Creating a Culture of Respect

I cannot say enough nice things about teaching high school age students. They have achieved that wonderful stage where you can hold conversations, pose ideas, and allow them the opportunity to create new material from their studies. Often they surprise me with their insights, and I view my classes as a place where I too can learn. 

Occasionally though, I am reminded that our human capacity to say hurtful things is learned at a young age. Recently I found myself reminding one of my younger groups that it is never acceptable to mock a peer. Poke fun at the literature – yes. Satirize a character or idea – absolutely. Insult a peer or insinuate that his or her ideas are less important than your own – never.

I suppose many reasons exist why a student might make rude remarks towards another student. Perhaps the student is intimidated by an insight, and is simply lashing out to hide feelings of inadequacy. Perhaps the student was upset at not being called on first. Perhaps the student simply does not like the student who is talking and wishes for others to know. Regardless of the reason however, allowing such behavior creates an atmosphere that fosters disrespect for our fellow human beings.

I know my standards, core curriculum, and frameworks for the content which I teach. Nowhere, however, does the pedagogy tell me how to encourage the growth of a young adult who feels empathy and respect for his fellow man. Yet, a teacher’s responsibility extends far beyond the notes, worksheets, and projects, and into the murky realm of how to shape future citizens.

Perhaps you wonder how we can measure or assess the progress of such lessons. The answer is simple:

If my classroom is filled with youth who turn to one another without being asked and help the one who is behind on his or her notes,

If the classroom is one where the laughter is shared and never directed maliciously at a student,

If the classroom is one in which failure is looked at as an opportunity to learn something new, and

If the classroom is one filled with students whom one day I would be proud to call a friend, well then….

The lesson was a success.

The Case against Summer Reading Programs

Reading is a favorite pastime of mine. I love the way the story plays out like a movie in my head when I am reading a fabulous fiction book. I adore learning new ideas/perspectives/concepts and often pick up nonfiction works from all fields. A good biography is like an invitation to an intimate parlor session with a dinner guest who tells fabulous stories. A great autobiography is like going out to coffee with a good friend. An intriguing mystery will have me analyzing plots and characters with total strangers to try and figure out the ending. A thriller will keep me up for days and cause me to leave the light on when I sleep (if I can even close my eyes). A wonderful science fiction/fantasy novel will have me scouring the skies for evidence of other life, and pouring over hair dye to see how I would look as the alien with blue hair. A good book is truly a gift…

Yet I hate summer reading assignments – at least how they are so often constructed. “Qualified” grownups are picking books for students with little input from the age group set to read the book. Many times a book is picked for its “purpose,” its “lesson,” or for imparting some type of “value.” In isolation a student reads the book without guidance, background, explanation, or other help aid. Generally a journal assignment is given with many students feeling as though they are writing for no specific audience in mind – just the grade. Occasionally an additional book is assigned – or a choice is given –with some type of extra assignment. Again no guidance, background, relevance is given to the student, and the activity is completed in isolation from the student’s peers.

In a world in which 75% of my students walk into my classroom and tell me that they hate to read, how is the grade-driven, individual practice of summer reading supposed to foster a change of opinion?

I want my students to realize that reading is one of the most wonderful, exciting, sometimes challenging, yet inspiring activities available to us as human beings. The chance to glimpse inside the world created by another human – even for a brief time – is a magically amazing opportunity that no other species on earth can recreate. However the way most summer reading programs are now constructed, the activity becomes a joyless task generally completed a few nights before school starts. If this program remains the same assessment based activity it has become, I say do away with it completely.

Summertime for students is a magical time. Reading is a magical activity. Isn’t there a better way to combine the two than the programs in place now?

Textbook Perfect Lessons = no fun, no learning...

Learning is a fun engaging process. Classrooms should be places where magic happens as students and teachers explore a topic. Instead, all too often school becomes a dreary place for students to get through on the road to becoming adults.

Recently my students began Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible.” I love teaching this play because it has all the markings of an interesting TV show – sex, scandal, feuding characters, death, and hysteria. In short, it is not “boring” and typically my students have fun arguing about the characters once they understand the complex cast dynamics.

If this was a lesson plan submitted for college courses on teaching, the students would have been “properly prepared” to begin reading the play in class:

• We started this play after learning about the Puritans and reading some of their works so that the students have some background into the culture of the play’s setting before reading.

• I gave the students a “blog” assignment to express their opinions on the play’s themes: greed, guilt, morals, and American values.

• I used a PowerPoint discussion to guide our conversation about the background of the playwright, 1950s history, play itself, and basic characters.

• I posted the PowerPoint online so that the students would not have to worrying about needlessly copying down “facts” from the presentation.

• I kept the discussion “alive” by actively questioning students during the presentation.

• The students began reading the play on their own, and I connected the information they were reading to the background during the class discussions.

• I posted a summary online for Act 1 to assist with the storyline, and created an interactive Quizlet for the characters that the students could contribute to.

• Once the presentation was finished, students began working in groups to create a timeline of Act 1 – who enters the room, leaves the room, what they say and why this info is important.

It was a beautiful lesson plan, set up with all of the bells and whistles to reinforce learning. Unfortunately, while creating this “masterpiece” of learning, I forgot to consider the needs of my current students. I assumed that they would be able to take notes on the reading information without being taught how to pick out important details. I neglected to get them excited about the passion of the play, and to assess their level of understanding as we started reading.

The reality was that I forgot my own principles in creating this lesson. After looking at the start of these very colorful timelines, meeting with students afterschool, and stopping random students in the hallway to ask about their opinions on the reading, I discovered that many of the students were confused about the basic cast of characters, let alone what was happening in the play. Already the students had mentally “checked out” from being engaged, simply because I had not “checked in” on their progress as a class.

That night I went home and created a series of guided notes exercises to help students begin to learn how to understand what they read. In class I explained why we were changing our activities, and told them that I was not upset about the fact that they did not “get” the play right away. (Several students had told me they had been worried about asking questions because they did not want to look “dumb.”) I asked for their help in our classroom. I told them I needed them to ask questions and let me know where they were confused in the play, even if they thought we had already gone over those points in an earlier discussion. I told them that I loved this play, and wanted them to have some fun with it.

After my talk, we began reviewing the Act 1 guided notes in class this week, stopping to read the juiciest passages in Act 1 and connect them to the storyline. Already I am noticing a difference as students begin asking questions, understanding the cast of characters, and voicing opinions on the action. I began to add the “fun” back to the learning, by introducing laughter back into the process. The actions of some of the characters in the play are ridiculous when analyzed, so why shouldn’t we laugh?

I am looking forward to this week as we focus on reading the play in class. Several students have been asking to read for various characters – including some students who rarely will volunteer in class. What a difference understanding a text makes to student interest!

I thank my students for reminding me of my classroom principles, and engaging me back into the process of learning together.

S.O.S. - Starting out Successfully....

Each year I jokingly tell my high school students that they have now become my “kids” by virtue of simply being in my classroom. (Imagine gaining 100+ children in one fell swoop!) Teasing aside, I do feel responsible for the success of my students, and spend much of the year learning their individual needs to customize my lesson plans, agonizing over their trials, and celebrating their successes with them. From September through June, preparing for my “kids” consumes most of my waking hours!

In truth though, the work I do is dependent on the help of a child’s parent/guardian. At the end of the school day, my “kids” return to their families whose roles in their lives never switch off, 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Truly parents have a remarkable and awe-inspiring job caring for their children. So it is with great humbleness that I ask parents to allow me to offer a few suggestions for helping to prepare their child for the start of the school year: 

Please purchase school books in advance so that your child has them before starting the first day of school.

Except in rare circumstances (such as a late transfer or a competency issue) most students have their schedules set for the upcoming year before the end of the previous school year or by early summer. Many high schools offer the book lists online with a direct link to a textbook provider. By ordering early, parents prevent students from having difficulties at the beginning of the year when a teacher begins assigning work. If you are truly unable to purchase the books in advance, or they do not come in by the time school starts, send a note immediately to your child’s teacher so that he or she can assist the student with obtaining copies temporarily.

Advocate for your child’s needs, but don’t be an “enabler” of poor habits.

Teachers love when parents let us know about special concerns or the interests of our students. The more we know, the better able we are to tailor lessons to students’ interests and needs. However, we cringe when parents begin making excuses for children with comments such as:

“My child’s schedule is too busy for him/her to be responsible for checking the class website for homework due dates.”

“Being disorganized runs in our family! That’s why my child will not get his/her homework in on time.”

Part of a teacher’s job is to educate the students on life skills such as organization, timeliness, and pride in one’s work. Our job is so much easier when parents support such lessons. Remember, if your child needs help in these areas, teachers can be great resources!

Never ask your child about his/her day by using a “yes/no” question.

My grandfather was a successful restaurateur. He discovered that diners were much more likely to respond favorably when asked “Which one of our fabulous desserts would you like today?” Likewise, children will often respond to an open-ended question such as:

                “Which class did you have the most fun in today?”

                “What was the toughest lesson you learned today?”

                “Which class did you participate most in this week?”

                “Teach me about the coolest lesson you learned this week.”

In class, I never settle for an “I don’t know” answer and nor should you! Often, a follow-up question or two will help get the conversation flowing.

Feign interest, and you may find that you really are interested in even the most mundane details of their day!

I teach 4 of the same level of American literature this year (plus 1 block of freshman literature). This schedule means that I have to present the same material 4 times and make it sound fresh and lively every time! As a result, I will often hear the same kinds of comments or questions from students throughout all my blocks as we delve into the lesson. For each of those students, his or her comment/question is new and original. They do not realize I may have heard it before. However each time I hear a similar comment I remind myself that for this student, this moment may be the “make it or break it” moment for making connections or having a point clarified. This type of thinking allows me to feel pride that my student is participating, and helps me to not focus on the repetitiveness that may occur in the conversations throughout the day.

I totally get how tired parents must feel at the end of their own busy day. My own day starts at 4:30am and ends…well, whenever it can end! Sometimes it is hard to feel interest in small details, but to a child, those details may be the most important moment in their day. The best way to keep them talking is to express interest. Who knows, you may find that you learn something fabulous from your child!

The start of the school year is a critical time for students. Each year I look forward to working with parents on preparing students for the challenges ahead, and engaging student interest in their academic activities. Working together the parents and I can make certain “our kids” have a fabulous start to the school year!

From Another Perspective

Recently, Coach Goode, a teacher I had in high school, retired. A Facebook page was set up where his former students for the past 25 years reminded each other of fantastic memories. High school was a while ago for me; however one of my best memories is of one of this teacher’s classes. Each time I have told the following story it has grown in grandeur:

One day I walked into his class and on top of the front table was a chair and some other objects. (In some of my versions, the stack of junk on the table towers almost to the ceiling.) After the bell rang, and all of us were sitting quietly in our seats (of course), Coach Goode came running into the room waving a large stick and screaming his head off. He proceeded to knock everything off the table, (in some versions he also does a little savage dance yelling “ooga booga,” but I digress), and then walked (ran, danced) out of the room. A few minutes later he calmly walked in and asked us to take out a piece of paper and write about what we saw. We then went around the classroom reading our accounts. Some students were very factual in the telling, others interjected their own comments and feelings. 

The point of the lesson, “history is full of lies and so we must look at all accounts in order to get the most accurate picture possible.” In other words, one version of the story may not tell the whole tale, one way of looking at something may not give the complete picture.

Coach Goode is, by many accounts, a great teacher. Now in truth I couldn’t tell you the name of the course I had him for (some type of history), nor what else we studied that year. I don’t remember who was in that particular class with me, or what year in high school this was. Yet what made an impression on me for the past 16 years was the lesson that there are many sides to a story, not just one “right” one. In my life, I have extended this lesson even further to mean that often there are many ways of doing something effectively, not just the right or accepted one.

Today, a huge issue is brewing in this country over the standardized teaching scandals in which educators in many positions are accused of changing test answers to correct ones. Teachers in many states are measured as “good” teachers by how many students pass these exams. And although I won’t get political on this matter, I will say that the teachers I consider my “best” teachers taught me lessons that went well beyond the realm of multiple choice and true/false statements. So how do we tell which teachers are truly great teachers? It is my belief that you are not a great teacher until you retire and have the joy of students (as in Coach Goode’s case) sharing the lessons they learned while spending time with you. Until retirement then, all “good” teachers are simply those who strive for excellence, care about their students, and want to share the joy of learning in their classrooms.

When I was studying the art of teaching for my Masters degree, my favorite part of the program was collaborating with other teachers and teachers-in-training. Now as a teacher with my own classrooms, I miss the fun of hearing best practices, or other teachers’ “how to guides” for getting students excited about learning. I hope that I will always welcome teachers to share their ideas with me and keep me from becoming complacent in the microcosm of my own little classroom. I never want to look at teaching from only one point of view – my own. Otherwise, I, and my students, may miss out on some wonderful moments in the classroom.