In December 2023, I found myself at my annual check up and, for the second year in a row, my doctor was telling my that one of my numbers was elevated. Now, if you know me, you know that I am someone who is very active, eats fairly decently, and rarely gets bad news at the doctor’s office. In fact, I often hear, “You are the healthiest person I have seen all week!” This news about the one elevated number didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t want to have to go on medicine and I didn’t want to have to follow some strict diet. I also didn’t want to retire at some point down the road, have cascading health problems, and not be able to travel. So, I decided to get serious about this one elevated number.

As 2024 progressed, I realized that I was both the teacher and the student in this situation. My mind was the teacher and my body was the student. Here’s is what is working for me on my quest to GET IN SHAPE! See if you can predict how I will relate it to the classroom at the end.

Motivation. I am motivated to get in shape because I want to be able to travel. Motivation can come in many forms, but if you are motivated only for a particular event (a wedding, e.g.), then as soon as that event is over, you lose your motivation. Think about motivation for the long haul.

Diet. Intermittent Fasting is working for me. I only consume calories during the interval from 11 AM to 7 PM. Research shows that this is an easy plan to follow and also has huge health benefits in terms of the way your body reacts / performs during the fasting time. (Think ketosis and autophagy.) NOTE: Always consult with a medical professional before starting any diet!

Exercise. I naturally get thousands of steps per day and love walking every afternoon. However, I needed to do some strength training and have benefited from great teachers for yoga and weights.

Data. For the first six months I got on the scale in our school nurse’s office since we don’t have a scale at home. But, someone sent me a smart scale in July and WOW THE DATA. It shows not only weight, but also muscle mass, BMI, percent body fat, etc. 15 different measurements! When I first stepped on the scale I was MAD. Even though I had lost about 10 pounds in six months, one third of my numbers were yellow, including my metabolic age. If you teach high school, you always know all the slang and the trends so I NEVER think of myself as old, but this smart scale revealed otherwise.

Setbacks. Twice I have had discouraging weigh-ins. Either my numbers were static or went in the wrong direction. But I viewed this as I always encourage my students who tumble and fall on a quiz. I’ll double down and do better next time, starting right now, not the day before the next weigh-in!

Accountability. Throughout the week, I know I am getting on that scale. And, in December I am going back to the doctor. So I know that I need to exercise and eat right every day, not just the day or two before. I wanted to have every number in the green. Well, the other day, it finally happened!

How is this like teaching?

How do we motivate our students? Some of our students are intrinsically motivated, and some have their families keeping close tabs on their progress (extrinsic motivation), but many students have neither. They fail to understand the relevance of how what they are doing in school relates to their present and future selves. Teachers must bring the motivation, or desire, to those students.

How do we grow our students in our content area? Through excellent curriculum delivered by inspiring teachers. The curriculum and teachers on my “Getting in Shape” journey are bundled into the Diet and Exercise.

How do we know how our students are doing? We walk around the classroom, check their work, question them, give regular weekly quizzes and unit tests. These are all forms of data collection. What we as teachers glean from all of these interactions helps us to adjust the sails on our course to reach more students and to deepen everyone’s understanding.

How do we and / or our students react to setbacks? This and motivation probably the two most important things to get right in the classroom because without them, everything falls apart. What happens when your trends flatten or go in the opposite direction? Do you give up or do you keep pressing on? Do you change things to try to achieve better results? This is where friends and family can really help, and I have had a lot of encouragement on this journey.

How do we hold student (and teachers) accountable? My Algebra I students and I are accountable to our school, our district and to the state via an end of course test. My AP Statistics and AP Calculus students and I are accountable to all of those plus a national exam. In many way this is like my annual doctor visit. Its my one chance to show that I don’t need to be put on an improvement plan. For once I am excited for my next check up!

Stay tuned for whether my one elevated number has come down!