Mindfulness in Education

Stressed. Spelled backwards, it's desserts. Stress, for me, though, has nothing sweet about it. It is something that can take over my life. I hear the things that come out of my mouth when I'm stressed out and I immediately cringe. That's not me! That's the stress talking. 

Did you know 46% of teachers leave the profession in the first five years? Stressed, anyone?

By increasing mindfulness, teachers can control their reactions to situations that are out of their control. I sat through a seminar this morning at the CERRA fall renewal conference and practiced a little bit of mindfulness. After just five minutes, I feel more relaxed and more comfortable than I have all week. I can accept that I am three and a half hours from the work that is on my desk and it will be there waiting on me tomorrow when I go back. And tomorrow is fine. 

For more information on mindfulness, I highly recommend checking out information from Todd Scholl at CERRA. You can visit his website at theinnerpiece.weebly.com. Visit it. Get relaxed. Control your mind. Your kids will appreciate you for it. 

Formative Assessment in Room 201

Ongoing formative assessment is vital in any classroom, as it provides opportunities for monitoring and adjusting, provides feedback to the instructor, and helps to guide and customize the learning process throughout the unit of study for all students (Chapman and King, 2012). I use a variety of formative assessment strategies in my room to help me gauge where my students fall on the road to mastery.

The simplest thing that teachers can do during a lesson or unit is to circulate. During a guided practice session, teachers should start by modeling the expected outcome and then closely examining students during practice (Schmoker, 2011). Just by roaming the classroom, I can ensure that my students are on task and that they have a good understanding of what is being expected of them. I keep anecdotal notes on students as they work so that I have a running record of their progress during a unit. By repeating this cycle of guided practice and checking for understanding multiple times throughout the unit, I can move students towards a gradual release of responsibility and make them more independent learners (Schmoker, 2011).

Another way to assess students where they are is to allow time for student talk. Talking has been proved as one of the best ways to digest information (Schmoker, 2011). Allowing students to turn to their neighbor and share what they have learned will help them teach each other, as well as clarify their own thinking in a safe environment. It also gives me, the teacher, the chance to monitor conversations and correct thinking. I seat my students in pods of four—students are not grouped together, but are seated very close and are aware of who is in their pod. Pods are strategically planned. Students are heterogeneously grouped by fall Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) scores, so that they will be able to help one another through difficult learning tasks. I have seen that talking to one another, and sometimes teaching one another, help increase student ownership over our lessons.

A third simple type of formative assessment that I use in my classroom and that is research-proved is writing to learn activities. Writing helps students to formulate and articulate their thoughts before they share out with groups or the class (Schmoker, 2011). Students are able think through their own confusion in writing, and therefore remove some of the insecurity when sharing with others. Research shows that the act of writing extends knowledge and helps create new thinking (Gallagher, 2006). I use several types of write to learn activities, including free writes (which I call brain drains) and written conversation. During free writes, students are given a prompt and told to write nonstop for a predetermined amount of time. If they do not know what to write, they are to write “I don’t know what to write” until something comes to them. The stubborn few will fill their paper with this sentence, but after a while, that loses its magic and they begin to truly process their thinking. During a written conversation, students write to a topic or answer a question, pass their paper to a neighbor, and respond. With my students in pods, we can pass around the pod very easily.

Students need interaction in their classroom in order to succeed (Schmoker, 2011). Teachers often assume that students are lazy or cannot read, but when we allow opportunities to demonstrate understanding, we see otherwise. Schmoker states, “Interactive lecture and the simplest versions of formative assessment work for anyone” (p. 70). Teaching in this manner can seem slow for teachers, but account for as much as six to nine months of learning growth each year (Schmoker, 2011). Formative assessments are small ways to interact students in the art of teaching and learning.  By checking for understanding, teachers are able to gather and examine ongoing student data in order to make sound curricular decisions in the moment that they need to be made.

Chapman, C. and King, R. (2012). Differentiated assessment strategies: One tool doesn’t fit all. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Gallagher, K. (2006). Teaching adolescent writers. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

Schmoker, M. (2011). Focus: Elevating the essentials to radically improve student learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

So what IS the purpose of public schooling?

Traditional education, as defined by Ira Shor in The Art of Critical Pedagogy (2008) suppresses student skills and intellectual interests, while a more critical approach develops these skills and interests. Traditional education puts the students in positions of powerlessness and the teacher in a position of authority. This approach hampers the student’s development as a critical thinker. Above all else, the role of the public school is to help the next generation of voters to approach media and information as critical thinkers.

Paulo Freire advocated for developing the capacity in students to confront real-world problems related to them and their community. At the core of his critical pedagogy was the concept of praxis, which is not unlike the more recent concept of problem-based learning. This approach leads teachers and students to action and reflection upon that action. Through this approach, students (1) identify a problem, (2) analyze the problem, (3) create a plan of action, (4) implement the plan, and (5) analyze and evaluate the action. By addressing real-world, community-based problems, students are able to become their own change agents, which prepares for an active civic adulthood.

The public school system plays the most integral role in developing the next generation of citizens, and this is not accomplished through traditional approaches of filling empty receptacles. This is accomplished by fostering dialogue, inquiry, critical reading/viewing of the world, and a partnership and exchange of ideas between students and teachers.

Duncan-Andrade, J. M. R., & Morrell, E. (2008). The art of critical pedagogy, possibilities for moving from theory to practice in urban schools. New York, NY: Peter Lang Pub Inc.

Hate: A Title Character in Society Today

I'm spending some time this morning reflecting on the senseless death of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent not guilty verdict of George Zimmerman (whose life is also ruined now, no doubt). Many want to claim that race plays no role in this verdict. Even the prosecutor wants to claim that race is not an issue.  How is it not?

If Trayvon had been named Danny and had his hoodie over his blonde hair and blue eyes, would the news be splitting time between the Zimmerman verdict and the death of Corey Monteith? I claim no. Had it been a blonde-haired Danny, he would have been observed as he went along his way, but ultimately left alone. Zimmerman's actions were racial profiling, plain and simple.

If George Zimmerman had been black, would we be having such outrage at the verdict? Would there have even been a trial? Most claim that there would not have been. Another black-on-black shooting would have been chalked up as typical. Sad, but typical.

If Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville had been a white woman, would she be preparing to spend the next 20 years behind bars for defending herself against an abusive spouse who had a restraining order against him or would the stand your ground defense work for her as well?

These recent events only demonstrate the role racism plays in our society. There are many types of hate rearing in our society today. In fact, hate is becoming a major player in our world. As people fight for the rights to love and marry someone of their own choosing, they are met with so-called Christians who claim that if you love differently, you don't have the same rights as others. And women in Texas are face a hate crime against their own choices as Texas recently voted to pass one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the nation.

I don't have children. I am white. I am Christian and I am heterosexual. But I still remain appalled at the role that hate plays in our society. My heart aches for the victims of senseless violence. I will not even pretend to know that Trayvon's motives were purely innocent. But we'll never know, will we? George Zimmerman played arresting officer, judge, and jury when he followed a young, black teenaged male on a Florida evening.

Presenting New Knowledge to New Teachers

I'm currently working on a presentation for the CERRA Induction Symposium--a conference for teachers who have just finished their first or second year in education. I signed up to present on strategies for keeping students engaged. At this point, I'm wondering what was I thinking?!?!

So I have been reflecting on the most engaging lessons from my classroom this past year. What is engaging instruction rooted in?

Let's start with anticipatory sets. Getting students to anticipate the lesson helps them to get excited about their learning. Before dealing with Romeo and Juliet, students can examine value statements that deal with the major themes from the play and decide if they agree or disagree with the statements. Once they realize how much they can relate the major themes of the play with their actual lives, the classic piece of literature becomes much more attainable. Teachers can also use questioning strategies, word webs, songs, and videos to get students engaged in the lesson before it starts.

Once the lesson begins, strategic instruction is a powerful, student-centered approach to learning. Using strategies help students access the tools that adept learners are able to readily access. One great strategy for teaching new concepts is the concept map. This graphic helps the learner to understand relationships between the concept and other thoughts/ideas. I have used this to entrench knowledge of figurative language. A history teacher has used the mapping process to further explain the amendments to the Constitution. Strategies can be extremely engaging for learners, and they help students tap into the cognitive strategies that will help them as they encounter new knowledge.

Mixing in music and video to lessons also helps increase student engagement. Keeping clips short and relevant is all students need get that technology fix that this generation seems to need. A US History teacher working with the Jim Crow South could introduce "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday and "The Flowers" by Alice Walker. This incorporation of both music and a short literary piece will help fire up the dendrites to increase student learning and comprehension.

Engaging instruction is vital in teaching today's youth. There are many options teachers can tap into to help create connections to enhance learning. I only hope that I can come up with a few new ideas to help new teachers this week.

Keeping Many Balls in the Air

If there is one thing that I have to do every day, it is keep multiple balls in the air without letting a myriad of people down.  We talk about the many hats that teachers wear--teacher, planner, data keeper, mentor, friend, counselor, mediator.  In addition to those classroom teacher hats, I am....

• a coach
• a data cruncher on a large scale
• a strategy suggestor
• a professional development leader
• a reflective practitioner
• an event planner
• the student government sponsor
• a color guard instructor...a choreographer...the punisher...a dreamer

And sometimes all these hats have to be worn at once.  Just this past week, my high school celebrated Homecoming, which the student government association is over.  There are dress up days, a pep rally, a senior parade, Homecoming King, dealing with the 24 female members of the Homecoming court, counting ballots, and crowning a queen.  Yesterday marked the day of the first band contest for one of the groups that I work with.  We participated in a festival, so we were able to march twice.  Great for growth, but hard on the weary soul.  And last week also was a week of preparation for a visit from the federal education department to monitor our growth under the School Improvement Grant.  Talk about pressure from all sides!

The most important thing for me to learn and remember as an instructional coach is to rely on others.  As a true Virgo, I struggle to ask for help from others.  I am a firm believer in the "if you want things done right" adage.  But sometimes you can't do everything.  You have to be willing to reach out.  I am lucky to work with two other instructional coaches who willingly recognized my need for help and stepped in without pause.  Of course I carry guilt for having anyone else take over my duties, but sometimes things are necessary.  Asking for help is necessary.  Accepting that help is even more important.

If there is one thing I have learned that is that if I don't ask for help, then the many balls that I am keeping in the air (very precariously) will come crashing down around me.

And that would not be acceptable.  After all, I am a true Virgo and that means a perfectionist.

Rambling Autobiography--A Writing Strategy

We all start the year with community building activities, but getting some diagnostic information on our students is always key.  This year, I started with the Rambling Autobiography writing strategy that I stole from a fellow teacher.

1--Start with a read aloud.  Most good days do, and you'll find that even big bad high schoolers love being read to, even though they don't always want to admit it.  I started my lesson with Incredible Me! by Kathi Applet.  It tied in perfectly to what I was trying to lead my student to think about.

2--Use a mentor text.  In this case, the strategy came with a writing sample from Linda Rief.  I put the sample on the smart board, read it out loud, and asked them what they noticed.  We talked about why it is labeled as a rambling autobiography and what they notice about the writer's structure.

3--Give them time to write and write with them.  It is so important for students to see their teachers as writers.  I gave students 4 minutes on the desktop timer (which I downloaded this morning after a simple Google search), and then I sat down with my writer's notebook.  We all wrote, using Rief's piece as a model.

4--Give them time to share.  This was structured two different ways in my two very different classes.  Honors students will typically share out loud, while other students may be self-conscious about what they wrote.  For those students, they simply traded papers after their first draft.  I, of course, willingly shared my own writing.  It is always good to let yourself be judged.

5--Revisit and rewrite.  Students went back through their first drafts to look for recurring themes or sentences that they felt were strong or interesting.  After underlining one or more sentences, students chose one of those to be their starting point for their next burst of writing, which lasted for six minutes.

6--Give feedback.  After writing two times, students traded papers with a neighbor.  Neighbors read through the second burst and gave one plus and one wish for the piece.  Students traded again, repeated the process, and then returned the paper back to the original owner.

As a class, we will take these short autobiographies and turn them into final drafts.  We will talk about final draft expectations and develop a rubric together.  Students will have time to write and I will have a solid writing sample to start the year with!

A New Year, A New Me!

Since the new school year is here, I'm starting with some simple resolutions to be a better person, both professionally and personally.  It is the start of my 13th year and I am determined to make this one the best yet! 

Here is my hodge podge of new school year resolutions:
1) Blog more.  This has the potential to be a great resource, if I can carve out time to use it.  And since it is professional writing, then what better time to blog than during my coaching time? 

2) More classroom observations.  One of the most powerful tools an instructional coach has is constructive feedback.  But that involves getting in to classrooms as often as possible.  Getting in classrooms will help me build a rapport with both teachers and students, that which is so very important in giving appropriate feedback.

3) Less soda, more water.  This one is personal, but feeling good is going to help me professionally.  Notice I didn't say no soda, just less.  By improving my diet, I'll be able to push hard for the entire day, instead of falling short of where I need to be.

4)  Be more organized.  I have gotten off to a great start by being ready for my students before they walked through the door today.  It took three hours on a Saturday, but I will reap the rewards all year long by getting the year off to a good start.

So I'm well on track to meet my goals for the new school year.  I love starting fresh and starting over--we all need new chances.

Say yes!

I had the opportunity to listen to my sister preach at her church this past Sunday.  She has her Masters of Divinity and is currently looking for a full-time pulpit.  As an intern at a local Presbyterian church, she is granted to opportunity to preach every so often.  This past Sunday was one of those occasions and she preached on the philosophy of saying yes and figuring things out later.

I was with her when she first heard this philosophy of "say yes."  We sat in on a panel discussion of children's books authors that included Kwame Alexander.  Kwame shared his personal philosophy--say yes.  

The sermon this past Sunday got me thinking about the opportunities that have come into my life because I was willing to say yes.

Let me preface this by saying, I am not a say yes type of person.  I like to think through all decisions.  I like to imagine what the end will look like.  I like to try to predict all the pitfalls that might get in my way.  I am very thorough and very pragmatic, but every once in a while, I find myself saying yes.

At the end of my fifth year in the classroom, my assistant superintendent called to request my resume for the literacy coach opening at my high school.  I knew that the job had been posted, but I wasn't interested in leaving the classroom.  However, when your assistant superintendent calls, you say yes.  The job was mine and it led to 24 graduate hours in literacy and learning, some of the closest friendships in my adult life, and a new outlook on educational practices.  Because I said yes, I was able to move into a higher pay bracket, present at NCTE in New York City, attend a literacy symposium in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and open the eyes of my colleagues to the importance of reading in all content areas.

A little over two years ago, a colleague sent me the nomination form for the CERRA Advisory Board.  I said yes (on a whim) and was elected to a three year term on the board.  Again, I have been able to build professional relationships that will continue to benefit me in my career.  

And last summer was an even bigger yes.  The literacy coach position once again came open at my high school.  These grant funded positions come and go.  I was prepared to say no.  I had a great teaching schedule.  I adored my classes.  I knew that becoming a coach would change my teaching schedule drastically and I would lose two classes that I really enjoyed.  I went to the interview with my principal with a no on my lips.  However, a yes came out.  I went through a lot of training in order to help teachers improve their practices.  It would be wasteful to sit in a classroom and not share that knowledge.  So I, once again, said yes.  

I am moving into my second year as a part time teacher, part time literacy coach.  I know that the grant that funds my job has two more years.  I can't help but wonder where I'll end up next and what opportunity will be thrust at me.  I can only hope that I will have the guts to say yes.

The Role of a Blog in a Teacher's Life

Subtitle: What freedom of speech?

I saw a story on the news this morning about a teacher recently fired who was filing suit against her district for wrongful termination. Her claim? She was being fired for voicing her opinion on her personal blog, what she calls her "diary." She voiced unflattering opinions about her students, and claims that those opinions led to her termination, which in turn violates her freedom of speech.

What freedom of speech?

This teacher (I am so tempted to use quotation marks around the word) criticized her students on an internet forum. She referred to them as "disengaged, lazy whiners" and "frightfully dim." Another post, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle stated, "They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners. They curse, discuss drugs, talk back, argue for grades, complain about everything, fancy themselves entitled to whatever they desire, and are just generally annoying."  While she did not identify herself using her surname, nor did she use the names of the school, the district, or even the students, "Natalie M." identified herself with a picture on her blog.  Yet she expects privacy.  Can I say again, she identified herself with a picture on her blog.

So the question is this: What rights do teachers have?

First of all, I firmly believe that this teacher crossed the line.  If your students are disengaged, I believe it is time for you to examine your own pedagogy.  If they are "frightfully dim," then what are you doing to close the gap between where you want them to be and where they are when they enter your room in August?  Obviously if students are talking back, cursing, and discussing inappropriate topics in your classroom, then YOU THE TEACHER NEED TO EXAMINE YOUR OWN CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.  

What rights do teachers have to vent?  We do have the right to vent.  We vent to spouses, to a journal (of the paper and pencil kind), even to other colleagues and supervisors behind the sanctity of closed doors.  We pound it out on the treadmill.  We take yoga classes.  We frequent happy hours.  We do have these rights.  

And while we may have the right to blog out our frustrations, it is inappropriate to take to the internet to criticize the children we teach.  It is inappropriate to publicly vilify the parents raising these children, whether we feel they are doing a good job or not.  If I called a parent and said some of these things about his/her child, I would fully expect to be reprimanded, transferred, or all out let go.  If it isn't appropriate to say it to the parent's face, then it is inappropriate to broadcast over the internet.  Because, you see, Natalie M., the internet never goes away.  It is there forever.  In my heart of hearts, I know that what goes on my blog needs to pass the same test I give my students: I need to be able to say it to my MeMaw.  I would not call my students "rat-like" to MeMaw.  She would be disappointed in me.