A Day in Their Shoes: What Shadowing a Student Taught Me

As a young teacher, I thought he was trying to take advantage of me. Plus, I had a reputation as being “nice” and “cool,” so I needed to prove that I was all about holding students accountable. He took the test with everyone else, and did very poorly on it. I remember asking myself afterward what I had gained by holding my ground. My victory felt hollow. The kid was a good kid, and, as I later found out, his excuse for needing an extra day was legitimate. But I had refused to hear him out. 

 

A month later, he and I were talking about it in my office, and I acknowledged that I regretted being stubborn in that situation. “I should’ve listened to you,” I said. He responded by smiling and yelling, “Oh snap!” He went on to say that this was the first time he had ever heard a teacher admit they were wrong. He was almost crying tears of gratitude at my acknowledgment of my mistake. 

 

It was a mistake I vowed to never make again. From now on, I decided, I will listen to each student on a case-by-case basis. I will make it a point to view every situation from their perspective.

 

Fast forward 26 years later, to the fall of 2024, and I was growing increasingly annoyed with my B Block AP Lang & Comp class – not because they weren’t good students or weren’t trying hard, but because they were always cramming in work for other classes during my class. That’s a pet peeve of mine, and of a lot of teachers: don’t disrespect me by doing work for another class while I’m teaching. One day, I was about to go on a rant about it when the thought hit me: maybe they’re not being disrespectful; maybe they’ve got so much work that they feel the need to use every available instant. Maybe, from where they were sitting, doing work for another class while following along with my class not only made perfect sense, but was a necessity. I thought about it, and instead of going on a rant, I engaged them in a conversation about it. During that discussion, an idea came to my mind, and I shared it with them: What if I shadow one of you for a day, just to get a feel for what a school day is like from your perspective? They loved the idea, and urged me to pursue it.

 

Later that day I emailed Head of Upper School Michael Smith and Head of School Andrew Bishop with my idea. Both of them responded enthusiastically, exhorting me to do it, and even expressed interest in doing it themselves. (Bishop has done so, and will again; Smith will do so in early February). So I made arrangements. I picked a student, picked a day, and found a sub to cover my classes for the day. Andrew and Michael suggested that I choose a student I don’t currently teach, so I wouldn’t have to teach for one period, but could instead be a “student” for the entire day. I decided to reach out to sophomore Reese Mitchell; I had taught Reese her freshman year in Creative Writing, where she quickly became one of my all-time favorites. She agreed to let me shadow her, and sent me a copy of her schedule. From there, I emailed her teachers, letting them know what I was doing and why I was doing it.

 

Although December 4, 2024 was just another school day for Reese, it was a day of enlightenment for me. To know something intellectually is one thing, but to know it through experience is another thing altogether. Shadowing Reese, I realized how little time there was in a day for students to get work done. With seven classes and one study hall, the one study hall represents the only opportunity during the school day to study or complete assignments. As a teacher, on the other hand, I have three planning periods, which equals three opportunities to plan, to grade, to catch up on emails, to meet with students, etc. So my shadow day gave me a clearer understanding as to why my students were always looking so overworked and in need of rest. An 8-period day, with minimal time to decompress, is a long day. I was more tired at the end of my shadow day than I normally am after a full day of teaching, which was something I was not expecting.

 

But it was a great day because I learned so much, and gained so many takeaways that can help me not only understand my students better, but teach them better.