0:00:17.924,0:00:20.038
I'm obsessed with the question:

0:00:21.568,0:00:23.838
"What makes a good teacher great?"

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I've collected 26,000 responses[br]to this question,

0:00:29.677,0:00:31.517
in eight different schools,

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from the poorest schools in Los Angeles,

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to suburban schools in Texas,[br]to elite private schools abroad.

0:00:39.976,0:00:42.704
And after 24 years of teaching students,

0:00:43.314,0:00:45.465
I'm still perplexed by this question.

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Today, I'm going to teach you

0:00:47.675,0:00:50.335
the lessons I learned[br]from those thousands of students,

0:00:51.245,0:00:56.266
and learn what I found out from them[br]if we just listen to students.

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The thing about it is

0:00:58.055,0:01:00.725
that during my time[br]of asking kids this question,

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I realized that we don't ask this question[br]for a particular reason:

0:01:05.719,0:01:08.298
schools are afraid.

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Based on fear, they don't really[br]want to know what kids think.

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Partially because they don't think[br]kids will take it serious.

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I'm going to share with you[br]one of the most profound quotes,

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answers to this question[br]that I've ever received.

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[A great teacher eats apples]

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(Laughter)

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Now, I know what you're thinking.

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Doesn't this prove my point?

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"Great teachers eat apples."

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When I first saw this,[br]I dismissed it as silliness,

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but it appeared again and again.

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So I thought,

0:01:44.103,0:01:47.870
"There's got to be something to this,[br]but what are they trying to tell me?"

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So one day, I decided[br]I would start eating apples.

0:01:53.789,0:01:59.980
I ate them in the morning, at lunch,[br]during class, in the hall.

0:02:01.464,0:02:04.164
Kids began to give me apples.

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The'd see me eating them[br]and say, "You're eating an apple!"

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"I know!"

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They would smile, and I would smile back.

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It wasn't until I understood[br]that kids wanted to see me

0:02:18.693,0:02:21.390
as somebody who is willing[br]to receive a gift from them,

0:02:22.090,0:02:25.022
that the apple was a symbol[br]for our relationship.

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There was goodness in that, and trust.

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But for a long time, I wasn't listening[br]and I hadn't understood this.

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[A great teacher is chill]

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They have their own language.

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When they say, "A great teacher is chill,"

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what they really mean is:[br]"Don't take it too serious.

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Be calm in all situations.[br]Don't get overwhelmed."

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(Laughter)

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They have a way of speaking to us[br]about what they really want to tell us,

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but we have to listen.

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Right?

0:03:01.172,0:03:04.830
I'm the father of two grown kids.

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They're out of school now and in college.

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But when they were at home[br]and they were teenagers,

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I had to learn a whole new language.

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When they would come home[br]from school, I might ask them:

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"How was your day?"[br]and they would say, "Fine,"

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which usually meant:[br]"It was not bad. It was pretty good.

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Nothing happened eventful.

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I probably learned something.[br]Maybe I didn't."

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But if they came home[br]and said, "Fine," what they meant was:

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"It wasn't really great, but don't ask me,[br]because you wouldn't understand anyways."

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If I asked them how their day was[br]and they said "OK,"

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what they were trying to tell me was:[br]"It wasn't good at at all,

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and you should probably[br]ask me more questions,

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but don't expect me to answer."

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(Laughter)

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Kids have their own language;[br]they have their own way of thinking.

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They want us to think like them

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and understand[br]what's inside of their head.

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They have so many ways[br]of thinking that things are great.

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They want us to see[br]their world inside of them.

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But they don't want us to act like them;

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they want us to be calm[br]and protect them and keep them safe.

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Kids have a way of communicating,

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and adults just haven't spent[br]the time listening.

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But what if we did?

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What if we really listen[br]deeply to students?

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One of the things I noticed

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after all the years[br]of collecting these responses

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is that there is patterns that emerge.

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When I asked the question[br]of what makes a good teacher great,

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oftentimes I heard,[br]"A great teacher loves to teach."

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70 percent of the time, the quote[br]or the answer that followed was:

0:04:52.404,0:04:54.734
"A great teacher loves to learn."

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The reason this is significant[br]is they don't see this happening.

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They don't see teachers[br]learning in front of them.

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They see them teaching,

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but they wish they would learn[br]along with them.

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Think about it.

0:05:09.554,0:05:13.084
Principals hire teachers[br]to be content experts,

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to have all of the knowledge,[br]not to be learners.

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But what if they did?

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What if you showed up in the classroom,[br]and the teacher had something prepared,

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said, "I don't know exactly[br]what we're going to do today,

0:05:26.874,0:05:28.681
but I can't wait to learn with you."

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Or that they saw their teacher struggle

0:05:30.630,0:05:32.792
through something[br]they didn't actually know

0:05:32.792,0:05:35.437
and then eventually discover the answer.

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Kids want to be inspired by this idea[br]that learning is important.

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But they don't see it in schools.

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[A great teacher isn't a teacher]

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When I saw this quote:[br]"A great teacher isn't a teacher,"

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I actually was a little bit offended.

0:05:50.701,0:05:53.057
"What do you mean?! I'm a teacher!"

0:05:53.057,0:05:54.744
They're like, "We know."

0:05:56.043,0:05:58.023
What they were trying to tell me is:

0:05:58.364,0:06:01.577
a great teacher isn't in the classroom.

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Think about it.

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Think about a time that you have[br]some enduring understanding,

0:06:07.263,0:06:09.082
a time when you learned something

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that you still remember[br]and you use to this day,

0:06:11.423,0:06:15.464
like throwing a baseball or riding a bike.

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I remember learning[br]to ride a bike from my mom

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when I was five years old.

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She took off the training[br]wheels of my bike,

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she got behind me, and began to push.

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And we ran, and we ran,

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until she finally let go,[br]and I began to ride a bike.

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That's what I did;[br]that's how I learned to ride a bike.

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I can still ride a bike to this day[br]from that moment.

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But can you imagine if I tried to learn[br]to bike from my mom in a classroom,

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what it would look like?

0:06:45.809,0:06:47.437
[Copy this[br]Bike riding 101]

0:06:47.437,0:06:49.224
(Laughter)

0:06:49.324,0:06:53.295
"Son, first, you need to learn[br]all the parts of a bike.

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There's the pedals and the crank,[br]and there's a chain that turns the wheel.

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You have to have a significant force;

0:07:00.704,0:07:03.815
once the force has enough momentum,[br]you can keep your balance.

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That's how a bike works.

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I want you to learn all the parts,[br]be able to label them and draw them.

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Then you're going to learn[br]and write a research paper

0:07:13.349,0:07:14.957
about the history of bike riding.

0:07:14.962,0:07:16.362
(Laughter)

0:07:16.712,0:07:21.023
All the important elements,[br]the adventure, the development of bikes.

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And at the end of that,[br]you're going to take a final examination.

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If you pass and get an A,[br]you can ride a bike.

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(laughter)

0:07:30.490,0:07:33.016
At five years old,[br]I think I would've said,

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"Never mind, I'll just walk."

0:07:34.836,0:07:36.147
(Laughter)

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This is exactly what we do to children.

0:07:39.964,0:07:42.508
We put them in a classroom and tell them,

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"This is what I want you to learn.[br]It's important. Do it."

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And kids know that it's not true,

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that we don't really value[br]learning this way.

0:07:52.540,0:07:56.360
So no wonder they're disruptive,[br]or bored, or disengaged.

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Kids want us to be teachers[br]that aren't teachers.

0:08:02.551,0:08:05.011
I want to tell you a story about Yvette.[br]

0:08:05.430,0:08:09.191
"A great teacher understands[br]that they have a life outside of school."

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They really do.

0:08:11.460,0:08:14.829
They want us to know[br]that their life in school

0:08:14.829,0:08:18.208
is way more different[br]than the life outside of school.

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I just thought, "Well,[br]how hard is your life?

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Your job is to do school;[br]my job is to teach."

0:08:28.990,0:08:30.727
Yvette was a tough student,[br]

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She was feisty, and she had[br]an infamous reputation.

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She walked around[br]with a jacket to prove it.

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Whenever she walked around,[br]the kids would follow.

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She would come in and sit[br]in the front row and lean

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just so that she can have[br]eye contact to intimidate me.

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She would call me "mister"[br]and not even use my full name.

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When she'd get up to go to the bathroom,[br]all the girls would follow.

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Eventually, I learnt from Yvette[br]what she needed to learn.

0:09:01.398,0:09:04.099
And I thought I became[br]pretty good at what I was doing.

0:09:05.480,0:09:08.417
I noticed one day, she stopped[br]turning in her homework.

0:09:08.978,0:09:11.996
She had become a great leader[br]in the classroom:

0:09:12.272,0:09:15.864
she turned in her homework,[br]she participated in class;

0:09:16.272,0:09:18.001
she actually was quite good.

0:09:18.001,0:09:20.340
So when this happened,[br]I was surprised.

0:09:20.622,0:09:24.567
So I went up to her and said,[br]"Yvette, I'm very disappointed in you."

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She said, "I know mister; I'm sorry."

0:09:30.542,0:09:32.806
"I expect it turned in tomorrow."

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Tomorrow came, and just a few sheets[br]of unfinished work were turned in.

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I also went up to her and said,[br]"Yvette, this is disappointing."

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She said, "I normally do[br]my homework in the bathroom

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because it's the quietest[br]place in my house,

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but this week the electricity[br]was turned off, and it's dark in there.

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I had a candle, but it burned out.

0:10:01.296,0:10:02.380
And I'm sorry."

0:10:03.429,0:10:05.908
She gazed down, not her prideful self.

0:10:06.809,0:10:08.516
I had missed the point.[br]

0:10:08.776,0:10:12.467
I had not listened when she said,[br]"I'm trying, mister."

0:10:13.268,0:10:15.695
I heard the words, but I didn't listen.

0:10:16.375,0:10:19.189
Great teachers notice[br]when there's a struggle.

0:10:19.815,0:10:23.920
They don't make assumptions[br]about what kids can and cannot do.

0:10:24.914,0:10:29.305
They wait and watch,[br]and they rescue them when they're stuck.

0:10:30.605,0:10:33.692
Good teachers hear them,[br]but they don't listen.

0:10:35.009,0:10:37.645
I'll never forget Yvette,[br]and I'm grateful

0:10:37.756,0:10:40.380
because whenever I see[br]an answer of a student like that,

0:10:40.380,0:10:42.925
I remember her, and I listen.

0:10:43.950,0:10:45.145
[A great teacher sings]

0:10:45.145,0:10:49.191
This was the most perplexing answer[br]I think I ever received.

0:10:51.001,0:10:54.913
It happened every year for ten years;[br]at least one student would put this.

0:10:55.700,0:10:57.520
"A great teacher sings."

0:10:58.841,0:11:00.514
What are they talking about?

0:11:00.611,0:11:01.889
I can't sing.

0:11:02.140,0:11:06.389
So I started thinking,[br]"Wait a second. What do they mean?"

0:11:06.920,0:11:10.884
It wasn't until Danny turned it in[br]as one of his responses.

0:11:12.527,0:11:14.190
He was the class clown.

0:11:14.740,0:11:17.547
You know he was the one[br]that when we took the class picture,

0:11:17.547,0:11:19.680
he put ear fingers behind your head.

0:11:20.270,0:11:22.298
He would make faces[br]at me during lectures

0:11:22.298,0:11:23.328
so I would laugh.

0:11:23.667,0:11:25.784
Everything was a joke to Danny.

0:11:26.266,0:11:28.687
So, when he turned in his responses,

0:11:29.401,0:11:32.607
and they were all serious[br]and actually really good,

0:11:33.005,0:11:35.568
I was surprised when this[br]showed up in the middle.

0:11:36.155,0:11:39.330
But I knew there was something to it;[br]I just didn't know what.

0:11:40.557,0:11:43.686
So the next day,[br]I put the agenda on the board,

0:11:43.986,0:11:47.560
listing all the activities of the day,[br]the expectations, and the homework.

0:11:48.126,0:11:53.326
And instead of actually reading them,[br]very seriously, I sang,

0:11:53.516,0:11:54.712
(Laughter)

0:11:54.792,0:11:57.875
in an operatic style, big as I could.

0:11:58.967,0:12:02.227
The eyes of the students were wide,[br]their mouths dropped.

0:12:02.237,0:12:03.597
(Laughter)

0:12:05.633,0:12:08.153
But you know what happened[br]at the end of that?

0:12:08.403,0:12:11.265
I expected pointing and laughing.

0:12:11.982,0:12:15.800
But the classroom erupted[br]in cheers and applause.

0:12:16.504,0:12:18.441
There was a standing ovation.

0:12:19.254,0:12:20.894
I could not believe it.

0:12:21.284,0:12:24.915
At the end of class, they walked out,[br]gave me high fives and handshakes,

0:12:24.917,0:12:26.279
and here came Danny.

0:12:26.599,0:12:30.416
He walked in, and he leaned in,[br]and patted me on the shoulder, and said,

0:12:30.416,0:12:32.474
"I told you a great teacher sings."

0:12:32.504,0:12:34.976
(Laughter)

0:12:35.196,0:12:38.396
(Applause)

0:12:42.157,0:12:47.236
Great teachers make themselves[br]humble before their students.

0:12:48.378,0:12:49.610
They take risks.

0:12:51.570,0:12:53.730
They put aside their fear to try.

0:12:54.850,0:12:57.709
They trust that they are going[br]to be supported if they fail.

0:12:58.651,0:13:01.102
But they don't see this;[br]they see experts, remember?

0:13:01.102,0:13:02.419
Content experts.

0:13:03.263,0:13:05.023
What if we hire teachers

0:13:05.313,0:13:09.559
not to be deep understanders[br]of content, knowledge keepers,

0:13:09.562,0:13:12.414
but deep understanders of students?

0:13:13.201,0:13:15.981
How our schools[br]would change and transform?

0:13:17.042,0:13:22.523
But it's no wonder students don't care[br]or that teachers don't really listen.

0:13:22.924,0:13:24.914
Because they have never been taught.

0:13:25.343,0:13:28.015
But what if we did listen?

0:13:29.408,0:13:32.855
You see, we spend three years[br]of a student's life,

0:13:33.606,0:13:35.264
teaching students to read.

0:13:35.924,0:13:39.503
About 12 years of those students' lives,[br]teaching them to write.

0:13:40.406,0:13:43.451
Maybe if they're lucky,[br]they get a semester or half a year

0:13:44.367,0:13:46.287
learning to public speak.

0:13:47.148,0:13:52.967
But they get virtual zero years[br]of formal listening instruction.

0:13:55.246,0:13:56.365
Zero.

0:13:56.618,0:13:57.368
Think about it.

0:13:57.368,0:13:59.714
When was the last time[br]you were at a dinner party,

0:13:59.714,0:14:02.874
and someone asked a question:[br]"So what do you do for a living?"

0:14:03.179,0:14:06.015
and the response was,[br]"Oh, I'm a listening teacher.

0:14:06.395,0:14:09.013
I teach advanced listening[br]at the high school events,

0:14:09.416,0:14:12.701
listening communications,[br]or beginning listener for elementary?"

0:14:12.701,0:14:13.981
We don't hear this.

0:14:14.452,0:14:18.411
Because we just don't believe[br]that in schools it's important,

0:14:18.651,0:14:19.663
though in the world,

0:14:19.663,0:14:23.871
listening is one of the number one skills[br]essential for business and life.

0:14:24.157,0:14:26.229
And we just don't teach it.

0:14:26.683,0:14:29.222
We need to listen to our students.

0:14:30.951,0:14:33.880
In our classrooms are the future.

0:14:35.588,0:14:40.614
The Maya Angelous, the Mother Theresas,[br]the Elon Musks of the world.

0:14:41.174,0:14:42.502
And can you imagine[br]

0:14:42.911,0:14:49.450
if we took the time to ask those students,[br]"What would make a good teacher great?"

0:14:50.689,0:14:52.279
and then we actually listened,

0:14:52.979,0:14:56.001
we could transform schools and education.

0:14:57.091,0:14:58.391
Thank you.

0:14:58.391,0:15:01.690
(Applause)