of the task we are lost.
Connection is vital in all relationships. Thank you for the insight that when something is not fun and flowing with ease, it is possible that the connection is missing. And we can always choose to stop, reassess, deepen our understanding and go again, as in this blog.
It is the connection that children seek, when they feel this connection they respond so openly and honestly. As parents we truly need to stop and connect to the children to allow them to open up an express in their truth.
Very true and for adults and children alike, connection enables far greater understanding and inspiration for others to connect to their inner most truth and to live this.
There are always parts of our jobs we do not like and go into auto pilot to do it. It is beautiful to see how the choice to make connection the most important things you can make these parts we did not like into something very enjoyable. I also feel often we take on from others or society what is to be enjoyed about a job and what not. Instead of feeling for ourselves if this is true for us. Like even as not being a teacher I had a sense of that marking is not the most loved part of the job yet I never stopped and considered if this is true!
Lovely. So marking is just a good excuse to connect with pupils. And definitely not about whether they got it right or wrong.
What strikes me here is the importance of minimal but significant touch in some of the examples of interacting which are included here and we can all relate to as being super supportive, yet in a climate where touch is so discouraged. I am lucky in that working in healthcare, physical touch like a reassuring touch on the shoulder seems more acceptable, because it is actually important to have this openness without fear of getting into trouble over it.
Hi Shirley-Ann. People are indeed longing for touch, for love as they miss feeling it and giving it to themselves. And this is so easy to do, to just give yourself a hug. Crazy but it works.
Anonymous, this is lovely to read, working part time in a classroom I can feel how it is so easy to rush from one thing to the next without connecting with the children and for the day to be all about getting things done rather than connecting with the children. I too notice how the children love the one on one time, it feels lovely being playful and open to what they would like to share with me and to allow the space and time for the children to be able to do this.
This is such a huge lesson in how we approach every aspect of life. How open are we and how much space do we allow for life to lovingly unfold.
Connection is SO important…. With everything, and everyone, as we know…. With children … it is vital
What a wonderful sharing around how different one can make those more mundane tasks in a job, feel more accepting and even loving, which is sometimes a very hard thing to do. But what you have shared is that it was all about your connection and that quality you brought to all that you do.
‘ I opened myself up to see beyond what the curriculum requirements were, and was instead assessing the level of connection I made with each student.’ This line is relevant to all that we do – seeing beyond what is being asked of us on a practical level and going beyond to make connections.
The children in a class can teach us so much about how they learn and when we connect with them and make it fun then the sharing opens everyone up to a deeper understanding.
Your old attitude to marking reminds me of mine with certain aspects of my life. What’s interesting about it is that when I am in it I will justify thinking this way: that something doesn’t warrant my attention and needs to be done in as little time as possible to negate the negative effects of having to do it. I know I am still in this attitude as I am trying to persuade myself to see the positives of say getting stuck in commuter traffic when I could be doing paperwork that needs doing.
But just as a start I can begin with being present and get to feel what there is to feel in those moments when I am taken away from my preferred plan of action that is all time related (i.e. got to finish that by x time, get to B at x time etc.) Already I feel the Magic of God can come alive whereas now I am choosing to be ruled by my own timetable that is arbitrary even though, when I am really in the thick of this attitude, i will justify why I need to get x done by x deadline that I will say is imposed on my by work requirements etc. There is a lot of room to play with this being not doing. It’s not a romanticized watching the clouds float by on a lazy summer afternoon way of living but an important mastery of another way of living which is being in motion.
This blog goes to show how we can compartmentalise life such as work, home etc but even within the ‘work’ box we can relate to the various aspects of our work in different ways. But from experience these compartments are not separate but interconnected. Appreciating our quality in one aspect can and does affect and flow into all others.
Anonymous, this moved me very deeply, I could feel how children are very sensitive and trusting, open to life and the world. Getting marks back is a big deal and it can impinge on their self worth, especially if children have learnt to rely on the external feedback in life to give them a sense of their value and who they are. But when they are considered and connected to, they feel this, met for who they are and it sinks in very deeply. Its all connecting and ‘marking’ for the first time is seen in a whole new light, you have shown me greater appreciation how everything affects everyone…’marking’ now has a whole new meaning. Great inspiration you are anonymous!
You raise a great point Karoline. When the focus is on the marks, they become hugely significant and they can be confused as self worth.
This can be devastating. However connection with the child communicates that worth is never in question. And the marks can be seen for what they are: simply flagging for everyone what still needs to be practiced and built on.
It’s the joy of your openness and playful way of connecting with each child Anonymous that shows how important it is for us all to simply enjoy and love sharing and interacting from our own connection. What happens thereafter is truly amazing for not only the education system but the world as a whole.
Thank you for sharing this it is so important that we are always connecting before we mark or look at what we do. It is so important we connect with eachother in order to than have everything else in life.
You have nailed true, simple, relevant and meaningful assessing and marking Anonymous;
“Assessing how to connect to a student is what true marking is about. When we assess what is needed at each moment the marking becomes simple, fun and straightforward”.
Encouraging someone that they are ‘on the right track’ is so supportive rather than always pointing out where they are getting things wrong.
I have noticed when I go into rushing mode in the classroom, it directly affect the students and their learning in a very negative way. Its a shame so many teachers feel that need to rush through the curriculum. The pressure to deliver can take over and then both students and teachers suffer.
There are so many ways to assess and mark students work. In this day of targets driven by grades, teachers can get overwhelmed with the marking workload and forget that they actually do know their students very well and assessment is going on all of the time we are in the classroom. The system makes it burdensome, but we naturally do it all the time.
How super simple is this and it makes so much sense! I would love to be taught in a room where connection was placed first, above and before whatever my grades became. A child’s sense of self worth should never rest upon their ability to do well at an activity or their knowledge and understanding of a certain subject as this just does not make sense and sets them up only to seek further recognition for either striving hard or giving up altogether on a topic. When connection is the foundation between an adult and a child, the relationship is supported to develop into one of trust and consistency and this is a great life lesson as a child will know they can trust and live consistently with themselves. We could write many a book on the true implications of connection first! the more we uncover, the more we know is possible and the more we expose that which does not work for any of us in our current times.
Love it. Connection 🙂
It was beautiful to re-read this article today. Connection is an important part of teaching, it is what we all crave. As long as we are connected to we can receive and learn from the feedback that marking offers.
This is great, as connection is in my experience the biggest thing that is lacking within the education system. I know very well how it is supportive in studying to be seen and appreciated for the learnings we go through.
Thank you anonymous you are a gift to the teaching profession and to the children you teach, I watch my daughter struggle at school at times and I know this is mainly due to the lack of connection the teacher has with the children. I understand teachers are under a lot of pressure to deliver the curriculum and how pressured they can feel from this, but as you say the children loved the way you made space to truly connect to them giving them an opportunity to experience something different.
“For as long as I can remember I had always thought marking needed to be done quickly and was a burden on my teaching time.” If we are not careful and discerning we can take on these ideals of how things will be and live by them without realising there is another way. By living these ideals and believes like ‘marking is a burden on my teacher time’ we make it the reality whilst if we feel if it should be this way, and as you shared, it is not we can – by living the other way – make this way the reality too. This is how we can change the world to one that we feel is true instead of living burdened by ‘just the way it is mentalities’.
And how refreshing to read how it can be for teachers… I know the current system seems light years away from supporting anything like the approach you describe, however what I love is that you can apply it WITHIN the current system by your own choice as a teacher. You are living proof of that… so thank you for sharing.
“Assessing how to connect to a child is what true marking is about”…. this is beautiful Anonymous, you have just outlined the future of teaching.
This is absolutely golden: “They were not disappointed or hard on themselves if they didn’t fully understand the teaching concept, as they knew the support was always there.”
What if we were supported in all of life in this way? It would absolutely transform the way we live, connect and most of all, value ourselves.
What an absolute blessing you are to your profession anonymous. Your words here applying of course in many, many situations, from the home to the workplace and beyond…
The indoctrination we’ve all received around assessments and marking is intense, anonymous. No wonder as a teacher, that you still felt the impact of how disconnecting and without true connection this can be. That you’ve turned this around, and made it about connection first and foremost – clearly holding no judgement or agenda towards your students, is absolute gold, the transformation of a crushing paradigm.
A deeply heartening read, thank-you.
With teaching and with everything we do, connecting with each other is the important thing. Without connection, I feel that the meaning of our existence is lost. Bringing connection to each task is brilliant – Even to marking the right or wrong answers. What a blessing those kids would have had when you took the time to stay connected to them.
Teaching and your experience Anonymous is such a beautiful metaphor for how we are in life. We race around in the name of truth and knowledge and drive ourselves over the edge of cliffs for wisdom’s sake. These simple sums, were they written up large on the blackboard in class do not add up. For we have mistaken the subject, the exam, the report as the key part, when instead it is the connection, the touch, the confirmation and care that we are here to learn. The lesson we truly teach is not algebra, english or history but our living quality. For any profession – this is ultimately what we deliver to each other.
Connection and education are the keys for a great marriage for life. Teaching and learning in this way makes for a well rounded way of being at school, but also how we are in life too.
What a breath of fresh air for all teachers to read that there is another way in which they can bring the simplicity back to the way they work and remember the reason why they are teaching in the first place- a love of children and learning.
Connection is so magical and so undervalued in society, but really it is everything – without connection we become hard and careless machines just as you experienced and shared here and this happens everywhere no matter what the profession. Connection is key to life, to success and to joy.
It is beautiful to feel the connection and care you are offering these children. It’s beautiful that they can be compatible around you to giggle and be playful as well. Teaching should be fun too and definitely connection is the way.
It’s beautiful to feel the love the children are met with at every stage of their learning of which marking is a big part.
I’m reflecting on how many aspects of paperwork in my job I resented, liking only the actual people contact and not the documenting of everything that is said and done believing it to be necessary but ultimately of no value if not required in the future. But I’m starting to feel the quality in which I do the recordings and the analysis of what’s gone on and I can’t but feel this quality has an effect. That it’s not just the quality of meeting people in person but the quality in which I am recording events because this too is the quality I hold the people in I am writing about. I do not know and couldn’t say x causes y but I can say I’m inspired to investigate bringing greater presence and honouring to what I record and be open to feeling the effects of this.
What a wonderful lesson and learning opportunity for teachers reading your blog Anonymous, thank you for sharing your wisdom, knowledge and experiences. Whilst we did not have teachers like you in our schooling days we do have you now, what a blessing for us all.
Children love and thrive on connection, as we all do, knowing this why are so many children deprived of this basic necessity of life?
Sounds awesome, I wish you were my teacher!