Sub Adventure #19: 6th and 7th Grade Art in the Bronx

Today's adventure had me doing a little of everything. First, I was proctoring for a student with extended time accommodations. The student had three hours to take the exam, but finished in two. So, I spent most of the morning twiddling my thumbs.

Then, I had two art classes (7th grade, then 6th). The 7th graders were pretty well behaved, but the 6th graders were out of control. They spent the period yelling their little heads off. At the end of the period, I stood by the door and dismissed them by table and only if their table was completely clear of colored pencils and paper.  Lastly, I had a math intervention class with a co-teacher. We spent the first half of the period going over ratios and the second half playing chess. I played against a student, but it's been years since I tried learning how to play chess so I was extremely rusty with the rules. I actually forgot that you could get a piece back if you got to the other side of the board! That could have been useful.

That's all folks.

Until next time,
Fatuma

Project: Personal Common Core ELA Standards Document

I know that my next post was supposed to be about my decision to join Teach for America, but as we educators are acutely aware of--plans change. =)


Instead, let's chitchat a bit about the common core.

As someone who recently graduated, I was introduced to the common core standards before entering the classroom. (Thank God.) While I've studied them to a certain extent, I recently made a new discovery that I hadn't noticed before.

In the past whenever I looked at the common core standards, I looked at it from a grade-specific viewpoint. Choosing the grade I needed and looking at all (or some) of the standards for that grade. However, a few months ago I thought to myself: If the purpose of the common core is to prepare students from K-12 for college, how do the standards become increasingly more difficult as students progress through the grades? So, I sat down, chose a single standard and looked at it from K-12. I was stunned by how much sense the progressive made. The common core standards do clearly show how students should increasingly develop particular skills. I got to thinking some more. How can this new discovery help me and other teachers?

By understanding what is new in terms of skills for each grade level, it makes it easier to discern students' grade levels (in terms of the common core) and how to get them to grade level. It also makes clearer for teachers what skills from the previous year they will be building on in the current school year. This inspired me to create a new document that would present this progression of the skills more easily. While it's still a work in progress, here's a glimpse of the first reading standard for grades 6-12.

As you can see, it's the same anchor skill, but students are expected to utilize the skill in a more sophisticated way each year (see italics). Students progress from simply stating evidence, to evaluating evidence, and evaluating text.

Some questions still remain for me in regards to the supposedly increasing difficulty of what's expected of students.

• In what way(s) does textual evidence that "most strongly" supports an analysis (Grade 8) differ from simply citing "strong and thorough" textual evidence (Grades 9-12)? While in grade 8, the student is evaluating which piece of evidence is the strongest, who is deciding that a piece of evidence is "strong and thorough" in the high school grades? The student or the teacher?
• Why are grades 9-10 and 11-12 lumped up together? I've always wondered at this. Do they expect it to take two years to master these particular skills? 

I just wanted to quickly share some of my thoughts and I started working on this document tonight. I'll post the full document when I finish.

Laters Gators,
Fatuma

Sub Adventure #18: 9th and 10th Grade Art in the Bronx

Thursday's adventure was one of the best that I've had yet. It was the first day of a four-day assignment as I'm covering for a teacher who is attending an art education conference in California (lucky her!).

There was a bit of a hiccup when I arrived because apparently the school put in the order for a sub twice and School Professionals sent two subs. Fortunately, I was the one who got to stay and he other guy went home.

I met the teacher who was leaving later in the day. She left excellent plans and made sure I was prepared before she left at 2:30. The last two periods I had after were great. The students were mostly on task and cooperative, except for a few. I put on some Adele and joined the students by beginning the same art project. (Not only was it fun, but it helped me to better help students who were having trouble because I understood it myself.)

After the school ended I faced a dilemma. I had an open house at a charter school that I'm very interested in and I had two options.
A. I could go straight there and arrive an hour and a half early.
B. I could run home, chill for 30 minutes, and arrive on time.

I chose option two. Big Mistake. It took longer than expected to arrive home and I only had enough time to toss my shoes (I had changed shoes because my wimpy feet were paining me) and uneaten lunch onto the table. "Hi Mommy, bye Mommy," and I was back out the door and running for the next scheduled train.

By the time, I came home at 9pm, I was exhausted. I think it was worth it as I was able to leave my name and inform them that I was a 2014 TFA corp member and requested that my resume be sent to their school. The recruitment person assured me she would discuss with her boss whether a particular TFA member could be requested for interview. Score!

Have I told you guys about my joining Teach for America? No? Well, look out for the next post. I'll be sure to tell you the story.

Til then,
Fatuma

Sub Adventure #17: 7th Grade Math & 11th Grade English in the Bronx

As you can possibly deduce from the title of this post, today's adventure was a crazy one, putting me in both a middle school and high school.

Everything started perfectly enough with a shorter day schedule at a school where I had previous subbed. The first period, I was free. Things took a turn for the worst during second period. Apparently, the 7th graders were scheduled to go on a movie trip. However, the HS principal decided that they should go later in the day so as not to miss important classes. Unfortunately, none of the teachers (including the teacher I was subbing for) had plans. Add in the fact that I was subbing for a sub who didn't have a set curriculum in place, the students didn't have a math textbook, and many of them left their books at home thinking that they wouldn't need them, I was a little lost as to what to do. I did have a game planned (SNAKE), but I was unable to get the students' cooperation as they were already in the "triptriptrip" mind frame and there was no going back. I had to call for reinforcement who helped straighten everything out. This meant switching me with another sub in the high school. So, off I went to cover a high school English class. Thankfully, this teacher left very clear plans and there were no other issues.

Tomorrow, I'm off to start a four day assignment substituting for high school art at the same school from Sub Adventure #4.

Sub Adventure #16 - 11th and 12th grade History in the Bronx

This was one of my easiest, most laid back adventures. 1) I've been to this school before so the usual anxiety wasn't present. 2) The teacher left clear plans. 3) 90% of the juniors were gone on a college trip. I had about 25 students altogether in five periods. 4) Students simply worked independently on a project as I supervised and wrote blog post drafts.

Other items of note:
- I should have eaten more than yogurt for breakfast. The teacher I was covering (poor guy) teaches four periods straight after a 1st period prep. I was starving by 6th period lunch.
- The seniors were a hoot. They were reliving/retelling some while night they had. The bits and pieces I heard worried me and I told them so. (A man with a pitbull, a random building, a person trapped, a life saved, a bag of Cheetos eaten, jelly beans eaten, and an arrest.)
- I dunno how I feel about one of the female seniors saying that I'm so "cute" after Chatting with them a bit about my Nerd status and non-participation in Pace party life.

Well that's that. Don't know where I'll be tomorrow. No assignment as of yet.

Til the next adventure,
Fatuma

TCRWP 86th Saturday Reunion Part 1: Ideas and Quotes Worth Mulling Over

The TCRWP's Saturday Reunion began with education historian, Diane Ravitch, as the featured speaker. Titled, Rescuing Education, her presentation focused on the issues in education from teacher ratings to the constant reforms.

While Ravitch shared insightful information about the abysmal state of education in the United States, her speech came across as sometimes harsh and unyielding. She made strong comments about Teach for America and first year students that instinctively put my back up. Though her conclusions were based on research, she didn't follow up with the positive sides, leaving both populations potentially offended.

#ThatAwkwardMoment when you're listening to a speaker denounce TFA and you're considering accepting their offer.

#ThatSecondAwkwardMoment when the speaker claims that (according to research), first year teachers are so poorly trained that they actually harm students and you've only been certified for 45 days.

Nuggets of Enlightenment from Ravitch:

• The common core violates the requirements for writing standards as laid down by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Read more about Ravitch's ideas on this here.
• Reformers are trying to create a universal outlet for learning, but "students are not appliances to be plugged in and teaching cannot be standardized. Just let us teach!"
• Standardized tests have no diagnostic value as they only measure the achievement gap, instead of actually close it.

Ravitch suggests that:

1. Teacher-made exams replace standardized tests to increase diagnostic value.
2. Standards be made more user/student/teacher friendly and are constantly reviewed and revised as necessary.
3. Teachers should teach what they love. The choice should lie with the teachers, not "them."
4. Create authentic assessments that test real-world skills.

After the opening presentation, hundreds of teachers made a mad dash for the Session I workshop of their choice. A full workshop meant another dash to your next choice. It was both exhilarating and terrifying.

I strategically chose Mary Ehrenworth's workshop, The Project's Latest Thinking on Essay Writing, as it was in the same room as Ravitch's. Ehrenworth began with defining the illustrious essay. Back in the day, the essay was a space for writers to come to new understanding about a topic. As such, the thesis was often towards the end or even only implied. However, our concept of the essay has changed. Now, essays are meant to inform express opinion, persuade, or present an argument.

It's clear that there is a need for strengthening student writing, especially when it comes to essay writing. In her workshop, Ehrenworth shares a few strategies for raising the level of essay writing in schools.

See the Strategies part of this TCRWP series here.

For Session II, I found myself in another writing workshop with Ms. Ehrenworth. In Increasing Cohesion or Transference, the focus was ensuring the skills/knowledge from previous grades are enforced and strengthened in the next. Click the link above to see the strategies for this workshop as well.

Espana, Center.

I was especially excited for session III, as I looked forward to Carla Espana's Ten Culturally Relevant Read Alouds. This workshop was mostly a list of resources and suggestions for how to use them in the classroom. See the Resources part of this TCRWP series for a list of books here.

However, Espana began with presenting the positives of using culturally relevant texts in the classroom:

• increase reading proficiency
• increase engagement
• connection to students' cultural background knowledge/schemas
• actively moving beyond tolerance to affirmation, solidarity, and critique of diverse cultures

I burned more calories trying to get to Gerrit Jones-Rooy's workshop on Engaging the Disengaged than to the previous three workshops combined. I was able to easily find the right building, but I could not find the stairway that would take me up to the second floor! When I did eventually find it, it was purely accidental and I thanked my lucky stars.

So, this workshop presented some great strategies for getting students engaged with reading. Nothing breaks a Book Nerd's heart into tiny pieces faster than a child saying, "I hate reading." *clenches chest* Just. typing. those. words. . . . so painful.

According to Jones-Rooy, the issues that need to be tacked are:

1. Readers' understanding of what reading actually is and the distinction between dormant and resistant readers.
2. Fostering a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset.

In addition, what we must believe and understand are that:

• "Reading is boring" actually means "I need help with this."
• Engaging students in lessons, read alouds, and fluency should be the #1 priority.
• Middle school students (and high school as well) care more about what their friends think than what their teachers think. (Use to your advantage, baby!)
• Textual lineages allow students to be hooked into reading by their interests. As Ehrenworth mentioned in her Increasing Cohesion and Transference workshop, "all children are secret geeks about something."

See strategies for how to present reading and books in a positive light from Day 1 here.

 The closing for the TCRWP Saturday Reunion was presented by the hilarious Kathy Collins, who Some Musings About What Matters Most When Most Everything is High Priority.

shared

The Musings:

• Refer to students as the children (or teenagers) that they are. This keeps teaching personal as "we may do things to students that we wouldn't do to children."
• The DOE broke up with us. What do you do when someone breaks up with you? You cry, scream, or eat ice cream, but then you start working past it, remembering what's important. Teachers need to move pass each reform/change and remember what's important--the children.
• It's "easy to feel bad and inferior," but focus on the simplicities of teaching.
• Simple Dreams for Children:
• Children will be strong readers who love to, choose to, and share reading.
• Children will have wide-ranging reading appetites and highly functional reading habits.
• Children will believe that when they give something to a text, they get something back. "Let the text inspire you to say, think, feel something you never said, thought, felt before."

The Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project's 86th Saturday Reunion was an amazing experiencing and I learned so much. I'm looking forward to the 87th reunion next Fall.

Read Part 2 and Part 3 of this series for strategies and resources.

Attending the 86th TCWRP Saturday Reunion

I first heard of the Columbia Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project Saturday Reunions from a fellow teacher-in-training's Facebook status. As she had posted from the Teachers College at the time, it'd been too late for me to have attended the Fall reunion, but that same day, I added the date of the Spring reunion into my calendar. In October/ November.

So, you could say I was really looking forward to today's event and all of the possible workshops. Yet, I contemplated not going because I was so exhausted from a full week of substitute teaching and the thought of waking up early on a Saturday made me question my sanity. However, I knew I would regret not going, so I got my butt up bright and early and off I went.

It was as amazing, actually even more so, than I had expected. I learned so much. More importantly, I came away with clear strategies and resources that I could use in a classroom as early as Monday (if I, you know, had my own classroom). #SmallDetails #Don'tSweatTheSmallStuff

I'm planning a three part blog post regarding the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project Saturday Reunion.

Part 1: Ideas and Quotes from the Presenters to Mull Over

Part 2: New Strategies to Implement in Any Classroom

Part 3: Recommended Resources

Look for the above posts very soon. Any readers who were at the Reunion, please feel free to connect via commenting or email! 

Ciao,
Fatuma

Sub Adventures #15: High School Health in Washington Heights (Days 2 & 3)

Yesterday, there wasn't much to write about. I arrived on-time, most students were rowdy and didn't complete assigned work, and I became incredibly frustrated.

Today, I reset the tone and mood for the problematic classes. The first two periods were nearly empty as the juniors had left for their three-day college trip. In period one, there were only two students. In period two, there were none! So, I enjoyed an additional impromptu prep period. Period 3, 5, and 6 were my problematic classes (9th and 10th graders). For the past two days, they've been getting away with yelling, throwing paper balls and pens, touching one another, wandering the classroom, and not completing the assigned work. Not today.

I made sure to stand at the front of class, urging students to come in quickly and take a seat. When it was time to begin class, I shut the door and considered those students loitering outside late. I told them to find a seat where they would okay for the next three days because I'm doing a seating chart. Once everyone settled down, I went around and had students write their first and last names down. Knowing someone's name gives you a certain level of power over them. In the case of students, I could now hold students accountable for their behavior. After completing seating chart, I reviewed expected behaviors:

"The way you've been acting for the past two days? Not happening anymore. You guys know exactly what kind of behavior is expected in the classroom and I'm not going to accept anything else. So, no yelling. Cell phones? You know you shouldn't have them out. I don't want to see them or hear them. Keep your hands to yourselves. Stay seated unless you have a purpose for being up. And I don't want to see anything flying across the room. If I see any of this, you won't get a warning, I'll simply write you up and send you to the dean. Now, our task for today . . . "

Sure, there were still students who didn't complete the work, but their behavior was a lot more appropriate. I could now call certain students by name to bring attention to their behavior. And the fact that I knew their names made the students reluctant to misbehave.

By reestablishing my authority in the class and gaining control, I was able to get to know the students a little more and enjoy my time there. I expect the rest of the week to continue just as smoothly as long as I remember that consistency is key.

William Glasser's Control Theory and the Interactive Classroom

I'm currently reading a collection of articles, Managing the Interactive Classroom by Kay Burke, of which the first is "The Key to Improving Schools: An Interview with William Glasser" by Pauline B. Gough.

In this interview with Gough, Glasser explains that the core of disciplinary problems in schools is due to students disbelief in the usefulness of school. Students do not see school as a means to satisfying their needs. This disbelief in schools leads to students being unwilling to work, or misbehavior as students try other means to satisfy needs.

What are those needs? According to Glasser, they're more than the need to survive (most students have their basic needs for survival already met, think Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs). Instead, students have a need for love, power, freedom, and fun.

Glasser's Control Theory holds that people are "internally motivated and driven . . . to try to survive and try to find some love, some power, some fun, and some freedom" (7-8).

Glasser believed that those needs are more naturally met in group environments and in collaborative activities. By encouraging students to work in "learning teams," they feel like important members of a group and are thus more willing to work hard towards a common goal for the success of the group.

What does this mean for teachers?

Our roles change to that of a facilitator. It becomes our job to set up a workspace that makes students want to learn, that cultivates collaboration, and holds students accountable.

Teachers can't make students learn, but they can certainly set things up so that students want to learn.  - Glasser, p. 16

However, simply putting students into groups isn't enough, Glasser warns (18). "What is needed instead is a team assignment, one that can't be completed unless the team works together[,] . . . causes students to want to work together, because they perceive that together they can do a great job, but independently they can do very little" (18).

What are my thoughts on Glasser and the Control Theory?

I believe that there is definite merit in his ideas that students must feel important in order to have vested interest in something. The most eye-opening lesson from this article is that group work alone isn't enough. Teachers need to create group tasks with the goal of eliciting true collaboration between students, in which each member of the group is vital for successful completion of the task. Otherwise, you'll see the usual pitfalls of group work.



Off to think up some true team assignments for an English classroom. Ta-ta!

Sub Adventures #14: High School Health in Washington Heights (Day 1)

Day one of the week-long physical education/health assignment was pretty run-of-the-mill. Nothing too exciting happened. An article about "The Skeletal System" was left for students to read and summarize.

During the first period, the students were mostly concerned with an upcoming three-day college trip for the Juniors, but most of them still completed their work.

Second period had only eight students who started an intense game of "Keep Away" with one student's snackage. I confiscated the snacks in the name of "safe keeping" and returned them to the student at the end of the period.

For third period, there wasn't a lesson left, so I found something in the Health textbook that I felt the students would find interesting and be willing to do: Write a dialogue between two teens in which one wants to get a tattoo and the other explains the health and social risks.

I also had to reallyreallyreallyreally use the potty during third period. The pressure on my bladder was maybe a six on the pain scale. It was the longest 52 minutes of my life.

Things Not Mentioned in Teacher School Disclaimer:

Strategic bathroom breaks are a necessary skill for the effective teacher. Have three morning classes in a row? You may want to hold off on finishing that 16oz coffee. 

The teacher left her computer turned on and logged in. Score! I was able to check my email and begin a draft of this post during my prep.

Public Announcement:

There is a new phenomenon in high schools of students writing their Instagram/Twitter handles on classroom whiteboards.

Until tomorrow's adventure,
Fatuma