In the course of getting my education degree, I took exactly one class in educating kids with special needs. I hope teacher preparation programs are now requiring more than one because it is a large part of the job. If I was only going to have one, though, I had the best. For the life of me, I cannot remember the professor's name, but she was fantastic. She did therapy work with horses, told us stories of kids who came to school with feeding tubes, and introduced me to the F.A.T. city workshop, which make be the best thing ever for understanding kids with ADHD.
And, oh yeah, she only had one arm. This is going to sound strange, but I think about her every time I use a gas station restroom. She once told us a story about a bathroom door lock that required pulling a lever with one hand while turning the doorknob with the other. If she had not had a traveling companion and been able to slide the key under the door, she would have been trapped. The person who designed this lock obviously did not have the perspective that there might be people without two functioning hands, and there is no chance I would ever think about it if it had not been for this professor. Not having her experiences would not give us the perspective needed to think about appropriate lock design.
I was scrolling through Twitter this weekend, and this story came to mind as I watched the reaction to the President's tweets about West Baltimore. President Trump tweets while sitting in the White House, which is a downgrade from his pre-inaugural lifestyle. How can this man who has spent his life sitting at a gold-leafed table in the two-story penthouse of the building bearing his family name understand what it means to love a hometown that has poverty and rats in addition their other culture? When Victor Blackwell got emotional on the air, there were people who thought he was overreacting. My guess is that they think that because no one has said that "no human being would ever want to live" in the place they love and call home. His level of emotion reflects his experience and perspective.
We teach students who are going to say things we don't understand. Some of them will be wrong or legitimately strange, but some can only be understood in relation to their life experiences. When a student says they hate Christmas, it may be because they have an abusive parent. When a student reacts badly to Columbus Day, consider whether they have Native American background and don't find manifest destiny something to celebrate. A student who reacts badly to reading aloud may have been mortified by their mispronunciation of an unfamiliar word in an elementary school class. A student who overreacts to a balloon popping may be having a sense memory of an experience we don't even know about. We don't always have to give in to the preferences of every student, but we will be able to avoid a lot of pain and class disruption if we get to know them, listen to their experiences, and try to understand the perspective that gives them.
Showing posts with label classroom management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classroom management. Show all posts
Monday, July 29, 2019
Monday, May 8, 2017
Fidget Fads
Fads come and go at a faster pace than they used to. Social media and youtube have increased the rate of communication about everything, including the latest greatest thing since the pet rock (just in case your generation thinks your fads weren't ridiculous). Social media and youtube have also given parents and teachers an increased opportunity to fight about the new gadgets, peer pressuring and bullying each other about whether or not the new thing is something their child REALLY needs or the downfall of education as we know it.
Take a deep breath. Remind yourself that you are a grown up. Let's have some perspective.
First, fads are not new. I mentioned pet rocks above, but it goes back farther than that. For fun, go to this site or this one and have some nostalgia. We have an astounding lack of memory about the obsessions we had as kids. That doesn't mean we should mindlessly accept all our students' obsessions, but perhaps it will help you empathize with them. By definition, they come and go. Remember rainbow looms and the distraction they were in the classroom? Now, they aren't there. Try to remember that. This year alone, I have seen the rise and fall of bottle flipping, Rubic's cubes, and slime. Spinners are just the latest one, hardly the worst.
Second, every new fad is a distraction in the classroom. If a student wants to be distracted, they will be. We must stop blaming the object as though they wouldn't be distracted if "fill in the blank" didn't exist. When I was a kid, note passing was a big deal. Absolutely no one blamed the pencil. I have watched students read their pencil or stare at their own hands in order to be distracted. (That student then raised his hand to ask me questions about his fingerprints.) If you are at your wit's end with spinners, it is because you haven't created parameters for their use. Tell kids they can have them the first five minutes or the last five minutes. Tell them they can use them while doing independent work but not while you are lecturing (or vice versa - It really doesn't matter what your boundaries are as long they know you have some and will stick to them). I say yes until there is a reason to say no, so slime was allowed in my classroom until the day I had to scrape it out of the carpet. My students learned that the proper use of something yields positive consequences while the improper use of it yields negative ones. Be the teacher, not the curmudgeon.
Third, every new fad brings an opportunity for engagement and learning. Personally, I love the spinners. I teach physics, and there's not much better way to get a kid excited about rotational inertia and the friction-lowering power of ball bearings than these little guys. They don't make as much noise as the bottles and Rubic's cubes, so I let them experiment with them and ask questions. I saw a blog post yesterday that bemoaned the fact that if you get one spinning fast enough it will lift off your finger. I say that was a teachable moment about aerodynamics. Someone in another article was complaining that her students were trying to spin them on their nose. There's a teachable moment about the center of gravity and balance that was lost in that classroom. You may not teach science, but what if you created a writing prompt for English or created a math problem around rotation rate? The kids are showing us what will engage them, so take advantage of it.
Finally, let's get real about the word "need." I have read a thousand social media comments from parents who claim their child needs one of these. You can't need something that was invented yesterday. As human beings, our physical needs are nutrients, water, oxygen, and the ability to expel waste. Recent brain research is showing what teachers have known for decades. Some kids benefit from movement and sensory input during their learning. Teachers have kept things in their rooms for students to use for as long as I can remember because it helps. That's not the same thing as a need. Again, I say take a breath. Your child will not have their graduation delayed if their teacher makes them put away their spinner for half an hour so that she can concentrate while she is teaching.
Everybody say it with me, "I'm a grown-up." Now, go be one.
Take a deep breath. Remind yourself that you are a grown up. Let's have some perspective.
First, fads are not new. I mentioned pet rocks above, but it goes back farther than that. For fun, go to this site or this one and have some nostalgia. We have an astounding lack of memory about the obsessions we had as kids. That doesn't mean we should mindlessly accept all our students' obsessions, but perhaps it will help you empathize with them. By definition, they come and go. Remember rainbow looms and the distraction they were in the classroom? Now, they aren't there. Try to remember that. This year alone, I have seen the rise and fall of bottle flipping, Rubic's cubes, and slime. Spinners are just the latest one, hardly the worst.
Second, every new fad is a distraction in the classroom. If a student wants to be distracted, they will be. We must stop blaming the object as though they wouldn't be distracted if "fill in the blank" didn't exist. When I was a kid, note passing was a big deal. Absolutely no one blamed the pencil. I have watched students read their pencil or stare at their own hands in order to be distracted. (That student then raised his hand to ask me questions about his fingerprints.) If you are at your wit's end with spinners, it is because you haven't created parameters for their use. Tell kids they can have them the first five minutes or the last five minutes. Tell them they can use them while doing independent work but not while you are lecturing (or vice versa - It really doesn't matter what your boundaries are as long they know you have some and will stick to them). I say yes until there is a reason to say no, so slime was allowed in my classroom until the day I had to scrape it out of the carpet. My students learned that the proper use of something yields positive consequences while the improper use of it yields negative ones. Be the teacher, not the curmudgeon.
Third, every new fad brings an opportunity for engagement and learning. Personally, I love the spinners. I teach physics, and there's not much better way to get a kid excited about rotational inertia and the friction-lowering power of ball bearings than these little guys. They don't make as much noise as the bottles and Rubic's cubes, so I let them experiment with them and ask questions. I saw a blog post yesterday that bemoaned the fact that if you get one spinning fast enough it will lift off your finger. I say that was a teachable moment about aerodynamics. Someone in another article was complaining that her students were trying to spin them on their nose. There's a teachable moment about the center of gravity and balance that was lost in that classroom. You may not teach science, but what if you created a writing prompt for English or created a math problem around rotation rate? The kids are showing us what will engage them, so take advantage of it.
Finally, let's get real about the word "need." I have read a thousand social media comments from parents who claim their child needs one of these. You can't need something that was invented yesterday. As human beings, our physical needs are nutrients, water, oxygen, and the ability to expel waste. Recent brain research is showing what teachers have known for decades. Some kids benefit from movement and sensory input during their learning. Teachers have kept things in their rooms for students to use for as long as I can remember because it helps. That's not the same thing as a need. Again, I say take a breath. Your child will not have their graduation delayed if their teacher makes them put away their spinner for half an hour so that she can concentrate while she is teaching.
Everybody say it with me, "I'm a grown-up." Now, go be one.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Be The Decider
On October 31st, I wrote the following on my white board.
"The rules in my class are the same on October 31 as they are the rest of the year. Please save your candy for snack time or lunch."
Yes, I am the Halloween Grinch. Not only do I not want to teach teenagers that are too buzzed on candy to have a complete thought, I want them to know that the calendar does not decide the rules of my classroom. I do. (By the way, the same applies to Valentine's Day, which is another day that they believe they can openly violating the eating rules of my classroom.)
A few hours after writing this, I checked my facebook and found this post from a friend of mine who teaches in Oklahoma. Obviously, we have very different approaches to this holiday. Another teacher friend of mine gives an assignment to kids to bring in candy (He got 35 pounds this year!) or write an essay.
And, here's the thing. I don't think any of us wrong. What's important to me isn't what the teacher decides but that the teacher is the one making the decision. My advice to new teachers (and veterans who may have forgotten this fact) is to remember that THIS IS YOUR CLASSROOM! If you want to be casual and fun, then you should cultivate that atmosphere in your classroom. When you do that, it is still your classroom management that determines what happens. Do not just give up because the kids are out of control and then try to make yourself believe that you like it. If you are more strict, that should be your option because this is YOUR classroom, but don't be mad at the teacher next door for making you look like the bad guy. Embrace that you are the stricter presence in the lives of students, realizing that they will continue to have a range of teachers and bosses throughout their lives.
Whatever decision YOU make, be the decider.
"The rules in my class are the same on October 31 as they are the rest of the year. Please save your candy for snack time or lunch."
Yes, I am the Halloween Grinch. Not only do I not want to teach teenagers that are too buzzed on candy to have a complete thought, I want them to know that the calendar does not decide the rules of my classroom. I do. (By the way, the same applies to Valentine's Day, which is another day that they believe they can openly violating the eating rules of my classroom.)
A few hours after writing this, I checked my facebook and found this post from a friend of mine who teaches in Oklahoma. Obviously, we have very different approaches to this holiday. Another teacher friend of mine gives an assignment to kids to bring in candy (He got 35 pounds this year!) or write an essay.
And, here's the thing. I don't think any of us wrong. What's important to me isn't what the teacher decides but that the teacher is the one making the decision. My advice to new teachers (and veterans who may have forgotten this fact) is to remember that THIS IS YOUR CLASSROOM! If you want to be casual and fun, then you should cultivate that atmosphere in your classroom. When you do that, it is still your classroom management that determines what happens. Do not just give up because the kids are out of control and then try to make yourself believe that you like it. If you are more strict, that should be your option because this is YOUR classroom, but don't be mad at the teacher next door for making you look like the bad guy. Embrace that you are the stricter presence in the lives of students, realizing that they will continue to have a range of teachers and bosses throughout their lives.
Whatever decision YOU make, be the decider.
Friday, October 28, 2016
It Takes Too Much Work to Be Out
For the last couple of weeks, I've been fighting a cold. Nothing major, just a little sore throat and coughing. On the second morning, a friend of mine asked me why I had come to school. I answered that I would have to feel a lot worse to do all the work it takes to be out.
There may be other jobs like this, but if there are, I don't know them. In other jobs that I have had in offices, if I were sick, I would have called in sick. The day of my return, I would have had a lot of catching up to do, but the work just sat there while I was gone. When my parents and I go on a vacation together, my dad checks in with ongoing projects at the office, but he doesn't have to prepare before he leaves so that someone else can do that work while he is gone.
Teaching is weird in this way. I would actually have to do more work to prepare to be out than I would to just keep working.
Step one: Obtain a substitute. We have a computer system that will call subs, but I would have to get into the program and think really hard to complete the instructions. If I am sick, this thought process is actually kind of a pain.
Step two: Figure out what the kids can do instead of what you were going to do with them. With the exception of test days or video days, if they are going to do the same thing with a sub that they were going to do with me, then I didn't need to go to college for a science education degree. (And, if they are going to take a test or watch a video, I can come in sick and do that.) Therefore, I need something that isn't just busy work and does allow them to get some of what they would have gotten from me, but can be done without me. Have I mentioned that I am sick in this scenario? That's a lot of thinking for a sick person.
Step three: Write up what you have decided in step 2 in a form that can be understood by someone who has no idea where anything is in your classroom. Everything you unconsciously do and locate is completely unknown to the sub. The sub plans have to have far more detail then your lesson plans ever would. If there is something special or tricky about a particular student or class, you need to let the sub know that too, so that knowledge you just have as a regular part of your day has to be raised into your consciousness and put on paper tactfully for someone else to read. Keep in mind, I'm sick while this is happening.
Step four: Get this information to the school. Some things can be e-mailed. You can ask a friend to print out your plan and get it to the sub. Some things cannot. If the students are doing an activity that requires a resource, you may have to go in and physically set it up so that it is all in one place and clearly labeled. That means putting on clothes because you can't really show up in pajamas even if it is just to set up an activity. The last thing I want to do when I am sick is put on clothes. It's right up there with driving a car, which I guess I would have to do too.
I haven't even mentioned that when I return to school, I would have to read through the sub's feedback, follow up with discipline if needed, record attendance from when I was out, and grade what the kids did. If all I have is a minor cold that could use a day of rest, I'll wait for the weekend and rest then. It is way too much work to be out.
There may be other jobs like this, but if there are, I don't know them. In other jobs that I have had in offices, if I were sick, I would have called in sick. The day of my return, I would have had a lot of catching up to do, but the work just sat there while I was gone. When my parents and I go on a vacation together, my dad checks in with ongoing projects at the office, but he doesn't have to prepare before he leaves so that someone else can do that work while he is gone.
Teaching is weird in this way. I would actually have to do more work to prepare to be out than I would to just keep working.
Step one: Obtain a substitute. We have a computer system that will call subs, but I would have to get into the program and think really hard to complete the instructions. If I am sick, this thought process is actually kind of a pain.
Step two: Figure out what the kids can do instead of what you were going to do with them. With the exception of test days or video days, if they are going to do the same thing with a sub that they were going to do with me, then I didn't need to go to college for a science education degree. (And, if they are going to take a test or watch a video, I can come in sick and do that.) Therefore, I need something that isn't just busy work and does allow them to get some of what they would have gotten from me, but can be done without me. Have I mentioned that I am sick in this scenario? That's a lot of thinking for a sick person.
Step three: Write up what you have decided in step 2 in a form that can be understood by someone who has no idea where anything is in your classroom. Everything you unconsciously do and locate is completely unknown to the sub. The sub plans have to have far more detail then your lesson plans ever would. If there is something special or tricky about a particular student or class, you need to let the sub know that too, so that knowledge you just have as a regular part of your day has to be raised into your consciousness and put on paper tactfully for someone else to read. Keep in mind, I'm sick while this is happening.
Step four: Get this information to the school. Some things can be e-mailed. You can ask a friend to print out your plan and get it to the sub. Some things cannot. If the students are doing an activity that requires a resource, you may have to go in and physically set it up so that it is all in one place and clearly labeled. That means putting on clothes because you can't really show up in pajamas even if it is just to set up an activity. The last thing I want to do when I am sick is put on clothes. It's right up there with driving a car, which I guess I would have to do too.
I haven't even mentioned that when I return to school, I would have to read through the sub's feedback, follow up with discipline if needed, record attendance from when I was out, and grade what the kids did. If all I have is a minor cold that could use a day of rest, I'll wait for the weekend and rest then. It is way too much work to be out.
Friday, June 24, 2016
Keep Your Fun Teachers Fun
My favorite memory of high school was the Gatsby party. After all the classes that read the Fitzgerald classic were finished, the entire English hallway was decorated as a great tent. Students brought food that reflected the novel, dressed in costumes that reflected the 20's, and danced the Charleston to jazz music. While we were only supposed to come during our English class period and lunch, party crashers are motif of the novel; so it wasn't considered particularly egregious if you tried to come during another time. Half your grade was based on your committee work (project based learning before the internet made it easy) and half was based on your costume. When I taught at my old high school, I was horrified to find out that they no longer have this event. Why? It got out of control. Students trashed the rooms and the hallway and didn't stay to clean up. This great event no longer exists because a small number of people couldn't exhibit a minimum of responsibility. It would have only taken about 10-15 students out of over 350 students, but there weren't that many. As a young teacher, my first thought was to put 15 students on a clean up committee, but I now realize that committee would not teach content the way the other committees do.
Teach for a while, and it will happen. You will stop doing something you used to love doing because it just isn't worth the impact on your classroom. The chaos that comes from playing a particular review game or engaging in a certain project is just too much to control. Then, some outspoken student will say it, "I heard you used to be fun."
One of our teachers was once known for his review games. They were so intense that there was once an injury. That teacher no longer plays review games because students were so focused on diving for their answer, they wouldn't take the time to listen to the review part of the review game. This past year, I stopped playing Kahoot as a review game with one of my grades because they stopped reading the choices and just hit an answer, which made the test average the next day much lower than normal. When students use that phrase "used to be fun," they don't stop to think about where the fun went and why. Therefore, the rest of this post is a service to students. These are the top five ways you, as a student, can keep a fun teachers fun.
5. Learn each teacher's "tell."
Every teacher has a signal that you are reaching the line or are crossing it (every human being, for that matter). If you learn that "tell," you won't have to recognize the one that says, "Look behind you. The line is back there." For some teachers, it is that they top talking and close their eyes (probably counting to ten). For others, it may be a facial expression. For me, it is when I say, "Alright, enough." I actually mean enough when I say it. If students would stop whatever they are doing right when they recognize the "tell," they would end up in much less trouble. The kid in your class with interpersonal intelligence will be able to tell you what it is for every teacher.
4. Own your guilt.
I don't know who decided that denying what you have done means you didn't do it, but it doesn't. If you didn't do your homework, say it rather than telling your parents that the teacher lost it. If you didn't write a paper, don't pretend to look for it in your book bag. When a teacher tells you to stop talking, it is because they have seen you talking. Saying you weren't talking is the equivalent of calling them stupid or liars. The last time I truly lost my cool with a student was because of this. The student had talked and laughed during our opening prayer. I found this disrespectful to me as well as to God. My eyes were not closed (not only because I'm not crazy enough to close my eyes in class but because I lose equilibrium and fall down if I close my eyes while standing), so I had seen him. I sent him to the hall. When I went out to talk to him, he actually said, "Miss Hawks, I don't know what you are talking about." I knew what I had seen and lost my mind. If he had said, "I'm sorry. I know it was disrespectful. It won't happen again." I would have forgiven him. His insistence on adding lying to the disrespect was the worst possible idea.
3. Recognize why you are at school.
So, this is where the problem with review games and hands on activities comes in. Teachers don't play review games with you because they care about you having fun. We like that you are having fun, but that is not the point of the game. Teachers know that serotonin, the neurotransmitter released when you are having fun, is also responsible for writing long term memories in your brain. That is why my teaching involves jokes and stories about my cat and analogies related to childhood toys. It is also why we play ScienceLand and Quizlet Live and Kahoot. However, the most important part of the review is between the questions, when we review what makes the correct answer correct and the others incorrect. That's the review part, and that's what will help you with your test. Focusing on points (the marks on the board that will literally become dust at the end of class) is not going to help you. It is also only going to frustrate the teacher who wrote the test when we are trying to give you information about what is going to be on the test that we wrote. We know what you need and are desperately trying to give it to you; trust us.
2. When a teacher is fussing at you, DO NOT LAUGH!
I had trouble deciding on the placement of this one because it could easily be #1 on this list. Imagine that you are talking about something that is bothering you. It is really important to you, so you are kind of worked up about it. Now, imagine that the person you are talking to about it starts smirking at you or laughing in the middle of what you are saying. Would you be upset by that? Add to that that the person who is openly laughing in your face is the reason you are bothered in the first place. Would you find that horribly dismissive and disrespectful. A student left my room last year and said, "I got in trouble for smiling." He was half right. He got in trouble for smiling at the worst possible time. Your teacher isn't just in a mood, so be respectful. In the end, that will earn you the respect of the teacher. Laughing in that moment will not.
1. When a teacher tells you do something, do it. Don't explain why you aren't doing it.
I put this at number one because if students did this alone, it would eliminate most of the need for numbers 2 and 4. When a teacher says, "Please sit down," the result she is hoping for his your but in a chair. She is not looking for an explanation of why you were up in the first place. When a teacher says, "get back to work," she wants you to get back to work. She doesn't want three minutes on what caused you to get off task to begin with. Very few things in class actually require a full explanation. Here's a good rule. When a teacher says something to you, the next word out of your mouth should not begin with "but I was just." If an explanation actually would be helpful, your teacher will be much more open to it if you have already done what was asked.
Teach for a while, and it will happen. You will stop doing something you used to love doing because it just isn't worth the impact on your classroom. The chaos that comes from playing a particular review game or engaging in a certain project is just too much to control. Then, some outspoken student will say it, "I heard you used to be fun."
One of our teachers was once known for his review games. They were so intense that there was once an injury. That teacher no longer plays review games because students were so focused on diving for their answer, they wouldn't take the time to listen to the review part of the review game. This past year, I stopped playing Kahoot as a review game with one of my grades because they stopped reading the choices and just hit an answer, which made the test average the next day much lower than normal. When students use that phrase "used to be fun," they don't stop to think about where the fun went and why. Therefore, the rest of this post is a service to students. These are the top five ways you, as a student, can keep a fun teachers fun.
5. Learn each teacher's "tell."
Every teacher has a signal that you are reaching the line or are crossing it (every human being, for that matter). If you learn that "tell," you won't have to recognize the one that says, "Look behind you. The line is back there." For some teachers, it is that they top talking and close their eyes (probably counting to ten). For others, it may be a facial expression. For me, it is when I say, "Alright, enough." I actually mean enough when I say it. If students would stop whatever they are doing right when they recognize the "tell," they would end up in much less trouble. The kid in your class with interpersonal intelligence will be able to tell you what it is for every teacher.
4. Own your guilt.
I don't know who decided that denying what you have done means you didn't do it, but it doesn't. If you didn't do your homework, say it rather than telling your parents that the teacher lost it. If you didn't write a paper, don't pretend to look for it in your book bag. When a teacher tells you to stop talking, it is because they have seen you talking. Saying you weren't talking is the equivalent of calling them stupid or liars. The last time I truly lost my cool with a student was because of this. The student had talked and laughed during our opening prayer. I found this disrespectful to me as well as to God. My eyes were not closed (not only because I'm not crazy enough to close my eyes in class but because I lose equilibrium and fall down if I close my eyes while standing), so I had seen him. I sent him to the hall. When I went out to talk to him, he actually said, "Miss Hawks, I don't know what you are talking about." I knew what I had seen and lost my mind. If he had said, "I'm sorry. I know it was disrespectful. It won't happen again." I would have forgiven him. His insistence on adding lying to the disrespect was the worst possible idea.
3. Recognize why you are at school.
So, this is where the problem with review games and hands on activities comes in. Teachers don't play review games with you because they care about you having fun. We like that you are having fun, but that is not the point of the game. Teachers know that serotonin, the neurotransmitter released when you are having fun, is also responsible for writing long term memories in your brain. That is why my teaching involves jokes and stories about my cat and analogies related to childhood toys. It is also why we play ScienceLand and Quizlet Live and Kahoot. However, the most important part of the review is between the questions, when we review what makes the correct answer correct and the others incorrect. That's the review part, and that's what will help you with your test. Focusing on points (the marks on the board that will literally become dust at the end of class) is not going to help you. It is also only going to frustrate the teacher who wrote the test when we are trying to give you information about what is going to be on the test that we wrote. We know what you need and are desperately trying to give it to you; trust us.
2. When a teacher is fussing at you, DO NOT LAUGH!
I had trouble deciding on the placement of this one because it could easily be #1 on this list. Imagine that you are talking about something that is bothering you. It is really important to you, so you are kind of worked up about it. Now, imagine that the person you are talking to about it starts smirking at you or laughing in the middle of what you are saying. Would you be upset by that? Add to that that the person who is openly laughing in your face is the reason you are bothered in the first place. Would you find that horribly dismissive and disrespectful. A student left my room last year and said, "I got in trouble for smiling." He was half right. He got in trouble for smiling at the worst possible time. Your teacher isn't just in a mood, so be respectful. In the end, that will earn you the respect of the teacher. Laughing in that moment will not.
1. When a teacher tells you do something, do it. Don't explain why you aren't doing it.
I put this at number one because if students did this alone, it would eliminate most of the need for numbers 2 and 4. When a teacher says, "Please sit down," the result she is hoping for his your but in a chair. She is not looking for an explanation of why you were up in the first place. When a teacher says, "get back to work," she wants you to get back to work. She doesn't want three minutes on what caused you to get off task to begin with. Very few things in class actually require a full explanation. Here's a good rule. When a teacher says something to you, the next word out of your mouth should not begin with "but I was just." If an explanation actually would be helpful, your teacher will be much more open to it if you have already done what was asked.
Friday, March 11, 2016
The Lost Art of Conflict Resolution
"Miss Hawks, he messed up our pool game" was said to me during lunch duty.
My school is fortunate enough to have a basketball cage, foosball table, and pool table in the cafeteria for students to use as energy release after they have eaten. When this 8th-grade child reported that someone messed up the game, I didn't realize he was asking me to intervene. I said, "okay" and began to walk away. He said, "Aren't you going to talk to him?" I can't remember if I said it out loud or not, but my thoughts were, "Seriously? You want adult intervention because someone is playing pool wrong?" He was absolutely horrified when I told him they had to work that out amongst themselves. "I told him I didn't like it. Aren't you going to do something?" I said, "Work it out."
A week later, the topic of our weekly homeroom was "sort of bullying." The reason I say "sort of" is that my school is mostly made up of kids that have been in the same class since elementary school. That leads them to often behave like brothers and sisters. While that may sometimes lead to actual bullying, more often than not it leads to sibling style teasing that just goes to far. In homeroom, we were discussing ways a person might go about addressing that. Juniors and seniors said, "First tell them you don't like it. If that doesn't work, go to the principal." Another option they presented was to hit them really hard if telling them you didn't like it hadn't worked. I was flabbergasted that they went straight to the most extreme solutions. Does a principal really need to get involved if someone who likes you teases you more than they should? Actual bullying is different. That may require adult intervention, but that wasn't the discussion we were having. Is there really not an intermediate step between saying, "I don't like what you are doing" and hitting someone?
These two events made me realize that millennial kids and those who come after them have no concept of conflict resolution. This comes from the fact that they were never alone. There is no time in a child's life when an adult isn't within earshot. When I was a kid in the 80's, my friends and I spent a fair amount of time alone. We played in someone's backyard or the creek near Shelley Lake or in the street until the street lights came on. If someone messed up a game, we either worked it out or we didn't, but there wasn't adult intervention because there wasn't an adult nearby. Now, because parents are afraid to let their children be alone, they are rarely out of your eye line, much less out of tattling range. As soon as the slightest disagreement arises, there's an adult jumping in to say, "You guys need to share." or "If you fight over it, I am going to take it away." or "Be nice." or "He didn't mean to." Conflicts are never resolved because the adult just puts a stop to whatever is happening.
I've spent a lot of time since those events thinking about what it means that I have juniors and seniors and 8th graders with no conflict resolution skills. Those seniors will soon be living in the dorm. There is no time in my life that I needed conflict resolution more than that. They WILL have conflicts with their roommates, and the problems they have with them will have to be resolved because they live in a tiny room together. They will be married and have no idea how to end a fight with their spouse. I am actually concerned that the divorce rate will soar even higher than it already has. If we send out into the world a generation of adults who believe that there are no steps between telling someone to stop and hitting them, what is going to happen to the crime rate?
Teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone else who spends time with children, may I have your attention. I beg of you, stop stepping into every disagreement. Allow kids to argue and work things out among themselves. An insincere apology doesn't mean anything. One of them may need to apologize, but it shouldn't be because their mom made them when they weren't really sorry. If we don't allow them to learn conflict resolution even when it is messy to do so, we will have a generation of adults who are always in conflict with no idea how to get out.
My school is fortunate enough to have a basketball cage, foosball table, and pool table in the cafeteria for students to use as energy release after they have eaten. When this 8th-grade child reported that someone messed up the game, I didn't realize he was asking me to intervene. I said, "okay" and began to walk away. He said, "Aren't you going to talk to him?" I can't remember if I said it out loud or not, but my thoughts were, "Seriously? You want adult intervention because someone is playing pool wrong?" He was absolutely horrified when I told him they had to work that out amongst themselves. "I told him I didn't like it. Aren't you going to do something?" I said, "Work it out."
A week later, the topic of our weekly homeroom was "sort of bullying." The reason I say "sort of" is that my school is mostly made up of kids that have been in the same class since elementary school. That leads them to often behave like brothers and sisters. While that may sometimes lead to actual bullying, more often than not it leads to sibling style teasing that just goes to far. In homeroom, we were discussing ways a person might go about addressing that. Juniors and seniors said, "First tell them you don't like it. If that doesn't work, go to the principal." Another option they presented was to hit them really hard if telling them you didn't like it hadn't worked. I was flabbergasted that they went straight to the most extreme solutions. Does a principal really need to get involved if someone who likes you teases you more than they should? Actual bullying is different. That may require adult intervention, but that wasn't the discussion we were having. Is there really not an intermediate step between saying, "I don't like what you are doing" and hitting someone?
These two events made me realize that millennial kids and those who come after them have no concept of conflict resolution. This comes from the fact that they were never alone. There is no time in a child's life when an adult isn't within earshot. When I was a kid in the 80's, my friends and I spent a fair amount of time alone. We played in someone's backyard or the creek near Shelley Lake or in the street until the street lights came on. If someone messed up a game, we either worked it out or we didn't, but there wasn't adult intervention because there wasn't an adult nearby. Now, because parents are afraid to let their children be alone, they are rarely out of your eye line, much less out of tattling range. As soon as the slightest disagreement arises, there's an adult jumping in to say, "You guys need to share." or "If you fight over it, I am going to take it away." or "Be nice." or "He didn't mean to." Conflicts are never resolved because the adult just puts a stop to whatever is happening.
I've spent a lot of time since those events thinking about what it means that I have juniors and seniors and 8th graders with no conflict resolution skills. Those seniors will soon be living in the dorm. There is no time in my life that I needed conflict resolution more than that. They WILL have conflicts with their roommates, and the problems they have with them will have to be resolved because they live in a tiny room together. They will be married and have no idea how to end a fight with their spouse. I am actually concerned that the divorce rate will soar even higher than it already has. If we send out into the world a generation of adults who believe that there are no steps between telling someone to stop and hitting them, what is going to happen to the crime rate?
Teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone else who spends time with children, may I have your attention. I beg of you, stop stepping into every disagreement. Allow kids to argue and work things out among themselves. An insincere apology doesn't mean anything. One of them may need to apologize, but it shouldn't be because their mom made them when they weren't really sorry. If we don't allow them to learn conflict resolution even when it is messy to do so, we will have a generation of adults who are always in conflict with no idea how to get out.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Introvert and Extroverts
I am an extrovert. Anyone who has ever met me would agree. I'm loud, and I talk all the time. While neither of those is the definition of extrovert, they are certainly signs. I don't like small talk and schmoozing at our annual meet and greet, so I must be on the mild end of extroversion; but if I spend more than one day at home alone, I get a little stir crazy. Last year, we had 3 snow days following a four-day weekend, and I was about to lose my mind before we got back to school.
As a teacher, I have a blend of personality types in my classes - extroverts and introverts, verbal processors and artistic processors, kids with autism and kids who are social butterflies. Those that are not like me are harder for me to understand, but I must still give them what they need. It is not loving to care well only for those who are like yourself, so I must learn to care for my introverts. Some of my favorite students have been introverts, once I figured out a way to get to know them without talking.
If you are like me and are looking for a resource to help you understand your introverts, I recommend the book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. If that's too much reading for you, let me recommend her TED Talk. A self-professed introvert, she will give you a glimpse contributions that introverts have made in our world and let you see that they are busy mentally while the extroverts are busy verbally.
As I listened to her talk the first time, it occurred to me that this is one of my pendulum swings in education. Education is always trying to address the needs of some group that has been marginalized when the pendulum was swinging the other way. For decades, we treated school as a quiet place where students only listened and rarely spoke. If a teacher assigned a group project, that teacher was considered extreme. This left the extroverts feeling anxious. As the educational system started analyzing who they weren't serving well, they made radical changes. Now, it is odd for students to have a solo assignment. Collaboration is the default position. Desks are in pods to facilitate collaboration, and students are expected to communicate for much of their day. While this is great for the extroverts, it has left the introverts feeling anxious.
Neither of these models is the right way. Neither of them is really wrong, either, except that they both address the needs of only one type of student. We know that we have many types of students in our classrooms, and while we cannot give them perfectly what they each need every minute of every day, we can address each of their needs within the week or day or class period, depending on how our schools are structured.
I recently heard a speech by Cynthia Tobias, and she gave some great practical advice. Each day, she said, give your students
- an opportunity to talk.
- an opportunity to visualize something.
- an opportunity to move.
On behalf of my sweet introverts, I would add one thing to that list. Give them an opportunity to spend a few moments in quiet thought. You can actually incorporate all of these into one activity. You can give them a question that requires visualization and say, "We will spend 1 minute thinking about this. Paint the picture in your own mind without talking. Then, get up and walk to your partner (who would, in this situation, not be the person next to them) and spend one minute telling them what you were thinking. They will spend one minute sharing with you. Then come back to your seat." This gives the introverts, the extroverts, and the movers what they need in three minutes. You might not be able to do that every day, but you could probably find a way to work it in once a week.
Using technology will also involve introverts in a way a class discussion might not. My school as a learning management system that gives us the option to have discussion boards. I have found these to be a powerful tool for my introverts. If we have an in-class debate, there are a handful of students that will lead that discussion. I have always required that everyone must contribute at least one substantive comment, but I had to drag it out of some students. After we adopted the learning management system, I added something to our debates. I created a discussion board. I didn't have the introverts in mind when I did this; it was really just to keep the discussion going. What I found, however, was that those who had said nothing out loud in class contributed very strong opinions on the discussion board. They were more articulate and contributed far more than what I tried to pull from them while they were uncomfortable.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Changing it Up on the Fly
When I was in college, I learned to write detailed lesson plans. These were multiple page documents with the objective laid out in excruciating detail, every material you might possibly use (right down to paper and pencils), descriptions of each and every activity, and the questions you planned to ask at the end of the lesson. Absolutely no teacher writes in this level of detail after they get out of college. That doesn't make learning it without value, a point I will return to in a moment.
When I student taught, I was placed with two teachers who were at the opposite ends of the planning spectrum. Mr. Bell was type A, high strung, sinister man who planned like a Bond villain. He had plans for his plans, which were written always and only in fine point black ball point pen. That was the right way to do it, and if you used a medium point, you were just wrong. My second teacher was a "go with the flow," extroverted, relationship is everything kind of woman who was 9 months pregnant (our last days were the same day). She would come into the room in the morning and say, "What are we going to do today? Let's see." When I had my "defense" of student teaching with the committee, they asked me what I learned from having such varied experiences. My response was that I didn't think I could be either one of them. I would probably slide around somewhere in the middle.
I am a planner. Every personality test says so, and it's not like I needed a test to know it. I have back up plans for my back up plans and make lists every day which may or may not be cross referenced to other lists. However, teaching is far too fluid an experience to expect my plans to be completely set in stone. A good teacher has plans, but a great teacher can make changes to those plans on the fly.
I can anticipate times when I know my plans will have to change, and (wait for it) I plan for them. However, you won't always be able to expect these times. You will have the best plan that involves the coolest website, only to find that the filter blocks that site on student computers. You will have the perfect demonstration, but it requires that you be outside on a day when it rains. You can't just fall apart in those moments and have students do nothing. Let me repeat that a different way: There is nothing more dangerous than a group of students who have nothing to do! When you are making your plans, consider the possibilities and figure out a back up. Maybe there is a youtube video of that cool demo that you can use if it's not possible to do it live. With a couple of days notice, your IT people might be able to unblock that website. If you don't know it is blocked until the kids are in front of you, send an e-mail to IT, and start teaching the follow up first. Maybe it will be unblocked by the end of class, and you can do the activity tomorrow. Unless you teach math, there are many ways to change the order of what you are teaching to adapt to surprises.
Let's also remember this. Our curriculum is important, but we are not the only person who will ever teach them any one topic or skill. If my 8th grade doesn't learn about the polarity of a water molecule, they will encounter it again in biology as well as high school chemistry. When you have to change things up, focus on having them learn what is most important, not just what you had planned for that day. It may be that the lesson your students learn that day is the humility and flexibility modeled by their teacher.
When I student taught, I was placed with two teachers who were at the opposite ends of the planning spectrum. Mr. Bell was type A, high strung, sinister man who planned like a Bond villain. He had plans for his plans, which were written always and only in fine point black ball point pen. That was the right way to do it, and if you used a medium point, you were just wrong. My second teacher was a "go with the flow," extroverted, relationship is everything kind of woman who was 9 months pregnant (our last days were the same day). She would come into the room in the morning and say, "What are we going to do today? Let's see." When I had my "defense" of student teaching with the committee, they asked me what I learned from having such varied experiences. My response was that I didn't think I could be either one of them. I would probably slide around somewhere in the middle.
I am a planner. Every personality test says so, and it's not like I needed a test to know it. I have back up plans for my back up plans and make lists every day which may or may not be cross referenced to other lists. However, teaching is far too fluid an experience to expect my plans to be completely set in stone. A good teacher has plans, but a great teacher can make changes to those plans on the fly.
I can anticipate times when I know my plans will have to change, and (wait for it) I plan for them. However, you won't always be able to expect these times. You will have the best plan that involves the coolest website, only to find that the filter blocks that site on student computers. You will have the perfect demonstration, but it requires that you be outside on a day when it rains. You can't just fall apart in those moments and have students do nothing. Let me repeat that a different way: There is nothing more dangerous than a group of students who have nothing to do! When you are making your plans, consider the possibilities and figure out a back up. Maybe there is a youtube video of that cool demo that you can use if it's not possible to do it live. With a couple of days notice, your IT people might be able to unblock that website. If you don't know it is blocked until the kids are in front of you, send an e-mail to IT, and start teaching the follow up first. Maybe it will be unblocked by the end of class, and you can do the activity tomorrow. Unless you teach math, there are many ways to change the order of what you are teaching to adapt to surprises.
Let's also remember this. Our curriculum is important, but we are not the only person who will ever teach them any one topic or skill. If my 8th grade doesn't learn about the polarity of a water molecule, they will encounter it again in biology as well as high school chemistry. When you have to change things up, focus on having them learn what is most important, not just what you had planned for that day. It may be that the lesson your students learn that day is the humility and flexibility modeled by their teacher.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Changing Your Plans - That's Life
Teachers live by plans. Day plans, unit plans, lesson plans, year long course maps, curriculum guides, etc. We submit plans for review and approval, and most of us plan about a week ahead (Note: if you are new teacher reading this, don't feel bad. You are probably planning two hours ahead. If you get a whole day ahead, pat yourself on the back.)
Because we make so many plans, we tend to get very attached to them. Then, there is a fire drill or a pep rally we forgot was coming. Half our class is out on a field trip we didn't know about or leaves early for a swim meet. The thing it took me longest to learn as a new teacher was how long things would take. I would have a plan I thought was a class period only to have it last twenty minutes (or three days). It was just impossible to know how long something was going to take if I had never done it before. What happens to your plans then?
Our plans are lovely ideals of how a lesson will go, but they are just that. They are ideals. We don't live in an ideal world. Stuff is going to happen. Equipment is going to break. Projector bulbs are going to burn out. How you react to those things sets an example for your students. You don't want them to wig out, so you shouldn't either. You want them to be flexible, so you have to model flexibility.
As you get farther along in teaching, you get better at predicting how long things will take. Every class is different though. What took two days with last year's physics class might take three days this year. The kids are different, and you may have explained it a little differently. You get better at predicting the rabbit trails. For example, when I teach about the ear, I know to expect questions about ears popping on planes and tubes and now can work in time for those questions. No matter how long you teach, you will still encounter times when you just can't stick to the plan.
Don't be afraid to regroup. You want to teach, not just cover the material in the curriculum. If your students aren't getting the material, push the test out a day. Every year, I walk this line. I realize that there may be a chapter I don't get to do (or that I have to combine two chapters at the end and just teach the essentials from that chapter). It has taken me a long time to come to this conclusion, but I believe it is right. I would rather teach the things I do get to well than get to everything by doing it badly.
Because we make so many plans, we tend to get very attached to them. Then, there is a fire drill or a pep rally we forgot was coming. Half our class is out on a field trip we didn't know about or leaves early for a swim meet. The thing it took me longest to learn as a new teacher was how long things would take. I would have a plan I thought was a class period only to have it last twenty minutes (or three days). It was just impossible to know how long something was going to take if I had never done it before. What happens to your plans then?
Our plans are lovely ideals of how a lesson will go, but they are just that. They are ideals. We don't live in an ideal world. Stuff is going to happen. Equipment is going to break. Projector bulbs are going to burn out. How you react to those things sets an example for your students. You don't want them to wig out, so you shouldn't either. You want them to be flexible, so you have to model flexibility.
As you get farther along in teaching, you get better at predicting how long things will take. Every class is different though. What took two days with last year's physics class might take three days this year. The kids are different, and you may have explained it a little differently. You get better at predicting the rabbit trails. For example, when I teach about the ear, I know to expect questions about ears popping on planes and tubes and now can work in time for those questions. No matter how long you teach, you will still encounter times when you just can't stick to the plan.
Don't be afraid to regroup. You want to teach, not just cover the material in the curriculum. If your students aren't getting the material, push the test out a day. Every year, I walk this line. I realize that there may be a chapter I don't get to do (or that I have to combine two chapters at the end and just teach the essentials from that chapter). It has taken me a long time to come to this conclusion, but I believe it is right. I would rather teach the things I do get to well than get to everything by doing it badly.
Monday, August 31, 2015
The Power of Silence
I have a magical super power that makes kids fall into hushed silence. It isn't a special hand signal. It isn't a sound. It isn't a flashing sign. It is MY silence.
Kids are used to being lectured, yelled at, told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. They are used to music being pumped into their ears 24 hours a day. They are used to beeping, buzzing, and ringing. What they are not used to is the sound of silence (I wish I could input Simon and Garfunkel here).
When my students get out of hand while I'm in the middle of a lesson, I stop speaking. I stare at the ceiling, and I wait. If you know me, you know that silence isn't exactly a strength of mine, but it doesn't take long. It takes 30s or so for the first student to realize I have stopped speaking; then he usually spreads the word that everyone should shut up. The whole process usually takes less than a minute. It takes much less energy and is much more effective than fussing. They don't care if a teacher fusses because, in their minds, teachers fuss all the time.
The one I keep in my back pocket for the most extreme times is keeping silent for the remainder of the period. This usually happens when we have played a review game. I certainly don't expect the same level of decorum for a game that I do for other times, but it is only useful review if people are paying attention. I usually give them a few chances (because it is a game, after all). Then I say, "That's it. I'm done." I sit down and don't speak for the rest of the period (which is usually only 10 minutes or so if I get to this point). It freaks them out. They don't know what to do if a teacher doesn't talk for ten minutes. In those times, you could hear a pin drop on the carpet. Beware: Using this technique too often will make it stop working. It is the novelty of it that makes this work.
Right now, I'm sitting in a completely silent room. It is my study hall. It consists mainly of 8th graders and a couple of seventh graders. Because they all have the same classes, I usually let them work together. We are a school that places high value on collaboration and cooperation. However, as with any study hall, it can be dangerous to let them talk. My policy is clear. There is one warning for the volume being too loud or lack of productive talk. After that, you go back to your assigned seat and remain silent for the rest of the period. If this happens in the next class period, you will remain silent for not only the remainder of that period but for the next day's study hall as well. That's the step we are on now, which means I will have to suffer the sound of a silent classroom for the entire period on Thursday. I don't enjoy this, but it is amazingly helpful. Last year, we never escalated beyond this point because NO ONE wanted silence for three class periods. This class is a smart bunch, so I'm sure they'll do the same.
Kids are used to being lectured, yelled at, told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. They are used to music being pumped into their ears 24 hours a day. They are used to beeping, buzzing, and ringing. What they are not used to is the sound of silence (I wish I could input Simon and Garfunkel here).
When my students get out of hand while I'm in the middle of a lesson, I stop speaking. I stare at the ceiling, and I wait. If you know me, you know that silence isn't exactly a strength of mine, but it doesn't take long. It takes 30s or so for the first student to realize I have stopped speaking; then he usually spreads the word that everyone should shut up. The whole process usually takes less than a minute. It takes much less energy and is much more effective than fussing. They don't care if a teacher fusses because, in their minds, teachers fuss all the time.
The one I keep in my back pocket for the most extreme times is keeping silent for the remainder of the period. This usually happens when we have played a review game. I certainly don't expect the same level of decorum for a game that I do for other times, but it is only useful review if people are paying attention. I usually give them a few chances (because it is a game, after all). Then I say, "That's it. I'm done." I sit down and don't speak for the rest of the period (which is usually only 10 minutes or so if I get to this point). It freaks them out. They don't know what to do if a teacher doesn't talk for ten minutes. In those times, you could hear a pin drop on the carpet. Beware: Using this technique too often will make it stop working. It is the novelty of it that makes this work.
Right now, I'm sitting in a completely silent room. It is my study hall. It consists mainly of 8th graders and a couple of seventh graders. Because they all have the same classes, I usually let them work together. We are a school that places high value on collaboration and cooperation. However, as with any study hall, it can be dangerous to let them talk. My policy is clear. There is one warning for the volume being too loud or lack of productive talk. After that, you go back to your assigned seat and remain silent for the rest of the period. If this happens in the next class period, you will remain silent for not only the remainder of that period but for the next day's study hall as well. That's the step we are on now, which means I will have to suffer the sound of a silent classroom for the entire period on Thursday. I don't enjoy this, but it is amazingly helpful. Last year, we never escalated beyond this point because NO ONE wanted silence for three class periods. This class is a smart bunch, so I'm sure they'll do the same.
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