What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Labor Day!

I hope you are all enjoying a day off. I have been working on lesson plans up in my classroom and thought I could put together a quick post.

The title for my post today is in reference to one of the most important things I have learned while teaching here - facial expressions.  As I was talking to my parents on Saturday night (via Skype because I am not currently in possession of my cell phone), I was explaining to them the huge differences between my student teaching experience and my first-year of teaching experience.  One of the topics we discussed was the eye contact and facial expressions I have noticed.  Below is an excerpt of an article written by a teacher who taught in Tununak, AK a few years ago.

  

I would not have guessed reading that article before I began teaching here would be one of the smartest things I did! This describes exactly my experiences in the classroom with my students.  I also have noticed that I look more at my students' faces trying to recognize their eyebrow lifts.  

The students here are very good about verbally answering yes because they are used to new teachers, and especially new teachers who do not look for their eyebrow lifts.  But, I also think that this difference I am adjusting to is proving helpful in me getting to really see my students.  I am becoming more adept at recognizing confusion and understanding simply through facial expressions like furrowed brows and wide-eyed looks.  It is incredible how much I relied on verbal clues before this point.  This difference in my classroom is something I hope all new teachers would have the opportunity to experience because so much of the communication in the classroom is non-verbal.  Now that I think about it, this could be useful to non-teachers as well! Recognizing facial expressions is something that everyone could use a little practice in! :)  It is especially interesting that I am also finding myself raising my eyebrows more often when I say "yes" to someone.

Have a great rest of your weekend! :)