Still Growing

     It's comforting to know that I'm a work in progress, but so is every other teacher.  No matter how much experience we have, we have to continue to evolve with our students, our communities, our resources.  We're never done with the process of becoming great teachers. 

     That said, I've certainly learned a lot this quarter in both my college classes and in my elementary main placement.  I take in all I can from my mentors, my classmates, my textbooks, my administrators, and my students.  I mix it all up with everything I already knew (or thought I knew) and the result is likely to be some new way of thinking about something or doing something.

     I've come to see the tedious writing of lesson plans to be a good way to find flaws in my plan.  While I certainly don't stand in front of the class and read from a script, I've written one because it helps me develop the flow and pace of my lesson.  I have found the result to be the development of a natural clock inside my head that keeps lessons within time limits and keeps kids engaged. 

    Thinking about modifications to fit student needs is also laying out a framework of having lessons designed to meet a range of abilities yet still cover the required content.  My future students will have varied reading levels, understandings of math concepts, language skills, social skills, family units, physical abilities and attention spans.  I have to be prepared with something for everyone.  Taking the time to chart out individual student needs across subject areas is a good way for me to help them reach their potential.

     There's nothing like the real thing when it comes to experience.  These past months have put me in front of 27 students, their eyes fixed on me, waiting for me to say something profound.  My mouth absolutely goes dry. I've seen the looks on their faces that say "She doesn't know what she's talking about" and I never want to see that look again.  I've also seen them engaged and eager to get to work and that's a much more pleasant experience for all of us.

     I know the chaos of getting in all the fine points of the day - pledge of allegiance, straight lines, sharpened pencils available, flipcharts ready, lunch count, permission forms, soothing hurt feelings, phone calls to parents, fielding interruptions, Just Right Books, homework distributed, planners filled in, and who rides which bus.  On top of it all, there are so many expectations to meet.  My students and I are together trying to please parents, principals, school boards, government agencies, and future employers.  My goal is to take the pressure off students to make everyone else proud and just make themselves proud.  

"Go Ahead, Make Your Day"

     When I first heard about the discipline program used in the Everett School District secondary schools, I thought it sounded a bit harsh. Students sitting facing the wall for minutes, hours or even days?  I wondered how this could possibly be used in a way that doesn't result in angry students refusing to conform or even seeking revenge against teachers or staff.  What I discovered is that when it's used consistantly, it's like a magic pill.  When it's used poorly, students continue to test limits in the classroom and interrupt the flow of lessons and student learning.
     The five step program is designed to provide students with specific expectations for behavior at school.  One very important school rule sets the theme:  No one has the right to interfere with the learning, safety, or well-being of others.  This rule can be found posted in every classroom, the lunchroom,  in the hallways and in the principal's office.  Going into steps is not the choice of the teacher.  The student chooses to go to Step One by making poor behavior choices.  He or she is responsible for the consequence and it's the responsibility of the student to reflect on the behavior that led to sitting in a corner facing the wall. 
     When the teacher has a natural break in teaching, he/she goes over to the student to review what happened before releasing the student back to his/her desk.  The conversation starts with, "Why did you choose Step One?"  The student responds by relating the behaviors that were interfering with class learning.  Usually, Step One is all it takes to get the student back on track.  If the student continues to "choose" behaviors that show disrespect for classroom expectations, the result will be Step Two, Three, Four or Five.
 Step Two - student is standing facing the wall.
 Step Three - Student is standing facing the wall directly in front of the Make Your Day Rule.
 Step Four - Student is sent to the office, parents called and a conference scheduled.  Until that conference is held, student will be in Step One for the remainder of the day or days.  Kind of an "in-school" suspension.
 Step Five means the student will be suspended from school for a week. 
     The Cooperating Teacher I spent most of my DYAD time with used this classroom management tool with great efficiency.  The students knew exactly what behaviors were expected and what would happen if they didn't follow the rules.  No delay.  No special consideration. No surprises.  Blurting?  Didn't do homework?  Talking inappropriately?  Unprepared for class?  Disrespectful?  Inattentive?  These behaviors led to Step One.  Without fanfare, anyone choosing Step One is sent to a chair in the back of the room to contemplate how they fell short of expectations.
     My opinion is that following the Make Your Day program consistantly means that the teacher is providing a safe classroom where a whole bunch of learning is taking place.  Very little time is wasted on repeating instruction, getting students' attention, or intervening in student squabbles.  When students are given an assignment, they don't grumble.  When the teacher is talking, no one else is.  Students remain seated unless they're given permission to stand.  When the classroom is engaged in an activity that allows for student interaction, partnering or discussion, they conduct themselves appropriately.  There's no teasing, no bullying, no bull. 
     My daughters often complain about classrooms where the teacher has lost control.  They're frustrated with the waste of time and the difficulty of hearing what the teacher has to offer when the room is abuzz with chatter. Hillary expressed, "Hey, if I'm going to spend a year taking Spanish, I'd like to be able to speak Spanish when I'm done." Yes, that would be ideal! I've made a point of teaching them that they can have an influence on their peers by being model students and I've heard from their teachers that they are respectful and helpful (My little angels!). After all, the teacher is expected to teach and the student is expected to learn and if these things don't happen, we are failing to provide quality education. 
     The final component of the Make Your Day program is that students self-evaluate at the end of every period and award themselves "points".  Points are based on minutes in the period so if there are 45 minutes and a student spent 5 minutes in Step One, he should only give himself 40 points.  These points are entered into a spreadsheet and total points are noted on report cards.  This allows students and parents to discuss daily behaviors and relate them to marks the students are receiving for their work in class. 
     I feel like I have the tendency to be somewhat mushy in my classroom management so I see a real benefit to working in a school where all students know expectations and all teachers follow the same discipline procedures.  No one teacher is any "meaner" than any other.  There are no "teacher's pets" and no frustrated students feeling like their time and effort was wasted.  I visited many classrooms in the DYAD to see how different teachers used (or didn't use) the program effectively.  I can say without a doubt that the most productive and comfortable classrooms were the ones where the teacher took full advantage of the benefits Make Your Day can bring to a middle school.  I predict a further advantage is that we're instilling in students a sturdy sense of responsibility for themselves and consideration for others.

The Power of the Pat on the Back

   I've just had the most powerful experience in my middle school DYAD.  For a number of reasons, I was pretty nervous at the start.  I'd heard negative things about the school, I'd been placed there late and hadn't met with the teacher in the spring as many others had done, and I struggle with my classroom management skills so I expected the 6th graders to basically eat me alive.  All  my fears have melted away after a few weeks with a wonderful teacher who has not hesitated to allow me to establish myself with her students and make a few mistakes along the way.  No one died.  In fact, I know I've had a positive impact on these students, as has my partner, Nicole.  I see their faces  light up when we become their "teacher" and they are eager to be our guinea pigs. 
  
   My DYAD teacher has given me the gift of a pat on the back.  When she says to me "That went so well.  The students were really engaged," I feel like I could walk on water!  She and I have different styles but she is excited about my future as a teacher and lets me know what I'm doing right and what to do next time.  The classroom experience she's allowed me to have has been the most valuable time in  my training.  I can read books, watch videos, write lesson plans, reflect, and research but none of that compares to sharing a lesson  with a classroom of interested kids in terms of my learning.  It's a great feeling to present a lesson and then see the students put the information to use in their work.  I am  so glad that I sought the ML endorsement because I had the benefit of being mentored by a teacher who wasn't afraid to hand me the reins.  It was just the boost I needed to get me through the rest of this year.  I know I can do this.  

The Gap

     I'm lucky enough to know the complete exhaustion of Friday just after school is out.  It's a mind-numbing kind of tired but the kind where you know your efforts mattered.  I was an assistant teacher at the time so I'm assuming the classroom teacher was as tired as I was, if not more tired.  But here I am in school preparing to take on the job of teacher.  I'm here because I know that feeling, not in spite of it.
     Teachers have been in the news a lot lately due to budget cuts, contract negotiations, and statistics that make it seem like our kids are becoming less educated rather than more.  Some people want teachers to do more with less and resent that teachers get summers off and still have the nerve to complain.  A recent story in the Seattle Times discusses the high expectations people have of teachers yet still don't value them as professionals.  I think it's because every adult in the country has, at one time, had a "bad teacher", someone who probably hated their job, was burned out, or resented being scrutinized by administrators and parents. This experience causes some people to be merciless about what teachers should be capable of doing and ought to do without complaining and just be thankful they have a job.
     My favorite part of this piece is when a teacher being interviewed expresses that he's fighting an uphill battle and the reporter summarizes this viewpoint with "he knows he has two choices: throw up his hands or try like crazy". Good teachers are going to try like crazy, but let's hope they aren't completely burned out from their efforts to fill the gap.
     What can we as individual teachers do in our classrooms to connect students to enriching learning experiences when schools are operating on budgets that are stretched thin?  What resources remain untapped? How can we involve families in educational activities to a greater extent?