"Work smarter, not harder" is a somewhat common phrase these days. I couldn't agree with it more. But, do we not agree that working hard is something we must do from time to time (or even most of the time)? I think hard work is unavoidable (assuming you care about what you're doing, that is), but just working hard doesn't necessarily mean you're working in the most efficient or effective manner. That's of course where the "work smarter" bit comes in. Now, the question is: If you are only working smarter, are the results actually better than when you were working harder? Are you getting better at what you do? Are you surpassing your competition (your peers, your former self, or with whomever you choose to compete)?
This is why I believe we should work smarter and work harder.
I'm not the bragging type, but lately I've had some notable successes at work, and I attribute that success to harder work and smarter work. I'll briefly explain each of these successes and why I believe working both harder and smarter made the difference.
1. High observation scores
Teachers are observed and evaluated quite often during a school year by principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, fellow teachers, and people called "peer observers" (in my district, at least). My understanding is that each school district has its own evaluation and scoring system that all teachers are expected to learn and implement into their daily practice. The goals of these observations are to inform the observer how the teacher is doing, but also to help the observed teacher become better and grow through constructive feedback, tips, and debriefing conversations. Well, this school year I've been observed several times, and each time I've earned higher scores than the previous observation. In fact, my scores are unusually high for a fairly new teacher (this is my second year). Of course, the scores are partially subjective based on who is observing you and how he/she decides to score you using the rubrics. However, teachers (who pay attention) know the rubric and thus can prepare for these observations.
I had to work hard to learn these indicators, as they're called, and figure out and decide how to implement them into my daily teaching. I had to work smart to make them become habit. I realized that if I just make all the techniques and strategies my habits, then I'd almost always be prepared for a good observation. Luckily the techniques and strategies are ones that actually help students learn, so I didn't mind incorporating them into my teaching.
I had to work hard to learn these indicators, as they're called, and figure out and decide how to implement them into my daily teaching. I had to work smart to make them become habit. I realized that if I just make all the techniques and strategies my habits, then I'd almost always be prepared for a good observation. Luckily the techniques and strategies are ones that actually help students learn, so I didn't mind incorporating them into my teaching.
2. An innovative teaching technique
During the course of this school year I've grown a lot and (I think) gotten much better at what I do. I believe I have a talent for being very clear and concise, and my students have told me that my explanations, notes, assignments, presentations, etc. are very clear and easy to follow. This skill is something I'm always trying to fine-tune. Additionally, I've recently referred back to some research I was exposed to in graduate school about how human beings learn. It's been on my mind for some time, and recently I finally decided to incorporate that research-based strategy into my classes. I mentioned on Facebook once before that I'm using a breakthrough teaching strategy but I couldn't tell the "general public" about it yet, and I'm going to stick to that for now. I will say though that my students find it to be more engaging and effective than more-common techniques, and, just this week, I got some good data to prove its effectiveness: My Economics classes took a test on the material they've been learning using solely my new technique, and the average class scores ranged from 82.5% to 90%. Several students scored 100%, and I was pleasantly surprised that many students who typically have low- to mid-range scores scored higher on this test. I will admit that I didn't invent the technique (and maybe it's not truly a "breakthrough") but I adapted it to work for high school (since it was almost exclusively used in colleges and universities, according to my findings). Moreover, I adapted it to be effective for students who are only partially fluent in English as well as advanced students.
I had to work hard to adapt this technique to high school and study the research to understand and teach my students why it was so good. I had to work smart to make it really click for my classes and also add elements to it so it was as effective as possible. In addition, using this technique is an example of working smarter because it actually requires me to do less and the students to do more.
3. I've been asked to train other teachers on my innovative technique
Word about this technique has been spreading around my school, and I was just asked to lead a training on it for my colleagues. Teachers are intrigued by it, and students have been saying things like, "We should do this in math! I think it would help," and "I think it's cool that you're trying new things with us. Most teachers just do the same old things." I have a feeling that many of the veteran teachers will go into that training with a very skeptical eye, and I know many of them will never try the technique, but that's alright with me. To me it's hard work and smart work getting noticed, and hopefully it will keep helping students learn at higher levels.
4. My students telling me I'm a good teacher
Perhaps most meaningful of all these successes is the fact that my students have been telling me lately that I'm a good teacher. Now, I'm not perfect and I will always have plenty of room for improvement, but their feedback is encouraging. I know very well their thoughts about what makes a good teacher and what makes a bad teacher, and it's reassuring that they're compelled enough to tell me directly that they think I'm good. They tell me about teachers that have been teaching for five to twenty years that they think are bad, and they have very clear reasons why they think that. For instance, they don't see teachers who just hand out worksheets as good teachers. Or teachers who just lecture the whole class period. Or teachers who do the opposite and try to make every learning activity group work. My students are not experts on teaching, but they do know how they learn and when something a teacher does works or doesn't work, so I consider their perspectives quite valuable.
I work hard to do my best for my students because that's what I'd want a teacher to do for me. I also work hard to be better than I was the day before, and also I work harder than other teachers. In the past I never focused on being better than others (such as when I was a music student), but with my job, I do. I use it as a kind of motivation. I work smart by using only the most efficient and effective teaching techniques that I have discovered (and there are more yet to be found). Most of all, though, I work hard and smart because I believe that education is the only thing that can begin to cure what ails the world.
I work hard to do my best for my students because that's what I'd want a teacher to do for me. I also work hard to be better than I was the day before, and also I work harder than other teachers. In the past I never focused on being better than others (such as when I was a music student), but with my job, I do. I use it as a kind of motivation. I work smart by using only the most efficient and effective teaching techniques that I have discovered (and there are more yet to be found). Most of all, though, I work hard and smart because I believe that education is the only thing that can begin to cure what ails the world.
Here's a great video of Will Smith's thoughts on hard work and success:
