Rice Krispies

What was your favorite breakfast cereal as a child?  No, not the one your Mom made you eat – those brands that tasted like soggy cardboard.  Did you go for those super sugary brands like Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops, Count Chocula, and Capt’ Crunch? For a time, I thought the addition of crunchberries would result in a national holiday.  They were the bomb!  Perhaps you were like “Mikey” and indulged in Life cereal? Yep, don’t admit to that.  How about Sugar Smacks with enough grams of cane sugar to wire you for an hour or so and then caused you to crash like an Iraqui scud missile.  Then, of course, were the cereals with the prizes in the box.  I still have scars from the fist fights over just who was going to claim that useless decoder ring hidden in the mass of grains covered in a non-nutritive cereal varnish (just had to get that Christmas Vacation shot in) .  One cereal that you may have tried is Rice Krispies – you know, the cereal that talks to you?  The brand is represented by three characters:  Snap, Crackle, and Pop; characters with feet disproportionate to their body size.  These animated fellas have sold a whole bunch of cereal based on hearing those three sounds when adding milk to your breakfast bowl.  Do you still lower your ear to hear that sound?  Come on, be honest.   

Schools need to be like Rice Krispies.  Although I eat Grape Nuts most every day, it is a boring experience and one that sounds as though you are chewing gravel.  I would not recommend that we become like Grape Nuts = very pedestrian with little pizazz and not a lot of substance.  Plus, it’s just plain boring!  Walk through our main office when the telephones are ringing off the hook.  Laura and Lynette answer the calls with a snap, their voices crackle with friendliness, and they pop to fulfill the need of the person calling.  They are our first line of customer service and they do a remarkable job. The first impression of our school, either over the phone or at the desk is one of high-quality and excellent service.  Parents enjoy the willingness of our teachers to meet with them; sometimes on multiple occasions to plan together ways to help their/our child. Kids enjoy our adults establishing positive professional relationships with them.  Our kids are drawn to people and not programs. Let’s go deeper -  how does an experience in your classroom look to a student?    Does it invoke a sense of excitement as class begins at the snap of the period or does it routinely lag for the lesson to begin? Does your classroom crackle with excitement because you make it relevant or is it just a presentation of material that has no connection for them?  Do your activity transitions pop as you keep it moving or are they are slow as molasses in January?  As you know, I have recently been advocating during our morning time the teacher skill set of engaging students.  That’s where the snap, crackle, and pop comes in.  Whether it’s your high energy or high-yield engagement strategy, you’re a Rice Krispie.  Use games that focus on academic content.  Use inconsequential competition.  Manage your questions and response rates.  Use physical movement and appropriate pacing.  Most importantly, demonstrate intensity and enthusiasm for what you are teaching.  The easiest way to get kids excited about learning is to be excited yourself – that is being a Rice Krispie.  Choose to be a “Snap. Crackle, and Pop” teacher.