There are only variations on what we do and there are no experts. All each of us has to do is tap into a human way of teaching and so it doesn’t at all surprise me that all CI teachers are really similar!
I am learning that there is very slight variation only in this kind of teaching. We do basic things like slow, we engage the personalities of the kids, we try our best to make ourselves understood, stay in bounds, and it can’t help but work.
I am now pretty convinced that so-called failures on the part of TPRS teachers are not failures at all but were usually caused by being in a situation that is untenable, usually with one or two colleagues who are still in the darkness generated by the old model, TPRS.
No one is good and no one is bad at this work. We are just who we are. And since we are all different in terms of our teaching personalities, there is just variation. It’s all based on a core, body-based, heart based approach. No mysteries. Easy teaching. But we’ve made it complicated.
We can go into 2018 with confidence. All we have to do is make ourselves understood, and work our classroom management plan. Now’s a good time to do that.