I have this idea for back to school night. I was thinking of wearing a lab coat when they come in. I'd take it off and explain why I was wearing it. The parents are highly educated and professional, and participate in their children's education. I want them to get a message that mine is a working classroom, not a showroom of perfect products. Everything is in process, although we do take snapshots (assessment) and measure growth. I want them to think of teaching as a practice, not a job. In my prezi, I will show them some of the latest research I base my decisions on. Is the lab coat silly, though? Or is a good visual a good idea?
I think it's interesting and creative...I'd love to hear what you're going to say! How it 'goes over' will depend on your presentation.
I might be in the minority, but I think that there's a good chance that it could come across as really cheesy and not professional.
I think it depends on what the OP says...and then I'd be totally dressed polished and professional under the lab coat.
I wasn't seeing it that way...more as the kids experiences would be hands on, inquiry based, explorative in nature.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should add that I'm a high school teacher. Sometimes we in the high school setting aren't all that creative and fun, so it's entirely possible that I'm mistaking true creativity for silliness. If so, feel free to disregard my comments entirely.
Well, I couldn't get a lab coat after all. My husband thought he had one at work but couldn't find it. Oh, well. I showed them that I'm a professional without wearing a doctor's outfit I talked about how the classroom is a working laboratory and I consider teaching to be a practice, not just a job. I told them about my philosophy of learning and detailed info about how I teach academic subjects. I went into social emotional learning, too, in as much depth as academics, and a lot of heads were nodding. I talked at some length about our celebrations of growth and learning, and not so much focus on Halloween, Valentine's Day, birthdays, and the like. I ended with a Mission Accomplished feeling. I don't think the lab coat would have made too much difference, but it would have been memorable!
