Conversation: An Exchange

You know what I love most about education?

Conversation.

I love the general exchange of ideas--sometimes with ulterior motives and sometimes just for the sake of discussion.  I think we learn so much from sharing thought processes or ideas about general concepts.

Tonight, as I had dinner with my former cooperating teacher, I remembered why I loved her classroom so much.  She was the type of person who could come up with really abstract ideas or thoughts and follow those concepts through to some seriously cool classroom activities/discussion topics.  She's an artist at heart, so the manifestations of creativity really shouldn't be shocking.

But they blow my mind.  Tonight we discussed the concept of "Into the Woods" and the way fairytales take people to that very place--literal or figurative.  We talked about food in movies and the way food is often portrayed in literature (specifically in reference to the Rossettis and "Goblin Market").

It was a stimulant for my poor, overloaded head.  I've spent too much time recently trying to figure out what grammar lessons I really need to address with my freshmen.  I'd forgotten the hidden jewel that is conversation.  I'd forgotten that the best conversation all year happened during my Genocide Unit.

The students and I were discussing the concept of objectification and I asked, "What does it look like?"  They came up with the general ideas of racism and sexism, but were completely shocked when I wrote "PORNOGRAPHY" on the board.

All of a sudden, twenty teenage boys look at the ground and refused to make eye contact.

It was awkward for all of 5 minutes.  Then we discussed why pornography fell under the idea of objectification.  We talked about letting small things into your head without analyzing them and how sometimes those small things manifest themselves into bigger ideologies.  They got the concept that pornography has the potential to grow into the something that cannot be contained or controlled.  Then, we find ourselves in a mess we never intended to experience.

It led to a brief conversation about the purpose of school, the practice of thinking and the need to become good citizens.  It led to a realization that the things they're doing now, the ideas they are cultivating, really matter.  Those things will affect who they are and who they become.

And all because of a simple conversation.

But I'm not content to stop there.  I want more conversation.  I want them to be willing to discuss concepts, ideas, movies, books, music and politics.  I want them to ask questions, listen to each other, provide feedback and address issues that affect high school or the world.

I want to throw out a topic and know that there's going to be such a whirlwind of involvement that I never get a word in edgewise.

But right now I'm kicking myself for forgetting that conversation is probably the best tool we have at our disposal as educators.  We have an obligation to engage these students in conversation and help them to understand that this type of communication is our best hope for education in America.

At least, I think that would be a good conversation starter.  Feel free to contribute.

The one where I whine and conclude

Warning:  Whining to follow

For the most part, I like being an adult.  I like the sense of independence I get from paying my own bills and coming and going as I please.  I like making my own decisions--even though sometimes I avoid. 

But I really hate that I can no longer pawn decisions off on other people and trust that the right thing will be done.  I hate that things seem so much more ambiguous now than they ever did when I was a kid.  I hate that there is no clear right or wrong when it comes to some decisions...but giving up and opting out aren't always positive alternatives.

I hate it when doing the right thing doesn't feel like the right thing.

I don't like being void a sounding board.  The ones I have currently are just as baffled as I am. 

So until I have a more definitive course of action, I'm throwing myself into school.  I'm thinking about communication.  I thinking about to incorporate realistic forms of communication in my classroom.  I thinking about how to get kids to use the knowledge I've given them from previous units on a project they are doing tomorrow.

But mostly, I'm talking through strategies, problems, words and exercises with them.  And while I'm doing that, I'm hoping that some amount of talking still makes a difference.

A Bit of a Confession

So I have to confess something.

I'm a little nervous because I'm not sure how I feel about this myself.

I gave up Facebook.  Turns out, it was a really good choice for me.  It's making some things in my life a little less difficult.  It didn't serve a lot of purpose except to fill hours I really didn't have to devote to the medium.

But yesterday...

Oh, yesterday...

Yesterday, I joined...

Ok...I'm now part of The Twitter.

Yes, I said THE twitter.

Don't judge me.

I joined Twitter because I've heard that "it will change your teaching life."  And I'm ready for my life to be changed.

In anticipation, I took a little survey in the two classes I actually managed to show up for today (I took a half-day at work...still feeling a little sickly).  Survey questions?

1.  If you could change anything (educationally) at this school, what would you change?
2.  If you could change anything in this class, what would you change and why?
3.  If you could change anything about my teaching style, what would you change and why?
4.  If you could change anything about yourself as a student, what would you change and why?

I told the students to seriously consider the questions because I plan to seriously consider their responses.  I got some good ones...but I want to spend some more time with those responses before sharing them just yet (or what I plan to do with them).  I will admit, it's nice to see things with a new set of eyes.

And since that was so helpful, I'm hopeful for the twitter.

The Mind Never Stops

Today I'm home sick with a stomach bug my niece was so generous to share with the rest of the family.  I hate staying home from work.  It's not that I don't need the rest every now and again; it's that writing sub plans is often more difficult than hauling myself in and teaching anyway.  My doctor has, more than once, referred to this as control freak behavior.  Yet part of me wonders how she feels to let a really sick patient rest in the hands of another doctor--particularly one she may feel is less capable of handling the situation.

Regardless, while I'm home, my mind is in my classroom.  I've spent some of the morning thinking about how much I hate my English I curriculum and what I can do to make it better.  Currently, I have no answers.  I thought it might be easier to line out some of my thoughts instead.

*  Reteaching:  I have a wide range of English I students this year.  Many of them are new to high school, but their individual educational pasts are as diverse as the colors of the rainbow.  Most of them have one thing in common:  they have missed concepts that are going to pertinent in high school.  So I struggle to figure out what I can reteach, what I should reteach and who will/will not benefit from that time in class.

*  The consideration of reteaching brings up another problem--grammar.  Almost every single kid in my class struggles to avoid writing run-on sentences, fragments, etc.  I do a few lessons to fix these problems, but what I'm doing isn't working and I can't help but think that I'm obviously in the dark when it comes to teaching these concepts.  I need HELP.  Beyond sentence structure, these kids haven't managed things like differentiating there/their/they're or your/you're.  I've reviewed them until I'm blue in the face, but part of me thinks that if these students are unwilling to memorize specific things, no amount of teaching will matter.  Someone, HELP ME.

*  This is one of the first English I classes I've had where students are unwilling to talk about the material.  Cysts on ovaries are apparently fair game for classroom fodder (I quashed it.  Have some faith.), but discussing the role of teachers and students per The Miracle Worker leaves them tongue tied.  I just keep thinking that I can't make literature pertinent if they are unwilling to talk about it.

So there we are.  My recent frustrations in the classroom.  So far, English III is going alright.  I have some things I need to address in English II, but I'm figuring it out.  I'm just trying to figure out ways to expand creation in the classroom.  I seem to rely on paper writing far too often.

How do you get other teachers to join and comment?  I could use some ideas...

Lack of Preparation

My college education program taught me what it was to sit in the classroom.  It gave me the opportunity to observe teachers in the classroom setting and even to teach for an entire semester.  But my education program lacked in more than one way.

The one on my mind today?  Dealing with parents.

I don't know how many of you educators have struggled to navigate the murky waters where diplomacy and realism collide, but I do know that it's a struggle that isn't going away.  For the most part, I've been really fortunate.  I've had parents who listen to me and know that I'm concerned for their student/student's grade.  I make every effort to be available to answer questions and help whenever possible.

Unfortunately, that isn't always enough.  I've had my share of "little darlings" who behave one way in front of parents and entirely different inside the classroom.  Then, when the darling gets in trouble for his/her behavior, the parent requests a meeting with the principal and the teacher because "I feel you just don't like my child"  (Yes, this actually happened to me).  I tried to explain that when the student snaps at me and says, "It's your job to answer all my questions," I feel a respect boundary has been crossed.  The parent felt that was up for interpretation.

In addition to behavior problems, I've faced students who simply do not want to do anything.  Normally, I would assign a grade accordingly and feel that was the reward for a job not done.  That, regrettably, doesn't work when the child continues to turn in work he/she did not complete on his/her own.  Even more unfortunate?  When the parent does the child's work for him/her.  Personally, I would think that parents have better things to do with their time than to write papers for a high school English teacher.  And, apparently, I would be wrong. 

Now, I came up with a solution that will likely work in my classroom.  Are the parents happy about it?  Hardly...as evidenced by the calls to my principal all day long.  Am I in the wrong?  I don't think so.  But I am curious to know:  how would you handle a situation when you know (because the student told you) one parent wrote/writes papers for the student?  I'm curious to see your answers.

Done

I've decided that the thirty day blog challenge thing isn't really working for me, so I'm quitting.  I don't blog when Favorite's home, and I have several other school-related things that I want to post on here.  I'm not a fan of posting more than once in a day because I like to give people time to read what I've written and (possibly) respond.

But today will be a two poster.  Just wait for what's coming...

To Interject

A brief break from the thirty day blog challenge...

Recently, my English III classes have started working on a project I developed for the book The Education of Little Tree.  The project is worth 200 points and, without reading you the actual prompt, is basically five papers on different topics.

The one I've been most impressed with?  The question regarding education.  I asked the students to define education and then explain what did/did not fit into those parameters.  We have had some of the best conversations in class I've ever had with a set of students.  Some of the ones who were most adamant that they were "never gonna use this" declared that there can be purpose in fields of study they never considered worthwhile.

I was just shocked at the responses I got when I demanded that they clarify their thought processes and then put it in writing.  Many of them read what they wrote, erased it and started over.  Even they didn't like the sound of the words.

Similarly, English I has been discussing The Miracle Worker and how Annie's relationship with Helen relates to them in the grand scheme of things.  I asked them, "If you were Annie, do you think you would've given up or stuck it out knowing what Helen is capable of?"  Every single student in class had the same response:  "She has a responsibility to help Helen."

Since I'm a sneaky teacher, the next question I asked was this:  "So as a teacher, is it my job to continue to expect out of you, to push you when you don't want to be pushed and to occasionally give you a swift kick in the rear to get you back on track?"  It was a resounding yes.  Then I said, "If that's the case, why do you get mad when you know I'm doing the job you expect me to do?"

Crickets, people.  Crickets.

But they got it.

And I felt like such a success because of it.