Shooting Yourself in the Foot

At the beginning of the school year, all is well. You can develop theories about which classes are going to be challenging, but you won't really know the true personality of each student and each class for another couple of weeks. We are now in week 12. The honeymoon is over, and each class has developed a personality of its own.

For example, I have 1st period Trig. This class is full of seniors. Many of the seniors here have an overgrown sense of entitlement and a raging case of senioritus, and it is displayed by their punctuality. I regularly start this class with 7-10 students, and end it with 20. They just trickle in, laxidasical and free.

Contrast that with my 5th period Geometry class. This class is sleepy, very sleepy. It is probably a combination of apathy and the post-lunch induced food coma they suffer. 5th period is led by Sleepy Silento. Sleepy Silento literally puts his head down every day. Every day. I don't know if it is a medically documented issue, but somehow he is rarely asleep. When I call on him, he simply picks his head up, answers the question (always correctly), then returns it to the synthetic pressboard desk. You would never think Silento was paying attention, but he pulls it off and has a low B average. I only wonder what the kid would be capable of if he applied himself. Quantum Physics? Answering the problem of Evil? Who knows, I just wish he would share his brain with more than just his desk.

Unfortunately it is not always so easy to find humor in the personality of a class. Some classes are just plain mean. I have one geometry class that fits this description. This class is far and away the most unruly and ornery of the classes. Many students show up late, talk during instruction, then get angry when they are not understanding what is going on. I had to put 4 of the students from this class out on Tuesday. That is roughly 1/5 of the class (depending on the day). Obviously there are already challenges each of these students face, but the most frustrating thing about this class, is it seems so many of their frustrations are self induced. In my mind I think, "If you're not comprehending what is going on in class, maybe you could help yourself by paying attention and not talking to the girl behind you." This makes way too much sense though, and I'm finding more and more, that things that tend to make sense rarely occur down here. I literally had a student say in class yesterday, "man, I need a new math teacher". This is the same student who has skipped my class twice this week. You tell me, Porsha, who is hurting who here?

In signing up to teach in a critical needs environment, you have to know that classes like this will exist. It is just the nature of the environment. It is difficult, though, because no matter how unruly and unacceptable a student's behavior, you still want them to learn. Furthermore, if they're not learning, you can't help but feel that in some way you are failing them. This problem plagues my thoughts at times, and reminds me of how far I still have to go. Teaching truly is a discipline that is honed and developed over time. Effective instruction does not happen over night, and the learning curve is at times painful. I have hope though, and know that progress is being seen, because at least Sleepy Silento is getting it.

Album of the week: Trouble by Ray LaMontagne. A good choice if you need to be put at ease, just disregard the overtones of drug use and depression. Invest and enjoy.

Homecoming

Ah the Fall, truly a brilliant season to be alive. The morning air is crisp, the ground soaked with dew. The leaves display the brilliance of each tree and paint a masterpiece nothing short of divine. As one drives, flashes of oranges and browns decorate the homes and landscape; it is clear that there is much to be thankful for.

Fall's aesthetic beauty is powerful, but it also commands a certain visceral connection, touching the inner heart strings of America. Our being yearns to connect with the places we come from, and the people near to our hearts. No where is this connection more powerful than in the Delta, and no where is this greater displayed than the greatest fall holiday: Homecoming.

Before coming here, I had enjoyed many homecomings. Alumni come back to their alma mater, a parade goes through the downtown, a queen is crowned, everyone is happy. Homecoming at (I can't say this publicly) High School, though, is another ball of wax altogether. "Homecoming is a big deal on the Delta, and it doesn't get much bigger than here" said our district Superintendent at the gym this morning. "Homecoming is like Hanukkah in Mississippi", exclaimed a student in my first period class. Apparently Homecoming week is an excuse for the school to practically shut down. There's no telling how many students I've heard complain, "it's Homecoming week, we don't have to do work!". Students don't wear uniforms, they are significantly rowdier and more tardy, and really it borders on sheer chaos.

Here's an example of the changes this week has brought: Yesterday, while classes were changing out, I noticed students accumulating and all looking in the same direction. Usually this body language means one thing: fight. As I took the things out of my pockets to go break up the disruption, I found out there was indeed no altercation, but a battle of a different variety. There is a signature dance of one of the neighborhoods called the Moorhead Swag, and indeed the disruption was actually students who were Moorhead Swagging. This Swagging created such a stir that students were watching and not going to class. It was so great that the principal made an announcement about it this morning to the entire school: "If you want to Moorhead Swag, you can Moorhead Swag yo' butt on out the do' and back home, 'cause we ain't havin' any of that up in here". Verily, verily.

I've surveyed several of my classes, asking them, "how many of you will actually be at school on Friday?" The majority have claimed that they will not. Time will tell, but for now I am not planning on a ton of learning to take place tomorrow. We may have an early release, we may not, it will be interesting to see how things shake out. Either way, it will be good to experience a Delta Homecoming done right.

As a side note, I've decided I'm going to start including songs/albums of the week because this is my blog and I do what I want. This week's album is Sam Cooke's Night Beat. Invest and enjoy.

Reassessing assessments

Assessment is the teacher term for testing, quizzing, or verifying in some way that the students are understanding the material. There are formal assessments, which are the standard, anxiety creating tests, quizzes, projects, and papers; basically anything that you can be graded on. There are also informal assessments, which are measures a teacher takes to verify the student is learning though they aren't receiving a grade. This would be like walking around while students are doing independent practice and checking their answers, or having them work out problems on individual dry-erase boards as a competition.

During our second class in Oxford, we took about an hour to discuss formal assessments. What they are? Why we do them? Who benefits from them? etc. In the discussion, one of the veteran teachers said something somewhat revolutionary. He said, "Assessments aren't just a formality that you do when you want a break from discipline and classroom management. They are intended to give you insight into how your students are grasping the material". Somehow, in the 17+ years of school I've been involved with, I never really thought of formal assessments as being anything like that. This comment really resonated with me and got me thinking.

Last Thursday I gave a quiz to my Geometry and Trig classes. The Geometry average was roughly a 60, and I was honestly disappointed. I knew that they understood the material much better than their performance had indicated, so I was reeling at what had happened, and what I could do about it. I went back to the drawing board and thought, "what do I honestly want to gain from this assessment?" and if I truly want to them to grasp the material, it sounds like I need to reteach and reassess. A marvel Idea. It seemed crazy because I felt like I needed to keep up with a somewhat arbitrary pacing guide, but I just decided it was worth doing.

The next day, I re-taught the material. I used similar questions, with the same procedures, and gave a similar quiz. It wasn't rocket science and required no silver bullet, but I think it might have worked. The grades drastically improved, and I think the students will have much more satisfaction when they get their quizzes back on Tuesday. I'm glad I reassessed assessments.

How to save a life...

This morning as I prepared for my day at school, I listened to the hit single by The Fray entitled "How to Save a Life". It was particularly relevant to one of the most recent stories in the saga.

I have a student; let's just call him Bobby. Bobby started coming to school about a week after classes started, and was initially very quiet. His head was down a lot, he didn't really speak to anyone, he just kept to himself. About a week into his tenure, I had a fight in my room. As I was breaking it up, I looked to my right and to my surprise, saw Bobby helping diffuse the situation. This act stuck with me, and I sent a note home the day after to tell his parent or guardian about Bobby's heroic actions. It takes a lot for a kid to step into a fight like that, and I thought they should know about it as well.

Unfortunately, it would only take a few more days before Bobby became somewhat ornery. I guess he started feeling a bit more comfortable and decided to push the boundaries a little. He began to disrupt class more and more by getting out of his seat or talking out. When he received consequences for his actions, he regularly argued. Bobby was becoming a growing pain.

One day he decided he wanted to go out for football. Another coach encouraged him to try it out, and a few days later, Bobby was on the field. It was great to have him out, not only because he was clearly an athlete, but because it helped with his behavior in my class. His attitude drastically improved. He smiled at me more, looked me in the eye, and was generally more pleasant to be around. In hearing more about his story from other coaches, it turns out Bobby had drastically improved from last year. Unfortunately he had spent time in and out of alternative school before this, and even in his orneriest of moods, was merely a shadow of what he once was.

One day, Bobby came to me in class and asked me if I would deliver his cleats to the head coach. "I'm through with this, man. I'm tired of the way I'm gettin' treated", he said. "How are you being treated, Bobby?" I replied, and he began explaining. Thus launched a 35 minute dialogue between he and I about why he shouldn't quit. It was truly one of those talks you see in the movies. You know, they usually go something like: player comes to coach, insisting he wants to quit. Coach talks to him about his concerns, and delivers a rousing and motivational word on why quitting can't happen, and that if he quits here, he'll regret it, and be a quitter the rest of his life. Player understands, does some hard thinking, and comes back and leads his team to the championship. I'm telling you it was textbook. Straight out of Mighty Ducks VIII: Mid-life Crisis. He understood, was encouraged, and was on the field that day. I felt it a small victory at least. Any time you can turn the attitude of a potential quitter, I think it at least deserves a pat on the back.

Things continued to sail smoothly, and Bobby's face was regularly seen in both class and practice. I had reached a student, and appealed to his inner spirit enough to stick with school and football; happy ending right? Wrong.

Bobby was caught buying pot in the bathroom last week. State Mandated Expulsion.

A sad story, no doubt about it. Pray for Bobby, he is in a difficult place.

If one hangs around a school long enough, I'm convinced even the hardest of hearts will grow near the students. It is difficult, though, because people are messy. Our brokenness is part of our humanity, but it will ultimately take its toll on us, and on those around us. Life happens, and it helps us understand God a bit more, but the cost of this understanding is not always the sweet part of the rose.

Wow

Hydro Photon SteriPEN Adventurer Handheld Ultraviolet Water Purifier:

I just thought this was the most ridiculous title for merchandise I've ever seen. Thought I would share it with the world.

Cheaters are Cowards

I guess this is a controversial title, for a controversial post, but if you take offense to it, I would beg the question, "why?":

Today is the official day set out for 9 weeks testing. 9 weeks testing is a day where every teacher tests each student in each class. Pretty ridiculous, but that's another entry. Going into the test, I have been suspect to cheating taking place. I fear it is a rampant problem, and is much worse than I ever realized before. Because of the suspicion, I decided I would make two tests in order to separate the "chaff from the wheat". The two tests are identical at first glance, and it would take a pretty well-honed attention to detail to notice the differences. I went ahead and prepared my two answer sheets, printed off the tests, and felt relatively good about my preparation. Yesterday at football practice, several of the players were "joking", saying "everyone got a cheat sheet fo' Coach Ware's test". I just put my arms up, signaling there was nothing I could really do but keep an eye out. Fast forward to this morning. The first period class entered the room, in their normal, jovial spirits, not at all indicating concern for the day of testing. As they were settling in, I saw one girl sneak out two quarter sized sheets of paper, and lay them behind her bag. When she turned around, I quietly moved over and intercepted the pieces. On them were the values for the trigonometric functions. As things continued to settle, she frantically looked around, wondering how she had misplaced her sheets. I also noticed one of my brightest students frantically crafting a small sheet of his own. As he put the paper in his coat pocket, I kneeled down and whispered, "I highly recommend you don't use the paper in your pocket". Other students wrote on their desk or moved seats, I even had to take a student's cell phone.

One one hand, I feel a small sense of accomplishment in catching cheaters. This is a craft that has been perfected by so many, so the competitor in me feels as if I've won. Then reality sets in, and there is confusion and discouragement. I understand academic desperation. I've been in high stress situations where cheating would be a temptation, this isn't a new story at all. What I really don't understand though, is how someone can be so apathetic and lazy in the classroom, but be so driven and focused to cheat. It is such a cheap and cowardly way out.

When I was in 4th grade, I was taking a test on the 50 states and their capitals. I was sitting by myself, with no one around and was stumped by Wisconsin. A student walked by and I whispered out, "what's the capital of Wisconsin?". He shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk, only to be met by my teacher at the door. They briefly conversed, and she walked over and took up my test. I told her I had not yet finished, and she said, "I know Blake, but you tried to cheat, and we can't have that". The events that followed are still fresh in my mind today. I remember the guilt I felt, and trying to explain (lie) to my mom about why I had to write a paper on why cheating doesn't work. It was a low place.

If all lies come from fear, then what is the fear these students are trying to evade? Work? Comprehension? Disappointment? I really don't know and might never. I'm honestly trying to not apply too much reason and logic to questions that aren't meant to be answered. All I can do is try, and try to love with a love not my own. After that, the chips will fall where they will, and hopefully we'll both both be the better for it. There is little I know, and much I don't, but I will never forget, that the capital of Wisconsin is indeed Green Bay.