Persuasive Writing

This week, my classes have been learning to write persuasive compositions. They're all pretty good, or at least think they are, at getting what they want, so they're falling into this style of thinking/writing quite naturally. Really, I'm super proud of their efforts and improvement and happy to see results of the changes I've made to my writing instruction this year thanks to a super amazing curriculum coach.

I'll be out of the classroom tomorrow and didn't really feel like writing a lesson plan, so I came up with a creative and/or manipulative way to get maximum student effort/output today with minimal effort/output for me this evening. Hence the time to write about said manipulation.

After writing for 90 seconds on three topics [see attachment], attempting to increase words written with each interval [yes, I take a workout mentality into the classroom as well. Exercise for the brain?], I told the students that those three topics would be the 3 key points they would use to write a paragraph persuading me to allow them to have a movie day tomorrow. We worked as a class to develop an organized outline with individualized elaborations, examples and evidence of each key point and then I let them loose to try and persuade me. If the assignment wasn't completed or following our "Persuasive Writing Guidelines" in order to truly convince me they were worthy of the potential and illustrious "Movie Day", they were threatened with working on a 4 page study guide in a 'Buddy Class' instead. Obviously, I was banking on them all completing the assignment correctly because lord knows I didn't want to be typing up this alleged study guide. Fortunately, they were WAY into it, and this assignment resulted in some absolute gems as far as entertainment value. I'll just attach the pictures and let you discover for yourself. See if you can spot which student was experimenting with a thesaurus....I adore adore adores these kids, perfect paragraph structure or not.

You will probably have to enlarge the screen for the full effect....

It's not you, it's me.

A friend of mine called my attention to the fact that my blog postings are, although thoughtful and interesting[thanks Jenn;that was generous!], few and far between. I wish I could excuse this sparsity with being busy, which is partially true, but there are other factors at play which I need to do some work on. Namely, my low supply of intentionality and reflection in my practice. Both of the latter were, almost, the sole purpose of starting this blog to begin with.The other, public forum, side of blogging is just good for accountability and openness; I like being able to share my heart and passion with those close to me. The fact that I don't often blog is actually indicative of the fact that I don't often reflect on where I am at in my motivations for and practice in teaching. We'll leave how it mirrors my ability to be open with those close to me for another day.Now, onto a little introspection...

Last week I was convicted again in my belief that you get back what you put out as far as energy, vibes, what have you, in the classroom. What I had been getting back for a stretch of a couple weeks was a lot of attitude and only a little motivation. Following the belief stated above, you can guess what I had been putting out. Looking back, it has been a go-to pattern of mine to revert into a routine of 'going through the motions' when I feel busy or overwhelmed externally and internally. That's okay I suppose, but I can't expect the same returns as when I am giving 110% and staying connected to the heart of what I want to do in these students' lives. A week ago I found myself feeling frustrated and annoyed that the positive dynamic we (my students and I) had going had seemed literally to have left the building. The sad thing is, I was annoyed with my students first. Blaming them, and honestly, even some of their parents for undesirable behaviors and patterns rather than taking responsibility for the only variable I can actually control in the equation, myself. When I made this mental switch and 'stepped my game up' things almost immediately turned around. I had two of my best teaching days this past Thursday and Friday. This was mostly because I planned lessons and supporting activities intentionally and I took responsibility for making sure that I was providing a positive environment for them to learn in through my words and actions. They deserve that and I'm called to that standard. I'm sure I'll slip many times to come in this area, but hopefully not for weeks at a time again. If my students were aware of this at all, I'd like to apologize to them and say the classic line a bit out of it's usual context: it's not you, it's me.

Christmas in October

The 2010-2011 school year started out with a bang. And by 'bang' I mean being told I wasn't technically qualified/credentialed for my current job and, long story short, I'll be going back to school in Spring 2011 to get my Administrative Credential and M.A. Essentially, this new life plan means that I won't be in the classroom as long as I originally envisioned 4 years ago. This is a bittersweet thought, but lately I've been trying to take teaching (and all things life) one day at a time and enjoy people and moments as they come.

Speaking of enjoying people and moments as they come,here's a really sweet anecdote from today:

The setting was Homework Club in my room, per every Monday-Wednesday from 3:00-4:15. About an hour deep into studying for finals and working on his homework, one
of my students, who is also a foster youth, says to no one in particular, "It feels like Christmas!" I sarcastically replied from across the room, "the 85 degree weather reminds you of Christmas how exactly?" He looked pensive for a moment and then corrected me with, "no, I just think this is how Christmas feels. I feel like I'm at home." He smiled, satisfied with his explanation of declaring Christmas in October, and got back to work while I got to thinking:

This is the type of moment I treasure now, but already miss.Will I be able to create 'Christmas' for students in some capacity when I eventually walk away from the classroom teacher role?

The Gift of Words

Warning: this post is for me. It's for me on those exhausting days when I feel like all my planning, teaching, disciplining,ranting and raving are pointless. It is to remind me of the fact that after a full year of me "all up in their business" my students don't, in fact, hate me.

This post is for me, but I also can't help but want to share it with you.

At the end of last Friday, I was surprised to see a stack of letters on my desk. I think there must have been an assignment to write a thank you letter to a teacher in their gen ed Language Arts class. Their sweet little words brought me the encouragement I needed to motivate me to finish the year well. Plus, they're pretty darn funny.

I transcribed the letters below, with minimal spelling or grammar corrections...

"I am thanking you Mrs.Drummond because you always help me when I need help. You also don't have favorites, you are equal to everyone. And you always don't grade us hard for some of the mistakes on our work that we do. So that's why I am thanking you."
-JW

"Dear Mrs. Drummond, You are the best teacher I ever had because you always know the best thing to do when there is a problem."
-SS

"Thank you for the great things u did for me to be successful in school organization and how to be a good student. Anyways thank u for being my great teacher. bye. PS Happy Mother's Day!"
-DB

"Thank you Mrs. Drummond 4 all the fun this year we had and thanks for your teaching. Mrs. Drummond you will always be my favorite wicked, smart, funny teacher. Thank you and God bless you!"
-CW

"Thank you letter:Mrs. Drummond because she helped me raise my grades and helps me in school. She made school easier for me because she helps me with my homework."
-BT


"Mrs. Drummond is the best math teacher. She helps us and teaches us the fastest and better way. She tries her best for us to pass 7th grade. She is the best teacher that I could ever have. When I am in high school I will not forget the best 7th grade teacher. Mrs. Drummond helps me become a smart person and a better person. She helps me succeed in all my classes."
-NG


"Dear Mrs. Drummond, your the best teacher I had this year. You like to help me and you support me. You helped me when I fall and I love you for being the good teacher you are."
-BF

"To the best teacher in the world: Thank you for being the best teacher in the world. I had a lot of fun in your class. You are always trying to help me with my work. I am going to miss you when I am on summer break. Tell my other teachers that I'm going to miss them too."
-CT

When 10 Percent becomes 30 to 50 Percent...

He wasn't at school this Friday. Three months ago this would have status quo, but today it broke my heart.

J. was placed on my caseload about 3 months ago. When I initially looked at his academic, attendance and behavior record I thought, "this ought to be a doo-sie..." He was attending school only 25% of the time and when he would show up, he was constantly getting kicked out of class for being disruptive. He'd not had a grade higher than an F in years. The first day having J. in my classes, I was pleasantly surprised to meet a polite young man who actually seemed to get some of the lame jokes I throw out during class that normally go over my students' heads.

As the days and weeks went on, I discovered that J.'s home life is an absolute wreck. There really isn't any element of 'home' involved in his life from what I can tell. His mother is on drugs [which,if I questioned, was clarified after meeting to talk with her about getting J. to school on a regular basis] and only comes to the house J. and his sisters live in once in a while. Needless to say, I am the one signing his progress reports for his other classes. There is never less than 10 people in and out of the house on any given day; J. told me he doesn't usually know who they are but assumes they are his mom's "friends". He doesn't have any other family in the area and hasn't been able to make friends as he has moved schools every 4-5 months. Basically, the kid has been on his own in the world with little to no rules, boundaries, limitations or even basic care.

I had the opportunity I'd been waiting and preparing for for the past few years: to intervene and show what it is like to have someone really care and provide structure, rules, discipline, advice and consistency in a student's life who truly NEEDS that. I get to see J. for at least 3 hours a day, which is likely more time than he spends with any adult. I truly poured the next couple of months into pushing J. to do his best in school. We talked about what it takes to be successful and how, for him particularly, education is the key to a brighter future. I'm so proud of him for actually listening to me [at least one of them listens to my daily rants and lectures on life!] and stepping up. The past 4 weeks he has only missed one day of school and has three C's and 2 F's. He tells me, with a little smile on his face, exactly what he did to be more productive and successful each day and I pump him up and encourage him to keep going...

Unfortunately, it turns out that J. has been involved with a couple of older boys(17 and 18) who dropped out of high school and spend their time in all sorts of no good. J. has attention, auditory and visual processing deficits which, by no means excuse him from criminal activity, but definitely make him easily influenced by peers and/or people he perceives as friends. Last week, J. was pulled out of class and questioned by an officer at school who revealed that the police have physical evidence linking J. to at least 5 home break-ins, numerous theft jobs and one arson case. J. was visibly scared and, not surprisingly, admitted to everything he did and gave the officer all the information he requested.

Here is what truly makes my heart ache:
J and a 5th grader working with/for the 17/18 year old were given 5 dollars for breaking into the homes and taking out what they could. I can account for 2-3 dollars of that money each week. J. buys his school supplies from me.When arrested, the older boys told the officer that they could get J. to do whatever they wanted because he had such a messed up family life. I feel like he never had a chance for anything but this; a victim of circumstance and irresponsibility. I can't say that, if I was born into his life, I'd make any better decisions.

J. was told that he would be arrested within a week or so for his crimes and we wondered if he would show up the next day at school. He did, and he had all his homework and makeup work I told him he needed to do. He came everyday this week with the same positive attitude and motivation. Except Friday.

We'll see what comes of this, but I know that no matter what happens I will be at his hearings to show him that I do truly care about him and that he still has a chance to better his life through education. Maybe Juvenile Hall will be a more stable living environment for him. Maybe he will have an awesome teacher who understands his learning differences and sees the kid who wants to succeed that I do. Maybe he'll get his GED there or even get out and finish high school. Maybe he will keep his head up and strive to make something better of his life despite incarceration. Maybe he won't get out and have become yet another learning disabled adult who will be in and out of prison for a lifetime. Maybe. I don't know if I believe that any of those 'maybes' will be true for J. or not, but it can't hurt for him to think that I do.

I found the following statistic on the National Center on Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice:

"Approximately 10 percent of youth are identified as disabled and in need of special education by public school systems nationally. In contrast, 30 to 50 percent of incarcerated youth have disabilities (Casey & Keilitz, 1990; Murphy, 1986). In other words, the prevalence of youth with disabilities is three to five times greater in juvenile corrections than in public school populations. This troubling phenomenon, called overrepresentation or disproportionate representation, occurs most frequently among incarcerated youth with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities (LD), and mild mental retardation (MR) (Rutherford, Bullis, Anderson, & Griller, 2000)."

Let alone a "messed up" family life.

7th grade is just too late for a mentor,counselor or teacher to step into these kids' lives to hopefully prevent things like this from happening. I wish for J., and many others like him, that someone had seem him earlier.

PS. I wish there were more people like Kacie Stratton and places like The Greenhouse in this world.

The Hopes and Fears of All the Years (or at least 2010)

This particular Sunday night is the night before beginning the first class sessions of 2010. Blogging is not something that I do well on a regular basis, but I have always though that it is a way to force growth. I believe that taking time to think and to write helps me to become a better and more self-aware educator. I should do it more often.

Toward the end of every break from teaching, I feel like everything positive and effective I have worked toward/achieved in my classroom is going to crumble. I literally have nightmares that a mutiny will arise, prisoners will be taken, and I will be powerless to stop it. I don't know when or if this fear will ever cease, but for 3 years it has been present every single time. I get a telltale knot in my stomach a few days before school starts, the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving or Christmas, after a relaxing and carefree Spring Break and, to be quite honest, sometimes even after 3 day weekends. I still feel so green and unsure of myself and the way I manage my classroom. No matter what success I've had prior to breaks or in previous years, coming back into that fluorescent arena is downright intimidating to me. I wonder if I'm the only teacher, new or seasoned, who feels this way...

The new year is inherently full of new beginnings and resolutions to change or be better at an element of life. I've been thinking the past week or so about what I want to resolve for the remaining 2009-2010 school year. What I have come up with so far is that I resolve to, 1) be more consistent in the practices I know are effective and 2)to take time to sense and act upon what is more important than being consistent in those practices...That makes sense in my head, but for anyone else who may read this, let me explain:

Addressing Part 1 of my resolution: I know that certain methods of instruction are researched and proved to be effective. I also know that putting in extra time and thought to make lessons engaging and relative is effective for learning. I resolve to teach using methods that people much more experienced than I have tried and proven to be effective, as well as to give 100% of my own enthusiasm in the delivery of my lessons.. .

I know that fair and consistent discipline is also necessary and effective for learning and socialization. Unfortunately, as a product of my people-pleasing and generally non-confrontational personality, I am continually working on being consistent in effectively disciplining my students. Although I have my rules and procedures paired with appropriate consequences, I sometimes fail to follow through with 100% consistency. This results in an unstable and ineffective learning environment; I resolve to (without power-struggle, defensiveness or anger) enact my consequences when necessary and then move forward with instruction.

Part 2 of my resolution is just as [and arguably more] important as being consistent in teaching and disciplining with best practices... There are those times when students pose a question or make a statement that I know/feel is packed with potential for a life lesson. I, oftentimes, keep moving along as to not get behind in my curriculum. Sure, I'll give a sentence or two in response, but continue with my agenda for fear of.. .Well, I'm not sure what the fear is. State Standards? The CST scores for my subgroup? My colleagues' opinions? Personal control issues? I feel my calling is to be an influential part of these students lives for the 2 years I have them. If I don't stop and address the things that will help them to grow and succeed beyond my classroom and academics,do I truly care about the job I've been blessed with? In 2010, I am going to keep my mind and heart open to the potential for life-enriching conversations to happen in my classroom. Maybe we won't get as in depth on a Direct Object lesson, but one student may hear a word he desperately needs about responding to authority figures, the purpose of going to college, how to resist inevitable peer-pressure, why school matters, etc...

My students absolutely deserve these resolutions from me. I'm going to ask them to make resolutions academically, behaviorally and socially tomorrow. I will make sure to tell them mine.