by Lindy Davies

In some ways, teaching at the Henry George School is an educator's dream: we're dealing with students who choose to be there for their own edification, studying subjects aimed at making the world a better place — what could be better? On the other hand, HGS teaching poses some very tough challenges. The HGS teacher is denied the use of tools by which other teachers swear: tests, grades and the like. Our students don't get report cards; they're not menaced with suspension and they very seldom get sent to the Principal's office! It seems as though education at the Henry George School is "all carrot and no stick".

So how do I know that I am effective as a teacher?

Hard to say... I mean, didn't many of the students come up and shake your hand at the end of the class, and tell you it has been "Interesting..."?

Another way of asking the question of whether we are succeeding as teachers is "Are we achieving our objectives?" Well, what are our objectives? That might seem an obvious question. But if you honestly ask it to yourself, the answer might be elusive. It might occasion some soul-searching. Do I want to be entertaining? Do I want people to recognize that I am smart, erudite, winningly witty? These are all normal things to want. But, of course, we're not standup comics, we're teachers -- so, presumably, we want our students to know, or believe, or think, or do some enriching thing that they didn't know, or believe, or think, or do before they came to class.

So what is my objective as a teacher, anyway? As a teacher, it behooves me to consider this question for each and every class session: What is my objective for this lesson?

Beginning teachers might tend to cite general objectives such as:

• I want to get them to think.
• I want them to understand the Law of Rent.
• I want them to relate what they're learning to the Real World.

Not bad, but -- when we really think about them, they're a bit on the half-baked side, aren't they? Wanting students to think, for example, seems an admirable goal. But at the Henry George School, it isn't enough. The world is full of interesting things to think about. The New York Times is full of them; the TV news mentions them occasionally. Many of them even have details that suggest relevance to themes like, y'know, land, economics, taxation & stuff. However, we have a syllabus that's made up of definite, cumulative, logical steps -- steps from which students are only too happy to digress! If they achieve a grasp of these concepts, their digressions, if nothing else, will be more fruitful.

So how do we keeps students on the point? Well -- what is the point? What is your objective for this lesson?

Educators have long understood that when we formulate objectives for teaching, the better question is: What do I want my students to be able to do, as a result of this lesson?

Here are some more workable objectives:

• I want them to ask questions that lead into the next logical steps of the course.
• I want them to cite examples of evidence they observe of how the Law of Rent functions in the world.
• I want them to briefly state the main points of the previous lesson.

Educators call these "performance objectives". Why the emphasis on performance? Because that allows us to objectively monitor our success at teacher. And, it allows us to do so without (or before) resorting to such heavy-handed "evaluators" as tests and grades.

Performance objectives need not be unreachably ambitious. You could work toward a modest objective such as:

• I want them all to freely contribute to class discussions.

A common frustrating classroom dynamic is when two or three outgoing types are happy to monopolize the conversation. Often teachers (especially if they are tired... or lazy) let that two or three students hold forth (and feel good about themselves) while everyone else in the class feels both resentful and inadequate. Before long, this pattern seems immovably entrenched. The teacher sits at the desk, waiting; the two or three outgoing students wave their hands, eager to provide the answer. Perhaps the teacher would like someone else to speak; perhaps even asks if anyone else would like to... But it obviously makes the outgoing ones so happy to get it off their chests, and they'll probably know the right answer anyway, so... why try? We've all been there.

But now, in the above example, could you see the teacher's mistake? What was the teacher doing?

Ah, yes: s/he was sitting. At. The desk. The teacher was not particularly looking at the students' faces, except those in the front row, who tend to be the outgoing ones anyway. Not expecting anyone but the Outgoing Three to respond, the teacher was, in pedagogical terms, "mailing it in". A face on a video monitor would have had almost the same level of interaction with the students.

But you only have an hour or two to be with these students; you ought to summon enough energy to make the most of it. Here are three ways that a teacher can use body language to advantage:

Use eye contact, and force yourself to make eye contact with as many different students as you possibly can. Keep switching around. Students will be more attentive if they expect that you'll be looking them in the eye pretty soon.

Move around. When people are zoning out, move closer to them.

And as you are eye-contacting and moving around the room, observe the body language of reluctant speakers. Often people will perk up, or fidget, or drum their fingers, or otherwise betray the excitement of having something to say. When they do, immediately invite them to say it!

Creating Discussions

The Henry George School, knowing that its faculty is made up of volunteers, who often have little or no classroom teaching experience, provides us with a formal question-and-answer structure for each lesson. Some find this "catechism" format old-fashioned and boring. But, the questions aren't bad -- and they can be very effective indeed, if they are used to start a conversation.

The questions follow a logical progression. If things are working as they should be, then the discussion that ensues after the first few questions will naturally -- with your nurturance -- cover the rest of the questions anyway! But: the danger of such a method is that (and we've all been here, too, haven't we?) WE MIGHT GET OFF ON TANGENTS!

How are we supposed to manage that? Many of the topics we cover in these courses get people thinking, and they lead to big time-wasting tangents. If we allow open discussion, with widespread participation, that's what'll happen! So we'll just have to keep 'em on the reservation... Stick to the questions... Just let the three outgoing ones monopolize the class. What can we do? We've got to get through the material!

Friends, we are on the horns of a dilemma. We seem to be stuck with presiding over a class that is either a) boring, formulaic material-covering, or b) lively discussions about... whatever!

Your job as a creative, engaging teacher is to facilitate a lively discussion that covers the material! Does that seem impossible? Well, it isn't. You, as an HGS teacher, have a good, solid kit of tools with which you can help your class back away from tangents -- or not start them in the first place:

What is the purpose of this study? What basic questions are we trying to answer here? (For most of the courses that the Henry George School offers, the basic questions need not be more specific than those asked by Progress and Poverty itself: Why is there poverty? Why are there boom/bust cycles?)

Our course follows a logical progression. This week's lesson doesn't enter the stream of political economy just any old where -- it considers questions that were raised by the concepts we studied last week. We're not here to answer any random question about economics; we are following a course of logic on a particular topic.

This is a study of basic economics. It is an attempt to clarify fundamental principles which will, then, enable us to tackle advanced questions.

Some questions cannot be answered without factual information that probably is not at our fingertips at this moment. It's OK to get back (and often even better to solicit a volunteer who will agree to get back) next time with the relevant facts.

Combine these organizing principles with your focused and energetic utilization of body language, as discussed earlier, and you, too, will magically manage tangents in your classroom!

But not every time. One last thing to remember about tangents is that we're human. We all do it. Your class should realize that if you won't let them get away with blathering on and on, then they shouldn't have to endure you doing it, either! They can call you on it. They should feel welcome -- invited, even -- to do so.

One easy and entertaining way to accomplish that is to appoint a rotating "Tangent Monitor". Each session, this student is assigned to display, when the need arises, a clear, bold sign like this one:

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