This is OUR Classroom

Over the past few months, I have had this poster shared on my Facebook wall several times:  

I love it that people know how much I love my students and want to share ideas with me, but this is a poster that would never be allowed in my classroom.  Can you guess which phrase bothers me? It's the phrase, "This is my classroom."  

Several years ago, I read a book by Todd Whitaker called "What Great Teachers Do Differently: 14 Things That Matter Most". (In case you are interested, there is an updated version of the book.  You can buy it here if you'd like to read it.)  A quote in this book shook me to my core.  It has changed everything that I thought I knew about classroom management.  I thought being a teacher commanded respect from my students.  I thought having two degrees and years of experience could get me through any class.  I was wrong.

This.  This quote has changed how I approach classroom management.  I respect my students and they respect me.  I treat them like adults because many of my students are the adults in their households.  Many of my students struggle each day just to get to school.  They do not need me to belittle them.  They do not need to me to point out that I am their teacher. They do not need me to threaten them with consequences.  They know all of these things. There is nothing about the above poster that says, "Welcome, let's learn!"  

What most of them need is love.  They need to feel respected.  They need to feel like their ideas matter.  It is possible to do all of these things and to maintain a classroom environment that requires critical thinking and risk taking; however, in order to do that teachers must make themselves vulnerable.  We must be willing to learn our students stories.  We must try to love them, even when we don't like them.  We must know that our hearts will be broken a million times over.  We must know that for some kids, we are all they've got.  So no, this is not MY classroom.  This is OUR classroom.  This is OUR journey.  We are in this together.  That is how we learn best.  I am so thankful that I had teachers who took me on their journey years ago.  Their classrooms were MY classrooms, too, because I knew I was important to them.

I Refuse To Be a Victim of Learning

This year, I have taken a quote by May Angelou as my motto: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then once you know better, do better."  I love this quote because it reflects so many areas of my life.  Being a wife, a mother, a teacher - I try to do the best I can, and sometimes realizing that I don't know something hits me like a ton of bricks.  This happened to me this year with my view on professional learning.  Do better has become my phrase.  I can always do better.

As a student in the 90's, my teachers were the sole source of knowledge at school.  They knew the dates, background information, and important names associated with the content we were learning.  It was almost like they were part of a secret club of knowledge (ok, so really they were probably the only people in the building to have a copy of Cliff Notes with analysis and a teacher's textbook with possible test questions to add to their vast knowledge of a particular topic).  Even during my first few years of teaching, this was the case.  Students looked to me for answers and insight to the famous stories and poems that we were reading in class.  My notes and handouts were the sole source of information for them.

As a new teacher in 2003, my learning was quite similar.  I waited for my district to provide me with inservice training to fill the contracted time each year.  I was warned about dreaded inservice.  I completed the tasks that were asked of me.  I sometimes presented ideas  that were recommended by my administrators to help improve topics like reading and writing across the curriculum.  I am sure that sometimes I sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher.  In a sense, the notes and handouts from the district office were my sole source of learning.  It was a one-type-fits-all type of learning which allowed many of us to check out, fill the time, complain about how what we were learning had nothing to do with our content, and leave 15 minutes early.  It is no wonder why the uphill battle to change professional learning faces such a steep climb.  Many teachers were subjected to the kind of teaching that we abhor - there's no way we would ever teach like that, but we were learning like that. Ironically, we also know that the biggest factor to improving student learning is the effectiveness of a classroom teacher.  Those two facts just don't seem to correlate.

Whether students and their teachers know it or not, America is in the middle of an education revolution.  In my classroom, I am no longer the sole source of knowledge.  However, I am the only person who has teaching experience.  I am the only person who knows how to create a learning environment that is respectful and student-centered.  I am the only person who has completed high school and college.  I am the only person who is a mom and a wife. I am all of these things, but I am not the only person responsible for learning in my classroom.  Because of 1:1 laptops, my students have access to nearly every site I could possible use to create my lessons.  If they don't know how to use a colon correctly to introduce a list, they can look it up.  If they aren't sure how to spell a word, they can look that up, too.  Heck, they can even Youtube how to create something on Google Docs if I don't have the answer how to do it.  You see, in my classroom, we learn together.  It is okay for me to say, "I don't know the answer to that" because I have allowed myself to be part of the learning.  In class last week, I played Merle Haggard (a type of audio literacy, right?) after he passed away.  I went out to the hallway during passing period, and when I returned, a student had written his full name, his birthplace, his birthdate, and his final day on earth.  I didn't ask him to do that, but it sure helped in the discussion of who Merle Haggard was, the impact he had on music, and the fact that he has passed away the day before.  It was so cool that a student took the initiative to look that information up on his phone before class began because we all learned from it.

As a teacher, Websites like Twitter and apps like Voxer are connecting educators from across the country.  Now that I know I can connect with other educators (we call them Ts in the Twitter world), I have an endless amount of resources.  For example, the other day, I had a question about a website that allows a group of people to collaboratively create word clouds.  I tweeted out my question, and within 5 minutes I had the answer I was looking for tweeted back to me. IT WAS FANTASTIC (and the answer was a website called govote.at) A few years ago, I would not have felt comfortable doing that.  I probably would have asked my department, but there is no way I would have posted it on the internet for people to see because even then I felt like I should have those answers somewhere in my playbook.  Now that I know better, I no longer have to wait for my district to tell me what I should learn and from whom I should learn it.  I have made a choice to continue to better myself and my teaching strategies because that betters the learning that takes place for my students. 

This battle between "old learning" vs. "new learning" exists because many students and teachers alike easily approach learning as victim learners.  While no definition exists, victim learning sounds like this: "I have to be here.  I have to learn this.  I have to..." as though there is not a choice.  Being a victim of a crime or abuse is a very real and true thing, and victims deserve all the help and support that we can offer. I have no doubt that many students and teachers (myself included) have suffered through mind-numbing classes and presentations; they have been the victims of the clock, filling time until the hour or day is over. 

However, the choice now lies within us.  Each day we have a choice to try to better ourselves whether we are 15 or 55 years old.  It is no one else's choice but our own.  Many teachers are working to change this mindset in our classrooms and in our schools.  When "have to" becomes "get to" or "might", then we start taking chances and changing those thoughts.  Educators are trying to get students to take ownership of their learning and the opportunities that are presented to them by well-educated, compassionate, and driven teachers. We are trying to engage them, inspire them, and introduce them to ideas they never knew existed.  We are trying to uncross their arms and open their eyes to the fact that learning is something that no one can ever take from them. We are trying to show them their potential, but more importantly get them to realize themselves that their potential is opening up endless doors for future success.

Many teachers are also trying to change this mindset within their schools and districts.  It is okay to be positive.  It is okay to love teaching, or as I like to say, "geek out over it"!  Teaching, for me, is like being a coach.  My classroom is the field or court that I can use to make a difference in my students' reading and writing.  So, yeah, I am pretty "geeked out" about what I do each day.  It is no different than the passion I see from our band teacher, art teacher, or our head football coach - that kind of passion results in excellence.  I have a choice, and I choose not to be a victim of bad learning; it's MY choice. Not every teacher is comfortable sharing what they do online, but the choice to be positive and innovative starts in our classrooms and in our hallways.  If you want to know more about Twitter, Voxer, or the other ways that educators are networking, just ask someone who uses it.  I guarantee that they will be excited to show you a world that you never knew existed.  It is positive.  It is learning driven.  It is a choice you will never regret.

When Ta Da Becomes "Ah Ha!"

So this week we had a #313teach Twitter slow chat challenge in our district:  

Well, we were working with possessives in my sophomore English classes, and there isn't much "Ta Da" about possessives, or so I thought.  Possessives basically follow three rules, so we worked on a technique that forced students to show me their thinking process, not just how to make a word possessive.  I wanted them to tell me three things: is the word singular or plural, how would you fix it, and how do you know you are right?

What I found was that words like this (girls') were causing issues with my students.  I had four students tell me that they have never seen a word end in an apostrophe because they thought it wass always supposed to be ('s).  What a conversation we had.  I spent about 5 minutes convincing kids they weren't dumb if they had never really noticed this before AND thanking them for letting me know they didn't know this existed. 

I spent the next few minutes of class talking about my husband's old 1985 Dodge Ram Charger.  It had a 7-inch lift kid, 35 inch tires, a KC light strip, a rusted out floor board, a hot-wired ignition, and a dual exhaust.  Prior to knowing my husband, I thought Ram Chargers were like Ford Broncos.  I am here to tell you that they are not.  I can spot a Ram Charger from a block away.  I just never knew what I was looking at, but any Ford or Dodge fan will tell you that there is a difference.  When those "ah ha" moments happen, be it with possessive in English or the body type of old trucks, you never forget them.

My students who had never seen a plural possessive end in only an apostrophe probably learned more about a Ram Charger than they ever hoped to know, but they will also probably start seeing those types of words in their reading more often because they know what it is they are seeing.  Ta da!

Gimme Five Challenge: Accepted!

Gimme 5 Challenge

Last week a former student, turned colleague (how cool is that?) of mine tagged me in the Gimme Five Challenge.  I needed to finish grading my Honors Freshman English research papers before I could even begin to think about writing a blog post. This challenge originated from Dr. Todd Schmidt from Harbor View Elementary in California.

If you are an educator, I challenge you to reflect on your year, for it is only through reflection that we move forward and change our practices and beliefs.

What has been your ONE biggest struggle during this school year?

1. My biggest struggle this year has been finding a balance between school and home.  I tell my students that there is only one thing that comes before school, and that is my family.  I have two young boys, and some days those boys need their momma.  It is so different being a teacher with children.  I used to come home from school, eat dinner, and then dive right back into work.  These two boys of mine don't allow me to be "teacher" between the hours of 4:30 and 8:30.  So, what's that mean?  It means that sometimes my grades don't get put in as often as I'd like.  It means that sometimes I stay up late altering the next day's lesson plans to fit this specific class's needs.    It means that I have changed my beliefs on assignments; not everything needs a grade, but I can tell you that I know for a fact that the activities that we do in class each day are making my students better readers and writers. Just because I can't put in the kind of time that I used to does not mean that I am not doing my best, it means my best has to change the way it looks to work for myself, my husband, my kids, and my students.

Share TWO accomplishments that you are proud of from this school year.

1. I'm very proud of the S.E.E.D writing program my department and school has implemented in the past few years.  I am seeing some of the strongest writing from my student that I have ever seen.  I also enjoyed being able to share this writing strategy with another school this year with Jason Kohls.  

2. I am still coming down from cloud nine after attending ECET2 (Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teachers and Teaching) in San Diego.  This conference is the brain child of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  It brought over 400 educators together from all over the country to spend the weekend collaborating on how to improve education and celebrate learning.  It was life changing to see the passion that exists across the country to reform education. Too bad we don't see that on the 6 o'clock news.

What are THREE things you wish to accomplish before the end of the school year?

1. I have two former students who run a non-profit organization to help improve education for school children in Nepal; somehow I want to partner with them this year.  They do fantastic work - check it out! https://openworldcause.org

2. I want to collaborate with our libraries to make sure that students have the opportunities to get library cards, or at least the information they need to do so, before the end of the year.  Very few of them actually have a library card that is not connected to school. I am working with another former student to make this happen.

3. I want to finish grading research papers for my sophomores and revisions for my freshman.  I know this doesn't sound exciting, but it takes about 30 hours to grade 45 research papers and another 10 to grade revisions (multiply that by two for both of my preps).  It is a huge chunk of time, but this type of writing is important to prepare students for college writing/ academic research.

Give FOUR reasons why you remain in education in today's rough culture.

1. I love my school, my colleagues, and my kiddos - this is how I give back a community that gives so much to me.

2. Education is my family business - it's what I was born to do.

3. My children's futures.

4. My students' futures.

Which FIVE people do you hope will take the challenge of answering these questions?

1. Greg Froese, one of my outstanding colleagues who also blogs. (beat ya, Jason Kohls)

2. Cindy Couchman, our Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Learning at Buhler - she has been an amazing colleague, resource, and friend to me.

3. Ben Honeycutt, a future teacher who is already a world-changer.

4. Heather Fuller - a former student teacher of mine who is a fantastic teacher and coach!

5. Larissa Carter, our new debate teacher who has contemplated starting a blog - would be a great first post!

Juxtaposition: Dude, That's Messed Up

I am an English teacher, and I have always believe it is my job to make English usable - not to scare kids away from trying to improve their reading and writing skills.  I don't think that any English teacher sets out to do that; however, because we are really the experts in these areas, it is easy to forget what it is like to be a struggling reader or writer. I personally know what it feels like to not understand English. There was a time when I could not tell a subject from a verb, so it has become my mission to make my content understandable.

One of the terms/concepts that I love to teach is "juxtaposition".  I have tried for years to find an easy way to get students to be able to identify this term in their reading, but until this year it seemed that they can only find it if I give them a few to choose from - then they can pick it out of a lineup.  For those who may not know, not only is juxtaposition fun to say, but it also means "to place two concepts, characters, ideas, or places near or next to each other so that the reader will compare or contrast them" (courtesy of www.literarydevices.com). So, my job as an English teacher is to make this usable so that students don't read the definition in the tone of Charlie Brown's teachers...waa wa waa wa waa. If they are not engaged in what we are doing, it is highly likely they won't apply it.

A few weeks ago, my students read "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson.  I LOVE THIS STORY!  If you've never read it, it's never to late = click here! It wasn't until I was reading it again (for probably the 50th time in my life) that I found myself saying, "Dude, that's so messed up" over and over again. I was reading about a beautiful summer day only to realize that a few hours later, a brutal tradition was to be carried out by the citizens of this town.  That's when it hit me - DUDE THAT'S MESSED UP was the answer to my juxtaposition problems! 

So much about what we teach is about teaching students HOW to think.  For the first time ever, "dude that's messed up" helped my students find juxtaposition on their own.  It isn't rocket science, but it is usable - and that is what matters.  If we can't make our content usable to our students, there is NO WAY they are going to take that information outside of our classrooms and apply it to real life.  That's why I like to use a little rap history to teach sentence structure, the stereotypical horror plot to teach the types of irony, and now the phrase "dude, that's messed up" to teach juxtaposition.  


Update:  And this is an example of some of the amazing writing and thinking my kiddos produce!  I am definitely blessed to be able to read their thoughts and work with them as they become more comfortable with their academic writing voices!

Sample in-class essay:

By definition, juxtaposition is using comparisons or contrasting ideas within literature, often in ways that seem to not fit quite right. Juxtaposition is a literary technique not often found in Edgar Allen Poe’s writings, including “The Cask Of Amontillado”. Poe’s style is much more outright dark and twisted; there isn’t a lot of darkness hidden in the ordinary, as we see in “The Lottery”.  In “The Lottery”, there is a good amount of juxtaposition. For example, the children are piling up stones before the event starts. This seems like an innocent game, but in hindsight we can see that they are piling up stones for use during the killing. As a result, we see how naive the children are, despite being raised with such dark traditions. Another example of juxtaposition in “The Lottery” is how quickly the dynamic between the villagers changes. They are bantering and chatting amiably beforehand, but when it is time to get to the point, they find it easy to turn on the victim without a second thought. Therefore, we understand how quick the villagers are to abandon old friendships and relationships; and how the attitude turns from jovial to serious.

My Strong-willed Kid and a New Perspective

The past six years have been eye-opening for me as I juggle teaching with motherhood.  So many thoughts that I used to have as a teacher about parents and their roles in the house have changed since I have had my own children.  I get it.  I totally understand. I wish that I knew what I know now...

My oldest son is five.  He is a pleaser.  He cries if I look at him wrong.  He wants to be a leader.  He wants to make us happy.  He has such a gentle heart.  He understands right from wrong, and he understands consequences.  My youngest son is two.  I love him with all of my heart, but some days I look at him and wonder how he can be so different when he came from the same parents, in the same household, who use similar discipline techniques, and who love him just as much as we love his older brother.  He is intelligent.  He is stubborn.  He knows what he wants, and he is willing to dig his heels in to get it.  He has been testing the limits at daycare lately.  Our daycare provider is the most patient woman I have ever met, but right now her patience with him is running thin.  I thank God daily that no matter what he is safe with her.  I also thank God daily that she keeps giving him more chances.

His behavior at daycare is not usually what we see at home.  At home he has a brother who puts him in his place, models good behavior, and encourages him to make good choices.  At daycare, he is one of the oldest kids, so he rules the roost.  In the past few weeks, he has woken up all of the kids from nap time, dumped his food on the floor, torn up her song cards, spent over an hour trying to earn his way out of time out (on multiple occasions), lost the right to wear his cowboy boots - the list goes on.  Negative attention is still attention, right?  As a mom, I began dreading the conversation that was to follow when I picked him up each day.  So what did I do?  I avoided it.  I sent my husband (and wouldn't you know that was the one day in 2 weeks that he had a good day!?!).  

Imagine how some of our parents feel - parents who work two jobs to support a family.  Parents who are doing the best they can to get food on the table and bills paid on time.  And then, the school calls.  I remember as a young teacher calling home to talk to a parent and ending that conversation in disbelief because while I was searching for answers, the mom's response was: "What am I supposed to do about it? You're not telling me anything that every other teacher hasn't said."

This made me really think about the changes we are making in our district.  We changed our spring PT conferences at the middle and high school level.  Instead of a reactive/grade-based conference that  only drew about 10-15% of our parents, we switched to a new, proactive format we call Individual Plan of Success (IPS).  This format allowed us to have a conversation about future goals - not the current state of grades.  We talked about ACT, career goals, college or training plans, military enlistment requirements.  We talked about how to search for "Junior Days" at local colleges, and what it would look like to transfer to a university after a year or two at a local community college.  We talked about character traits, community service, and extracurricular activities.  We talked about the big picture, not what parents can already see when they login to the online grade book.  I listened to one young man tell me that he wanted to be a physicist, so we talked about how he would need to make sure he had good relationships with our science department, and that he would want to take upper-level math as much as possible.  I mentioned to another student the idea of being a teacher - she has one of the kindest hearts I know (not to mention the fact that she is smart and goal-driven).  These were the kind of conversations we were able to have.  These conversations matter.   

When it is all said and done, I will have met with every student on my list and about 80% of their parents.  Surprisingly, I even had a student show up on her own because her mom couldn't make it.  While I was sad for her because she had to come alone, it was pointed out to me that even her story was a success story - she feels a tie to our school, a responsibility to her future, and a need to have this meeting about her Individual Plan of Success.  She is committed to our school, but most importantly she is invested in herself.  

This change wasn't easy.  Our counselors and administration busted their tails to get it organized.  Teachers put in hours of work preparing answers, sending emails, and making phone calls.  We had some computer glitches, some misunderstanding of directions, and even some heated/ panic driven conversations; however, and the end of it all, I can honestly say that these were some of the best conferences I have ever had as a teacher.     

As a parent to a strong willed, yet intelligent child, I found myself thankful for this change.  Every day over the past few weeks, I was not looking forward to picking my own child up from daycare - not because I didn't miss the heck out of him, but because I felt like his behavior was almost out of my control.  At home, we really weren't having the issues he was having at daycare.  My husband and I spent hours discussing ideas and strategies to try to improve his behavior - sticker charts, matchbox cars, cheering and clapping - you name it.  We discipline as a team.  We parent as a team.  We tried everything we knew to do, but alas, nothing has worked.  The sound of defeat is deafening.  It is embarrassing.  I should have this figured out.  It makes me think of those parents who never hear of the good their kids do.  I am not taking away the fact that parents have the most important role in their child's life, nor am I making excuses for parents who choose to look the other way.  I don't think that any school or teacher intentionally makes a parent feel that way.  What I am saying is that we, both teachers and parents, are stronger together, and our students are better for it.  

I love my son, and I truly believe that the toddler I raise today will be the teenager I have tomorrow.  This struggle with daycare, with my kid -  a teacher's kid - has given me a new perspective.  I am thankful that I have a daycare provider who works with us to find new ways to encourage our son to make good choices.  I am grateful that she spends time researching and brainstorming ways to improve their time together.  She is, after all, his first teacher.  Now, I am hoping that some of our parents walked away from these IPS conferences with a new perspective, too.  It is no secret, we both have the same goal - a successful future for our students.







  

Painful Silence

Today, my ears hurt, but it wasn't from loud music -- it was from the deafening silence that filled the room in one of my classes. *Cue Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence": "Hello darkness my old friend...*  We were supposed to be discussing "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. This is a great story that causes readers to think about the traditions in which we participate.  Are they healthy traditions?  Are they traditions that lift others up or tear others down?  Do we just keep doing things because it is the way we've always done them, or because these actions are what is best for ourselves and those around us?  I LOVE the ideas this story brings forth, so naturally I was very excited to hear what my students had to say about this story.  I remember reading this story as a freshman.  I remember being stunned at the end -- such a juxtaposition of ideas.  I know the aspects that I love about this story, but I wanted this discussion to be student led.  This class discussion was going to be awesome, right!?

WRONG! Oh, you could hear a pin drop. I have carpeted floors in my classroom, so you can only imagine how quiet it was during our discussion.  We spent a day preparing for this. I provided open-ended prompts for our Socratic Seminar, so my students would simply have to pull discussion topics from ideas they had already thought about. Again, this should be awesome, right!?  And then, crickets.  It was painful watching these students who I love so dearly struggle through a discussion that should be so fun, so passionate. I had about three students participating, and even they were hesitating because they felt like they were doing ALL the talking. First, I was mad. Then, I felt my stubbornness set in: "By golly they were going to discuss and they were going to like it! My other hours were doing a great job, we just need to suck it up and start talking!" Finally, my brain said, "Hey teacher, THIS ISN'T WORKING." So, we stopped. Part of me thinks that I had to quickly work through the stages of grief to let go of this idea - I was so looking forward to hearing their thoughts.

I went to the board, and I wrote four questions down:
1.  Do you feel safe enough to participate in class discussion?
2.  Why is class discussion an important activity for you, as a student?
3.  Why do you hesitate to share in discussion?
4.  What can Mrs. Neill do to help this class discuss literature we are reading?

I asked students to email me. I frequently stress the importance of communication in class, so this worked right into my message. What I didn't realize is that by doing this, it allowed them to share what they think/struggle with/ like about class discussion and even about themselves personally. All said they felt safe. (Yay & phew all at the same time).  Many shared how much they like discussion, but they wished others would share their ideas.  Many shared about fear of failure. Many shared that they struggle to get the words out the way they want them to sound. A few said they feel like they don't have many good ideas.  Some even talked about the anxiety/pain that class discussion causes them. (Those responses made my heart hurt.)  So tomorrow, we will do something different. It is 10:00 at night, and I have no idea what this will look like, but it WILL look different than today. It will be an awesome discussion; I just have to find the right medium.

Oh, and on a positive note, I was able to respond to each email, personally. I was able to give students individual feedback and show them empathy. The idea to have them email worked better than I could have imagined. Tomorrow, I hope that painful silence has left my classroom and collaborative thinking begins.  

***Update:  I used Google Docs as our medium for discussion.  I created a table with three columns: Name/ Observation/Questions from Text/ Discussion.  Students chose a color for their font, and after each comment they would change the text to that color and put their names at the end of the comment.  TEN PAGES LATER, we ended discussion for today!  It was fun to watch it come together! S/O to @JasonKohls for sharing an idea a few months ago that I could modify to work for my class!