School and Community Fall 2022

Phillip Done joined Todd Fuller on episode eight of the MSTA Presents Podcast.

The following is an excerpt of their conversation.

We’d like to know why you went into teaching... Everybody has a story and I assume you do as well?

wants stories. I find that fascinating that people who aren’t in education really want to peek inside the classroom. I was encouraged in my very early years of teaching by a mentor teacher to jot down some of my stories and I’m so glad I did. I recommend that for new teachers. Keep a teacher journal. You don’t have to write a lot, but when the kids say something cute or charming or funny, just make a little note of it. I have a friend who calls her teacher journal her “Why Journal” because it reminds her of why she went into teaching. Can you tell us a little bit about “melt moments?” • The chapter “Melt” refers to melt moments and any teacher will absolutely understand what I’m saying and it will resonate with them. I always say that teachers don’t make the big money, of course. We don’t get the stock options and we don’t get the bonuses or the company cars, but the rewards we do get are melt moments. These are the moments that absolutely make your job so worthwhile and fulfilling. They’re the moments when you’re interacting with the child and you just have this heartwarming precious little interaction. So let me give you one. This happened in my last year of teaching - I had a darling student named Gabby. I was teaching third grade and Gabby was the type of student who just absolutely loved all of her teachers. She had no problem telling them how much she loved them and would leave little notes around my room all the time on sticky notes saying, “I love you Mr. Done, but clean your desk,” and stuff like that. I mean, she just had no problem saying she loved me. So, one day we’re in class and I’m working at a table with some kids and Gabby is with her little friend up at the whiteboard doing some work. I turned to the board and there are huge black letters on the whiteboard that say “We love you, Mr. Done.” I thought, “Oh, that’s lovely,” and I thanked Gabby, but then I needed to use the board. I started erasing and it wouldn’t come off. I realized immediately that she had used a permanent marker. So I turned her and I said, “Gabby, you know, thank you so much but, honey, you used the permanent marker.” This little girl, without missing a beat, said, “Then our love for you will last forever.” I just melted.

• Well, you’re right. Everybody has a story, and I knew I wanted to be a teacher in third grade. I had the greatest third grade teacher. Her name was Ms. Greco and I wanted to be just like her. I’ve known since I was eight years old. I would even come home and play school with my family members and my friends. It’s funny because I’ve talked to a lot of teachers about what brought them into teaching or what called them into teaching. That is one consistent theme... Elementary school teachers all played school

when they were young . So it’s really a common thread. Ask anybody in a staff room, “Did you play school?” and all the hands will go up. At back to school night, I would always ask parents, “How many of your kids play school?” And I would just smile and say, “You know, your kids will probably end up being teachers one day.”

One thing I really enjoy about the Art of Teaching Children is that it’s story driven. And if somebody gets the chance to read the book, they’ll understand what I mean by that. Did someone tell you, “Phil, you need to write these down,” or did you know that you were going to put this book together over the course of your teaching tenure? • I had written two other books about teaching. My first book was called 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny a nd that came out about 20 years ago. Then I wrote another teacher book, Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood. So, when I retired from the classroom about three years ago after 33 years of teaching elementary, I knew I wanted to write another book but I wasn’t sure exactly what my spin would be. I thought, “Okay, if I were a teacher today, particularly a new teacher, what would give me the most value? What would be the most beneficial?” And then I realized that I should just write from the perspective of a retired teacher and share everything I have learned over my 33-year career. I knew that I needed to include lots of those classroom stories, the heartwarming ones, and the funny ones and the ones that make you think. Stories are such a good way to illustrate a point and everybody

To listen to the full MSTA Presents episode featuring Phillip Done, visit mstapresents. podbean.com, or search MSTA Presents on your favorite audio streaming service.

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