Pointing Fingers

Every teacher is familiar with the situation where they intervene in an argument, or ask that pointless question, "Who's talking?" Any teacher expecting a straight answer in these situations either hasn't been teaching long or has incredibly virtuous students. In my own experience, getting to the bottom of who started the fight or who was talking on line (we must have silence in the hallways!) is nearly impossible. Instead you have two or more fingers pointing in two or more directions.

What's funny, I've noticed, is that the adults in my school don't handle blame much differently. While I'm sure I take a fair amount of heat behind my back, I think I'm pretty good at navigating the complex politics of my school. As a result, all sorts of people feel comfortable speaking candidly to me. This means, people have no problems bad mouthing each other to me. It gets especially interesting when someone drops the ball or a miscommunication takes place, because everyone is quick to pin the blame on someone else.

The sixth rule in my classroom is, "Accept responsibility for your own behavior." It's really more of a goal than a rule. I wonder, if even adults avoid responsibility at all costs, how can I hope for my students to do otherwise?

Speech, Speech!

When I was in the 7th grade I ran for class treasurer. In 8th grade I was class president. In high school I ran for leadership positions in my youth group at the regional and national level. The point is, I got pretty good at making speeches. It's a good skill if you like to listen to the sound of your voice, but when you're teaching kids with limited attention spans, it's not so applicable.

Unfortunately, sometimes when my patience is reaching a breaking point (especially at the end of the day), I stop everything and try to set everyone straight. Whether it's about respect, effort or maturity, sometimes I just need to make myself heard and let the kids know that enough is enough.

Before I even started teaching I read a book called The Reluctant Disciplinarian. Given my laid back style, it seemed like the book was written for me. At the end of the book the author collected wisdom from a bunch of different sources. One piece of advice that has stayed with me essentially said that a teacher has a finite number of words to use in a school year, so they have to use them carefully. When I stop everything and give one of my speeches, I think about this advice, and wonder how many words I'm wasting.

Walking home from the subway today, an epiphany put my speeches into even scarier perspective. Thinking about the speech I had given at the end of the day I was suddenly reminded of another teacher at my school who's prone to diatribes. I thought of an older cluster teacher who comes into my classroom weekly and usually does little more than lecture my students on how ill-behaved they are. There's plenty of things that distinguish me from this woman thankfully, but I want to be careful to avoid the appearance of any similarities.

Time to Shine

Monday our school hosted a ballroom dancing competition with schools across the Bronx. 10 of our fifth graders went up against four other teams of students. After the foxtrot, merengue, rumba, tango, swing, and wild card rounds were over, our school emerged with the gold and a chance to compete next week for a spot in the citywide competition. With parents, kids, administrators and teachers all cheering for our team, it was an incredible chance to step back from the paper work, test work and general classroom struggles. With that step back, everything came into focus.

We were all there for the same reason: the kids. More than anything, we all just wanted to see our kids succeed. And the kids wanted to win so badly, because they had been working for weeks to perfect their dancing. The sense of pride and community when our team was announced as winners was indescribable.

Beyond that, I walked away with a newfound appreciation for arts and extracurriculars in the schools. The dance competition highlighted what it means to really give a kid the chance to shine in their own way. At it's core, that should be the mission of any school, because when a kid has a chance to really excel in one area - whether its writing, math, sports or music - they have a reason to show up everyday and try their best. With all the horror stories out there about struggling schools cutting back on extracurricular programs, I was proud to see my school hasn't forgotten there's more to education than tests.

Kristoff on Rhee

Nick Kristoff's piece on DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee was in today's Times. I encourage you to read the whole thing, but for now a few quick thoughts:

Kristoff quotes Rhee as saying, "We will take away from all the other school districts and schools across the country the excuse that because the kids are poor, minority, whatever it might be, that they can’t achieve at the same high levels.” This is a straw man argument I hear perpetuated in countless conversations about education. I don't know anyone working in education who is using their students' racial or economic background as an excuse for their test scores. I'm sure this argument is out there, but it's not coming from anyone actually teaching or running a school in places Philly, New York or Baltimore.

In the next line, Kristoff drops the understatement of the year, "Rhee's weakness is her bedside manner." As someone who agrees with at least 75% of Rhee's ideas, she still doesn't inspire total confidence in me, because of her attempts to cram those ideas down the throats of principals, teachers and parents. Lately she's tried to extend an olive branch to the people's she's alienated, but when she follows up the conciliatory rhetoric with lines like, "If we come to an impasse, we're going to move forward with our reforms anyway," it shows her true motives and continues her simplistic characterization of her opponents as part of the problem.

I hope that Michelle Rhee succeeds, because her success means closing the achievement gap for D.C.'s poorest children and by extension America's poorest children. However, moving forward, there are legitimate concerns about some of her ideas: "Teachers worry, not unreasonably, that their performance is difficult to measure, that they will be judged by incompetent principals, and that promised bonuses may later dry up." These worries need to be addressed more seriously than passing lip service in the numerous op-eds and speeches about education reform. Rhee and the reform movement seem to be an unstoppable force, but by ignoring valid criticisms and listening to different ideas, they run the risk of turning disgruntled teachers, principals and parents into an immoveable object

The Rhee Craze Continues

My favorite Times columnist Nick Kristoff tweeted earlier today that he had an interview with DC chancellor Michelle Rhee today and will write on it Sunday. He calls her "ground zero for school reform nationwide." I can shake this feeling that everyone's jumping on this bandwagon without really considering where it's headed. Yes, I agree drastic change is needed, but I'm not positive Rhee's got all the answers. At the very least it seems too early to tell.

Things They Don't Teach You...

Today was Parent-Teacher Conferences and a reminder that there's plenty of things you don't learn from certification programs, alternative or otherwise. Let's take report cards and the conversations that accompany them. First off, the report card using a system that lends itself to pretty vague and arbitrary marks - 1 is below expectations, 2 approaching, 3 meeting, and 4 exceeding. A 1-4 scale doesn't really lend itself to clarity.

Compounding the problem is the language that is used for each subject, for example, "Reads independently for sustained periods of time." Some teachers might take that to mean a student can choose a "just-right" book, sit down and read for 30 minutes (or 15, or 45). Another teacher might require a student to read a grade level text for sustained periods of time. Maybe some schools have conversations that speak to these issues and establish a standard meaning for these expectations, but I suspect most schools don't.

Meanwhile, Masters programs never really discuss the proper approach to parent-teacher conversations about these difficult documents. Parent reactions can run the gamut from apathetic to irate, and beyond "Start with a positive then move to needs and next steps," there's not a lot a new teacher is told to prepare for these conversations. Sometimes it's hard to know the right thing to say, and while it's always important to be able to improvise, there are definitely a few universal scenarios that play out in parent teacher conferences. A little help would be nice.

Some Days Are Bad Days

It's amazing, the calm and peace that's come over me lately. After a very rocky patch, things have gotten much better, but not because my problem kids have been causing any less problems. Basically, I've decided not to let them bother any more. I didn't realize how powerful this decision was until today.

A day like today would have really gotten to me just a couple of days ago. But even though I was struggling and yelling all day today, I left school remarkably calm. It's not that I'm apathetic, it's just that I've made some conscious decisions about what matters, and what doesn't.

First off, I have to ask myself what I could have done differently. On a day like today, I don't think I could have done much. I didn't lose my cool and I didn't give up on my plans. I've adopted a strategy of calm redirecting (i.e. How do you think you're behaving? What could you do better?). And when it's effective it's great, and when it's not, I know it's not my problem.

Obviously, some of my students are not where I want them to be. But, it's not because I'm not trying, or planning, or caring. When things go wrong, I can still reflect on what to do better, but it I know longer feel to the need to dwell on it endlessly after the day is done. I'm not sure, but this is probably a good sign something is going right.

Don't Ask

Sometimes when you're trying to get to the bottom of drama between kids, it's better not to ask. You end up opening such a can of worms, that you develop a new found appreciation for the saying, "Ignorance is bliss." Today I tried to get to the bottom of some issues one of my girls was having. She was openly arguing with Lil Miss Meltdown and her mom told me after school that she'd been asking to change schools for a few days now, because apparently all the kids are picking on her. This girl is incredibly bright, and so I immediately assumed she was a target for her unintentional "know-it-all" persona. So, inside I went to confer with some of the girls who stay after school for basketball.

"Do you girls have any ideas why people are bothering ---?" I naively asked. Three of the four girls proceeded to tell me a litany of slights and offenses, large and small, that --- had committed. Some of these things I convinced the girls were not worth their outrage, but the problem is when you ask students' for insight in situations like this, they often just let loose a barrage of tattling. So I got to hear all about this girl's habit of passing notes, name calling, foul language, bossing other students around, and on and on. More disturbing than the shattered illusion I had of this nice girl, was the reminder of how much I miss in my classroom.

I like to think a lot of the drama between my students occurs during the lunch hour. And to a certain extent this is true. Unfortunately, every time I am writing on the board, working in a guided group, or conferring with a student I am basically oblivious to all sorts of problems. Kids pass notes, throw erasers or show each other (or me) the finger, just to name a few.

In a December New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell about finding effective teachers he described one of the primary characteristics as something called withitness, an ability to identify and suppress misbehavior efficiently, aka eyes in the back of your head. When I hear stories like today's from my students, I worry about my own withitness, and how much I'm missing around me to the detriment of my students.

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil

One of my ongoing battles/slowest lessons I'm learning regards when to speak and when to keep my mouth shut. I'm not talking about in my classroom of course, but with my colleagues. Now, I've had plenty of opportunities to learn this lesson, but unfortunately in this area, I'm a very slow learner.

My school has a lot of great ideas. My school is very well intended. But that doesn't mean that my school is perfect. So at times I feel it prudent to suggest changes and adjustments that might make things run more smoothly for teachers and students. Okay, I'll admit it, there are times I'm given a task or bit of paper work that doesn't make any sense and then I'll just flat out complain. In any case, I don't feel like I just gripe unnecessarily. I usually have a good reason and/or a half-decent idea that could help out.

Most people that work in the DOE probably know how situations like this work out. Word gets around. If you don't play the part of the good soldier, word will get around, and what started as a benign suggestion has been translated into insubordination. This is one of the more frustrating aspects of my job, because I can't keep my ideas to myself and if something isn't working, I don't like to pretend it is. Most teachers seem to settle on one of two roles: 1) Compliant lapdog 2) Defiant malcontent. Occasionally a teacher chooses a third path: leave for a better school or start a better school. As I figure out who I am as a teacher, I'm not sure I'm happy with any of the options.

Teacher Report Cards Revisited

My post on my report card was linked to by GothamSchools and subsequently Edweek's blog alongside a very interesting post on Education Notes Online about misuse of the report cards at MS 321. The post presents an unsettling contrast to my own thoughts. I guess I tend to forget that my teaching experience is part of much larger bureaucracy, and anything that can be used as a tool of intimidation in the wrong hands, often is.

The Final Minutes

I've been thinking a lot lately about how much a difference it makes to control the tone (and my temper) at the end of the day. I've been working hard to facilitate a smoother process packing up at the end of the day. And although the results have been mixed, I've been working at the same time to relax when things remain chaotic. Getting flustered, frustrated or furious doesn't help the situation, and I definitely don't feel like going gray earlier than I have to.

Along with the hectic nature of getting the students packed up, the behavior of my most challenging students usually reaches a peak at this time at well. I used to think their behavior just got worse and worse during the afternoon. I've realized though that really it's an unfortunate convergence of the low point of my patience and the high point of their restlessness. Keeping my cool has helped avoid some of the escalation and teacher-student brinksmanship that can happen.

With my new attitude towards the final hours, and final minutes of my day, it's helped me to keep my entire day in perspective. Sometimes things can just get out of control as students are packing up, as they're not always the best at respecting each other's space or feelings. Whether they're bumping into someone else or bugging someone to hurry up or bugging someone by not getting ready fast enough, it can lead to a lot of conflict. These conflicts can sometimes skew the attitude toward my whole day. Lately though, as I've tried to keep the class and myself calmer, I've also avoided letting the last few minutes poison the whole day.

Report Cards for Teachers

I've always been much more willing than a lot of teachers to give the DOE and the larger cohort of reformers the benefit of the doubt with regards to accountability. I believe that education, like any job, especially one that involves public money and the development of public resources (i.e. children) must develop a better system of accountability. This is why, in spite of flaws and more than a few catch-22's, I believe in a lot of the ideas behind testing, quality reviews and report cards. Now, I have to put my money where my mouth is.

According to the NY Post and Gothamschools, the DOE is expanding an initiative to grade teachers. I had my own experience with this the day after we came back from Midwinter Break when I sat down for a meeting with my principal to review my goals for this year. At the end of the meeting I was handed a packet. It was my report card. This is part of a new initiative to hold teachers accountable through the use of reports of "value added" to their students. Groups of students are given predicted performance scores. These scores are compared to their actual results, and the teacher is rated on the basis of these scores.

Now I only have one year of teaching experience, and as anyone who's been reading since the beginning knows, that first year was, ahem, rocky. So, I wasn't really expecting a great report. What I didn't expect was how low my percentile score would be, even after my rating was adjusted for years of experience. And while it was a blow to my self-esteem, it was also a way to focus my expectations for this year. I know I've come a long way since last year, so I expect a big improvement on the next report card I see.

That said, the whole thing has to be taken with a grain of salt. As much as my job has been overwhelmed by testing, I refuse to judge my performance on test scores alone. Ultimately

my job is to prepare my students for a life of learning and success. Tests that measure students' academic performance is one way to assess my own performance. But I'd like to believe that there are intangible aspects to my job - for example instilling a love of learning and proper work ethic - that can't possibly be measured quantitatively. I think any attempt to rate teachers without accounting in some way for these aspects of teaching will be fatally flawed.

Are Rewards Working?

I've always felt conflicted about the use of rewards in my classroom. This year I tried to move away from material awards, by using prize tickets to reward good behavior. Prize tickets are used in a raffle at the end of the week. Hopefully this reinforces cumulative good behavior and not just sporadic efforts by the students.

Not long ago I also posted Roland Fryer's interview from The Colbert Report. Fryer is the Harvard economist behind the efforts to reward NYC students monetarily for test scores. An article in today's NY Times discusses various studies examining the different types of reward systems, including Fryer's. There are some interesting results on the effectiveness of different rewards, but ultimately it appears experts are still divided.

Which means for my own classroom, I'll just have to keep going with whatever works, and hope I won't be affecting any long term damage on my students love of learning or effort to succeed. I try to always tie rewards to achievement as well as effort. I also try to make sure that rewards are more meaningful than material.