Don't smile

Greetings Eddies!

Anita Scott became an eighth-grade teacher in October, as the class’s fourth teacher that year. The parting advice she got from the third teacher was “don’t smile, don’t try to be their friend; be hard.”

She had grown up homeschooled in Dallas – one of eight kids – with ironed clothes, polished shoes and a set start time. Her parents were strict, but they smiled anyway.

“They created a culture where we weren’t nervous about learning,” she told me.

So on her first day with the eighth graders, she asked the class what they needed.

“We need somebody who’s going to stay,” they told her.

Her class wrote its own rules with her, including one for being late:

The first time, you apologize to the class.

The second time, you call your parent.

The third time, a parent has to walk you into the room.

Then, Anita was late. Twice.

“My students made me call my mom,” she told me (while smiling ear to ear).

When she was late a third time, her class held her to the rest of the rule.

Her students loved that “Miss Scott” followed the rules too.

“If we all agree we’re going to anchor our culture and our success on this,” she said, “then get out of the way. Nothing can stop us.”

Anita is now policy director at the Texas Homeschool Coalition.

Her experience both in classrooms and at her kitchen table has taught her to spend the first weeks of every year – before ever touching any curriculum – on culture.

“Because then on the back end, I don’t have to try to clean up the culture.”

We spent the hour talking about exactly how Anita builds a culture with kids, in a classroom or at home.

Listen on…