STUGART SENSE

Hello folks…remember me?

I have been missing in action for a few weeks now for two main reasons.

1) I have been finishing my M. Ed. (I’m done, by the way….say congrats!).

2) I have been having something of an blogentity crisis as I really enjoy partaking in the larger conversations of the educational blogosphere but have felt that my blog has been too unfocused.

However, I have been able to find my refocus! This blog will continue to be a resource for my students and fellow teachers; I strive to provide excellent resources on my resources page. (Revamping is on my list of to do’s over the xmas break!) Additionally, my blog posts will be more specifically aimed at sharing resources and lesson planning ideas with my faculty.

So stay tuned, the posts will return in a week or so!

My Nominations for The 2008 Edublog Awards are:

Best Group Blog: The Stratford Sentinel

Best Resource Sharing Blog: Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day

Just wanted to share this video, which is short and to the point. It was recommended by the Free Technology for Teachers blog as a great resource for FAFSA Help Nights at school. As my school is hosting a Financial Aid Workshop this evening, I thought it would be appropriate to post.

* On a side note, I do wish that the video were more ethnically diverse. *

So, I have had a few glum posts lately and wanted to cheer things up by writing about some positives that have been happening concurrently with the less than positives. Each snippet that I am about to share has a little nugget of knowledge in it…

Happy Students

This week I took some time to recognize and reflect on one of my happy students. I have one student in my last block of the day that always seems to be happy, energetic, and positive about class. It occurred to me the other day that he helps to set the tone for the class by giving positive energy to both me and his peers.

For example, when I am telling students about the objectives for the day and what we’ll be doing, he often makes comments like, “Aww…that’s tight!” or “Man, today’s gonna be cool.” Even today, he began by saying, “Yes! I love to act!” (we went to the auditorium to act our scenes from the play we’re reading, Pygmalion).

It is so gratifying to experience someone’s enthusiasm for your subject. I pulled this young man aside this week and told him about my reflections on his role in my class because I wanted to encourage him to continue to bring that energy to others and to feel positive about his school environment. I know he will succeed in life because of his attitude and hope that my telling him so will stay with him.

Negative Nellies

So, I have more than a few negative nellies in my classes that can bring down the tone of a class as quickly as happy students can bring them up…probably quicker. I continue trying to work with these students on the way they present themselves because I honestly do not think that they can hear how they sound.

For example, many of my students constantly grumble about every assignment and every activity. “This is stupid.” “I hate this class.” “It’s too much!” Most of the time, it isn’t the words they are saying, but the way in which they say it.

The past two weeks, I was “going especially hard” on one of my students in particular. She had begun to participate less in class, was becoming much more vocal with complaints, and was pulling away from me when I tried to discuss her behavior with her.

This week, she finally got tired of me “being worsome” and decided she’d just be quiet and not say anything. She had a very quiet couple of days, which bothered me a little because she was being distant. But then, something amazing happened. Another student made a grumble about an assignment and it caught her attention. She looked at me and said, “Is that what I used to sound like?”

I loved that she reacted that way because it showed that she recognized what a drain it can be to be constantly negative. It upset her to think that she had been like that. It was a great teachable moment that I didn’t even have to teach. She taught herself. Sometimes it just pays to be patient.

He Can Be Taught!

So, our class has been reading something far removed from my students’ comfort zones lately (Pygmalion by G.B. Shaw) and it has been very difficult to get them to relate to the characters or even understand their interactions, though most are honestly trying and a few are honestly interested.

At this point in the story, I must introduce one student that had a rough start to the year. He lacked interest in the material; he only halfway completed assignments, if at all; and he was often aggressive when requested to do something. However, something changed over the past few weeks and it is like I have a whole new student! He participates in class; he is engaged in the reading; and he is one of the first to answer questions during class discussions. It’s awesome! (I think I know what kicked off the new student mentality, but will not mention it here because it would give away the identity of the student.)

Here’s the best part about this student! This week, at the beginning of class, I asked this student to put away his cell phone and mp3 player. He looks at me and responds with “Garn! Ah-aw-ah-oohh!”

For those of you unfamiliar with Eliza Doolittle, these are some of the sounds she makes to express disapproval and/or disbelief (and sometimes even pleasure…).

So, my student learned these expressions, internalized their meanings, and then used them in an appropriate way to convey humor. In other words, he made an intellectual joke! I was so happy that I celebrated that moment right then and there in class. He was so proud to have made a “smart joke.” He was all grin, from ear to ear. Never give up on a student’s potential to be an amazing English student!

Supportive Colleagues

I also want to take a moment to be thankful for my colleagues. I work with dedicated craftsmen every day. My colleagues are always willing to discuss methods, classroom management, philosophies, particular students, issues, etc. It is so terrific to be able to find such willing, intelligent sounding boards any time I need to.

We all know that as teachers, we have to make a lot of decisions during the day (many of which can seriously affect the lives of our students). I would be lost without people with whom to share ideas, reflect on best practices, and brainstorm solutions.

In particular, I want to thank my readers! I am happy to have found people that believe enough in their fellow teachers to join the conversation. So, thanks!

I have just assigned all my students to participate in Blog Action Day using their newly created blogs. I felt that this assignment would yield some interesting results considering that the students at my high school live in the lowest income areas in the Metro Nashville area. In other words, they experience poverty everyday.

Some very interesting information came to me during the course of assisting students with this assignment and reading the results of their work.

First, most of my students did not know what the word “poverty” meant. (And we’re talking about Seniors in high school…) At first, it seemed that they just lacked the vocabulary to describe the state of being poor. However, as I would provide the definition and prod the students to think about the questions I had given them for freewrites on the topic, I began to doubt their ability to conceptualize the state of being poor. They immediately began to state things about African children and men living under bridges….but never turned that lens on themselves as examples of people living in poverty. Even when I referenced that our school is of the most impoverished in the city, they immediately wanted to make that about the school itself not having enough money.

And here is where it gets interesting…one student in particular was really struggling with the concept of poverty once we were already in the computer lab working on our blogs. So, we began to have a conversation about what poverty looks like. Where do we see it? I mentioned, carefully, that most of the students at our school are on Free and Reduced Lunch. Before I could say more, he said, “I’m on Free and Reduced Lunch….But that don’t mean anything. It’s just some kids’ family makes too much money and so they have to pay for their lunch and stuff.”

Mindblowing! These students believe that some people have to pay for their lunch because they make too much money. They have flipped the situation around and forced themselves to understand their situation from a “glass half full” point of view.

I want to say more but my lack of time today prevents this. I’m planning to repost some of my students’ blogs here. Also, I plan to create links to their blogs in my sidebar at least by this weekend so you all can see what they’ve said about poverty.

I have been thinking about the concept of looping back around with students as a teacher. For example, next year, I could possibly begin teaching 9th grade and then move along with them through their 12th grade year. (*Reminder: I am an English teacher. Looping isn’t easily possible for all subjects.)

One of my colleagues and I have been discussing the merits of such an experiment, particularly for our school’s population, for whom consistency is infrequent at best. In reality, if I chose to do this, I would likely loop back to 10th grade because our school has a Freshman Academy small learning community.

However, I am still not sold it is the best decision, so I wanted to open up a conversation to my peers to get your feedback. I have considered some pros and cons and will list them below. Please share your thoughts!

Pros:

• Students would have a consistent teacher
• Teacher would have firm understanding of students’ capabilities and knowledge base
• Students and teacher would form strong and meaningful relationships
• Teachers get variety in the subject matter

Cons:

• Students would not get variety in English teachers
• Teacher would not get variety in students
• Teacher would take longer to become an expert in grade level strategies and lesson plans
• Sometimes teachers do not “click” with their students, so the experience might be four years of h*ll. (although, on the other hand, it would teach both teacher and students to get along…)

Post some comments! I would like to get some fresh perspectives!

I have been MIA lately and I want to apologize to all my readers!

Much has happened in the past two weeks or so since I posted last. The 9 weeks ended (so grades are due today)…Parent Teacher Conf’s are next week, so I have been making calls…I’ve begun working with our school social worker on the Get Fit Club…I’ve decided to be the assistant tennis coach in the spring…and the list goes on and on.

Additionally, and most importantly, a friend a co-teacher passed away after a fatal car accident…which has left a huge hole in the school and had serious effects on our students and staff.

So, we’ve been quite busy at our little hive grieving, grading, and getting by…

However, I have been making a list of all the things I have been wanting to blog about…some of which seem irrelevant now…but I will be making up for them…now.

A colleague and I were talking/brainstorming/reflecting yesterday afternoon for quite a bit and the subject of empty praise vs constructive praise arose while discussing the difference between appreciation and understanding.

The consensus of our conversation was that while appreciation is desirable from one’s administration and peers, it is much better to have their understanding because to be truly appreciated means that you have been understood…that your efforts, motivations, intentions, goals, objectives, methods, etc. are known, supported, and will be reinforced by some form of structure (hopefully ).

(My personal little mini-take on this is that it is the job of all parties involved to make the understanding happen.)

Which brings us to the discussion of Empty Praise and Constructive Praise. Our conclusion was that Empty Praise is usually a sign that you are appreciated but not necessarily understood. While Empty Praise still feels good, it tends to be non-specific, like “You are doing a great job!” and “I am so delighted at the work you are doing, keep it up!”

Constructive Praise is usually a sign that you are both appreciated AND understood. It is more specific and demonstrates that the person giving it has noticed something in particular that you are doing well. The colleague with whom I was speaking is very good at giving this kind of praise and, as someone who is benefiting from it, I have developed a whole new respect for how important it is.

Upon consideration of my new understanding of the differences between Empty and Constructive Praise, I wonder at how well I, as a teacher, truly am at giving Constructive Praise to my students. Am I specific enough in my positive feedback?

We all know we are supposed to give our students positives…but how often do we take the time to be as specific as possible about them? My challenge to myself (and to all my faithful readers) is to really work next week at giving very specific feedback to our students…

Let me know how it goes!

I saw this clip floating around the blogosphere today and thought my readers would enjoy it. Dave Truss maintains a blog called “Pair-a-dimes for Your Thoughts.” This video says so much about what the world of education should be and how it is changing. I am not sure if it is just my computer, but the YouTube version of this video doesn’t seem to have any music. Go to Dave’s website to see the original!

Last week, I felt myself losing a battle with the students in my most challenging block. I was resorting to classroom management techniques I am not altogether comfortable with. For example, two days in a row, I opted to give this block alternative assignments because their behavior was so out of control, I couldn’t get anywhere with classroom discussion and group work. The only thing I could do to save my sanity in those moments was to tell students to get out their books and to work on their own. Additionally, I resorted to throwing a student out of my classroom, which has sadly become the predominant classroom management strategy in my school.

The alternative assignments worked to pacify the students, who have been raised on handouts and bookwork. However, I know that my students need more than that and I felt I was failing them as a teacher, especially when their behavior did not show any improvement as a result.

So, I decided that we would have a classroom intervention. Figuring out what might work was challenging but, in the end, I opted for a role-playing situation. I wanted the students to see what it was like to try to control and teach a horde of unruly teenagers. (And the best part would be the satisfaction of taking part in the demonstration of bad behaviors…)

I began by asking our literacy coach to assist me. I filled him in on the details and we began the “lesson.” I asked for 5 volunteers (hoping and knowing that my rowdiest and most attention seeking students would be the first to volunteer). I then asked the volunteers to leave the room with the literacy coach. He was instructed to provide each student with a topic to teach the class. I provided him with strips of paper for each student that highlighted some points they might wish to cover. The topics were simple and slightly inane, like “how to wash your hair” and “how to train a dog to sit.” To ensure they would take their jobs seriously, I offered them 10 bonus points and a piece of candy if they were able to get at least 3 students to take notes during their lessons.

Once the volunteers were gone, I involved the other students in our secret plan. I made a PowerPoint that described 5 different behavior problems that have been exhibited in the classroom.

1. Inattentive and off task
2. Apathetic and sleepy
3. Belligerent and aggressive towards the teacher
4. Rowdy and unruly (out of seats, etc)
5. Overly inquisitive (relevant and irrelevant)

As each volunteer was sent back into the classroom (one at a time until they gave up), the entire class was to act in one particular way. For example, when the first volunteer came in, each student was supposed to be inattentive and off task.

The activity was extremely fun and I believe my students were amazed and shocked at how funny I could be when imitating bad classroom behavior. So, I was able to rack up some cool points!

More importantly, my literacy coach was able to facilitate a discussion in which I participated on equal standing with my students about classroom behavior and what changes should be made. I enjoyed hearing the volunteers process the various teaching strategies they tried to use to get the students to participate in their lessons and evaluate why they didn’t work. It is interesting to note that the volunteers tried a variety of techniques including (but not limited to) turning off the lights, pleading, taking down names, threatening to call parents, giving F’s, and cursing.

I learned a lot about my students and how they perceive the teacher’s actions in the classroom. For example, I was surprised by the debate that arose when someone brought up the issue of my alternative assignments. One student said, “Sometimes, it feels like Mrs. S. wants to give up on us….like when she gives us alternative assignments.” Another student responded with, “It’s not that she is giving up on us, she’s just fed up and she doesn’t know what else to do.” And another student interpreted my alternative assignments as me “being scared of the students.” Most of them thought that I need to be “meaner.”

I couldn’t believe that anyone would have viewed the alternative assignments as a reaction of fear or the result of my giving up on students! Although, once I heard their interpretations, I can’t say that they were completely off base. Sometimes we need to change a lesson for a group of students to provide better understanding but was what I doing making the lesson better for my students or for me? Was I giving up?

It was enlightening to get the opportunity to speak so openly with my students about what they want and need in a classroom environment. In the end, we drew up a list of norms that we felt confident we could at least try to maintain. My jury is still out as to whether the exercise will make any difference but I already know that we have developed a new respect for each other.

I discovered that EdWeek.org has a mapping tool that shows our nation’s graduation rates. I was shocked and appalled and how low Davidson County (Tennessee) ranks in comparison with other counties and states.

Notice how we stand out?

Hopefully, all the changes Metro Nashville is trying to make will have an impact this year….

As I was getting ready for school this morning, I began to think about how we evaluate student feedback and how we can ensure accountability of that evaluation within our own little classroom worlds…and, to be honest, I didn’t come to any major conclusions that will shake up the world. However, I did spend some time reflecting on the unsolicited feedback I have received from students over the past 6 weeks of school.

I have received all kinds of feedback from students. Much of it has been non-constructive, such as, “Let’s not do anything today” and “Can’t we just watch a movie?” But, on a happier note, much of it has also been very insightful and helpful for me as a teacher.

Students will tell you when they are bored, particularly my students (grrr). It can be really frustrating to hear, especially when you are covering a topic that they must learn, come heck or high water. However, it is important for us to listen to what they want and try to provide options. I will frequently change my course in the day based on student feedback and they seem to really appreciate it.

I want to share some of the positive comments I have received from students already this year. Not to brag on my own teaching (because I have a long way to go as far as perfection…) but to highlight what it is that students seem to enjoy in a teacher. Take them as you will….with the understanding that the compliments are not the end all, be all for teachers. All students have different preferences…

1) “You always dress nice! You don’t dress like some of those other teachers who wear jeans and all that on Fridays. You take your job seriously. I appreciate that.”

2) “You always like to give us options…it’s like you feel like we’re adults. You give us the option to make our own choices…it makes me feel good and I appreciate it.”

3) “You’re my best teacher….you’re one of the only teachers I have had that actually teaches. Other teachers just give handouts and sit in the back of the room but you stand up and teach the whole time…even when no one is listening to you…”

4) “You’re the first ‘cool’ teacher I ever had. You are, like, fun and you’re not afraid to play around in class a little.”

Now that I have basked in my own glory, I’ll recap some of the other comments I have received (and in much larger quantities)…just for balance…

1) “I hate this class….”

2) “This class is soooooo boring.”

3) “What time is this class over anyway?”

4) “I ain’t doing this. I’m getting moved out of this class….pshhhhaww…”

But, as Baz Lurmann says, “Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.”

So, I have not been as awesome at writing blogs this week due to being extremely busy but I am going to share some awesome maps with you today. The site is called Maps of War and has many maps but I am embedding the three most popular maps from the site below. What an engaging way to teach our students world history and give them some perspective….

March of Democracy:

History of Religion:

Imperial History of the Middle East:

I have been trying to figure out ways to make my students’ cell phone ownership/obsession work for my classroom, especially with so many excellent resources for mobile phones popping up every day.

Here is a blog post from Drape’s Takes (another of my favorite resources) where a discussion is forming around the issue of “to ban or not to ban.” Drape essentially asks, “Are we not capable, as teachers, of controlling and monitoring cell phone use without resorting to outlawing it?”

Here’s a video of one teacher who just couldn’t take it anymore.

I have just read this post from Larry Ferlazzo’s blog, one of my favorite resources. I found it to be invaluable and I will be using some of his strategies this coming week. I encourage you all to read this, print it out, bookmark it….whatever you do.

When a “Good” Class Goes “Bad” (and back to “Good” again)