More Classroom Characters, Class of 2011

So far this year you've met Baby Face, The Scowler, Woodstock, Ernest, El Molestador and Don Juan. Since I'm in the middle of midwinter recess, I figured I'd take this opportunity to introduce you to a few more of my classroom characters.

Little Miss Bossy - When I was a kid my sister and I read a lot of different Little Miss and and Mister books on different character traits. They had good morals, even if they were mostly silly. I don't find much silly about the Little Miss Bossy in my classroom though. She's incredibly

smart, but she rarely applies herself to schoolwork. More often she uses her brain to bully other girls into submission. On an almost daily basis, someone is complaining that this girl has their

pencil, pencil case, eraser or some other item. She has the intellect to be a real teacher's pet if her behavior matched. Instead she

causes more frustration than pride. She's a reminder that bullying isn't just a boy problem. I hope I can help her interact more respectfully with her classmates by the end of the year.

The Cheerful Chipmunk - If there's ever been a moment when this girl wasn't smiling, I must have missed it. She came to our school from the Dominican Republic, but unlike the other two students new to the country, she's acclimated like a fish to water. Her attitude is just incredible, and the progress she's making from a non-speaker to a fluent reader and writer is so exciting to watch.

Perdido - Unfortunately, Perdido, the third newcomer to the States in my classroom, hasn't had as easy a transition. Sometimes I wondered if beyond the stress induced by the move if he may have some other sort of developmental delay. He came into my class knowing zero English and showed no literacy skills in Spanish either. In math he handles basic addition alright, but struggles with basic subtraction. Until recently, he's spent most of his days fooling around and chatting with El Molestador. When I pushed him to participate, he looked totally lost, even if directions were given in Spanish.

Thankfully, he's beginning to open up and connect to the classroom goings on. Upon choosing to drop Spanish in the classroom and insist that he use English, he's beginning to use basic sentences. I'm also forcing him to sit up front on the rug so he has to choice to get an up close and personal view of every lesson. Then the other day, before my read aloud of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I asked for a retell and I was shocked when his hand jumped up.

"Charlie, he open the candy and chocolate fell out." It was the first sign since September that he was listening AND he understood what was going on around him. It may not sound like much, but it was one of my proudest and most exciting moments of the year.

It's been a crazy March, and I apologize for the dearth of posts, but I hope to share more stories and more characters sometime soon.

Why Teachers Like Me Support Unions

There are plenty of times when I disagree with Michael Mulgrew and the UFT. There have been more than a few occasions in conversations about teaching when I've had to admit my own confusion or frustration with the union. But these instances will never change the fact that I am a proud supporter of the teacher's union.

In a bizarre era where policy experts are calling attention to the need to attract better teachers while policy makers simultaneously decry our "lavish" benefits, the need for a strong union becomes increasingly well. The blatant attacks on collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin and elsewhere do nothing to improve education. During such a time, I am grateful for the hard fought union battles of the past that protect me from discrimination, support my instruction and planning, and encourage my professional development.

When I think of one of the most vital roles of the union however, I think of the protections that allow me to advocate for my students. At a school with more than 33% of students under IEP's and an even larger number receiving ESL services, I understand how crucial it is that I can speak up for these students if they aren't getting legally mandated services. This is arguably the foremost job of a teacher, to speak up for his or her students. By protecting teachers who do this, the union is protecting the city's neediest children. The union is at its best when it is in this role.

I know I don't see eye to eye with the UFT on every issue. I don't agree with LIFO. I think in the past tenure has been granted too swiftly and easily. In other areas, like the need for a stronger evaluation system, I hope the union will take more of a leadership role to create a system that differentiates more clearly between our best and worst teachers, and provides feedback to help the latter group change their practice.

I think these changes will elevate the status of teachers, but also create better classrooms for our students. I know the union has an indispensable role in the future of education reform. In the mean time, I am grateful for the freedoms the union provides me that make me a better teacher to my students. I'm equally thankful to be a part of a group that welcomes discussion within its ranks. The debates within our group can only make us stronger.

Meditation on a Broken Pencil

I was grabbing my book bag from my closet when I saw the pencil, broken in two, lying on the floor. I couldn't help but feel curious. How did it get there? Who broke it and why?

As teachers we're supposed to have eyes in the back of our heads. But clearly at some point, someone broke this pencil and tossed it (aside? across the room?) without me taking notice. And here it was now, strangely hard to ignore.

After almost four years of working with eight, nine and ten-year-olds, their inner workings still remain something of a mystery. On a daily basis, if not more, one of my kids will say or do something that will just leave completely flummoxed. Despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, I still somehow expect them to behave according to certain rules of logic and rationality. The broken pencil seemed to be another reminder of the random nature of their actions.

Decoding the origins of this broken pencil seems an apt metaphor for decoding my students. Was it broken out of anger or frustration? I'm constantly struggling to help my kids express their emotions in healthy, helpful ways. Still, more than a few seem unable of using language to express their emotions. These students often choose tantrums, violence toward others or property to show their feelings.

If not anger, perhaps boredom was the culprit. As March gives way to April, in spite of my best efforts, my classroom like many others, seems to be stuck in the doldrums. The kids are still loving our social studies and science lessons. But test prep lessons for ELA and Math seem to drag on. I feel that way, and I allegedly have a greater attention span than a third grader.

Of course the last explanation that comes to mind is outright deviance. Not mutually exclusive from the other two possibilities, this is my concession that "kids will be kids".There's a number of reasons a kid might have to break a pencil and toss it to the ground. It may have a deeper implication about what the kids feeling, what's going on in my classroom or in the kid's home. Or it could just be one of my kids who prefers to act on random impulses rather than think of about the ensuing seconds. I caught one of my boys breaking his pencil in half, "because the point broke," so I'm all to familiar with this type of "reasoning".

Whatever the reasons that brought that broken pencil to my closet, it illustrates one of my greatest frustrations as a teacher. No matter how much time I spend with my students, it seems in some ways they'll remain mysteries to me.

A Parent Teacher Conference Without the Parents

Yesterday my school held parent teacher conferences. The turnout for my class, with 21 of 27 students represented, was considered good. Still I was surprised and frustrated by some of the no-shows. Meanwhile, it's March and I have yet to meet a parent of two of my students. This is more than discouraging, it's just sad.

I know these parents work all hours and more than likely multiple jobs. But I've reached out every way I know how, with no success.

Luckily these two students go against the trend I've seen over the years, and are in fact two of my top readers. Nonetheless I wish deeply I could share their learning, their strengths, and needs with someone at home.

In the meantime, I tried something different. I held the conference with the student.

In some ways it was no different from the regular conferences I have during daily lessons. First we talked about her most recent writing piece. Then we looked at her scores from the fall and winter ELA and math simulations. I told her how bright she is and how proud she should feel, but reminded her she has to continue working hard and trying her best. She has a bad habit of being bossy and a bit of a bully and we talked about that too.

Then something strange happened when I asked if she knew that I'm happy to have her in my class. She said no. "No matter how upset I get over her behavior at times," I explained, "that will never change. I love having you in my class, and you should always remember that."

I hope I can find a way soon to meet with her mom and dad to tell them what I told their daughter.

Why School Pride Isn't Just for Students

As I was walking through the halls of my school today, getting ready to pick up my students, a strange feeling coursed through me. I was looking at the bulletin boards of various classes when it hit me like an electric shock. I realized how proud I was of my school, and it felt great.

Yes, my school has its issues. My job is often exhausting, and sometimes frustrating. But much of this has to do with my own personal growth as a teacher, as well as systemic problems with education. Meanwhile, as I looked at the work displayed on various bulletin boards, I saw a common thread amongst the classrooms that reflected a cohesive vision of what we do in our school.

What I saw reflected a genuine commitment to critical thinking and real learning, rather than rote tasks. I saw number stories written based on a social studies unit, persuasive posters, math investigations, and dioramas. There was an extraordinary variety of products from different classrooms, and each of them showed creativity and higher order thinking.

As our school gets further into test prep mode (six weeks to go!) this realization of pride was somewhat unexpected, but incredibly welcome. It was a reminder that while there's certain necessary evils our school has to abide by, we have a clear overarching idea of what we're trying to accomplish.

I've been a part of a school community without a clear mission I believed in. When I first realized that was the case, it was completely demoralizing. Realizing today that I am part of a community where everyone is working toward a meaningful education for our kids was a tremendous feeling. It's a feeling that will push me to work harder and teach better. More teachers should be so lucky.

How Are Bullies Like Struggling Readers?

Last week one of my student's took $20 that wasn't hers. El Molestador and a buddy have been tormenting The Scowler. Baby Face continues his generally antisocial behavior. I have done my best to create a classroom based on clear expectations, consequences and rewards. But in spite of my efforts, it seems like my students are making the same mistakes over and over again.

Why is this? I've had countless conversations with these students and the whole class about what respect should look like. I've had conversations with their parents. They've had reflection time, been placed on individual behavior charts, and lost whatever privileges I can take away (choice time, computer time...). Regardless of what interventions or consequences I put in place for these kids, there doesn't seem to be a change.

I'm wondering what else I can do at this point. At a certain point, I need more support from the parents. If the parents are unwilling to put real consequences in place at home, or just outright unavailable, it definitely makes my work harder. But if I'm going to take responsibility for kids' academic growth, regardless of parental involvement, the same must hold true for their social and emotional growth. So, just like I've done with my kids still struggling to read or subtract, I'll have to think of new interventions for my kids struggling to treat others with respect.

The False Choices in the Seniority Debate

It's been a busy week with plenty of stories to share. There was the student of mine who transferred schools abruptly without a chance to say goodbye, my post-observation meeting, and the girl who basically extorted $20 from another student. In all it hasn't been the easiest week back from break. But, as I've read the discussion surrounding layoffs and seniority, there's a recurring thread of half-truths that's too frustrating to ignore.

As usual, both sides of the issue are guilty of manipulating facts in favor of emotion. On the one hand, the argument that seniority-based layoffs, aka Last in, first out (LIFO), will disproportionately hurt high-poverty schools seems overblown. On the other side, people arguing that without seniority, principals will simply fire the most expensive (e.g. most senior) teachers, are exaggerating the incentive to do so.

Most frustrating about the discussion surrounding LIFO however, is the false insinuation that if we don't stick to LIFO, therefore laying off the least senior teachers, we'll lay off the most senior teachers instead. There are legitimate arguments about the changes being proposed. However, the idea that ending LIFO will put senior teachers on the chopping block instead is untrue, and it's much more harmful than some of the others floating out there, because it fundamentally distorts the conversation.This is not what Educators 4 Excellence's white paper on LIFO, nor the Flanagan Bill passed by the New York State Senate yesterday, propose to do.

While there are some differences between E4E's policy paper and SB3501, they would both change layoff policy essentially by laying off U-rated teachers, teachers with chronic absenteeism and teachers who haven't found jobs after six months in the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR) first. This doesn't mean we'd just go out and summarily fire any teacher with 20 years experience, but that's precisely what advocates of the current seniority system are arguing.

These same advocates are criticizing Bloomberg and detractors of LIFO of trying to pit teachers against each other, young versus old. But in skewing the actual outcome of ending seniority, these LIFO supporters are doing exactly that. They would have us believe that those of us who want to end LIFO have no respect for senior teachers. Seniority supporters respect their elders. We only value our own jobs, and everyone else, especially those veterans, can go to hell.

As someone who has relied upon the help of teachers with more experience than me since the day I started Teaching Fellows' training, I resent this implication. I have the utmost respect for the teachers who have dedicated their careers to education. Teachers like these have been invaluable to my growth and survival in the classroom. But, these are not the teachers who would lose their jobs if LIFO ends, and to say otherwise is flat out wrong.

Instead, if the Flanagan bill becomes law, we will lose teachers rated Unsatisfactory, teachers who haven't found employment after six months, and teachers who can't be bothered to show up to work. If you want to argue that these teachers should keep their jobs over thousands of newer jobs, that's fine. But forcing me to defend a choice between new and senior teachers isn't just unfair, it's false.