A Letter to My Former Self...

Dear M & M,

                I know it has been a long road so far in your short 19 years. As you lay back in the front seat your rusted out 1989 Chrysler New Yorker, a sleeping baby stretched out in the back seat of what you have called your home for more than three weeks now, you wonder if there will ever be a happy ending for the two of you. You try to close your eyes against the fear that someone could sneak up on you sleeping in your car in the middle of the night as thoughts of one disappointment after another sprint circles in your mind. Unemployed, uneducated, and uncertain about a grey future; you feel like a failure that has no chance of redemption. You want to give up, but you don’t think that you even have a choice about that.

You are a tiny boat on a black sea of unknown waters, but you are not lost. Don’t give up. In a year, you will sign up for adult education classes at a local school and go on to earn your G.E.D. You will meet a man who will become your best friend, your lover, and your biggest cheerleader. You will become the mother of three more beautiful babies who will bring you more joy than you could ever have hoped for. You will not be a perfect mother, but this will be okay because your children will know that they are loved and grow into intelligent, funny, outgoing people. You will meet and fall in love with an amazing grandson who will steal your heart and never give it back. You will want to be an example for them, your legacy. You will be encouraged and motivated by their hope and your responsibility to them.

You will move to Texas and enroll in college. You will fail—miserably fail, but you will not give up. A friend will inspire you to try again and when you do, you will succeed. You will not have enough of anything material; stretching each dollar and each moment of your time as far as you can in order to reach your goals. You will learn what it means to share knowledge, to discover new learning, and to find fulfillment in helping others.  

You will meet others who share your ideas and passion for learning. They will inspire you to become more than you are; to never stop growing. You will want to give up a million times but you will not give up. You will decide to become a teacher. Now listen up kiddo, this part is important. When you enter the teacher education program, you must remember to breathe.

You DO NOT need to know all of the answers in semester one because you will learn them as you go. Don’t spend hours worried about the KPTP that happens to be three semesters away. It will be okay that you don’t know every single acronym and every single protocol right away. It will be okay if you say something that doesn’t make sense in class or don’t have the right answer, speak up—mistakes are nothing more than learning opportunities incognito! For this semester, just be a sponge; soak everything in. Read EVERYTHING you get your hands on.

Quick tip that you won’t discover until second semester: a Good Samaritan will leave stacks of books, journals, and other useful items in a box marked “free” in the student lounge and a few tables around the building at school, take them. Most of it won’t make a lot of sense at first, but you will begin to connect things that will help you later. Read. Read. Read!

In second semester, realize that you are not supposed to be perfect at teaching yet and that teaching teenagers is much different than holding study groups for college students. Listen to feedback and journal your thoughts. This will be a cathartic release and a source of reflection. Sign up for EVERYTHING your teacher asks you to. These opportunities will grow your mind, your heart, and your tool belt for life. You will be afraid but you must not give up.

In third semester, realize that you are there to learn and that what you are doing is a privilege. You have worked hard to get there, but you have a long way to go. You will change more in the next year than you have in the last six, accept it and appreciate the growth even when it hurts. Get to know your students for who they are.

You will meet a student who at first may seem like someone who is destined for failure. His long, shaggy hair will drape across his face and hide his eyes from the world. His home work will be little more than a mythical hope and his in class participation will be a battle of wills that you will not win if you choose sides. Accept him. Get to know him. Show him how much you care and how far you are willing to go to help him. Open and maintain communication with his mother, she is his best advocate and your biggest supporter. By the end of the year, this student will no longer exist. A young man with a smart hair cut and brightly attentive eyes will be sitting in his desk. He will volunteer to participate in class, work hard to catch up his work, and glow at every word of encouragement you give him. He will succeed.

In fourth semester, realize that your CT is human too. Be patient with others and don’t take everything so personally. Disagreements, hurt feelings, and difficult encounters WILL happen—But it is not that they happen but how you handle them. Have grace.

When the day comes when you are finally standing on the brink of completion, know that you did not do this on your own. Appreciate the love, support, guidance, and mentorship that you have received from God, your family, your class mates, and your teachers. Be intentional. Don’t forget all that you have learned, where you have been, and why you started the journey…keep it going and continue to learn. Then, when you have grown a little more, give it back. Give back to those who have been there for you throughout your journey. Give back to the school that has been your beacon of light in the darkest tunnels. Give back to the community that you have grown to love. Lastly, give to yourself too by continuing to learn and grow as a person and as a teacher. Passionately seek knowledge and generously share what you learn with others. Intentionally pursue your goals. Have hope.

Until then, know that God is in control. “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). Have peace.

Sincerely,

Your future self

Authentic Discussions in the Classroom

As I learn about new strategies for creating authentic discussion that engages my whole class and not just the overzealous few that enjoy speaking out, I am seeking ways to integrate what I have learned into my own classroom. However, the balance between what I want my students to know and what they must discover on their own can be a gray sea that must be navigated with care.

In the article, “Rethinking Whole Class Discussion,” posted on Edutopia, Todd Finely explains that one of the distinguishing qualities of the authentic discussion structure is that it must be student lead. However teaching students a routine of learning is so different than what I grew up with as a student during the 1980’s and early 90’s, and as a new teacher, I feel a strong pull to rely heavily on teacher directed or scripted lessons that offer me a physical structure and ensure that I have imparted the appropriate information for each lesson. I am equally drawn to give inappropriate attention to those students who are more willing to speak up because there is less potential for rejection that may require modification.  

Mr. Finley says that many teachers mistakenly fall into a routine of “initiation-response-evaluation, 'I-R-E,' or recitation” in place of what they really intend to happen, authentic learning. As a teacher, I feel excited about what I am sharing with my students. Discussion that is based on a reciprocated learning process is a rich, pleasurable experience for me as a student! It is natural that I hope to create this for my students, but it is possible that in my attempt to make sure they hear all of the important things that I feel are so meaningful, I am robbing my students of their own meaningful experiences in favor of pushing ideas that are more important to me as an individual. This is both unfair and counterproductive.

Putting on the hat of a facilitator takes both skill from practiced routines and the ability to step back and relinquish some of the control in favor of discover learning. I know from my more recent learning experiences as a student and the few monumental moments of success that I have relished as a teacher that the good stuff occurs when a teacher can create purposeful opportunities for these routines within the overall structure of directed learning. Too little and students will not know what to do, e.g., forgetting to provide directions for specific procedures and implement them consistently. Too much, and students lose motivation, become bored, and even feel frustrated.

Mr. Finley asserts that, “quality discussion, according to the University of Washington's Center for Instructional Development and Research, involves purposeful questions prepared in advance, assessment, and starting points for further conversations.” Some suggested strategies listed on the site are:

•Distribute opportunities to talk

•Allow discussants to physically see each other

•Ask questions that "may or may not have a known or even a single correct answer"

•Foster learners talking to peers

•Encourage students to justify their responses

•Vary the types of questions

This all sounds very familiar to me because in many ways, it is the kind of discussion modeled for me in my general methods classroom. However, Finley goes on to say that although these ideas ailing with strategies that utilize Bloom’s Taxonomy for question development, the taxonomy has been misused. He explains that, “Over-reliance on question hierarchies can result in conversations that are irrelevant to the content and context of the learning environment, and invite answers that nobody cares about.”

I have experienced this in my own classroom. Although I might have spent hours or days digging through a text to compose open ended, higher level questions to activate my students’ critical thinking, I often feel that my lessons have hit a flat note. While some of this is certainly due to my need for continued growth and practice with establishing routines and providing the appropriate directions for each task, some of this could be due to the questions themselves. Is it possible that we plan too hard to make a teaching objective feel like an authentic learning experience that we ruin the joy of it for our students?

Finey suggests a focus on “modeling inquiry, emphasizing divergent over convergent questions, organizing students’ approach to question-asking and –answering, listening and providing authentic follow-up questions.” He offers a long list of suggested initial and follow-up prompts that use student focused language to ask students to perform an action of the mind rather than just come up with an answer. He also includes several discussion activities that can be useful in this facilitation.

I recently used Socratic Seminar for a discussion. I have also tried Fishbowl discussions and think-pair-share structures as well. What kinds of discussion strategies do you implement into your classroom and do you recognize a trend in how students are responding?

 

References:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/rethinking-whole-class-discussion-todd-finley

Literature in the Classroom and the Parental Role

As I prepare to teach my certification unit, take the licensure exams, and continue to seek that future teaching position that I now dream almost every night, I find myself pulled back by something that could have a very important impact on my future. There is a bill that is currently up for vote in my state that “could lead to teachers facing criminal charges for showing students materials that parents would consider harmful and offensive” (kmbc.com).

The focus in the media and in water-cooler conversations has been over the idea that a teacher could be prosecuted for presenting material that a single parent may find offensive. As a future teacher, this idea is a scary one. I have to ask myself if I am setting myself up for something that I may not be prepared to deal with. I recently taught a lesson over Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment by the well respected author of classic literature, Nathanial Hawthorne. If the water-cooler rumors are correct, this story could land me in the slammer.

The theme of magic and mysticism is heavily ingrained in the story, and the plot contains allusions to prostitution, promiscuity, and even a love triangle between three of the characters. The supplementary materials that I used also include information regarding the 7 deadly sins –complete with 16^th central pictorial imagery that could be considered graphic by some, and an introduction to Catholicism (list of 7 virtues that oppose the 7 deadly sins). While elementary and middle school lesson plans may be slightly more restrictive, high school educators have enjoyed the freedom to hand-select lessons and materials for our students. Could this bill really change that?

The language of the bill states that:

“a) No person having custody, control or supervision of any commercial establishment shall knowingly:

(1) Display any material which is harmful to minors in such a way that minors, as a part of the invited general public, will be exposed to view such material or device;

(2) Present or distribute to a minor, or otherwise allow a minor to view, with or without consideration, any material which is harmful to minors; or

(3) Present to a minor, or participate in presenting to a minor, with or without consideration, any performance which is harmful to a minor.

(b) Violation of this section is a class B nonperson misdemeanor.”

The bill goes on to say (specifically pertaining to teachers of minors) that prosecutable acts relate specifically to explicit sex acts and depiction of nudity, and that nudity can be considered appropriate “for scientific or medical purposes, educational purposes or cultural purpose for a bona fide school, museum, or library.”

This sounds very purposeful and even appropriate to me. However, the word “harmful” does concern me. Who has the right to say what I as a parent or what you as a parent should deem as “harmful” and how do we prosecute someone based on a highly varied and culturally or even a religiously influenced moral idea? The bill does stipulate that “harmful to minors” can be defined as “ the average adult person applying contemporary community standards would find that the material or performance has a predominant tendency to appeal to a prurient interest in sex to minors,”…”depicts or describes nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic abuse in a manner that is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors,”…”lacks serious literary, scientific, educational, artistic, or political value for minors.”

So, a prosecution shouldn’t be based on the “offense” of one person, but on the understanding of cultural standards within the community as a whole. In this light, I think that the bill would only help support a wholesome, age appropriate curriculum by making teachers think twice about what texts they chose to use. This is something that we should be doing every day regardless of the law. In order to be an effective teacher, each time I consider a text for a lesson, I must ask myself the following questions:

Is this text relevant to what I want my students to learn?

Is this text engaging, fun, and safe for my students?

Could this text be uncomfortable or even emotionally painful for any of the students in my class? If so, am I able to consult with them prior to teaching this text or is there another text that may provide the same kind of vehicle for my lesson?

When I perform this task, I am using Ralph Tyler’s model for backward design. I am constructing my lesson based on my objectives for student learning and not the text that I want to teach.  One of the best ways that we can prevent lawsuits and even simple misunderstandings is to include parents in what we are doing. Keeping the lines of communication open between parents, students (and their peers) with what we are doing in the class room will help foster the kind of classroom community that is more likely to support student success and overall well-being of the teacher, students, and parents.

I have considered extending the on-line social media ideas that we have discussed in my methods classes for communicating with parents to providing a “pre-view” or even a “movie trailer” for texts and other media that we plan to explore in our classroom. This would be a great way for parents and students to see what we will be doing and to voice any questions or concerns in advance. Getting written permission for some things might also be a good idea, but creating the opportunity to preview a text might help parents feel more comfortable and knowledgeable about what they are agreeing to. I have also considered making it possible for parents to check books out of my classroom library as well, to read what their students are reading or simply to explain their own mental library for young adult literature. Perhaps this would be a great opportunity for allowing parents to pre-read texts that we are going to cover, offer feedback about the text, and even present ideas on teaching with the text.

What ideas can you think of when we consider teaching materials that might fall into the “no-go-zone” of our state legislation?

 

References:

http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article11101289.html

http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-bill-would-ban-teachers-from-distributing-offensive-material/31122754

https://legiscan.com/KS/text/SB56/2015

https://legiscan.com/KS/text/SB56/2015

It’s the Thought that Counts

You are less than four months away from achieving your degree, getting certified to teach, and snagging that dream job. Why are you not inspired? Well, let’s see:

 

It’s the Thought that Counts

By Megan Springs

You are tired.

You probably got the flu that was being passed around

just before Christmas Break at your placement school—

and your college campus, your family, and every public area within 50 miles of town.

Because you’d previously been under the delusion that taking 17 credit hours would be a good idea and ended up neglecting the entirety of your personal life, friends, neighbors, pets, and

even your housekeeping duties so badly in the last semester;

you spent the entire break making it up to them –

You did not rest, and you are not well rested,

as everyone who welcomes you back hopes that you are.

It’s the thought that counts.

Of course, as soon as you returned, you caught the flu

that was being passed around after the break—

You know, the one that students actually traveled across whole states

in order to catch and bring back just for you?

It’s the thought that counts.

You arrive home late after an eight hour day in the classroom, a three hour meeting for a college club, and a one hour commute, to find your husband sitting on the couch watching football, totally oblivious to the baby who is playing quietly beside him – with your entire canister of flour, expertly using your best powder brush to mash the flour granules into the fibers of your couch cushion as he shakes out tiny drops of apple juice all over this masterpiece with his sippy cup.  “Made you picture Mommy!”

It’s the thought that counts.

There is a story of a woman who wanted to climb the tallest mountain.

On her journey, she suffered from thorns and thistles that pricked her tender skin as she ascended each rock cliff with slow, painful, determination.

She shivered under the cold rain, the biting ice,

and wheezed in the thin air as she climbed higher and higher.

However, when she reached the top, there were still thorns and thistles, there was still rain and ice, there was even the thinnest air she had ever tasted, -- But

There was also sunshine, miles and miles and miles of breathtaking beauty, a sense of peaceful satisfaction for what she has accomplished.

When someone later asked the woman if she would endure the journey again,

Her only reply was that the journey was the only reason she did it in the first place.

Don’t be afraid of the journey. It’s the getting there that makes the difference!