Posts Tagged “student”

The Need for Speed??

I recently read an article in USA Today which I found very interesting, not because it provided me with NEW information, but because it seemed to confirm what I have learned through my years of teaching struggling readers. Here is a link to the article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-06-19-slow-reading_N.htm

If you ask a struggling reader how they will know when they are a good reader, many times they will answer, “When I can read FAST.” They just want to be able to rattle off the words without stumbling, stopping or thinking – because that is how they interpret what they “hear” the kids who they think are good readers sound. Part of the issue is competition related, they want to “win”, want to be the best, and they want to be the first to say, “I’m done!” just once. Unfortunately this expensive problem isn’t just true for struggling readers; this is also true for those zippy readers as well. What is the cost? Comprehension, appreciation of the art of good writing, vocabulary and enjoyment all pay the price.

“What’s our next book?” “What’s the next assignment?” These are questions I have heard coming from my students – before we have finished the book or discussion, unaware that they have missed major points in the story. They have accomplished the “job” of reading the assigned pages and are ready for the next “job”. If they are asked to bring words they don’t understand to discussion, many times not one student will have a word to discuss, yet, when I point out challenging words – they have no idea what they mean. Again, I explain that it is necessary to understand the meaning of the words to understand the meaning in the story. How can a student enjoy a story they don’t understand? And if you don’t enjoy an activity, the probability you will repeat this activity is very slim.

Admittedly, I have had told students on more than one occasion that I really do not care how fast they read, when push comes to shove – speed really has little to do with enjoying literature. The focus should be comprehension and appreciation. Students should be building vocabulary skills, and learning to love words in general. The end goal should never be to get a student to read over 200 words in a minute, rather it should be to cultivate a love for language, engaging them, immersing them in the experience of literature so they bring themselves to the book, short story, poem or play. Lifelong readers do not zoom through, they do not look at the pages they are reading, set the timer and play beat the clock!

Fluency is a factor in developing good reading skills, but it is not THE MOST IMPORTANT one. I wonder if teachers don’t get caught up in the speed trap because it is an easy, fast, objective way to assess students. The push for data, and goals based on assessments, make it easy to fall into this situation. In fact, administrators love good hard numbers that show clear improvement. But numbers shouldn’t be the focus here, language and communication should be. As I tell my students, “It’s not a race; there is no prize for finishing first. The prize is what you learn, how the book changes your thinking, and perhaps, changes your behavior. The reading experience is the prize; make sure you get all of it.”

Are you running the marathon?

Summer break began just a short week and a half ago and already I have no idea what day it is. Not just what date, but even what day of the week. This thought occurred to me when I needed to write a check. Not only did I not know what day it was, I wasn’t even worried about it, I was blissfully happy and completely unconcerned; so much so that as soon as I wrote the check, I forgot immediately.

Of course this small piece of nirvana is short lived as I have professional development meetings to attend, Title I paperwork to complete, and I am still sorting, reorganizing and cleaning my room. I also have a dentist appointment, annual physical and eye appointments to keep (since doing that during the school year is nearly impossible), as well as a never-ending list of home repair and maintenance projects that MUST get done before I report back on August 11th. (I believe there truly are parts of my home that haven’t seen a vacuum or dust rag since last August, yuck!)

“Summers off” - it sounds so good when you say it, and to be honest I don’t think there is a teacher out there who doesn’t look forward to sometime off to regroup and recharge. However, summer isn’t so much a vacation as it is a marathon. A marathon to get to all the things you put off during the school year when time was at a premium. I am no different; my marathon will be as long as the next person’s, packed as full as I can make it. Though I may wish it didn’t involve school, it will (but I can wear jeans and comfy clothes at least!). So as this weekend wraps up, I begin to lace up my running shoes, do my stretches and prepare for the next 66 days of summer WORK.

I sure did enjoy that week and a half though…..I sure did

The Interview Committee

I had my first experience being part of an interview committee to interview for 2 teaching positions at my elementary school. What an eye-opening experience. I have been on the other side of the interview table a few times, and now I wonder what they all said after I left the room! There were 3 scheduled interviews for one position and 4 scheduled for the other. Here a few tips to those new teachers looking for a job gleaned from being on the interviewer side of the table.

Tip #1 – Sell yourself – don’t just suck up! The applicant #1, seen for position #1 did a great job of selling herself. She was energetic, open and sincere. The third applicant for this same position spent most of his time telling us how much he liked the district, how much he liked the community and how much he really wanted the job. (Well, until the end when he asked if he would be taking a pay cut to come to this district, not a good strategic move at that point). The superintendent of the district who sat in on all the interviews, even called the guy a suck up, in so many words. Suffice to say, Mr. Brown-nose did not get the job, the gal who told us how wonderful she was did.

Tip #2 – Have a handshake! Two of the applicants had the limpest, wimpiest, most pitiful excuses of handshakes I have ever felt. I realize there are those out there who prefer not to shake hands….that’s fine, just say that, I won’t be offended. But if that’s the case, don’t limp-out just to forego having to explain, it just makes you look weak and timid.

Tip #3 – Come prepared! Applicant #1 went so far as to get her transcripts and figure out how much more schooling she would need should we combine the two part-time positions. You get points for being a go-getter like that. Applicants #3 and #7 came with nothing. (#3 had super suck up powers but those don’t count) Others brought their portfolio or copies of reference letters, etc. Even if the interviewers don’t take the time to go through everything…it LOOKS good…like you really want the job.

Tip #4 – Don’t BS! The superintendent asked a question about differentiated instruction. It was pretty clear only applicant #1 really knew what it was, and she even said she had a lot more to learn about it. The rest of the crew, well, they tried to BS through an answer. There are times when you can shovel enough on to make it look ok, other times you really can’t. Here it would have been to their advantage to say, “I haven’t really had any/much experience with that but I am always willing to learn something that will improve my teaching.” No employer expects you to know EVERYTHING, but they all appreciate honesty.

Finally, Tip #5 - Pause and think before you answer! I am sure applicant #3 could have thought of a more appropriate answer to the question about how he sees the teacher principal relationship than, “Much like that of Teacher Student”. My principal…not impressed, she doesn’t want to have to “teach” a newly hired teacher the job, after all that’s what student teaching and college was all about, not to mention a mentor. The other response that set my principal on edge was, #4 who said, “I tell all my principals up front that if I have a problem they’ll hear about it.” How many times a day? Principals want people who can solve their own problems the majority of the time, not a tattletale who expects them to make the other teachers or staff play nice. The best answer of the day to that question…you guessed it, #1 who said, “Open but professional. I want to know that if I have an issue I really can’t solve I will have support, but I want the principal to trust that I am capable of performing my duties too.”

The competition for new teachers is tough, and even those with years of experience aren’t getting hired. It’s worth your time to practice answering questions….think about possible questions and come up with answers. During the interview don’t feel pressured to come up with an answer right away, these are other teachers, they are ok with “think time”, and ask for clarification or admit when you don’t have a clear answer. I know should I ever be back on the other side of the table, I will do a few things differently!

Springtime Giggles

I find my students to be a never ending source of smiles. Here are a few I’ve gotten lately……

One of my title students, “Colin” had written “they” as “thay” in a sentence he was composing. I reminded him that “they” was spelled with an “e” and maybe if he sang the song when he wrote it, he could remember how to spell it. Together we sang – “There is no A in They, there is no A in They, T – H –E- Y, there is no A in They”. He went back to his writing and I moved on to help another student. A couple minutes later, I heard him softly singing the song again, but this time when he got to the end, under his breath he added, “But there should be!” Really, I couldn’t argue with that!

In Mrs. M’s Kindergarten room this week they were studying the letter “Y”. In one of the books they were using, “Y” stood for “Yankee”. Mrs. M. bravely asked if anyone knew what a Yankee was. Two students immediately raised their hands and blurted, “I do, I do…….my grandpa uses one. It’s in his pocket, he blows his nose on it. But he doesn’t throw it away!” After clearing up that it was a “HANKY” their grandpa’s used, Mrs. M. went on to describe what a Yankee was. When she finished, she noticed “Seth” had his had up. When Mrs. M. called on him he said, “I know what THAT is, just like in the movie Sweet Home Alabama, where her dad does a reenactment of the civil war and he has to play a Yankee but he doesn’t want to cuz their the bad guys.” It’s all about making those connections!! (Again, parents should be aware that when their kindergartener watches an R rated movie, everyone at school is eventually going to hear about it.)

And finally, from Mr. K.’s third grade….I was teaching a whole group lesson about similes. Students were filling in the blanks as we discussed and created some examples on the board before they started to write their own simile poem. It was a struggle to get much input from them at first, then “Luke” raised his hand and offered this simile……”When I am tired, I am as boring as a broken video game.” Once he put it in their language, I had a lot of great examples!!

11 ½ days and counting!

The Wonders of Spring

This time of the year it seems every classroom I walk into has something “new” in it. Along with the “new” are 20+ students who can’t wait to tell me all about it.

Third graders in Mr. K’s room were studying birds as part of their science unit, and what magically appeared in his room – ducklings! I hadn’t even gotten in the door before a barrage of “Mrs. R. we have baby ducks! Come see, come see!” There in a large tub were 6 fuzzy yellow ducklings, provided by a friend of Mr. K. Though they were adorable, that’s not what the students told me about them. “Did you know when they’re born they’re egg shaped and have to stretch out to be a duck?” “Did you know they can swim right away?” “Did you know they have to LEARN to fly?” On and on they went, eager to share what they had learned, show what facts they could prove through observation and ask additional questions that arose as those 6 little ducklings filled their day.

First graders in Mrs. R’s Room had tadpoles show up one day. One of her students captured them in a local creek and brought them to Mrs. R. because frogs are her favorite animals! This prompted other students in the class to check out “frog” books from the media center, dig them up out of Mrs. R’s classroom library, and again, share their discoveries with me and Mrs. R.

As part of a school-wide activity, students participated in a Nature Scavenger Hunt. Students who are normally hard to motivate ran around the grounds to be the first to find something pointed, something smooth, something with a strong smell (one group found dog poo!), something orange, something wet and so on until the final thing on the list – something new. I found it!! It’s new energy spring brings, it’s powerful, it’s infectious and it’s so welcome!

Grown-Ups Need a Kindergarten Refresher!

Over spring break I was lucky enough to get to go to Las Vegas with my mom and daughter. A “just the girls” having a good time trip. We did have a spectacular time. The shows we saw were wonderful, we got to meet a couple of the guys from Pawn Stars, and the weather was super. None of us were big winners, but then none of us were big losers either. It was the perfect escape from “teacher” mode, or at least I thought it would be.

Try as I might, I still slipped back into teacher mode though. Tourists are rude! We used the bus system to get up and down the strip, and to go see the light show downtown one night. Did you realize there are adults who do not know how a line works?

Standing in a line, which had a number of people in it, we saw a couple come up to sit on a bench past the front of the line. The bus pulled up, the people at the front of the line get on and this couple shoves in front of us and enters the bus.

“Excuse me sir, did all the neon blind you? There is a line; you need to take your turn at the end of it. Shoving people out of the way is disrespectful and RUDE!” He pretended not to hear me, but I knew he was listening and his “lady friend” was blushing. My daughter as well as a couple of other people also piped in to comment on his rudeness, and when he finally finished paying their fares he flipped his little receipt at us.

“REALLY??!!! Flip your little receipt at adults calling you out on common courtesy and manners??!! How old are you sir, 4??” I am sure he will do this again, as he obviously felt we were in the wrong to bring his etiquette faux pax to the forefront, but I for one have gotten very tired of being pushed, bumped into, crowded over, cut off etc. without so much as a quietly mumbled “excuse me”. Yet, adults will complain about how “kids these days” act in public. Are you a good role model, Mr. Cut In Line, Flip Your Receipt?

Any kindergartener can tell you the rules of a line. “No budging” is the first one for pity sake. Along with, if you get out of line you go to the end; you can’t save a place for your friend; and the leader is always first! These students will often argue to hold the door for others coming in or out, instead of pushing past them and then letting slam in their face. My first graders offer to carry my “tub” for me, they tell me thank you when I do something for them, and say excuse me when they need to. Why? Because I, as a teacher, consistently model this behavior and reward it with all the students I see during the day, it’s really not rocket science.

But, I will place a bet that at least one parent will be completely surprised when at conferences I tell them their child is polite and helpful. “My child? Are you sure you are talking about the right kid? It’s sure a different story at home.” It’s a different story in Las Vegas too.

The Creation of New Vocabulary

Earlier this week during a 2nd grade Title I group, a new word was created. It is one I feel could easily be used in today’s politically spun world. Jaedon was reading a trade book of her choice. She came to the word “pollution”. She attempted to “sound it out”, she went back and reread the passage, and she could not decode the word. This is her struggle.

Denyse, the student sitting next to her was trying very hard NOT to jump in, even though it appeared she knew the correct pronunciation of the word. Finally she could hold back no longer and said, “I know what that word is!”

Jaedon looked at her and said, “You do? What is it?!”

Denyse proudly announced, “Pollutician!”

Jaedon responded, “Well, I never would have gotten that ‘cuz I never heard that word before.”

I then explained that no-one had because that wasn’t the word. We then decoded pollution together, and discussed what it was.

As they were leaving, it occurred to me that “POLLUTICIAN” is a cross between pollution and politician – “pollutician”.

I told Denyse, she may have just created a new word, though the definition was lost on her, I rather like the descriptive properties of this new word.

Pollutician: A dirty elected government official.
Bet you can name a few, I know I can………

Welcoming Spring with a Few Funnies

Spring Fever has hit the students in a large way. They have become bouncy and loud and though we attempted to corral them in the classroom, their minds are really outside in the sunshine. I have to admit, I’m kind of out there myself, it’s pretty contagious. So, just in case the fever hasn’t hit you, here are a few funnies to help lighten your mood.

In 4th grade, Mrs. K’s student “Jeanette”, who receives special ed services, had been helping to sort papers after she finished her assignment. She was still diligently working away when the Guidance Counselor, Mr. E., entered the room for his class lesson. Mrs. K remarked to “Jeanette” that she could put that work down for now, so she could pay attention to Mr. E. Jeanette turned and with a huge smile on her face said, “It’s ok Mrs. K, I can still do it cuz I’m MULTITASKIC! You know, that means I can do more than one thing at a time!” And she continued to sort, occasionally glancing up at Mr. E. (I do believe Multitaskic needs to be entered into the next edition of Webster’s. )

Also in 4th grade, Mrs. S had been working individually with “Maya”, reteaching a math concept that “Maya” was really struggling to understand. It was just about time for lunch, so Mrs. S invited “Maya” to get her lunch and bring it back to the room, so they could continue to work while they ate. Since eating in the room with the teacher is a pretty cool thing to do in a 4th grader’s mind, “Maya” was all for it. As she left, Mrs. S told her to think about any questions she might have that they could work on when she returned. A few minutes later, “Maya” returned with her lunch, sat down and looked at Mrs. S. Mrs. S. had the math work ready to begin where they had left off, and before she returned to it, she looked at “Maya” and said, “Did you think of any questions we can start with?” “Maya” looked at her very seriously and said, “Yes, Mrs. S. I have a question.” Mrs. S asked what that question might be. “Maya” looked at her very intently and asked, “How does the bus driver get on the bus?” Mrs. S has determined that next time, she’ll clarify that questions should be about the subject at hand!

And from my own Title group of second grade girls, “Denise” looks at me one day and says, “Mrs. R you look like my aunt “Sandy”. “ I smiled and jokingly said, “Oh, is she old too?” “Denise” said, “No, she’s not old, she’s DRUNK!” Really, I promise…..it’s just SPRING FEVER!

No H1N1 this time!

It’s been a long strange school year. Earlier in the fall my district had about with the respiratory type of flu, and we did see some H1N1. There were times when over 20% of the student population was absent. In fact there were classrooms with as few as 6 students in them for days at a time.

Well, this week the “pukin’ flu” (as one student put it) hit my building, with a vengeance. It started with just a few, but just a couple of days in there were students lined up in the office sharing garbage cans as they waited for their parents. In every classroom the upchuck has hit the floor/desks/rugs, causing all teachers to have the “if you are going to be sick, just GO! - You don’t have to ask permission” speech. Students are being made aware of the location of every garbage can, and every bathroom. Again, hand washing is being stressed and the use of hand sanitizer is on the rise. However, I have come to the conclusion this is to no avail – those “pukin’ flu” germs are going to infect us all, they are on a mission.

This is why I feel that way. On Wednesday a guest teacher in a first grade classroom was trying to get students ready to go home about 2:45, so they would all be ready to board their buses at 2:55. During this time it’s really just managed chaos as snow pants, hats, mittens, scarves, boots, and coats get layered on and backpacks get loaded. In the midst of all of this, one little girl tells the teacher she doesn’t feel very good, then she immediately punctuates her sentence by vomiting all over her shoes and the floor. The rest of the children immediately start reacting with “EEEEEWWWW!”, “That’s GROSS”, “Why’d ya do THAT?”. The guest teacher holds her composure, and calmly stops a teacher in the hall to take the ill child to the office, and send a janitor back to the room. As the regular teacher is taking the ill child from the room, another student (yep, in the same room) vomits all over the floor and another student’s backpack. At this point, in desperation, the guest teacher asks the remaining students if anyone else is feeling ill. The second ill student is shipped off with another teacher as the janitor makes his way into the room to try to clean up the damage. (There is not enough money to get me to do that job.) While this clean up is going on, the guest teacher manages to get the rest of the students in line and starts down the hallway to the buses. On the way this class has to dodge 2 more “puddles” of vomit, deposited by students headed home. I don’t know if this guest teacher will ever return, perhaps in the spring after the “pukin’ flu” is gone!

Seriously, some days, I feel like I work in an ongoing Monty Python movie…….. “There’s always room for a thin mint.”

Is it really all about the “class” ?

As a teacher, you know there are differences in “classes”….not just in a classroom, but the class as a whole. It’s hard to explain to those outside of education who think all students show up for the first day of Kindergarten knowing their alphabet and how to write their name. It’s hard to understand just how much that is not reality; how you can have a class with a child who has never held a crayon and a child who is already reading.

At my elementary, last year’s 5th grade class was a tough one. There were many students with some pretty serious behavior issues, many with very poor home situations and many who were receiving special education services. We knew this class was going to be challenging when they arrived in kindergarten, so many of the students were at risk. Over the 6 years that they spent with us, we tried to build them up, give them strategies and tools, and set them up for success as they moved on to Middle School.

A few years ago I was talking to the social worker at our school after a student in my daughter’s class committed suicide by hanging himself in his parent’s garage. They were juniors at the time. Mrs. K. said something that has stuck with me. She said, “That class has been edgy and intense from the beginning. They want to push the envelope and change things.” She went on to compare that class to the “over-achievers” in the Senior class that year; the “clowns” in the sophomore class and the “socialites” of the freshman class. Mrs. K. went on to say that by the time a class gets to HS, they have developed a “class” personality and it seems to stick - even after graduation. I have often thought back on that and wished she was not so prophetic.

Today my daughter got a call that a young man from her class had shot himself and died. He is the fourth to commit suicide, from her “edgy, intense” class. (This class graduated 3 years ago.) This is a small town folks….4 kids from a class of 120ish. She and her classmates will now come together again, hold one another, attempt to understand and then go on as best they can. I will hug my daughter, tell her I love her and how important she is to me and those around her. I will try to help her get through another loss - too many for one so young.

As I go through this with my child again today - my mind wanders to last year’s class of fifth graders, who are struggling through their first year of Middle School this year. I think about some of the tender hearts, insecure souls and how hard they worked to get as far as they did. Those students, “my kids” that I really didn’t want to send over to Middle School. The hard ones, seem to touch you more than the easy ones. I pray that they do not find this answer….the adolescent years are so cruel, so hard, ……I pray they will all find the strength they need. I hope against hope that Mrs. K will be wrong, and this weak challenged group of students will turn out to be the class of “survivors”.