On the face of it, it’s just a shoebox. In reality, it is the thing that has helped me understand the deeper workings of my students and what they think, feel, and how they act when I’m not around to supervise them. It’s helped my teaching, too.

I teach 5th Grade (Year 6). It’s a unique time: the students are caught in a pre-teen purgatory between two very different social environments. In the classroom, the confusion in terms of how they should act is negotiated through classroom rules, but outside it, things get… difficult.

When they are in the cafeteria at lunch, or on the playground, or taking the school bus home - places where I do not follow them - it’s like they forget how to act. They at times forget how to show a caring attitude towards each other: the very basic principles that I foster in my classroom, the very basic principles that, in front of me, they work so hard to upkeep.

At times they forget how to show a caring attitude towards each other

In the past, issues would only be brought to my attention if the adult in charge in that particular area remembered to inform me. Or even worse, I would get a late-night email from a concerned parent. I would then spend a considerable amount of time investigating and fact checking to get to the bottom of the story, wasting valuable time to find out the truth, so that I could first and foremost support the student.

This year was going to be different. This year, I wanted to be in the know and ahead of the curve. This year, I presented a shoebox to students with a simple promise that if they placed a Post-it note in that shoebox about any topic they were concerned about, I would do my very best to discreetly investigate and offer support. I made it clear that their notes could be anonymous if they wanted.

Window into their world

It’s been a massive success. The topics addressed range from academic concerns to students reporting behaviour that they know to be wrong. After spending much of September building trust with my students, I have been given a window into their world that has allowed me to extinguish, solve and eliminate so many problems before they spiral out of control - before parents have to intervene and, most importantly, before a student feels fear, anxiety and confusion about what to do.

A couple of examples: one student was too afraid to put their hand up in class and wrote a note explaining why - I was able to understand their reticence and support them.

One student was too afraid to put their hand up in class and wrote a note explaining why

Another pupil wrote that they were being called names in the bus queue - they did not give their name, but I was able to do a session on respect and give all staff a heads up to watch particularly closely for issues at home time.

One of the unexpected benefits of the shoebox system is getting instant feedback for my lessons. Students are not afraid to tell you what they found interesting, boring or confusing. They don’t hesitate to tell you if your teaching style includes talking too loud or speaking too fast, either.

I can’t recommend the approach highly enough. The education world is now full of exciting digital tools, but a simple shoebox might be the best thing you adopt in your classroom this year.

Greg McGrath teaches 5th grade language arts and social studies in New Jersey, US