Tuesday, April 25, 2017

on being a change-maker.

Revolutions start with fundamental challenges.  Ten years ago, education was crying out for a revolution.  I was hopeful in my early teaching years that local and federal governments were prioritizing educational agendas and spending more tax dollars on schools.  Sounded promising, right?  Somehow, though,  “educational reform” turned out to be the accountability movement.  


In actuality, even my homeboy Obama couldn’t shake the contagious narrative of what turned out to be Race to the Top (a 5 billion dollar grant to reward top-performing schools).  And now, in our recent transition from NCLB to ESSA, despite policy differences,  it all feels the same to me.  Testing still reigns.  


But I will not bow down.  


I despise testing.  I despise nonsensical data analysis.  I despise being told that scores matter.  


I love the opposite.  I love pushing kids to think outside the box.  I love inquiry-based projects.  I love when students challenge each other’s thinking and review their September versus May writing pieces. (Talk about growth!) I love diving into a good book with my kiddos and how, together, we transport far, far away for forty-five minutes, analyzing character reactions to life's surprises, each step of the way.  


We know what drives us and what doesn’t. I’m not sharing this to ask you to live in denial and ignore the realities of day to day teacher and student expectations.  Perhaps, though, by pushing hard on what we believe in, rather than what we don’t, success stories might catch on, and others might follow our alternative path.  


We can push the positive instead of bash the negative.  


True, it’s no small feat.  When it comes to the standardized testing obsession, sometimes we don’t know what else to do.  What’s the alternative?  PD’s focus on data analysis and student growth measures.  Teacher evaluations and celebrations reward test scores.  Who’s pushing otherwise?  Where are these revolutionaries?


We are teachers.  We are the change-makers.  We are the revolutionaries.  


And if we’re sitting back and letting things we don’t believe in just happen to us and our kids, then we should probably stop complaining.  


What do you want to change? Promote what you believe in...not what you don’t.  


  1. When promoting what you love/what you believe in, using research-based best practices to support your mission goes a long way.  Credible resources are a must.  
  2. Pilot programs or ideas with your students.  Pull out the ol’ scientific method and use the results to spread the word.  Pre and post data might persuade others to consider your new strategy.  
  3. Aim to advocate for one thing at a time.  Momentum can die quickly when we take on too much at once.  Start small and dream big!


Being a change-maker isn’t easy and focusing on the positive when you’re just so dang tired is a challenge.  The feeling of waking up each day and doing what’s right can release a lot of that stress and ignite the fire within.  

Who knows, the stress might just turn into passion and we could have a 2020 educational revolution on our hands!

Power to the teacher.  

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

on dreaming big.


As my grandfather placed the seventh mustard and blue printed napkin on the salt-ridden fast food counter, I sunk deep into my booth with comfort.  One for Grandma, one for Grandpa, one for Seymour, Demore, Leroy, Sarah and me.  My baby brother was much too young to indulge in the goodness my three and a half year old palate was about to endure.  There were enough greasy beef sliders to go around, and extra pickles for me and my friends.  It was 1985 and we were partying like it was 1999.  Seymour, Demore, Leroy and Sarah hogged the ketchup cups (as usual) and Grandma urged them to share.  As the soggy slider paper sheets piled up on Grandpa’s cafeteria tray, I envied his speed-eating skills.  And why were my friends’ napkins so dry?


Priding myself with not one, but four imaginary friends with names like Seymour and Demore, I am so thankful that my family played along.  My grandfather must have stomached four-times the food for the four seasons my imagination was on fire.


Thinking back, I wonder what happens to our young imaginations when we grow up.  Imaginary friends turn into real friends, fairytales turn into realistic fiction and fearlessness develops into hopefulness.  Some of us always stay dreamers, while some of us become conformists, realists, or somewhere in between.  


One of the million cool things about being a teacher is that we get to see things through young minds.  As the end of the school year approaches, teacher evaluations and coaching cycles wrap up and the state testing monster goes into hibernation...freedom is about to grace us with her pleasure.  


All things considered, it's pretty perfect timing to do whatever you want with your students.  Watching Netflix, shading Moana-themed coloring books and playing computer games all day is definitely an option, but integrity-wise is probably not the best choice for those young, developing minds. Is there a reading structure you want to pilot for next year? A WWII museum simulation project you’ve been dying to try?  Genius Hour? Could you transform your classroom into an aquatic ecosystem? Or a children's book publishing house? In May, I feel like pretty much anything goes. Jump in!


Why not ask yourself what if?  What if I had my dream classroom? What would it look like?  What would we learn?  What kind of feel would it have?  The realist in all of us knows that we can’t control all student behaviors, but who knows how the environment might shift if you try something fresh and innovative in the next few weeks? Or dive deeper into a topic you just dipped your feet into earlier this year?


Whether you're returning to your same position or moving on, why not make your teaching dreams a reality? Even if for 38 days.  What a way to launch your summer vacation and treat the end-of-school-year-itis!


And if all else fails,  just revert back to Chubbs Peterson’s advice in Happy Gilmore.  Find your happy place.  Use that childhood imagination buried inside you and transport yourself to paradise the next time a student rolls their eyes and shouts, this is boring!


The mind is a powerful muscle.  Think big.  Dream big.  Power to the teacher.  

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

on keeping it real.



“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” The close examination of presented evidence.  Mark Furhman’s racist comments and the bloody sock and glove.  White bronco.  Rodney King.  The closing statements and the defendant’s football stardom.  This case was fascinating.  


Tragic, but fascinating.  I remember watching the OJ Simpson verdict in eighth grade French class.  Big box TV on a rolly cart, making mouths drop across America and Shelby Jr. High School.  Twenty years later bring documentaries and a mini-series reminding us of the tragedy’s monumental court case, as well as conversations around racism, sexism and the justice system.


Teachers are always thinking about teaching even when we’re not.  Sparks fly when something catches our eye that we could use for next week’s lessons.  Ooh, my kids would looovvve this.  


Knowing that my kids’ current weakness is finding strong evidence to support a claim, my comrade and I agreed that slowly revealing key evidence from the OJ Simpson trial would hook them, make them think and force them to differentiate between good and great evidence.  


We call it sneaking in the vegetables.  Keep it so real that they forget they’re learning.  


Six days into the OJ lessons and critical eyes are popping out of their beautiful minds.  Our new law students are inquiring, researching and having debates all on their own time.  They are questioning arguments and pulling stronger evidence than ever.  Well, most of them.  


In the last two days, I’ve had one student fall asleep in class due to his late night video game addiction.  Another student throwing paper balls and dying for any kind of attention, likely due to a recent family situation.  One child writing notes to her ex-best friend, accusing her of stealing her other ex-best friend.  Plus there was the one who walked out of class because I wouldn’t repeat the directions to her for the third time.  


Is the OJ trial real and relevant and highly engaging?  Yes.  If I would’ve been observed during the OJ lessons, would I have scored highly effective on the “student engagement” rubric?  Probably not.  Only ten of the thirty-two students raised their hands when I asked for the meaning of “acquit.”  Ignoring the child dozing off or the girls passing notes mid lesson would not have looked good.  But did I care?  Nope.  Most of my kids were into it.  And thinking critically.  And some things I just can’t control.  


We’ve all heard it before...an effective teacher is the number one factor in impacting student achievement.  And that’s true, in terms of school-related factors.  For some reason, we forget, though, the key word here is school-related factors.  


Yes, the classroom teacher has a greater effect on a student compared to school facilities, curriculum or leadership.  Digging deeper into the research, though, we find that non-school factors, such as family characteristics and family circumstances have a much greater impact on student achievement.  We know this, we just forget it sometimes.  


This information is not meant to encourage educators to make excuses for bad teaching or blame families and poverty for lack of student progress.  Knowing the truth, though, helps us cope with the pressures put on us to be perfect.  


Since I’m keeping it real, here, I ask, teachers, that you cut yourself some slack.


Be real, be relevant, think like your students and sneak in the vegetables.  But realize that there will always be non-school factors that impact your students’ daily actions and states of mind.  


Digging deeper to find the roots of these student issues and showing love and compassion for tough family situations is what you already do, so keep doing it.  Your lesson probably is amaaazing, but 100% of students engaged and on task is perfect, and nobody’s perfect.  Not you or your students.  


So I’ll wake up tomorrow, proud of my kiddos and proud of my comrade and I for discovering a different angle that Christopher Darden could’ve used, or wondering what Robert Kardashian would say to OJ if he were alive today.  And I’ll strive to do my best, not be the best.  


Keep it real...Power to the teacher.  


Do you want to get the conversation going?   For future blog post ideas, email me at chilloutteacher@gmail.com

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

on superheroes.

“With great power, comes great responsibility.” -Uncle Ben, Spiderman


Another recent teacher tale passed on by way of Big City, USA, is the case of the backpack.  Here’s the scenario.  Teacher A, let’s call her Mitsie, is struggling daily with student A, let’s call her Rainbow.  Each day, Rainbow disrespects Mitsie and completes minimal class work.  Mitsie is frustrated and seeks out her instructional coach for guidance.    


Coach asks Mitsie, “What do you think is at the root of Rainbow’s behavior?”  
Mitsie replies, “I’m not sure, what do you think?”
Coach reminds Mitsie, “You know Rainbow has issues at home, right?  She arrives to school without a backpack each day.  Maybe you should buy Rainbow a backpack.”
“Oh I didn’t think of that,” shared Mitsie.  
“Well sometimes you have to do what’s best for the child. C’mon, the child needs a backpack.”
Tears rolled down Mitsie’s cheek.  “Oh, okay.  Maybe that will help.”  


This case of the backpack is all too familiar.  We are not just teachers, we are all of the above.  We are superheroes with the weight of America’s future riding on our every move.  So they say.


Honestly, though, we are not superheroes.  We don’t have special powers to fly, move inanimate objects with our mind or turn back time.  Although we may be expected to act like superheroes, the universe has yet to grant us these special gifts.  


The universe has granted us compassion, empathy, motivation, integrity, and perseverance, along with several other must-have character traits of teachers.  These honorable (and human) traits change lives and inspire life-long learners.  


The teacher as superhero narrative saturates Pinterest, political rhetoric and gift shops alike.  I’m a teacher, what’s your superpower?  Or Keep Calm and Teach On. Okay, people, I appreciate the gratitude for educators, especially from the non-educators who too often remind us of how lucky we are to have paid vacation time.  “I know it must be exhausting, but at least you get paid to have summers off.”  But does calling us superheroes really inspire us?  Does it even validate us?  


No it does not.  We are professionals and want to be treated that way.  The expectation to become the superhero that the general public has so kindly named us, is quite frankly impossible.  Our primary role is to educate children, and although student success requires strong role models and relationships, it does not require teachers to be the 24-hour parent.  


As an urban educator of more than a decade, I know this may sound insensitive and maybe even uncompassionate, however, I think it needs to be said.  We are professionals, not magicians.  


What is our job?  To teach.  Obviously we lovingly play a mother/father role, a counselor’s role and a social worker every day, but our primary job is to educate students to read, write, problem solve and a million other skills necessary for future success.  

Parents, even in challenging situations, have to step up. Social workers and community outreach are available to support students in need of health care, after-school tutoring and transportation.  These services are in place for a reason.  Making a teacher question her devotion to her students for not buying a backpack is not only poor coaching, but it perpetuates the unsustainability of the profession.  


Chris Emden wrote a book, For White Folks Who teach in the Hood, and the Rest of Ya’ll Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education.  He writes, “ I always say, if you’re coming into a place to save somebody then you’ve already lost because young people don’t need saving.”  


I think Mr. Emden is on point.  We are teachers, here to teach our students to effectively read, write and problem solve so that they have a voice and can positively impact society.  Giving in to the pressures of being both the parent, teacher, doctor and counselor around the clock doesn’t leave much room to be a great teacher.  Being your best teacher self should be a priority.  


In reality, when you don’t meet the superhero expectations, you are made to feel less than adequate.  Like any professional, it’s okay to say no.  You are allowed to have a personal life.  You don’t have to be a community service worker, a volunteer or a missionary.  


In the end, does buying a backpack for a child solve the behavior problem?  Probably not.  And when Rainbow starts to repeat the same behavior, Mitsie will wonder why she bought the backpack in the first place.  


Being compassionate, empathetic, motivated and committed to education is admirable enough! Until we are granted the superpowers to end poverty and social injustice, let’s stand proud in our powerful role as human teacher.  Power to inspire.  Power to educate.  Power to change lives.  


Power to the teacher.  
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