Next BIG Idea

Tomorrow I leave for a conference in Chicago, and in doing so, I am taking a big leap of faith--in me and in the dream that my husband and I share.  The conference is for those who would like to open a charter school, and my husband and I want to do just that, not for our children but for Charlotte's children.  There are segments of the CMS population who are not getting their needs met, and we want to create an environment that will not only meet their needs but will exceed their needs, meeting their dreams face-to-face.

I have always wanted to open a school.  Ever since I taught at Dore Academy (now The John Crosland School) almost twenty years ago, and I was able to see how targeting my instruction for my students brought about 3, 4, & 5 years of academic gains.  I have wanted to do that for students whose parents couldn't afford the 20K tuition or even provide transportation if they could somehow pay tuition.

Academic equality is a social justice issue for me.  If we don't prepare students equally, how can we say that we are truly preparing students for the adult world?  Why are we disappointed when students fail?  Our goal is to create an academic environment that recognizes and makes use of both the strengths and the weaknesses of the economically disadvantaged neighborhood, for it is in valuing people, good and bad, and working with them where they are that we are able to begin helping them get to where they would like to be.

It is only through struggle that we appreciate the success, so I am ready to struggle up until and beyond the day we reach success.  Namaste.

The Aftermath

I met with my students yesterday out in the hall, outside my classroom as I always do.  As I always am, I'm surprised people stay.  This is why:  I call people in order of achievement, highest to lowest.  The lowest performing student sometimes has to wait two hours to talk to me.  Why would he or she wait that long when he or she could simply walk out the door and check their grade online?  Connection.  They want the human connection, so they wait.

12 of my students exempted themselves from the final exam.  They did it, not me, for they did the excellent work.  I love meeting with those students because I get to expound on all of their good traits, make academic suggestions, and chat person-to-person.

On the other hand, four students have grades that are so low that even if they ace the final exam they will not pass the class.  Showing them their statistics for their work doesn't phase them; they want a miracle, and they don't understand why I just won't give it to them.  I plug in a 100% in the final exam slot; then I show them their final grade.  They seem surprised that it is still below 70%.  "It's a math problem now," I explain, and I know they are thinking, "You are an English teacher.  You must've made a mistake."  My silent voice tells their silent voice, "You could've combined those sentences into a complex sentence, and that really is the crux of the matter here."  I wish them the best, recommend that they re-take the placement test, and watch them throw away all the work I just returned to them.  

I am a teacher of students, and my students don't always hear me the day that I teach them.  Sometimes, they hear me years later; then they listen.  Sometimes, they never do, but they've at least met someone who expects excellent work and knows that excellent work resides within them.

Meeting with My Students One-on-One

Today is a day each semester that I welcome and dread, for it is the day that I meet with my students individually.  Their grades have been tallied, and they wait expectantly for me to discuss their performance in my class.  Alas, many students will be sad when they depart, but some will leave sadder than others. There are four students who don't have a chance of passing my class even if they were to score a 100% on the final exam.  I sympathize with these students because I don't believe they truly understand that they are the ones responsible for their failure.  When I type in the 100% in the final exam column and hit enter to show how the resulting final grade would not be a passing grade, they look at me as if I'm lying to them.  They'll respond with a combination of the following, "Isn't there anything I can do?"  "Extra credit?"  "Can I turn in all those papers I'm missing?"  "Can't you drop some more quiz grades?"  

My response is a combination of these words, "There's nothing you can do except improve in your next class."  "I assign plenty of work, so 'extra' work isn't necessary."  "Do you have the papers now?  No?  I would have considered it if you had them now, but sorry.  No, I won't accept the papers."  "Why would I drop those quiz grades?  They assessed your understanding of the topic, and clearly, you didn't understand these topics."  Then the quiet sets in.  That is, until I say, "It's been a pleasure working with you, and I wish you the best."  They look at me incredulously as if I'd just assaulted them and refused to apologize.  I reach out my hand to shake theirs, and they take it, stand up, and walk away.  

They've had teachers who've bailed them out, and they don't understand why I won't be one of them.  I have compassion for these students, and I understand why their middle and high school teachers stretched the rules.  They wanted to help these students, but in reality, they were disabling them.  The students believed that since all teachers would accept late work and award them passing grades when the students had actually failed.  After all, this is just community college--right?  Wrong.  I actually mean what I say when I tell them that they must demonstrate an understanding of the material and turn in on time said materials.  Just as their future bosses will, I expect them to be responsible adults.  I dislike being the one who pushes them out of the cozy bed of their childhood and down the chute to adulthood, but it's a necessary push.

I've run into a few of the students I've had to deliver this sad news to in the past, and they've each said the same thing, "Thank you for failing me.  I didn't do the work, and I didn't deserve to pass.  I was mad at you that day."  

"You're welcome.  I hope you made a better choice the second time around."

That's all anyone needs is a second chance (in another class with another instructor).

REVIEW: Teaching Children Who Find Reading Difficult

Rasinski, Padak, and Fawcett have contributed significantly to the lexicon of the reading teacher in their book, Teaching Children Who Find Reading Difficult through their use of both research and activities.  They begin the book discussing current findings from researchers to help the reader understand the framework from which they will be working for the rest of the book.  Their perspective can be summarized in one word:  individualization.  If a student isn't able to complete an activity at the same rate or success rate as his classmates, then it is the teacher's job to find another activity for that student and even for the entire class.  

In explaining how students learn how to read, the authors really break down how students integrate any new information into their own understanding.  They believe that conceptual change must occur when a student learns something new; this change occurs through predicting, testing, and confirming.  Understanding a student's cultural logic in addition to promoting conceptual change are two elements that teachers must maintain an awareness of and a sensitivity to which can be difficult if a teacher has a different cultural background than the students.

The book also offers many teaching strategies that can be used for teaching reading, writing, and in any other subject matter where information has to be summarized or categorized.  A few of the activities that I especially liked were the following:  

• Direct Reading-Thinking Activity:  The teacher asks questions at particular places during a reading to gauge students' understanding.
• "Save the last word for me":  The students take notes as they read, share one with people in their small group, and at the end, the student who shared the idea gets to have the last word on the idea.
• Herringbone:  An organizational chart.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to any teacher who needs new ideas to reach their students whether the students are struggling with reading or if they simply need new teaching strategies.

Maintaining Teacher Certification

As I end the last class that I signed up for to maintain my teaching certificate, I would like to reflect on my experiences in these classes the last few months.  I took three classes during this time:  Diversity, Reading, and Exceptional Children.

The Diversity class was a face-to-face class that met every day for one week, and the class was as diverse as the subject matter.  The instructor offered modes of instruction that I'd never tried but have incorporated into my classroom, such as assigning each student as a subject-matter expert, giving the students materials they need, and asking them to present to the class.  

The Exceptional Children class was an online class that served as a comprehensive review of the laws and current practices that both protect and nurture students who fall outside of that term "regular."  I was impressed with the instructor's organization and with the pace of the course.  There were a few students who seemed to forget that everyone in the class is a teaching professional; they'd respond to posts with negative comments, such as "I am worried for your students" because of the teacher's interaction with students, completely undermining the point of the exercise we might have been working on.  I'll review the book that we used in the reading class in my next blog post.    

Is the A a Ruse?

As I listen to Superintendent Heath Morrison talk about STEM changing to STEAM because we mustn't forget the arts, I find myself questioning the intention behind this addition to the acronym for one of the most recent curricular foci's to come along in the education field.  As requests for money to support additional math and science programs fill page after page in the latest budget proposal, I did not read any requests for money to support the arts.  Is Dr. Morrison simply trying to appease those of us for whom the right side of the brain is the most comfortable or is he truly attempting to have it all for CMS students--a mind and a heart?  I suppose time will tell, but as an educator for over 20 years, I've never seen a program thrive that didn't have actual teachers and actual curriculum behind it.

Here's a link to what STEAM could actually mean for CMS students:

STEAM