No Rules

September 27, 2018September 27, 2018 ~ Scott Jones ~ Leave a comment

The start to this school year has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding starts in recent memory. There could be many reasons for this, but I want to believe that a significant cause is that we have no rules in our classroom. That’s right. No. Rules.

A community is more than just a group of people living and working in a common area. It is a group of people who have shared interests, share a set of values and work towards the collective goal. In order for our classroom to be a true community this year, I feel it is necessary to engage students in a discussions about the clear and specific behaviors that would produce the kind of classroom they want. So far this year, our conversations have not been about how students comply and behave for me, but how we behave towards each other. Our behaviors can strengthen or demean our culture. “If you want the classroom to be a positive place, then you have to contribute positive behaviors.”

Over the past few years, my district has spent a great deal of time and professional development days establishing a clear cultural blueprint. Our district calls this the VBO. The VBO establishes a clear set of values, behaviors and outcomes that we want from each student and staff member. Our school district has three values: Stand Up & Own It, Power of the Team and Passion For Growth. These three statements have become a common language throughout our district and school. As students move through grade levels and switch schools, these remain the constant.

In my last blog post, I explained that on the first day of school I asked students to complete the following statement: Our classroom should be ________ every day. My students responded with “happy,” “clean” and “kind.” With that, it was time for students to recognize how Stand Up And Own It, Power Of The Team and Passion For Growth would create a happy, clean and kind classroom community. It is crucial for students to see the connection between the school’s values and our behaviors within our learning space. I wish I could tell you that I planned some fun, collaborative, inquiry-based activity to achieve this. I didn’t. We just talked. And we are still talking. And we will keep talking.

Almost every day for the past six weeks my class and I have shared time and ideas about our classroom community. We finish each day in a circle sharing our highs and lows and playing icebreaker games. My students will tell you some of my favorite questions to ask are:

“What worked in our classroom today?”
What went well for you?”
“How can you do better tomorrow?”

I am finding that making conversations like this part of the daily routine will only strengthen our classroom culture.

For the past few days, my students and I have created a display to summarize our conversations. Borrowing an idea I saw in the classroom of a colleague, Anita Norris, we created the following bulletin board. Each phrase on a sentence strip was suggested by a student. We feel that this clearly reflects what our classroom community holds dear.

As I said, this has been one of the best starts to a school year I can remember for a long time. Even my principal, on a recent visit to my classroom, mentioned how she could feel a different energy from previous years. Yes, classes have different personalities from year to year. Yet, I firmly believe that taking the time to discuss how our values, behaviors and outcomes are all linked has made a large impact on the success of our learning community.

PS – I lied. We do have rules in my classroom. But only ONE rule.

Absolutely. No. Doritos!

(That’s the subject of another blog post).

On Struggling

September 20, 2018September 19, 2018 ~ Brian Wyzlic ~ 1 Comment

A 2-day PD I was part of last week and some Twitter conversations over the weekend got me thinking about some of the ways we label our students, especially those who require different supports than we might prepare for on a regular basis. Specifically, I was thinking about the word “struggle” as used in education.

When we talk about the struggles encountered with various students of differing abilities, we often use the adjective “struggling” to describe a person, or the verb “struggles” to describe their work. And that person is almost always the student.

“I have a struggling student.”
“One of my students is struggling with their behavior.”
“Several students struggled with this concept.”

Go ahead and Google “struggling students.” You will find page after page of sites that look, at first glance, to be good and useful sites for teachers and parents to find ways to help students.

And on the surface, the use of this language is both accurate and appropriate. But underneath the surface, I would argue it is neither of those things.

Because yes, a student who had a hard time paying attention in class might be struggling with that. They are struggling because they’re trying to improve.

But also, they then become a “Struggling Student,” which is a stone’s throw from “Difficult Student,” which very quickly becomes something that is a problem with the student, and not a problem for us to tackle.

In this profession, however, the problems are ours to navigate, not to be placed on the shoulders of children.

Notice the difference:

“Olivia is struggling with decoding” vs. “I’m struggling with finding ways to help Olivia with her decoding.”
“Mark is struggling with paying attention” vs. “I’m struggling with how to help Mark stay attentive.”
“Brian is struggling” or “Brian is a problem student” or “Brian is a problem” or “Oh, you have Brian? Good luck” vs. “I’m struggling with Brian. I need help with Brian. I don’t know what to do for Brian.”

Imagine one of your students who is not understanding a concept. Needs help with a skill. Is constantly displaying behaviors not appropriate for a classroom.

Where are they going to get help with those concepts/skills/behaviors if not from you? That’s our job. It’s the first 5 letters of our job title. It’s our job to teach them.

If we take it upon ourselves to recognize that it is our job to do these things, then we will be working to help our students with these things.

The reality: we all know this. We’re teachers because this is what we’re called to do. But the other reality: it’s easy to forget. It’s easy to disassociate with some of those tasks. It’s easy to fall into the trap of blaming the student for their deficiencies rather than helping them navigate their way to success. Our words play an important part in that.

Ultimately, the struggle lies with us. It’s our professional job to struggle with the challenges presented by some of our students to find what works for the student. It’s also our professional job to struggle with how to help the student accept what they need to do and put in their work. As I heard Mike Mattos say at a conference a year ago yesterday (thank you, TimeHop), “We have the degrees. We are the professionals.”

It is not our students’ job to struggle. They’re children.

Who should be struggling more: the child who is forced to attend school, or the adult who has 1-3 degrees in this field and chose to do this work?

Of course, this is part of the larger picture of the community of a school. If all the students are the students of all the teachers — all “our” students, not “my” students and “your” students — then it’s okay for teachers to struggle. It’s okay because we have each other. We can brainstorm solutions. We can work together for the betterment of our students: all of them together as well as individuals.

So please, join me in the struggle. Let’s struggle together so that our students — our children — don’t have to.

Hornet Pride: Engaging Students in Authentic Learning

September 18, 2018September 17, 2018 ~ Jim Bailey ~ 1 Comment

Earlier last school year, a parent shared a grant opportunity with me from Delta Dental to add filtered water bottling drinking fountains to our school. I loved this idea. My school is located 36 miles from Flint, Michigan so we are well aware of the importance of having access to clean drinking water. The students had also been very interested in this topic. I knew my fifth grade teachers had talked about the Flint water crisis quite a bit in their classrooms so I thought this could be a great opportunity to engage students in an authentic learning opportunity. I knew this grant writing opportunity would align well with the informational writing standards the students were studying during writing workshop.

The teachers were on board and excited to have the students participate in this learning opportunity. They started by looking at the questions on the grant application. These would be guiding questions for the research. The students decided that they were going to divide up the questions using Google Docs to help focus their research. It was inspiring to see the groups work on different parts of the project. They were passionate about the topic and applying everything they were learning during writing workshop to make a difference in the real world. One group was researching the benefits of drinking water compared to pop and sugary juices. Another group was learning about the negative effects that contaminated water has on health and development. They were drafting responses and editing and revising them together. They learned about how to find quality sources, cite research, use clear, concise word choice, and the importance of considering their audience. I saw the students engaged in informational writing in ways I hadn’t seen been before. They were excited and had a clear sense of purpose.

After several more rewrites, we were finally ready to submit our application. We clicked send and waited. The students asked several times over the next couple of weeks if I had heard anything from Delta Dental about the grant. I explained that it takes time to read all of the applications and it would probably be awhile before we heard anything. Right around the time students stopped asking about the grant, I received an email from Delta Dental. I was so excited to open the email. The students worked hard on the grant and completed each question on their own for the grant. I was confident Delta Dental would be impressed that the entire grant was completed by the students in the school. I knew this was exactly the kind of authentic learning opportunity that would separate our grant from the rest. I was so excited to share the email with the students. I opened the email and had to read it twice. Delta Dental thanked us for applying but they regretted to inform us that we did not receive the grant.

Suddenly, I realized I needed to prepare for a completely different conversation with the students. While completing the project, I had never considered not getting the grant. I had spent a lot of time thinking about how awesome it was going to be to tell the students about the grant we received. I had envisioned the pride the students would have looking at the new filtered drinking fountain. I shared the news with the students and they were disappointed, but not nearly how I had expected. The next question I heard from a student was, “So what’s our new idea?” I hadn’t considered that thought before approaching the class. In my mind, the rejection letter from Delta Dental was the end of the journey. However, they didn’t see it that way at all. They viewed it as just another roadblock in the journey of getting a new drinking fountain. I admitted to them that I didn’t have a plan for a next step. It took two students exactly two days to come up with a next step.

Owen and Nathan, two fifth grade students from Nicol Howald’s class, emailed me and said they wanted to meet to discuss the next idea for getting the drinking fountain installed at Hemmeter. I was impressed with their perseverance and commitment to making this idea a reality. They told me they were working on a presentation during their genius hour time and wanted to share it with me. The boys were organized and professional during the meeting and convinced me to allow them to organize a class pop can collection fundraiser to buy the new drinking fountain. They were going to create the flyers, make the posters, collect the cans, and handle all the returns (including washing them out). The one part of the meeting with Owen and Nathan that really swelled my heart with pride was when they mentioned that this was their last year at Hemmeter and they really wanted the drinking fountain to be something they could do for future students. That was when I realized we had to make this happen. It wasn’t just about getting a new drinking fountain, this was about students understanding in a very real way what it means to give back to your school. I approved the project and wished them good luck.

The boys worked hard and collected over 1500 pop cans. A significant chunk of money that when combined with some additional building funds I had available was enough to purchase the new drinking fountain! I am working to get a plaque made for the drinking fountain to recognize the hard work and determination the boys displayed seeing this project through. Amazing things happen when we engage students with authentic work. The application and learning goes well beyond academics. It’s about building pride in school and community and having a generous, kind heart.

We Teach People by Sarah Krajewski

September 15, 2018September 14, 2018 ~ classcommunities ~ Leave a comment

When I was a first-year English teacher 17 years ago, I thought my job was to teach the literature I loved. I believed that if I shared my love for The Call of the Wild, my students would love it as much as I do, and many did. Some, however, didn’t. There were heads down on desks, and failing grades showed up on report cards. Looking back on that year, I cringe. I put the book before my students. Now, my priorities have shifted.

Now, I observe.

His eyes are up more than down. Her eyes look to her lap where her phone is hidden. When I ask students to mark their spots, I note who shuts their book without a marked page. Two boys don’t lift their pencils during the first quickwrite. Another doesn’t even open her notebook when asked to. I watch this all without saying a word, and store it away for conferences.

Now, I comfort.

Frustration and anxiety appear on faces. I smile. I take out my pencil and write too. I share my mistakes. When I see a boy’s head in his hands, I kneel down to quietly share some suggestions to get started. This notebook is for mistakes. It’s where we can take risks, I say. I’m an awful speller, he replies. I reassure him that spelling doesn’t count here. This is where he has the freedom to explore. No need to worry about perfection.

Now, I listen.

Miss? I came to get that book, remember? The boy’s hands shake as he sits down and looks up at me as I get the book he requested. Can I tell you something? he asks me nervously. I immediately sit next to him to confirm. I’m not a good reader. My last school told me I read like a 4th grader, and my Lexile is too low for an 8th grader. My teachers and classmates mocked me. They told me I improved, but not enough. I can’t go through that again. I want to get better.

Now, I reassure.

You are not a level or Lexile, I reply. Don’t let those people define who you are. You are a reader, and I’ll help you realize that this year. He shares his frustration with staying focused and his concern that he’ll forget to read at home, and I share my recently-discovered love for audiobooks and the value in having reading partners. He states that his father would be a great reading partner. By the time he heads home, he has The Hate U Give and a reading plan.

Now, I create safe spaces.

Miss? Can you look this over for me and tell me what you think? She opens her Chromebook and I read about the night she told her parents she’s gay. Her father and uncle did not handle it well, and it hurt her deeply. She shared her pain and disbelief that they could feel this way about their flesh and blood. I admire you, I said. Thank you for sharing this piece with me. I can only hope that someday your family sees the incredible person that I do.

Now, I show my true self.

She enters my room after school, and immediately checks to make sure she’s the only one here. When her hope is confirmed, she walks over and sits down. Over the next hour, we share stories about the girl we both lost in an accident. A best friend and a mentee. A confidant and a budding artist. Tears are shed more than once as we watch a butterfly appear outside the window.

As the second week of school ends, more pencils are moving along the paper. Conversations revolve around writing topics, and more students openly share favorite lines. When I see these buds begin to emerge, I am reminded that this comes first. I don’t teach texts. I teach the amazing human beings that enter my classroom each day.

Sarah Krajewski teaches 9th and 11th grade English and Journalism at Cleveland Hill High School near Buffalo, New York. She is currently in her 17th year of teaching, and is always looking for new, creative ways to help her students enjoy learning, reading, and writing. At school, she is known for dedicating her time to helping students become lifelong readers, and for being a devoted reader herself who “knows her books.” At home, she is a proud wife and mother to three readers. You can follow Sarah on Twitter @shkrajewski and her blog can be viewed at https://skrajewski.wordpress.com.

A Teacher’s Promise

September 13, 2018September 13, 2018 ~ Aliza Werner ~ Leave a comment

“Ms. Laverne said every day we should ask ourselves, ‘If the worst thing in the world happened, would I help protect someone else? Would I let myself be a harbor for someone who needs it?’ Then she said, ‘I want each of you to say to the other: I will harbor you.’
I will harbor you.”
Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson (p. 34)

My students, this is my promise to you…

I will harbor you

I will welcome you to
our school
our classroom
our space

I will teach you
to multiply
your kindnesses
to write
your story
to read
your world

I will show you
how to crawl inside the pages of a book
so you can stand outside of yourself
how to raise your voice
by lowering one sharp pencil to paper
how to be brave
without a cape or armor

I will ask you to
think deeply
reflect thoughtfully
question boldly

I will listen to you
when you speak confidently
when you whisper timidly
when you say nothing at all

I will see you
in beaming rays of sunshine
under heavy gray clouds
between the silent stars

I will be honest with you
that good people can do bad things
that life is full of unfairness
that grown-ups think making war will lead to peace

I will challenge you
to seek a million answers
but ask a billion questions
to be intolerant of injustice
relentless in reform
persistent in peace
to understand that every day is an opportunity
to be a friend
to learn something new
to be an agent of change

I will comfort you
when wicked words sting
when reliable routines change
when the world tumbles off its axis

I will help you
ride out the storm
stand your ground
find your balance
find your calm
find your home

I will guide you as you
navigate the waves
hoist the sails
dock your ship

I will harbor you.

I will harbor
you.

This poem, this promise, was inspired by award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson’s newest novel, Harbor Me, published August 2018.

Rethinking Curriculum Night

September 11, 2018 ~ mandyrobek ~ 1 Comment

I had such great success Rethinking Meet the Teacher event and I keep coming back to the question What’s it going to be like to be a learner in this classroom?; I did some rethinking about working with parents. I enjoy going to Curriculum Nights as a parent for three reasons. I want to see the space and teacher that will be working with my child and I hope to learn about the teacher personally. I enjoy learning about the topic or material covered for the year and I get really interested when they mention anything about the how we learn.

Taking my learning from the Teaching for Creativity Institute this summer, I decided to engage my parents in a creative task. I prepared eight brown paper bags with recyclable materials. Parents were around the room; some standing and some sitting. I asked them to come together in small groups around the tables and introduced the material bags, task, and time limit. They looked at me hesitantly. The task was to decide on a problem they had they had and make something to fix it.

The room slowly became a buzz and I “worked the party” discovering this work had more benefits than I thought.

Parents introduced themselves to each other and identified who their child was.
They shared ideas for problems and were validated for their thinking.
They laughed and giggled.
They learned how hard it can be to get started.
They wanted to work longer to produce their ideas.
They were hesitant to share and then enjoyed that step.
They wanted to make something “real” and struggled with prototypes.
Parents shared more excitement than usual for our year of learning together.
I felt more relaxed during the evening.
I felt more engaged with the parents than just presenting information to them.

The night was a bigger success than I thought and I decided the biggest benefit was I had spent time in developing a parent community for our classroom. We know our work isn’t just with students and I’ve had parents join us on and off every year I’ve been teaching. This evening felt different and I think it’s because I had them engaged and being a learner, like their child will be this year.

Honoring Identity

September 6, 2018September 5, 2018 ~ Tony Keefer ~ 1 Comment

Sara Ahmed is an educator who I am fortunate to call a friend. As much as I value her friendship, I value her role as a mentor to me even more. Her two books Upstanders: How to Engage Middle School Hearts and Minds with Inquiry (co-authored with Harvey Daniels) and Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension have pushed my thinking and encouraged me to do better for the kids I learn with every day. I highly recommend reading these books and if you ever get the chance to hear Sara speak don’t miss that opportunity.

I opened this school year with her thinking in the back of my brain. One of the lessons she shared in Being the Change is an activity an Identity Web. Sara explains Identity Webs as “personal graphic tools that help us consider the many factors that shape who we are.” Middle school is definitely a time and a place where our students wrestle with their identity. I know I did. Many factors that shape who I am today can be traced to middle school. My lifelong love affair with both soccer and art were cemented in middle school. Middle school teachers I had were adults who shaped both how I act with seventh graders now and how I will never act with those same seventh graders. And I sill remember the name of my first girlfriend. I wonder what happened to her once we both left our hometown.

So the idea of leading students to recognize what or who has shaped or will shape how they view their lives and the world definitely appealed to me, so I jumped right into it. But first, I did one myself. In Being the Change, Sara strongly recommends that teachers do the work she recommends for teaching students social comprehension because “this examination is just as adults as it is for kids.” Doing the work we expect our students to do is time-consuming, but it opens our eyes to a more empathetic stance.

Here is my Identity Map:

Screen Shot 2018-09-05 at 10.15.52 PM

When I was working on this, it amazed me how some of my identity came easily. Filling in the area around sports was easy. However, I realized I hesitated a great deal with the family section. I kept second-guessing what I should share. I love my family, but like many families, there are difficult memories flowing next to the wondrous memories. I wondered when it came time to share my identity web as a model for my students, how would I handle this section. Honesty drove me to be very candid about some of the difficult factors that have shaped me. It may not have helped my students write down any of the tough things on their webs, but my hope was they would quickly know that I am a person who will be very honest with them.

While my students were working on their identity webs, I had mine in my hand and looked for connections I had with my students. I sat with them at tables or on the floor and named the connections we had like reading, sports, or living most of my entire life in Central Ohio. But, I also delighted in seeing things that were very different than me. I celebrated the students who immigrated to the United States, students who loved dance, and the student who plays five, yes five, different instruments.

The time I spent chatting and connecting with the students was the second best thing I did during the first few days of school. The best thing was the next day. The students met in small groups to compare and contrast their webs. They looked for connections and delighted in finding differences. As I bounced around the room, I could see them appreciating who they were at the same time they were appreciating each other. We were learning to honor our identities.

As the year progresses, we will add to our webs and look for more ways to celebrate our own identities as well as each others’. We will also be led by the many other ideas Sara shared in Being the Change. The work will be challenging, but I am certain the communities we are creating in Room 229 will be stronger if we rise to the challenge.

Student samples