The Times They Are A-Changing

I've always been a teacher who relishes change.  I have volunteered to have my grade changed four times, my room changed three times, and my district changed three times.  I changed while I watched others do the same thing year after year after year.

At first, I thought it was wrong.  I remember a teacher who worked in my school when I first started.  I walked into her room one day right before school started.  She reached into her desk, pulled out her plan book from the year before, opened to the first page and announced, "I'm ready."  Wow, I thought.  I can't wait until I am that good. I happened to mention my desire to my principal who told me, "You don't ever want to get that way.  Keep growing and keep learning."  I didn't really believe him at the time.  I believed that there was only so much to learn and once you learned it, you were done and ready to just keep doing what works.


Well, I obviously learned, over time, that this just isn't true.  The learning never stops.  I haven't hit my limit yet.  I am a good teacher...I'll even say I am a great teacher.  But each year brings more challenges I need to overcome.  Those darn kids keep changing on me. LOL


So here I am, 25 years into my career.  I have watched many ideas come and go.  I have embraced most of them, until I realized (usually long before the administration did) that things weren't working.  Whole Language, Lesson Study, Math Their Way, OrtonGillingham. While all of these ideas have great benefits, they also all have great detriments.  As an educator, I truly believe that it is my job to reach everyone.  And if the programs don't reach everyone, then something needs to change.  

Whole Language, for example, replaced a phonics based program which was boring and taught only decoding skills.  Whole Language made learning exciting and meaningful.  Comprehension was key.  The problem?  Kids with difficulties needed phonics, too.  In fact, most of the kids needed phonics, too.  But it wasn't built into the program.  So, while I continued presenting at conferences about Whole Language, while I continued teaching colleagues in district about Whole Language, I began to build a program incorporating phonics back into the reading program.  And every time I demonstrated my program at a conference, participants would breathe a sigh of relief.  They knew it too.


We are now learning about Teacher's College writing and reading in my district.  It is being fully embraced by the administration.  We have trainers coming in.  We are being sent to TC for workshops.  We are being given multiple materials, lots of in house support, and dicta to meet frequently with other members of the grade level to coordinate our work.


And, as usual, I see some great benefits to TC reading and writing.  The language used makes teaching the steps to crafting simple.  The kids are reading and writing much more than ever before.  At least that's what they say.  And it's very individualized, sort of.  (The initial lesson is whole class, the majority of work is partner work, and conferring with kids occurs as quickly as I can make it around the room.)  


But I also see detriments.  It took me too long to get to conferring with one child.  By the time I got to him, he had almost finished his book but couldn't tell me anything about it.  I was angry.  With the program and with myself for allowing this struggling reader to get by for so long reading alone or with a partner.


The whole class lessons, while short and sweet (8 minutes is the goal) still only reach about 50% of the kids.  So I am losing 8 minutes of valuable instructional time with 50% of my students.

There is a literacy block we were given to ensure that no pullouts were to occur during reading and writing.  My literacy block is one hour.  I come back from lunch, have one hour of literacy, and go home.  I need more than that.  One hour is too long for either reading or writing and too short for both.  So the timing doesn't really work for me.  Plus, that precious 2:00 - 3:00 time is the only time I am in school at the same time as our partners across the country.  We need that time to collaborate synchronously.


Okay.  In the past, once I saw detriments, I would change up the program.  Keep the good, get rid of the bad.  And I have ideas.  After all, language arts is something I have always been really good at teaching.  And I have the data to prove it.  So I want to keep the TC language, maintain the amount of time spent reading and writing each day (I always did that anyway), keep the celebrations, keep the partners.  But I want to step in often.  Small groups allow me to meet much more frequently than individually.  I want to group kids according to need and meet with them daily to help them jump the hurdle and move on.  I want my literacy block to be 1 1/2 hours and in the morning.  That gives me a good 45 minutes for both reading and writing.  I want to keep coordinating reading and writing.  We are writing fiction and reading historical fiction.  I like that.  Makes sense.  Can talk craft in both reading and writing.


The problem?  For the first time in 25 years, I am getting push back.  I am being told I cannot change my literacy block time, I must coordinate with the other fifth grade teachers, doing what they are doing, when they are doing it, and I must keep the format of mini-lesson, partner work, individual work with conferring, and ending mini lesson.  For the first time, I am being pushed into a lock step, spoon fed program.  I am not able to use my wisdom and knowledge of my students to change things at all.  I am not able to keep the good and get rid of the bad. The belief is that, once I really work with it and learn it, I will love it and see the benefits.  But I already do see the benefits.  I just see deficits, too.

For the first time, teachers in my district are told what to teach, when to teach it, and how to teach it.  We were always told the what but had so much leeway with the how and when.  Not so anymore.  And it makes me not want to teach anymore.  The times are changing but I am not comfortable fitting into the mold.  Thanks, Barack Obama and Arnie Duncan for pushing Race to the Top.  Thanks, NY for buying into it.  Thanks, administration for accepting it.  Thanks, colleagues, for falling into it. Because of RttT and the fear of accountability, I am being held back from doing what I know will help my students.  Hold me accountable.  But let me do it my way, failing or succeeding on my own terms.  I will pay the consequences if my way fails.  But I will not accept the consequences if your way fails.


I am sad. Maybe it is time for me to go. I hope retirement age comes quickly.  

'X is for...340/365' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10563720@N03/3752428880


'Lost on stairs' 
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'Paris Clocks' 
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'Ouchy' 
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Meet the Teacher Night

Last week I had the opportunity to meet Ali's teachers at Meet the Teacher Night.  Ali is now in 10th grade and most of her classes are AP (advanced placement) classes.  Apparently, AP means "just like college".  They use college textbooks, college vocabulary, have college requirements, and, when it is over, should receive college credit.  Nothing like pushing things a bit.


Now, Ali has not really liked school much...um...ever.  She has her moments.  Lunch is usually fun.  Phys. ed. is always a favorite class.  And any class with a friend is worth staying in.  So this year, I was quite surprised to hear some positive things about her teachers.  I was actually looking forward to meeting some of them.  And then I got there.


Each teacher has 8 minutes to talk.  They have 8 minutes to tell us their goals, get us excited about the class, present us with the most important information.  And then it's off to the next class.  I began in math.  Ali likes her math teacher.  She says she's funny and hands out candy.  Anyone with candy is a hit with my daughter.  So I was looking forward to meeting Mrs. C.  She started by telling us she has 32 students in the class.  It's packed and she doesn't have much time to help anyone during class.  Extra help is after school.  Then she told us her goal...prepare for the regents.  This class is not an AP class.  It is Algebra 2/Trig.  So Mrs. C. spent a great deal of time telling us how the children would find it difficult to pass the regents but she would work with them all year and they would eventually do well.  When is the test?  Late May.  So all year, they will practice for the regents.  


Other nuggets from Mrs. C.: "I'm much older than the other teachers who teach math.  I've been doing this a lot longer.  Your child will never come home and say I am cool.  But I know what I'm doing and they will learn."  (She was younger than me!)  Another nugget:  ready math teachers...."Tell your kids to study every day.  You will not be able to help them cram for a test.  You don't remember this stuff because you took algebra and trig so long ago and nobody uses it in real life."  Sigh.  Since Ali likes this teacher, I can only assume Mrs. C. needs to work on her elevator speech.  She needs a new one.


On to Spanish.  Ali's take on the Spanish teacher - she has a great style and great hair.  I agree.  I also found her funny and sarcastic.  Oh...her goal for the year...practice for the regents.  That was it.  She did reprimand me, in a joking way, about texting during class.  I was texting Ali.  Oops.

Next came AP Euro...European History.  Ali hates social studies but this year, she loves it.  She loves her teacher, finds it relatively easy to understand, and enjoys the class.  Mrs. R. gave her goals in 8 minutes. "My goal is to inspire your children to travel.  And I want them to learn how to analyze and evaluate history so they learn to love it."  Will they take the AP exam?  Yes.  Did she talk about it as a goal?  Nope.  She said they'd be ready and moved on.  I LOVE THIS TEACHER!  (Yes, I told her so.  And I told her how much Ali loves her class.)

AP Biology was next.  Mr. S. spent the entire 16 minutes (double period) telling us how he was running the class exactly like a college class.  He lectures and they take notes.  He will not go over notes.  He will not go over chapters in the book.  They must read the chapters and outline each one, study each night, and be prepared for ....you got it...the AP exam in June.  Guess how excited Ali is with this class.  When I asked if there were any labs, he answered, quite sincerely, yes.  "In fact," he said, "we have one tomorrow.  There are twelve throughout the year."  I thought the university biology teacher parent who was sitting next to me was going to fall off her chair.  So this class, apparently, is designed to prepare them for the AP exam and turn them off of college.  Well done!


I gave up at this point and went looking for the principal.  He was wandering the building and couldn't be found.  I did find an assistant principal who listened to my tirade and gave me a story about how New York State does require a lot in the regents and AP exams.  I told him I was a NYS teacher and knew all about the exams.  I also told him that teaching to the test meant children were turned off.  "There has to be more to school than preparing for a test that comes in June," I complained.  "There is much more going on in class," he countered.  "Well then why didn't I hear about it?"  No response.  Finally he told me he would relay my message to the principal.  

So here I am.  Blogging my frustration, once again.  But I have no solutions.  My daughter is staying put in public school.  Money, time, and geography do not allow a change.  I will continue to keep her excited about learning, separating it from school as much as I can.  And I will continue to play down the tests when I talk to parents.  Learning is so much more important than passing a test.  And I will continue to hope that next year will be better. 

Image: 'Superbokehtheorie' http://www.flickr.com/photos/37977505@N00/2421129047

 '8minutes' 
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 'Milady, did you enjoy the museum?' 
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 'I don't dig texting.' 
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In the Clouds' 
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'bored during my Management class. |:' 
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 'frustration' 
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My Dreams for School

Education Nation is NBC's attempt at fixing the American education system.  We'll talk about it, invite in all the best and brightest (except educators, but let's not go there now) and find all the solutions.  So I watched the Teacher Town Hall on Sunday with bated breath.  We even cancelled Conversations so it wouldn't interfere with the Town Hall meeting.  What did I hear?  Same old, same old.  Get rid of bad teachers, get rid of tenure, throw money at the system, be more equitable in educating our children.  How are we going to do that?  Ummmmmm. Yeah.


Now, I'm not saying I have all the answers.  In fact, I'm not saying I have any answers.  But I do know what I want for my child and my students.  I do know what I want for my future leaders.  


1. I want my students to want to learn.  I want them to love coming to school, not wanting to run out or run home at the end of the day. 


2. I want school to be more available.  Does someone need help finding a quiet place to do homework?  Stay in school until it's done.  Need more time to finish up a project?  Come in early.  Don't have a working computer at home and want to blog about a class?  Come to school early or stay late and use the school computers.


3. I want homework to be only what is necessary to complete a project.  It should not be homework for the sake of homework.  It should not be homework given because the teacher ran out of time to cover all the curriculum.  It should be work the child wants to do to prepare for his group the next day.  It should be work she wants to finish because she was working on a problem she couldn't put down.

4. No tests.  Assessments should be meaningful and directly related to learning.  The children should be assessed on how they work, as well as what they learn.  And all assessments should be used to further instruction, not to penalize a child or put a grade on a report card.


5. I want children to move through school as they are ready.  Not pushed because the year is over.  Not held back while all their friends move up.  Doing advanced math in first grade?  Work with children who are on the same math level...not necessarily first graders.  


6. I want all children to feel successful.  That does not mean I do not want all children challenged.  School should be challenging...but in an exciting, enriching way, not in a boring, nerve-wracking way.  But we need to find ways to allow children to express their understanding in a variety of ways.  And we need to find a multitude of ways to allow children to access information.  Disabilities do not always relate to intelligence.  But in our school system, it sure seems like it does.  Let's get rid of this idea.  


7. Along with #6, I want children to be compared to themselves, not other students their age.  How much progress has the child made in reading, math, writing, social skills?  Compared to last year?  Compared to two months ago?

7. I want all learning to be integrated and periods to be untimed.  Learning should not be done by the clock.  If you are engaged in a massive math project and just have to work a bit more on it before you stop for the day, then, by all means, go right ahead.  That's not to say there shouldn't be things that all children learn at some point (curriculum) but let's keep the curriculum broad and based on how to learn, more than facts.


8. I want, I want, I want.  I just know school can be better.  I want my daughter to bounce home every day excited by what she learned.  Instead, she comes home each day telling me what an awful day she had.  I want my students to know that, when I am kicking them out at the end of the day, it is only because the bell has rung and buses are waiting, not because I don't want them to stay.  I want to love every second of school, not keep saying "Oh, time for a state test now" and "No we can't keep reading our books because we have to go on to math."  I love math but sometimes we really don't want to switch subjects.  We are too into blogging, or reading, or working on projects, or solving math problems, or playing a game, or....


I know what I want.  But I have been stuck inside this box so long that I can no longer "think outside the box" to find solutions.  Can you?  I don't think NBC can.

Image: '139 rose tinted glasses' 
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Image: 'Exams_by_Majeed' 
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mage: 'فاز, من Ø ÙŠØ§ØªÙ‡ إنجاز' 
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Image: 'veritum dies aperit' 
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Why I Became a Teacher or My Experience in School

All my life I wanted to be a teacher.  Really, all my life.  For as long as I can remember, I read my books to my "students" who looked amazingly like my stuffed animals and my poor cat.  I got my best gift when I was about 4.  It was a blackboard.  I spent hours giving math problems to my students.  My older sister got into the act, "allowing" me to use her homework as my assignments.  So I did her homework with my class and she copied the answers off the board and got the credit for doing homework.  We were both happy.


My first real experience with school was nursery school. No preschool then.  Just a cooperative nursery school in the local church.  Each day we would play and build and run and laugh and sing songs.  And once a day, Miss Helen took me into a back room to read with her.  Apparently I was the only child in the class who could read.  I thank my sister who let me do her homework.  I loved nursery school and really looked forward to heading off to kindergarten.


Kindergarten lasted for about one month.  During that time, the school psychologist (he was a huge man who just walked in one day and told me to come with him to his office to talk) tested me, found out I had a high IQ and decided I needed more than kindergarten. They wanted to move me, a 5 year old, into second grade.  My parents said no only because my sister was in second grade and they didn't think we should be in the same grade.  So off to first grade I went.


My first grade teacher, Mrs. O, was near retirement age when she got me pushed into her room.  She made it very clear from the start that she did not think I belonged in first grade.  Whenever I did something "kindergartenish" the kids would laugh at me.  Her response, "Remember, she's just a baby."  That title lasted with me throughout my whole 12 years of schooling. She also allowed the kids to roll their eyes when I was the only one who knew the answer.  It was not cool to be smart. I hated first grade.  


Second grade, Miss P.  She was beautiful...a true flower child.  I remember absolutely nothing I learned but that The Partridge Family was THE show to watch and David Cassidy was a dream.  I loved second grade.


Third grade....nothing.  I remember nothing.  Not my teacher, not my classmates, not any curriculum.  Must have been a hell of a year.

Fourth grade I had Miss B.  She was strict.  She did things that when I look back on them were horrific.  She told poor Ross that if he could not sit in his seat, she would tie him into it.  He couldn't.  She did.  We all laughed, including Ross.  But it must have been humiliating.  Just as humiliating as it was for me to have my desk dumped out on a weekly basis because I couldn't keep it clean.  But I do remember her reading aloud to us each day.  She'd sit in her big rocking chair, we'd sit on the floor around her and she'd open up our world to Peter and Fudge.


Fifth grade was the last grade I had a teacher I remember.  Mr. C. was my first male teacher.  He told my mom at the beginning of the year that he knew I knew all the curriculum so it was fine with him if I sat in back and read all day.  I was thrilled.  But, thinking back on it, that was a disgrace.  And it certainly isolated me even more from my classmates.


Junior High was torture.  I was bullied daily, started meeting with the guidance counselor, and got into things no junior high student should get into.  The funny thing is, I still wanted to be a teacher.  But at this point, I had no idea why.


High school was another nightmare.  I did my best to disappear.  I got Cs in most of my classes, making sure people forgot I was the smart one from elementary school.  I barely graduated.  But I did.  And moved on to college where I got my education degree.  

I haven't regretted a single moment of that decision.  I love teaching.  I make sure that my brightest students get the enrichment and challenges they need to be engaged in school.  I make sure that teasing and bullying are completely unacceptable and not allowed in my classroom among my students.  I make sure that my hyperactive students can stand up if they want to without being laughed at or tied into their seats.  And I make sure that I read books that open the world for my students.  I love teaching.  I didn't have any good role models but I sure had some bad ones to help me figure out what not to do.  I love teaching and can't imagine doing anything else.  


Why did you become a teacher?

Image: 'blackboard easel' 
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Image: 'DSCF1394' 
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Image: 'ick' 
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Image: 'The Partridge Family Shopping Bag' 
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Image: 'I Heart Flickr Pink Purple Nail Polish+in+Heart+Bottle+Creative+Commons' 
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The First 7 Days

I really dislike the beginning of the year.  I feel like I spend my time waiting.  Waiting for the class to become a family, waiting for the projects to begin and kids to get out of their seats, waiting for the kids to be comfortable with our routines and to stop asking for assistance with them.  Waiting for the year to begin.  


As readers of my blog know, last year was particularly difficult.  It seemed like it took the whole year to get into a routine.  But this year is so different.  Yes, I have an inclusion class, which brings with it a multitude of learning issues.  Yes, I have a new co-teacher, which means helping an adult learn the routines, as well as the kids.  Yes, I still have a massive amount of stimulus money training, meaning lots of time out of the classroom.  But somehow, we have already gotten into a routine of sorts.


Friday was our seventh day of school.  School this year started with two days of school followed by two days off for Rosh Hashana.  It's very hard to set a routine when you are not in school.  And this is how the first four days seemed to me:

• Kids sit in their desks and listen...to me introduce routines, to me introduce class materials, to me introduce beginning units, to me introduce technology tools.  (Feel free to yawn.  They did.)
• My talking kept getting interrupted by support staff coming in to schedule reading, speech, OT, and ESL.

Day 5 I finally introduce assignments that are fun and long term.  The children were excited and delved right in.  So by day 7 we had an amazing day.  Here's what we did on Friday.

• While the students were working on their Hopes and Dreams in their new Google apps Google docs, I sat at my computer and sent chat messages to them about their work.  The word "cool" came up quite often as students discovered the ability to chat with me in Google docs.
• Three computers were set up in the room throughout the day and students rotated through to create a Voki that will be embedded on their blog.
• My aide took students out of the room in small groups to add their voice to our Sign of the Beaver prediction VoiceThread.
• The students worked on making their blogsites attractive while Lauryn (my new co-teacher) and I edited blogs and worked with individual students.
• The students began moving - to see the BrainPop video better, to get a fidget toy, to grab a calculator to check work, to ask a friend for help.

This was the first day that my room felt like some semblance of what it should.  Students moving around, talking while working, asking each other for help searching for images, reconnecting to our internet server, editing their writing.  We still had some time sitting in seats listening to me but for most of the day, it was a fun day of independent and group learning.  Hurray for early starts!

Image: 'Welcome to the Machine' 
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Image: 'dozer' 
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Image: 'So happy =)' 
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Ch-ch-ch-changes

"Turn and face the strange changes...Time may change me, but I can't trace time." by David Bowie


When I was....um, younger...I used to spend hours listening to David Bowie.  This song in particular, Changes, I felt was written just for me.  And as I go through life, the lyrics come back to haunt me every once in awhile.  Now is one of those times.


This year I am facing some big changes...personally and professionally.  And I am trying hard to face the strange changes with dignity and calm.  Not so easy all the time.  


Change #1:

South Paris Collaborative is no more.  Christine and I are no longer working as partners.  I have a new partner, Lauryn Tiedemann, and a new name, The Denton Dynamos.  I think bringing new eyes to my program will be a positive change, allowing me to try new things with the students.  But I am approaching this change with some trepidation.  Will Lauryn be up to the task of working with me and all my demanding ways?  I do admit I have very high expectations of both my students and those I work with.  So far, our meetings have been positive. Tomorrow I find out how things go with children in the classroom.


Change #2:
Ali is heading into tenth grade. Time to think about driver's licenses, more freedom, college.  All while dealing with 15 year old emotions.  One thing that isn't changing...our time waiting for high school to end.  Each year I hope this will be the year.  The one where Ali finds that one teacher who will motivate, excite, and understand her.  The one year that will get her reinterested in school and learning.  Will Richardson recently wrote a blog about parents that actually got him called out in ISTE's Learning and Leading magazine.  In the blog he asked, "why aren’t parents more angry about the education their kids are getting?"  A fair question and one I ask myself often.  But, by this time in her education, I have given up fighting with my school district and her teachers.  Instead, I tell her that things will be better when she is in college.  And I supplement her education at home the best I can.  Although at her age, this is getting harder and harder, since I am no longer smart enough to teach her anything (at least that's what she hints to me frequently).  So, once again, I hope this year brings the changes we both are looking for.


Change #3:
My dear husband has embarked on another Master's degree program.  He began the Wilkes/Discovery Masters program online.  First I should tell you a bit about my husband.  Frank was hired in his district as a computer teacher.  He enthusiastically introduced websites and projects to his colleagues and worked with the students in his elementary school.  Two years into his career, his district cut their budget by replacing all the computer teachers with aides.  He was placed into the classroom as a fourth grade teacher.  While disappointed by this change, he was excited to bring his technology knowledge to his classroom.  He set up a Ning for his class, started a blog for his students, and sent out letters inviting all his parents into his projects.  The administration immediately told him to shut it all down.  It wasn't safe. He shut down the computers and has been teaching without technology for all these years.  So it is exciting that he is trying again. At this time, he has just begun his degree in Media Technology, starting with his first two classes, one on PBL and one on the brain.  It is so much fun talking with him about issues I've been dealing with for years.  He is reading Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind and Krauss/Boss's Reinventing Project Based Learning.  Both of these books have contributed to my classroom.  It's wonderful to see him excited about teaching.  This is a change I look forward to.


Change #4:
Conversations is coming back.  Okay, so this isn't really a change but Sheila Adams, Maria Knee, and I have all been through some changes this summer and I am sure we will bring our new perspectives on education into our Conversations.  For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, we run a show each Sunday morning on EdTechTalk.com.  This show is about educational conversations.  We choose a different topic each week and discuss, disagree, laugh about, cry about, and dissect it.  You should come join us.  See the changes in our show this year.


Change #5:

Personal changes: Frank got a new car, we put pavers down on our driveway, patio, and pool area, and I got braces.  While these are all good changes, they all cost quite a bit of money.  So, for the first time in a long time, we are in debt.  I think I will have the pavers paid off by Christmas and the braces paid off by April.  But it will mean tightening our belts a bit. Not something I am happy about.  So I spend a lot of time in my beautiful new yard and remind myself it was all worth it.


Can I face the changes?  I'm certainly going to give it all a try.  What changes are you going through this year?




Image: 'David Bowie - ChangesOneBowie' 
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Image: 'X is for...340/365' 
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Image: 'Waiting for Time to Pass' 
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Image: 'Custom Graduation Bot' 
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Image: 'Piggy savings bank' 
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Learning About My New Students?

August is coming to a close and soon school will begin here in New York.  A new year means new students, new parents, new personalities, new challenges, new everything.  Each year, at this time, I am faced with a decision - should I talk with former teachers about my new students or should I form my own opinions first? There are pros and cons to each choice.  


Maybe I will meet with former teachers and learn something about a student that will turn me off.  Now I have a preconceived notion about a child before ever meeting that child.  I had a situation like that last year.  A particularly challenging student was placed in my class.  His teacher spoke to me at length about his behavior.  By the time our conversation was done, I did not want this child in my class.  Why go through the hassle?  But, of course, I don't pick and choose.  He came into the room.  I had a difficult time seeing past the behaviors that had been described to me to really see this child.  He turned out to be funny and charming.  And his behaviors were manageable.  But it took a long time for me to see that.  


Maybe I will meet with former teachers and learn something about a student that just isn't correct.  I remember one very bright child I had a few years ago.  His former teacher found him arrogant and rude.  I found him to be the most considerate student I have ever taught.  Where did she see arrogance?  He was smarter than she.  He was smarter than me, too.  So he questioned everything.  I found this exciting.  She found it rude.  


I often find that I feel differently about students than other teachers.  Students who cause trouble are my specialty.  I find them to be a challenge and usually end up favoring them as I get to know them and find out why they cause trouble.  (Shhh.  Don't tell anyone I have favorites.)  But when I talk to former teachers about these students, I hear only negatives.


But sometimes a teacher has been successful dealing with a particular student and his/her struggles.  It then benefits me to speak with him/her.  A simple conversation telling me that "Susie" needs frequent breaks to avoid meltdowns can save me tons of aggravation.


Sometimes teachers have good advice for working with certain parents.  Telling me that Mrs. X has a different last name than her child and insists on us using it is important.  Letting me know that Mr. Y will call every day if I don't send home an email letting him know about his child saves me endless hours on the phone.  And being sure that I understand that a translator is needed when meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Z, helps me get on the right track to a good partnership.


So the problem I have each year is this.  How do you know when you should talk about a child and when you shouldn't?  Sometimes that choice is easy.  I refuse to talk to the teachers who only tell me negative things about the children.  There have to be some good things to say about each one.  But sometimes the decision is more difficult.  How do I know why a former teacher had difficulty with a student?  Maybe it was because his methods of dealing with said student were different than mine would be.  Maybe I will be more successful simply because I try something new.


What to do?  What to do?  Responsive Classroom says to learn about the students.  But I think I will stick with my usual plan....get to know the students on my own.  Be respectful to all of them.  Think the best.  Then when I have struggles, I can go to the former teacher with very specific questions instead of a general, "Tell me about Johnny."


How do you handle this decision?


Image: 'Support "Set For Success" School Supply Drive'
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Image: 'scream and shout' 
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Image: 'This is the face of arrogance' 
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Image: 'Studying' 
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Image: 'Not all questions can be answered by+Google' 
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The Success of Project Based Learning

This has been a rough year.  The students had difficulty becoming a cohesive class, we struggled to make groups that would work together, and there were some who used technology inappropriately.  Often, we start out this way but, by December or January, the class is really moving.  Not so this year.  


I'm still struggling to figure out why this is.  Yes, there were students who had social issues.  But I always have that.  Yes, there were students who were over or under assertive.  But I always have that.  Yes, there were students who had hardly any technology skills to start with.  But I always have that.  


I think part of the problem was lack of time to work on creating a cohesive classroom.  Our district adopted many initiatives this year that took both Christine and me out of the classroom often for various training sessions. Having substitutes try to teach children to be cooperative doesn't work very well.


I think another part of the problem was our frustration with trying to incorporate all of the initiatives into our already successful program.  Surely, although we tried very hard not to let it, our frustration must have transmitted to the students.  


Although I might never have the definitive answer, I will continue to think things through in the hopes of making them better next year.


So, if the year was so difficult, and many projects were left by the wayside, why did I call this blog "The Success of PBL"?  That has to do with the end of the year.


About 6 weeks ago, Christine and I sat down and looked at all we still had to cover before school let out.  We had two major units to cover - one in social studies and one in language arts.  We also had a health unit and a writing unit.  


The health and writing units were easy.  Health at this time of year is Family Life - otherwise known as sex education.  Even though it is a teacher directed unit, the kids love having the discussions and learning all the (gulp) details about sex and reproduction.  


The writing unit was easy because it was poetry.  I love teaching poetry, love presenting the students with my favorite poems, love seeing how they interpret and then create their own poems.  They move from hating to loving poetry. This was a no-brainer.


But social studies and language arts.  We started with language arts - tall tales.  Each year when we do this unit, we have the students work as groups to read and retell a tall tale in a unique way.  We were skeptical about whether or not this class could handle group work anymore.  We had mostly stopped working on projects for a few months and were hesitant to start up again when the kids were in a "school is over" mode.  But we were willing to give it a shot. It was a project we had done before.  We had all the material we needed and really didn't have to do much preparation.


The next unit, the Civil War, was much more difficult.  This was a unit we had never done as a PBL unit.  We always taught it as a teacher directed unit due to lack of time.  But we decided to give the kids another chance at projects.  So we created a wiki, complete with essential questions, resources, and requirements.  We created groups based on interest and crossed our fingers that the children would be able to work together.  


The language arts projects were fun for them to work on.  They enjoyed creating props and costumes, trying out accents, and playing parts.  They weren't as creative as we would have liked but they did learn their stories.  You can view them on our website.


The Civil War project far surpassed my wildest expectations.  This was the first unit we did no preteaching for.  We gave them the resources, suggested they start with the textbook (never discount the textbook as a great beginning resource for basic information), and sent them on their way.  And they came through.  For the last few weeks, the class has been working diligently to complete these projects.  Along the way, they have shared their information, collaborated on ideas, and helped each other out.  They really learned about the Civil War. I think much more than they would have if we had done all the teaching.  And they really embraced the projects.  


Today is the last Monday of school.  Tomorrow is our last full day.  Usually, at this time of year, we are watching movies, playing outside, and watching the clock slowly tick down the hours until dismissal.  But with this project, the children haven't had one moment of free time and they haven't complained a bit about that.  They worked all day today, preparing for presentations tomorrow.  The whiners aren't whining.  The bossy kids aren't bossy.  The followers are leading.  The slackers are working.  There isn't anyone who isn't trying their hardest to complete this assignment and support their group members.  PBL was a success.


So I ask myself, "Why is it that the class who couldn't manage to work in any group cohesively and cooperatively were suddenly able to pull it all together for one final project?"  Maybe it has to do with us finally trusting them and just giving up the reins.  Maybe it was about how we gave them so many options this time - choose your topic, learn your material, choose your presentation method.  Don't like your choice?  Then change it.  The tool you chose isn't working.  Find another one.  Maybe they have learned enough technology to make all the right choices, do all the research and be successful independently.  Maybe they were just bored enough to try again.

Whatever the reason, I'm glad to end the year with this success.  It reminded me why we have a PBL classroom to begin with.  And it reminded me that everyone deserves a second (or third or fourth) chance.  Especially children.  And very tired teachers.

Image: 'Difficulty' 
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Image: 'frustration' 
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Image: 'PAUL_BUNYAN_POSTCARD' 
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Image: 'Lincoln : Gettysburg Address text' 
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Image: '3d people partner.' 
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