Do You Dare Ask for Student Feedback?

Yesterday, in a quiet moment of inspiration, as my students were presenting their super hero projects and getting a little droopy eyed, I stopped them and asked for feedback.  And not just great postive statements, but things I should change, things I should keep, things thats hould be removed altogether.  We started with the positives; they loved how I didn't make them write a comic book but rather focused it on character and setting.  They loved the creative aspect, the shared writing, and all of the exmples.  And then I asked what they would change.  After one brave student raised their hand and gave me a suggestion of more partner share, then many joined in and added their suggestions.  These suggestions were better than my original ideas!  I sat there 10 minutes of listening and writing, dumbfounded that I hadn't done this for every single project.

When we decide to ask students how they really feel we run the risk of being told that we suck, to use a favorite 5th grade word.  We run the risk of being told we are boring, that the project was uninspired, and that they would never do it to another student.  (You know a project is bad when it is "done" to you).  But we also run the risk of getting better ideas, constructive criticism, and valid points that propel our projects further into student-directed learning, further into deeper knowledge acquisition.  My students took ownership of the project as well as their criticism.  They didn't feel the need to apologize for what they were about to say but  phrased it specifically and unemotionally.  They knew that I knew it wasn't an attack on me.

So do we dare to ask the students for feedback on all their learning?  Do we dare take 10 minutes of our day to ask for suggestions, even if just one in a while?  Do we dare to actually do something with those suggestions because any fool can listen but it takes courage and dedication to do.  My students showed me yesterday that they trust me enough to share their opinions, they know I will take their words to heart and I will actually change what I did.  They know this because I have proved to them what my intentions are.  What a huge success in a 5th grade classroom.  So ask yourself; have I involved my students?  Have I asked for their feedback and opinion? Those that the learning affect the most?  Or am I too scared to do it? 

Thoughts on Professional Development

1. Why do we even call it professional development? Being in education is so much more than just being a professional and development happens continually around us. Perhaps we should call it something different like expanding as an educator or how about just growth? Either professional development smacks of something that can only happent at a set time and is just not true, which leads me to my next point.
2. Why the limitations on what counts as pd? I often learn more spending an hour with my reader or even engaging in a twitter chat. Depending on who you immerse yourself with provocating thoughts abound, as does reflection.  Go into a teacher's lounge and engage in a conversation, I think they have gotten a bad rep unnecessarily.
3. Who says you have to be an expert to conduct pd? I think there are many people in educations that are experts at something, oftentimes, they just do not know it because nobody gave them the title. Go to an edcamp and see how many experts are there, heck, go to a school and be amazed at all the knowledge. We don't need a fancy title to have something valuable to share.
4. Get rid of the limiting agendas. There seems to be a perpetual fear that if administration or whomever is putting on this pd doesn't set an hour-by-hour or question-by-question agenda that all of the time will be worthless. That the conversation happening will only be moaning and procrastination. Maybe sometimes but not all the time, let those involved set the agenda and then trust them; there is far too little trust in education overall.
5. Enough with the crazy buzzwords!  I don't feel like listening to someone discuss what a 21st century learner looks like...hmm 5 foot 2, brown hair with a smile?  Or even how the flipped classroom is going to save education.  Common core standards, differentiation, value-added learning, PBIS and any of the other billions of acronyms hunting us all.  Just give me titles I can understand and a discussion worth participating in.
6. Give me a chance to participate.  Much like our students crave the recognition that their voices matter, so do PD participants.  How else explain the back channels happening at even the tiniest of conferences?  I have been tempted to pass notes even, anything really, to ask  my questions, get some feedback and get the discussion started.
7. Enough with the stories.  Educators love great stories and we all have them.  Our aha moments, that kid that we stayed teaching for, those parents that challenged out assumptions, yep we all have them so let's acknowledge that and move on.  I love a great story over dinner but not the ones without a point and sometimes at PD sessions they just drain time.  
8. Fair enough if you have something to sell but perhaps keep it to the end.  I had the chance to sit through an inspirational speech where the much paid presenter kept starting stories only to never finish them because we could read how it turned out in his book.  Seriously.  If you are sharing a story make it relevant and tell the whole thing.  
9. Do you really need a Powerpoint?  I know it is so cool to bash Powerpoints but I think there is a huge reason for that.  If your message is short, sweet and to the point give me some pictures to go with it, have dancers perform it behind you, or skip it altogether.  Images behind you are a direct competition to your words so pick wisely.
10. Keep it short.  And not just for my attention span, but also because even the most incredible learning opportunities will lose their luster after the message is repeated over 40 minutes.  Shorten your message and open up for conversations, participation or even brainstorming.  

4th Grade do Innovation Day

Once again my students astounded me.  Given the opportunity for a full day to just create and inovate, they showed me that if we truly trust our students, they will be able to manage their time, create an exciting product, and have fun while doing it.  On Monday we did our very first Innovation Day, an idea being integrated in other schools around the globe but originating from companies who call it FedEx Day.

The idea is simple: the students get to pick a project to work on for a full day and it has to be done within that day.  the requirements were minimal:  They have to learn something, they have to produce something, and they have to be able to present it the following day.  We decided as a class too that it would be best if no more than 2 students worked together.

Two weeks prior to the day students were given a brainstorming sheet, supplied by Josh Stumpenhorst and modified for 4th grade.  Immediately the excitement grew.  "A whole day where we get to decide?  That's not what you do in school!"  Some students knew right away what they wanted to study such as Aidan and Erik who were keen to build and research a Celtic castle due to their heritage.  Other students changed their minds almost overcome with the idea that they could do anything they wanted to.  After some conversation even the most excited were able to choose.  They had to outline their process more detailed as the day grew closer and we spoke of how they would proceed Monday morning, finally,  they were ready.


Monday morning I was as excited as my students: would they be able to pull it off? Watching them walking super fast down the hallway told me they were as anxious to get started as I was.  Indeed, right after announcements we jumped into it.  The room quickly erupted in noise and paper, which can be seen right away in our video.  I stepped out of the way and let them work.  As the teacher, the hardest bit of this day was to truly get out of their way!  Instead of me solving problems, they were solving their own, using all of the resources that we have discussed throughout the year.  It was incredible to watch them work together and other own.  Throughout the day students would show me their progress, parents would pop in as well as other teachers.  I live tweeted the event and even some videos.  The kids were so into it they asked to skip recess and lunch.  As the clock wound down and students started mellowing out; I knew that this was a must do event!

So what did we learn, well, students created:

• A huge cardboard model of Big Ben
• A painting of the Golden Gate Bridge
• Scrapbooks from kindergarten to 4th grade
• Snowflakes and their patterns
• A Celtic Fortress
• A board Game called Advance
• A dream house out of Lego'
• A model of the Washington Monument
• A model of the The Pentagon
• A model of the The Capitol
• A T-Rex
• A commercial for Fleels (flats that can be converted into high heels)
• A model of D-Day
• A model of Apollo 11
• A clay model of Big Ben
• Glogsters on favorite basketball players
• A paper zoo
• And many research papers

And what did I learn?

• That staying out of the way is a great thing.
• That trusting your students to create will result in magical things happening.
• That students will use the resources they are taught to use.
• That innovation and creativity is alive and thriving, the problem solving that occurred in my room that day was just incredible.
• And that some students do need help when picking a project to ensure it is enough for the whole day, although that was remedied by adding research components to it.

As the year comes to a close and these incredible 4th graders look more and more like 5th graders, I am thankful that we had this opportunity to learn together.  The students showed me how much they are capable of, how much learning can transform them, and how school should indeed be fun.

My students made a video trying to convince other teachers to do Innovation Day, I think they say it best.

A Lesson from Dora the Explorer

Image taken from Nickelodeon

It appears that when colleges panic or run out of ideas of how to teach, they take their cue straight from Dora the Explorer when it comes to teaching people how to teach.  I reached this conclusion at about 5:30 AM this morning as my daughter insisted on watching another episode.  You see, bear with me here, but Dora asks her audience for participation - my daughter does not participate, so silence fills the void.  Dora then asks for affirmation in her answer, still silence, sometimes "right" squeaks from my two-year old.  Classic call and response.  Isn't this the same approach we are first taught in college when we learn how to be effective teachers; ask a  question, then reaffirm the answer?  So what's the problem, after all, Dora is successful?  Well, when you ask a very simple question, you receive simple answers.  And sure many colleges flaunt Blooms Taxonomy and points to it for inspiration, but day-to-day how many of us really reach deeper level thinking?

Instead we ask the simple questions, not quite yes or no, but close, and then when we perhaps do receive an answer we reaffirm by restating, and then we feel great.  Look at how much they are learning!  Now Dora can be excused in this matter, after all her target audience is 2 to 3 year olds who are just learning the language.  We cannot.  We are meant to ask questions that do not always appear straightforward; clear yes, but not always with an easy answer.  One of my biggest challenges has been to kick myself out of easy question land and and instead answer most questions with another question.  Dora never does that, she waits patiently the appropriate wait time (2 seconds roughly) and then squeaks "right?"  My daughter patiently waits for the action to continue, she is trained to know that at some point Dora will speak again.  Our students know that we too will fill the silence, if they stay quiet or passive long enough, we will take over and give them all of the answers.

If we do not heighten our questioning skills in the classroom, we create an audience of learners.  One child may be brave enough to answer our question, yet the others remain passive, knowing that either way, the answer will be given to them.  What if we didn't provide the answer?  What if we stopped talking?  Instead offering up deeper-level questions and when we don't have any, turn the table.  Which questions do the students have?  Could we move our classrooms away from call-and-response, reaffirmation, or even just mere audience participation?  Could we make our students engage by simply changing our own engagement?

Who knew, Dora had such deep lessons embedded. 

An Opportunity for Discussion

Friday is Op.Ed. day in my room and I savor this chance to ask my students some of the questions I discuss with fellow teachers. Yesterday's was "Should students have a say in what they have to learn about." To see all of their answers, head over to our kidblog. After 15 minutes of writing I asked students to share and this is where the magic happened. Several students shared and then someone blurted out a question. Nervously, they glanced at me to see if I would stop or reprimand them. I kept quiet. Question was answered by another student, and a new one came. Again glances were shot my way; I remained quiet. Well, that really got them going.

For ten minutes I sat back and let my students discuss. The kids got out of their seats, used arm gestures to underscore points, and formed smaller clusters of talking groups. Their enthusiasm was contagious and a huge smile spread across my face. This is what we try to teach our students; how to discuss, how to form opinions, and how to respond properly in a conversation. I did not teach them this, I only gave them the opportunity to engage one another.

As a teacher, I have to equip my students with life skills and those include how to have a proper discussion. I stopped the class only because they went back into kid territory of getting upset with each other. This, though, was also a learning opportunity; how do you politely disagree? How do you carry on a large group discussion? My students quickly realized that one major rule was to not interrupt each other, something I have asked for all year. And yet now they got it. They figured out the why themselves and that will always be my favorite way for them to learn.

Sometimes it is not about what we teach but the opportunities we provide. The opportunities are what matter.

Hold Your Tongue - Why Feedback has to be Time Appropriate

    Today, as we practiced writing our weekend webs, the students had to focus on writing a catchy first sentence.  It all ties in with our major writing goals of better word choice and yet was still met with groans and eye rolls.  “But that’s hard, Mrs. Ripp” was expressed repeatedly.  “Absolutely,” I said, “And that is why we have to practice it.”  

 

After the 15 minutes of writing were up, I had students share just their opening sentence with the rest of the class.  As we went through each sentence, I stayed quiet beside the occasional “Nice” that slipped out.  These sentences were not created equal by any means.  Some were catchy, exciting, inviting and others were just ho-hum.  In the past, I would have given my honest opinion at each sentence, and yet today I held my tongue.  Instead of sharing my opinion to each individual, I asked the students whether they heard a difference in sentence quality.  All of them agreed and some even ventured that there were certain stories they would love to read right away.  A discussion then broke out as to the purpose of that first sentence.  Was it to explain everything such as “This Saturday, I went to the carnival” or was it to entice the reader?  This discussion would not have happened had I greeted each sentence with a comment.  Instead, I would have had some deflated students, unsure of what their next step should be.

Public criticism disguised as feedback is always something I avoid.  Not because I feel students should not be aware of what their goals are, in fact, we discuss this quite often in my classroom, but rather the public part of it.  Of course, there are times when public discussion does happen such as addressing inappropriate behaviors, or when the whole class is trying to learn from each other in a more deliberate way.  Just stating though that student’s work isn’t their best, is simply not doing them any good.  In this instance, I would not have had time to properly discuss ways to change their sentence, and I knew that some students would figure out theirs was not as strong if they simply heard the other ones that were.  So I am learning to be quiet, to be more deliberate in my delivery of learning, and to sometimes forgo it all together.

Feedback is one of our strongest tools but can also be one of our more damaging ones if handled inappropriately.  While you can easily build a child up by publicly praising their work, one misplaced comment can undo months of confidence as a writer, reader or student.  This goes for disingenuous praise as well; children will see right through it if you don’t mean it.  So as I continue to grow alongside my students I try to keep it simple, earnest, and meaningful.  Saying “good job” might work at that specific moment in time but the students learn nothing from it.  Just as saying “That wasn’t a great sentence” delivers no learning opportunity, we must be willful and deliberate in our words.  How do you handle feedback in your classroom?  What are you stopping doing?  Am I the only one on this word choice journey?

Dear 4 1/2 Graders

Dear 4 1/2 graders,
Boy, where has the year gone? This last week has given me some time to think about the goals, the learning, the excitement and the end of fourth grade. So as I prepare for our next units, knowing there is half a year left, knowing we have so much learning to do, knowing that we have so much growing to do, I get excited. The path we are on. this year is incredible, the learning journey eventful, and sometimes even a little bit magical. So as we inch closer to fifth grade, I hope we

Slow down to relish the everyday magic. It is ok to get excited when you solve something on your own or do that great work. Let's share, let's celebrate, after all, learning is meant to be wondrous.

Struggle together. Let's look for answers, questions our assumptions, and even question each other (especially the teacher!).

Reach out. The world is our classroom so let's invite others in and do our share to be global citizens. Think of how rich our lives a now because of our blogging and projects.

Believe! Let's believe more in our own brains, creativity, problem solving skills, and most of all each other. Ask others for help when needed but don't forget to ask yourself first.

Create. I am only a teacher, not the inventor of everything interesting. So create learning possibilities for yourself as well as we continue learning in our room.

Set goals - and then exceed them. We must continue to strive for better but also not be satisfied when we reach that goal. Push yourself when it makes sense.

Smile, laugh, giggle and have fun. School is meant to be somewhere fabulous where magical things happen, let's continue to make learning fun.

I cannot wait to see you on Monday.

Love,
Mrs. Ripp

Anyone Can Learn - Aviva's Aha Moment

This week's Aha Moment is shared by Aviva Dunsiger, also known on Twitter as @grade1, and she is a a Grade 1 teacher in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. She is an active member of my PLN who helps many teachers both new and old. She taught Kindergarten for eight years before making the move to Grade 1. Aviva loves using various Web 2.0 tools in her classroom to make learning more meaningful for students. As she says: Through my Grade 1 Website, Grade 1 Blog, Professional Blog, and Student Blogs, I share my own learning with others, and my students share their learning too. Many thanks to Pernille Ripp (@4thGrdTeach) for asking me to do the Guest Blog Post this week. I’m excited to share my Aha Moment with all of you!

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to teach. When I was in Kindergarten and Grade 1, I used to pretend to play school, and I even wrote my lessons on the wall. There’s a house somewhere in Thornhill, Ontario that still has my Process Writing Lesson on the wall underneath numerous coats of paint.:)

School never came easily for me though, and while I always worked hard, I never seemed to make the grade. In Grade 2, I had a Psych Assessment done, and I found out that I had a non-verbal learning disability. I will never forgot the feedback from that Psych Assessment: I was told that due to the severity of my learning disability, I would always struggle with school, and I would be lucky if I even made it to college. In other words, forget about university, and forget about my dreams of becoming a teacher. I was devastated!

Looking back now, I guess that I could have given up at that point. I never did though. Despite having a really significant learning disability, I also had some really significant strengths. I learned how to capitalize on those strengths. My mom and step-dad helped teach me strategies to be successful in the classroom and to advocate for myself so that I got the accommodations that I needed to be successful too. I always spent double the amount of time on the homework as my peers, and in certain subjects, like geography, the lessons would often lead to tears and frustration, but I never gave up. I wanted to teach!

Thanks to self-advocacy, amazing support from home, and strategies that really worked, I ended up graduating from high-school on the honour roll, and I even got a scholarship to university. It was when I got the phone call from the President of Nipissing University offering me a Presidential Scholarship and a place in the Bachelor of Arts and Introduction to Teaching Program, that I had my Aha Moment: anyone can learn! As teachers, we just need to find a way to ensure that all students do learn. I cannot thank my wonderful teachers enough: they didn’t give up on me, and as a result, I never gave up on myself.

This is my tenth year teaching, and every year, I get a new group of students and a new opportunity to make a difference. My own experience has taught me that we can never give up on our students, and that we need to find a way to ensure that all of them succeed. At the bottom of all of my e-mails, I have this signature: “If they don’t learn the way you teach, teach the way they learn.” I am thankful for the teachers that did just this for me, and I will always do this for my students too!

No, I Didn't Survive...

This week, I saw a few posts on blogs talking about how they survived the first week of school.  As some of you may know, this bothers me greatly.  I did not survive my first week, I thrived in it.  Some may call me relentlessly optimistic or just plain annoying but the truth is that I love my job.  I have been planning all summer for this first "real" week of school and it did not let me down.  So here is what I "survived" this week:

• A student with autism who mostly speaks repetitive sentences telling me he loved me.
• A student, who was in my 4th grade class last year, returning to be in my combination room this year after having been in 2 other school already this year.
• A 5th grader in my room who last year asked for help every 5 minutes, not asking for help, but instead trying it himself and lighting up at his success.
• 27 students who didn't really know each other create their own Animoto for their parents to see their hopes and wishes for my room.
• 25 hands in the air all wanting to model the incorrect way of how to read to self.
• A shy boy with little math success last year, raising his hand 3 times during math class and getting it right.
• A 4th grade girl, who moved to our school after a person got shot on her block, subtracting 35 from 71 in her head.
• 3 students telling me that so far I was not a disappointment and that I was their favorite teacher ever.
• 2 parents emailing me that they do not care that I have 27 students in my room, they are not part of the petition to get another teacher added to my school to alleviate our high classroom sizes, since they believe in what I am doing.
• Another student with autism letting me in a little by cracking his first joke to me.
• Students letting down their guard and reaching out to new people even if they are not the same age.
• Students asking me to please not tell their parents that Double Bubble Gum's flavor only lasts 4 minutes, thus making it the worst investment when buying bubble gum.
• The students getting so excited about the Global Read Aloud project and studying the maps that we will mark when we connect with someone.

So no I did not survive the first week of school, I lived it to the fullest, eagerly anticipating many more days with these incredible kids.  Did you?

Oh You Lifelong Learners...

As I browse through people's Twitter bio's, one word that catches my eye over and over is the designation of being a lifelong leaner.  As my school's mission was revealed we as educators are supposed to create lifelong learners.  And while yes, I would consider myself someone who aspires to be a lifelong learner, it is not something I am, yet...

You see, in my view, a lifelong learner is someone who has lived their whole life learning, and while I have learned most of my life, I have not finished living or learning.  This may be just an attack on semantics but the title bothers me when I am supposed to create lifelong learners in my classroom.  I am there to create learners, in fact my mission is to make sure that my students still love learning by the time they leave my room.  So I suppose my goal is to create year-long learners and hope that every year someone will make it their goal to create year-long learners, as well,  We cannot create lifelong learners, students must start on that journey through their own desire to learn and continue learning, no matter the teacher or lessons being presented.  What we can do, though, is to not destroy the love of learning they bring into our room on the first day of school.

So make it your mission to continue to let them love school, love the lessons, the explorations, the challenges and even the teacher.  Let them love the friends, the questions, the failures.  Let them know that we learn through mistakes, that we learn by being curious and that most of all we must learn to evolve.  If that means that one day my students will say they are a lifelong learner then mission accomplished, however, I cannot create that in one year no matter my passion, no matter my drive, no matter my urgency.  Yet a year-long learner that I can do and I promise to not ruin the love of learning, no matter the costs, no matter the hardship.  Can you promise the same?

Dear New Mrs. Ripp Student

Tomorrow is our first day together and even though we teachers benefit from our vacation almost as much as you do, we also spend a lot of time preparing and waiting anxiously for you to come back to us.  This year was no different for me, except if at all possible, I was even more excited to have you come back.  You see, we are a combination classroom.  A bunch of 4th and 5th graders thrown together, it is now us against the world no matter our age or our grade; we belong.  And while others may look at us differently or ask you a lot of questions, know that I like that we are different.  I like that we have different ages in our room.  I like that we cannot be classified as just a regular classroom.  I like that I have to think about what I teach and not just say one grade level.  I really like that we have kids with a lot of different abilities and talents that will learn form each other. 

Just like you, I have to learn too and so this summer that is what I did.  I learned that Thea loves it when you read the same book over and over, especially the one about Fergus the dog.  I learned that my husband really likes it when I just sit and read next to him or when I recommend books for him.  I learned that my 95 year old grandfather in Denmark thinks that my daughter is just about the best thing that has ever happened to this family (I agree).  I learned that my little brother will be shipped to Afghanistan in January and that I worry about him now already.  I learned that a dog's heavy breathing will indeed keep you up at night, especially when that dog is 100 pounds and tries to snuggle with you next to your bed.  I learned that books are not always good just because a  lot of people have read them.  Did you know it is okay to not finish a book - crazy, right?  I learned that thousands of educators are on Twitter just waiting for you to ask them a question.  I learned that blogging and writing about your thoughts can be a great way to inspire and learn from others.  I learned that Chinese food doesn't have to taste bad.  I also learned that Madison is one of the best cities for little kids; oh the adventures we have had.   I learned that no elementary student should be given an F because as long as they are learning they are not failing.  I learned that technology can both give you time and steal it away.  I learned that no matter how many times you do an orientation day you will always have jitters, nerves and never feel prepared enough.  I also learned that the excitement for the first day of school only builds, never diminishes.  I learned that i have many more things to learn.

So whether you have had me before or have no idea who this crazy teacher is; welcome, I am so excited you are here.  I hope we will learn together.

What I Wish I had Known My First Year

Another school year is about to start and I am bursting at the seam with new ideas for better learning in my room.  I look back on the two short years I have taught and think of how far I have come already, imagining what I will look back upon in 20 years.  I see success and I see failures and it leads me to think of what I would have done differently had I known what I know now.

• I would have questioned grades sooner rather than working so hard on averages only to change my mind come report card time.
• I would have learn to reach out faster to co-workers and particularly veteran teachers that could have steered me in the right direction many times.
• I would have given up the notion that I must know what I am doing at all times.
• I would have given up on the teacher lectures and let the students talk more.
• I would have embraced the noise more rather than futively signaling for quiet - who learns in total silence anyway?
• I would have pulled down the awesome board and declared all of my students to be awesome each and every day.
• I would have realized that it is ok to feel overwhelmed and it is ok to not take a huge pile of work home with me once in a while.
• I would have realized that great learning doesn't always come from all worksheets or even written work.
• I would have let students work on enrichment if they had mastered a concept, why beat them over the head with it?
• I would have given myself a holiday from being perfect.

I would NOT have changed:

• The incredible passion I feel for my job every day
• The deep love of my students and their whole being
• The way I connect with students through sharing our lives together
• The ability to try new ideas and also know when they suck
• The reflecting over my failures (but I would have let go of the useless beating up of myself over them)
• The amazing feeling of responsibility and awe I have over being placed in charge of kids
• The belief that i can change the world through these kids
• The love, the love, the love

Happy first days to everyone

Who Wants to Teach "Those" Students?

I became a teacher because I believed that all students could learn.  I believed that children have a purpose in life; that all children do not start out mad or confused, or hopeless.  I continued being a teacher because children proved to me that they wanted to learn, be happy, have a better life, and they they did not mean it personally when they acted out.  And yet, as I read articles like the one posted in the LA Times today (via @LarryFerlazzo), I wonder how many young people entering college will want to become a teacher; a believer in all children.

America's education policy is a numbers obsessed community.  We rank our students comparatively so that proper interventions can be given, we dole out pointless letter grades based on obscure percentages, we graph, we draw, we list from highest to lowest all in the quest of how to teach with more meaning, more ability, more effectiveness and more adherence.  This number obsession is now targeting teachers through merit pay suggestions, firings based on test scores, rewriting of school wide goals based on  the percentage of yearly growth in academics by individual teachers.  Nowhere is it mentioned where students started at the beginning of the year, what happened during the year, or any other factors that may have a play in how a child (and teacher) performs.  After all, how many of us have ever failed a test simply because we did not get enough sleep or had something else on our mind?  To use those test scores as the sole basis of observation of someones teaching skills is an injustice that we cannot afford to let pass.

I am not saying that there aren't poor teachers out there, of course there are.  However, we all know many educators that are passionate about their job and passionate about their children.  Because that's what they are; our kids.  We take them all; the hungry, the poor, the talented, the needy, the angry, the hopeless, the mutes, the ghost kids that are there one day and gone the next.  We invite them all into our room, into our lives and we do our best in teaching them something, even if it just means teaching them that ours is a room they can feel safe in.  And that is why I became a teacher; to invite them into my family, to show them all that someone cares about them, even if they have an overabundance of people who support and cherish them.

So as merit pay is discussed and jobs are cut because of test scores, I wonder; who will teach "those" kids?  The ones with the files as thick as a Harry Potter book, the ones everyone knows even if they have not taught them. the ones with the missing files that never seem to materialize, the ones that leave class to go to doctor's appointments, counseling, therapy, or just never show up.  The ones that so brighten my day, even if they are  there half of the week.  The ones that are forced into an adult role when they are 9, the ones that carry their little sister's backpacks in the hallway and hold their hand when they get on the bus because it is them against the world.  Who will teach those kids when you may lose your job because they did not live up to an inane standard set by a far removed government?  I will...will you?

So You Keep Saying Authentic Learning...

In my last posts, I have thrown out the term "authentic learning" as if it is the new buzzword.  Well, for me it is!  I am sure others have coined this term before me but this is my definition, my revolution in my classroom, my new mantra for the year.

Authentic learning is what I plan on doing in my room this year.  One can argue that all learning is authentic if only applied to the right situation.  My problem therefore lies within my own style of teaching that seems to lack moments of relatability.  Few are those times when I was able to truthfully tell my students that "this skill you will use one day." Why is that?  We are supposed to be the shapers of the future, right?  Everything we do or say in our classrooms should have a bigger purpose.  I agree that there are certain building blocks that do not lend themselves easily to authentic learning, but how do we go from that type of knowledge to packets, dioramas (I really hate dioramas) and longwinded spelling sorts?

I am about to start my 3rd year in my room and I finally feel like I know a little bit about the curriculum.  I know what the goals are and where the students should be at the end of 4th grade.  That allows me to change the journey and the tools we use to get to that point.  So here is what I propose to myself:  Study the goals and then base learning on getting to that goal, not digging up more worksheets to really make it stick.  So, if you want your students to know the difference between a verb and a noun - send them on a scavenger hunt and tell them to film the nouns and verbs they come across.  Students need to learn how to research - research something that they would be interested in.  You need to teach geometric shapes - find them in your school, count their angles, build your own.  Most of all, make it relevant!

I know there will be days where this will simply not be possible, I will hate those days, but recognize them as a necessary evil.  There are certain curriculum areas that I cannot create authentic learning experiences for; difference between a linking and helping verb - still thinking about that one.  The important thing is that I can still fulfill all of my duties as a teacher but do it in a way that I would have loved to have been taught in, and that I hope my students will remember.  I hope to make it meaningful, to help them connect it to their own lives, to help them see what the purpose is and that school is not boring or something to dread.  Am I a fool?  Probably, but at least I am fool with great aspirations for all.

Do you believe in this type of learning?  Can it be done under our standards and requirements?  Will my students benefit or will my parents revolt?   I will spare no details this fall.