Stan Lee v. Mark Twain

To quote a favorite rapper of mine, Atmosphere, when I was growing up, "hip hop and comic books were my genesis." And although I learned to read at an early age and was a voracious reader from then on, with respect to Matt Christopher, Roald Dahl and Jerry Spinelli, I think I owe some of my literacy to the comic books I devoured from about age 8 to 14. With that in mind, I was excited to come across this NY Times article, "Superman Finds New Fans Among Reading Instructors".

Before the article came along I had already been thinking of ways to incorporate comic books into my literacy instruction. I know firsthand the ways I learned from comic books (they teach vocabulary for one with characters named Threnody and Zephyr). Now, looking at comic books through the lens of a teacher they seem like a perfect fit for a classroom with struggling readers, many of whom are ELL's.

For one, there's tons of pictures! A story that comes with action-packed art can help with the skill of visualization which is surprisingly hard for most of my students. Then there's the characters. There's so many of them and they're incredibly interesting. Think about the most famous characters such as Bruce Wayne/Batman or Clark Kent/Superman. They have these amazing back stories that provide motivation for their stories. Rich characters are a great tool for helping young readers think about character traits and development.

Comic books are also packed with literary allusions. There are tons of references in the Marvel and DC Universe to myths and legends from all sorts of cultures. Storm from the X-Men, Thor, Aquaman are just a few examples of characters linked to existing myths.

Of course I'm not saying throw out all the amazing children's literature that's out there. But comic books might just be the key to making reading accessible and most importantly fun. If they can, then there's no reason not to use them in every classroom.

Exit Slips

At the end of each week during the class meeting I have my students fill out exit slips which are a quick way to reflect on what we've learned during the week. I've made it through three months of teaching and thought it's only fair I put myself through the same process.

3 Things I've Learned
1. Rewards and praise work infinitely better than punishments
2. You must follow through on every threat or promise. You are only as good as your word and if you say the kids will miss gym to practice walking in the halls or that a kid will miss the Christmas party, you better mean it. Sometimes this means sacrificing time from lunch or prep, but it is worth it.
3. Every kid loves to learn, but most of them don't want to know when they're learning.

2 Things I Still Don't Understand
1. How can I get my kids to not just understand, but actually buy into the idea of respect for one another? My classroom is still not a ''risk-free environment'' for learning and I haven't yet figured out how to shape it into one where students are eager to share and listen.
2. I still don't understand how a school can function with so many competing interests. In an environment where kids need so much extra help, it doesn't make sense to me that how to close the achievement gap when students, teachers, administrators and parents all seem to be working independently with different goals and motives.

1 Thing I Can Do Better At
1. I can do better at holding myself to a standard of "No Excuses". It is one of the foundations of the Teaching Fellows program and I realized today in conversation with someone when I said, "I have a really low-performing class..." I have been making excuses constantly without realizing it, and instead of putting the onus on myself I'm holding my students responsible. I tell them often that there are no excuses whether its a missing homework assignment or talking out of turn. I need to hold myself to that same standard.

Teaching Without a Voice (Day 3)

Didn't think I was going to make it this long teaching without a voice, but here I am, a day from glorious, glorious (temporary) freedom. Today was actually a relatively good day. The main reason was that I was able to use the Christmas Party as leverage. Whenever there was too much talking I would look at my watch and start timing the class. I told them that if they wasted my time I would take the time back tomorrow when we were supposed to be having our party. It worked for the most part and I'm going to have to try to find a way to incorporate the same sort of motivation when we come back in January.

So, not much else to say for now. I made it to Winter Break and it feels like nothing short of a (Christmas?) miracle. I'm relieved to have made it this far and I'm thankful to my friends and family who have supported me through it all and to everyone who's been reading my chronicle of this year.

Teaching Without a Voice (Day 2)

Today was relatively painless. It was definitely a challenge to find a way to assert my authority without any range of tone or volume in my voice. I'm wondering is it possible to get a bell of some kind by tomorrow morning? Where does one even buy a bell? Then again if there's any time of year where it might be easier to find a bell, I guess this is it.

I had told my students we would have a Christmas (Holiday) Party on the condition that they earn it. I award "Hits" to tables based on being on task and attentive at the right times. I told them for each 25 hits a table earned, one section of the Christmas/Holiday tree I constructed out of paper would be filled in. If they filled in the whole tree they would get the party. Today was the last day they could earn it and they still had two sections of the tree unfilled.

The whole thing kind of illustrates the dilemma I've found myself in all year. I don't want to be a pushover. But did I really want to refuse the kids a little 'party' on a day when they'll probably be bouncing off the walls anyway? So, what did I do? First since today was a Wednesday I told them they only had to get to 15 hits instead of 25. On top of that, I kept giving them extra opportunities to earn hits. I don't feel like I gave in. But I do feel like if I had been tougher we wouldn't be having a party on Friday. It was a tough decision, but I guess I'd rather be a softy than a grinch.

Teaching Without a Voice (Day 1)

Like I said yesterday, it's interesting how the whole dynamic of the classroom changes when you can't raise your voice. It would have been better if I refused to raise my voice, and wasn't just limited to a hoarse whisper. Still, when I did keep my voice within its limitations I noticed how for the most part the classroom was quiet. Because the kids had no choice to listen. And most of the kids did. Problems arose because of the same few kids who never seem to listen or do their work.

Ultimately I am exhausted (and sick) but I am not discouraged. I hold myself accountable more than the kids for the misbehavior that takes place in my class. It's clear I still haven't gotten full control and more than anything it just feels easier because I've developed a tolerance for the chaos and disrespect that occurs routinely.

I am frustrated that the misbehavior is starting to actually tear apart the fabric of my classroom community. Kids are calling each other stupid, telling each other to shut up and worse. This is my main priority right now aside from preparing my students for the ELA exam: creating a classroom community that is more cohesive and safe for all my students to focus on learning instead of constant drama.

Monday, Monday

Even though I'm always somewhat dreading Mondays, they usually end up being the easiest day of the week. Everyone's well rested and more or less focused. On top of that, today three of my most difficult students were absent. I feel guilty at how happy and relieved I felt when I realized I didn't have to deal with them. They deserve to come to school everyday and learn, and I worry the same feeling of relief I felt today translates to negativity in the classroom when they are there.

Meanwhile, I'm fighting off a cold and today I lost my voice. It was actually interesting to see what happened when I could not physically raise my voice above a certain level. I'm resting up now and I'm hoping I get my voice back tomorrow, but it will be interesting if I don't. In a lot of ways I think it was more effective being forced to whisper, because the kids had to listen. They had no other choice.

I always jinx myself with these early-week prognostications, but I'll say it again: I'm feeling good and starting to feel like I've got a handle on the rhythm of lesson planning. Of course tomorrow when Lil Miss Stay Puff and Pop N Fresh are back along with my yet-to-be-introduced main problem child I may be feeling differently. In the mean time, here's another ego boost to go along with a decent day of teaching, courtesy of a NY Times article on higher test scores and GPAs among newer teachers.

Identity Crisis

I'm still dealing with this continuing conflict. What is more important to me? Having control of my classroom or, for lack of a better cliché, staying true to myself? My kids continue to waste time and talk (and talk and talk) while I try to teach a lesson or give directions. They talk in the halls and they talk in the classroom. They talk in the auditorium and they talk in the stairway. And to the casual observer, it is because I am too nice and they're simply taking advantage of me.

So, what's the alternative? I've seen other teachers with perfect control of their classes. I've also seen and heard how they talk to their classrooms. Some teachers use yelling and screaming, some teachers use humiliation and intimidation and others still use some combination of both. These tactics, quite simply, aren't for me. Everything I've learned has taught me that yelling will only beget more yelling (and headaches and exhaustion by the end of the day). Furthermore, I'm trying to maintain some basic level of respect between my students and I. I understand that they have crossed that line, but I'm still not prepared to deny them a basic level of respect. That's not who I want to be as a teacher.

People make the argument that the kids are used to hearing it at home. You have to talk to them that way. It's all they'll listen to. The argument goes. I find this kind of "cultural" argument insulting and I won't let it become a justification for some of the language and tone I hear from my peers. Meanwhile, I stick to my guns and nothing changes. I know that I can strike some sort of balance. I just haven't found it yet.

Two Realizations

I was standing in my class today, watching my students take their practice ELA exam and suddenly it all struck me as very odd. Here I am, 22 years old and barely in control of my own life. And yet I'm endowed with this incredible responsibility and power. 24 children, working away on their tests and oblivious to the fact that their teacher sometimes finds his position completely absurd.

I don't know how well I can explain this other than to say the whole scenario just struck me as bizarre. They look up to me, they depend on me, they sometimes hate me vehemently and even more rarely show signs of reverence. They never question that Mr. B is a teacher. I come to work and that's my job and as far as they're concerned it always has been and always will be.

Anyway, I just thought it was a funny feeling to have. It was also at about the same time that I realized I love my students. That might sound like a little much, but I mean it. I was looking around the room and I realized as much as they drive me crazy these kids are my life right now and they are completely innocent. Most of the misbehavior I deal with stems from the kids who just need attention so badly, they don't know any other way to get it.

It was a powerful realization, different from the first one which almost made me laugh out loud. With it came a sense of urgency. I don't want to let these kids down. Almost all of the past three months have been about self-preservation. Now that I have things relatively under control I am seeing through students' behavior to see their actual academic performance. Some of the best behaved kids are the lowest performers and vice versa. It's scary to see that and realize how much work is ahead of me so I don't let these kids down.

The Gap Begins at Home

It's no secret that "closing the achievement gap" is an uphill battle. Even with programs like Teach for America and NYC Teaching Fellows and a massive government program like NCLB, things, to put it mildly, aren't looking up. One major obstacle to closing the achievement gap, amongst the many, is home environments of students growing up in poverty. A recent study done by the ETS, responsible for creating and administering more than 50 million tests annually, and detailed in the NY Times attempted to quantify the effects of home environment on student achievement.

The E.T.S. researchers took four variables that are beyond the control of schools: The percentage of children living with one parent; the percentage of eighth graders absent from school at least three times a month; the percentage of children 5 or younger whose parents read to them daily, and the percentage of eighth graders who watch five or more hours of TV a day. Using just those four variables, the researchers were able to predict each state’s results on the federal eighth-grade reading test with impressive accuracy.

I'm not trying to take any of the onus away from the terribly flawed system of education in our country. Many studies have shown that an effective teacher is the number 1 factor in student achievement (A recent study by the Hoover Institution for example came to some particularly interesting conclusions about alternative certification programs like NYC Teaching Fellows that really addressed my ongoing question: am I part of the solution or part of the problem?).

Nonetheless, the home factors the ETS studied seem all too familiar. Most of my kids come from single parent homes. Many of them are habitually tardy or absent. Most of their parents are working hard to make ends meet which doesn't leave much time for reading aloud or checking up on homework. The tragic fact is this: "by the time these children start school at age 5, they are far behind, and tend to stay behind all through high school. There is no evidence that the gap is being closed."

Trap Day

In football they have what's called a trap game. It occurs when a team is just coming off a big match-up and are facing a weaker opponent before another big game. For example the Jags played division rivals the Colts last week and are going up against the Steelers next week. That makes this week's game against the anemic Panthers a trap game.

Why do I mention this? Well it feels like a lot of times I walk into school on a Friday and end up having a day that follows the same principles of a trap game. I just got through four exhausting days of playing catch up with lesson plans and keeping my classroom under control. Looking ahead to the weekend and next week (not to mention winter break only two weeks away) I let my guard down and don't bring my A-game to the classroom. Inevitably this makes Friday one of the longest and hardest days of my week.

My strategy should really be the opposite for Fridays. Gird myself for a difficult day and don't give the kids and inch of room for misbehavior. Focus on the day like it's the first day of the week instead of getting distracted by the prospect of two full nights of rest and peace and quiet. In the end it's a psychological trap that feels more or less inevitable. It's a tough reminder that you have to come to school prepared and ready to teach with 100% everyday, but a valuable one nonetheless.

Life. Now in Multiple Choice

I am getting fed up with these exams. Each day we remind the kids that there are only x number of days left until the exam! As if building up the pressure for the test will help the kids do well on it. More likely, it will feed into a sense of learned helplessness. "There's no way I can pass this test, why even bother?" I imagine my students thinking.

There is this myth that we don't need to teach to the test. But when the day comes and the students take the test, it's impossible not to feel like the whole thing's not some big trap. Today we took the interim ELA assessment, a midpoint assessment before the real test in January. I counted at least 8 questions out of roughly 30 that had no clear answer. One asked which of the following best explains why the passage is a story:
a) It has characters
b) It has a plot
c) It has a setting
d) It has a title

Does this have anything to do with academic achievement or really understanding and appreciating literature? What exactly are we preparing our students for? Meanwhile I've learned that next week there will be three days of practice exams at my school. So much for not teaching to the test. I guess that's just a luxury that schools like mine and others in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem and inner cities across the U.S. just don't have.

Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now...

Saturday I went to the Dance/Fashion Show of one of my students (the aforementioned heir to ALP). I had to make the trip from my apartment on the Upper East Side way up to Washington Heights to the United Christ Church. The show was in an enormous building that looked like it must have been a theater in the 1920s or 1930s. It was surreal experience and my description of the place can't really give it justice (Pics can be found here).



The show was long, drawn out and awkward. But there were definite highlights. For starters the show started with three kids no older than six years old doing a Soulja Boy routine. Amazing. Best of all the show ended with an older man, dressed in an impeccable white suit busting out a bass with a gospel singer backing him, leading the crowd in a call and response of "Ain't no stoppin' us now...we're on the move. Ain't no stoppin' us now...we've got the groove."

As much as this student gives me trouble (and it kind of sucked to give up 3 hours on a Saturday) it was nice to come through for her after she invited me to the show. Might just be self-delusion but I'd like to think that her invitation means she cares about me and what I think on some level. Now I just need to tap into that somehow to get her behavior to reflect that.