Why Teachers Will Never Be like Taylor Swift
Well, for starters, we certainly are never going to emulate her income, so let's make peace with that! I also suspect that the number of clambering fans adoring us as we cross the playground might also be a flight of fancy. That said, there are lessons that we can learn from Taylor Swift and the deliberate way she has creatively crafted her world.
On 13th August Taylor announced her new 12th Album "The Life of a Showgirl". Now for most of us an album announcement is nothing short of normal. However, in the case of Miss Swift, this has been cooking for some time, and only now millions of eagle-eyed fans have been cracking codes, unscrambling Easter eggs that go back as far as 2022. What she wore when she shared the announcement, the colour scheme, the shape of the door at the end of her Eras Tour, the number 12, the number 13, what she wore in a music video two years ago and that cryptic line she said that one time to that reporter. All of it is one giant puzzle game being played deftly and elegantly, the mastermind that is Taylor Swift has plenty to teach us.
Teachers are notorious planners, whiling the wee hours away preparing and producing lessons that will hopefully inspire and engage students. While we have access to a wide range of lessons, resources, and objectives, we are each of us still bound, following a curriculum to suit our school and meet national expectations. We do indeed need structure, a format is important. Children benefit from routine and feel safe when that structure is in place, so do teachers for that matter. Occasionally, though that helpful curriculum littered with objectives can also sometimes feel like a small shackle around our ankles. As we navigate the learning criteria, we tend to play safe and follow what is laid out for us as it is easier and often requires less work or energy. We all know that our energy sometimes needs to be saved for marking, parent meetings or just removing an object from a place it should not be. Now and then I stop and wonder what original ideas I have had lately, am I teaching this lesson because it is in the curriculum? Am I planning this lesson the way that I want it or for someone else? I cannot cope for too long teaching someone else's shared planning and I certainly do not feel a great teacher when I am on autopilot. I need to think creatively and I need to be like Taylor Swift.
I am all about consistency when it comes to a classroom theme. This year, I am the zebra class, so everything is animal print and African inspired. You will find zebra logos and a "Be Stripe Strong" mantra funnelling through the expectations of the classroom. This design element of my room is featured on newsletters, welcome boards for the students in the morning and even on our class playlist- all these subtle nods echoing through the academic year creating a sense of knowing, belonging and trust for parents and children. It is all marketing and it works! We know we can trust Taylor to make our buy-in worth it.
There is often a point in time when teaching my Year 1 class that I reveal to them that I was once a wizard. Sometimes they ask my age and I tell them that my human age is 44 but my wizard age is 327. I say no more and walk away. In our roles as teachers we are meant to give just enough answers or ask questions so that students can wonder and calculate for themselves. The mystery, the Easter eggs we drop, might not have the longevity of Taylor's scheming but we can be just as creative and crafty in the way that we expose knowledge to children. If we perhaps explored the ferociousness of the ongoing feud between the Capulets and Montagues before we even revealed who the star-crossed lovers were we might get a few more fans. Possibly, if we wove a cipher into our algebraic equation, revealing a hint of something yet to come, we might find the level of eagerness in the room increasing.
We as teachers need to play with our lessons and have much more fun crafting objectives and topics. When Taylor Swift realised that her fans were obsessing and making predictions about upcoming songs, lyrics and albums she leaned into it and built a furore that caused her to painstakingly craft and care about her work on another level. Fans continued to spend hours and hours exploring and searching for meaning. Can we say that our students do that about the homework we set?
"What if I told you I'm a mastermind? And now you're mine. It was all by design. 'Cause I'm a mastermind." - Taylor Swift
Next time you sit down to plan your lessons, remember that you're planning for the students but hold on to that spark that creates joy for yourself too. When will a simple lesson be ideal or when can you let a curated mystery do all the work? I firmly believe that if we lean in to the fun of crafting and world building, which can be achieved even for one lesson or an entire term, then we will perhaps start enjoying our wonderful profession just that little bit more.
Taylor Swift's new album The Life of a Showgirl is out October 3rd, and if you're a Swiftie you already know what her next album is.
