This song was among some of the first exposure I had to Hamilton the Musical and I fell in love immediately. There’s so much to learn about education through this song. Bonus: It’s so fun to listen to! Let’s find out what exactly happens in that room. Check it out below, or click here!

Do whatever it takes

As educators we should do whatever it takes to get students to love learning. It’s really not even about the content, but about helping students become passionate and excited about gaining new information. When we can unlock that enthusiasm in students, we’ve hit the educational jackpot!

The room where it happens

Don’t you want to be that place? Don’t you want students to be doing everything they can to get into your room? Our equivalent to this is when students discover who their teacher is. In my district, most students find out who their teacher is at Open House or Back to School night. It always made me smile to hear parents say, “My son/daughter is so excited because he/she got you as their teacher.” I’d have the goofiest grin (I’m sure) as I told them that I was so excited because I got them as my student! And then, the magic happens in our room! Now, I do everything possible to make our media center be the room where it happens. How can you make your environment the room where it happens?

Let’s hear what he has to say!

Listen to your colleagues. I’m working on this one! I tend to get so excited that I jump in with my own ideas before listening to the ideas of others. One of our faculty norms is to “share the floor”. Listen to one another and build the best experiences and opportunities for students by combining the best of what one another has to say.

Not only this, but we should also give students a chance to say more! Give them the mic. Whether you use an analog journal, a digital option, or something in between, give students the opportunity to share their thoughts. The most valuable feedback I am given each year comes from my students. Sometimes, they roast me. And I appreciate it because it makes me better when I use their feedback and grow from it.

Not every issue can be settled by committee

I’m just going to leave that one there. Committees are valuable, yes. Committees should be comprised of representatives of various groups and those committees create options for implementation to bring before the whole. Issues should not be “settled” by committees. Solutions should be generated by the committee, then those solutions are brought to the group for feedback. The committee meets again using the feedback given and then comes back with limited options for a vote. At least, this is how I’ve seen successful committees run in the past.

You don’t get a win unless you play in the game

Sitting on the sidelines simply isn’t as fun as playing the game. Get in the game with your students. Learn beside them. Allow them to teach you a thing or two, or ten. If you play in the game with the students, ultimately you and your students will experience your own victory.

I wanna build something that’s gonna outlive me

Build your legacy, one day at a time, one student at a time, one conversation at a time. Use every conversation as an opportunity to uplift students and show them the possibilities that lie before them. Help students become solution-oriented and encourage initiative to find the problems around them and create plans to solve them. This is how we build something that will outlive us, not by creating beautiful bubbles on answer sheets.

I could go on and on about this song. It’s truly one of my very favorites and has so much educational truth in it. What else do you take away from “The Room Where It Happens”? Comment below or share with me on Twitter! I just love hearing your educational connections to these amazing songs from Hamilton the Musical.

Sneak Peek:

If you stand for nothing, Burr, what do you fall for?

What do you stand for in education? This is what my upcoming book, Educational Eye Exam, is all about! You embark on a journey to the optometrist to find your core beliefs about education, your educational philosophy, and then create a plan to implement those beliefs in your educational environment. Be sure to follow along for updates at #EduEyeExam!