They say to truly know somebody, you should walk a mile in their shoes. This assumes, of course, that they’d be willing to share their shoes in the first place and that they’d fit you. An easier (and somewhat more practical) way would be to shadow a student in your school to see what they go through on a daily basis. What would it really be like? Would you be able to sit for as long as they do in a given day? Would you be an active student, or one just going through the motions? Sound a bit daunting? Probably. But ultimately, it could be wildly enlightening.

At least that was the idea when one teacher decided to live as a student and document her discoveries. Over two days, she shadowed actual students through a typical day in high school. She did exactly as her host students did, from labs to quizzes to foreign language classes to eating in the cafeteria, and everything in between. Turns out that seeing the world through the students' point of view really opened her eyes to what she as a teacher could do to make the learning experience better for kids. Dive into her findings, and perhaps even ask yourself if you'd make a good student in your own classroom. Maybe consider making a few tweaks to help get the most from your TXGU kids. (Bringing back nap time, anyone?)