If We Would Just Stop Talking We Might Learn Something

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Note: After publishing this post today, its original title "If They Could Just Sit Still They Might Learn Something" didn't seem to fit it anymore.  After all, that title once again puts the blame on the students.  Thus this new title which focuses on where the problem lies; within me.

You know the group of students; those impulsive, blurter-outers that poke each other during class and never quite seem to be listening to what you are doing.  Those kids that are in every class who the more we yell, the less they do.  Those kids I thought I had figured out until recently.  Well those kids have been teaching me quite the lessons lately.  Those kids have reminded me why I changed my teaching style in the first place and now I stand renewed, refocused, and definitely re-humbled.

First lesson; Don't assume they don't know something.  After a few days lessons with some students I kept thinking that their gaps were huge, that their knowledge was lacking, that they had missed out on so much.  Until I started to pay attention.  Then instead of whole concepts missing, I realized there were small misconceptions that needed to be tweaked, things that needed to be defined, items that should be refreshed.  It wasn't that they were missing entire units, rather that some of their remembering was just a little off.

Second lesson; Talking more will not teach them more.  I kept droning on trying to cover everything that I thought they had missed or needed reinforced; is it any wonder that they grew more and more restless?  When raising my voice didn't seem to change the situation, it dawned on me that I needed to stop talking.  Let them work, switch up the task, and stop hogging the lime light.  Have mini projects, get them moving, even use mini whiteboards, anything to make them active.  Switch it up!

Third lesson; Give them time to think.  I was so excited when one student knew the answer that I called on them to be more efficient.  That way we could cover more material since all I was looking for was the answer anyway.  When we take away students' time to think though we rob them of the chance to explore their procedures, to gain confidence, and to learn something.  It is not about the answer, it is about how you get there.

Fourth lesson; Bring back the fun.  Often when faced with students who seem to be struggling with concepts we switch to drill and kill mode.  We take away the "fun" projects because that wont teach them enough.  Unfortunately those projects and hands-on activities are just what we need.  These students have already been taught something the traditional way, now lets think of another way to explore it.  Anything hands-on activity always seems better than just more and more practice.

Fifth lesson; Let them teach.  When a student gets something, let them explain how they did it.  Let them get the confidence they need to speak to a whole group of peers.  Let them boast a little to build confidence.  Don't just tell them, "Good job," let them have their moment because perhaps that hasn't happened very often.

Sixth Lesson; Don't punish.  When students were blurting out and drowning me in side conversation, my brain immediately switched to consequence mode.  Amazing how it still lurks below the surface, ingrained somewhere, even now after almost 2 years with no classroom punishment.  Instead of punishing though, I came up with a solution; a simple post it on their desk.  Now when they blurt out an answer or jab at each other they have to put down a tally mark.  I just make a check motion with my finger and they know, it is between the student and I.  Nothing is done with the amount of tallies, it is simply a way for them to see how much they blurt out.  Several students have already told me after two days of this that they cannot believe they blurt out so much.  Self-awareness beats punishment any day.

When students are loud, out of their seats or simply not focused, we tend to blame the student.  We tend to think that something is wrong with their concentration rather than looking inward and wondering what can we change about ourselves?  What can we change about our delivery?  And while these lessons are not a fix all plan, they are helping me teach these students better.  They are reminding me what it feels like to not understand something and still want to learn.  They are reminding me that I can be boring and dry as a teacher and that it has a direct effect on the students.  Once again, my students taught me something important and for that I am thankful.

Related articles

• 5 Steps to Letting Go and Learning More (mrspripp.blogspot.com)

But How Do You Really Get Rid of Homework and Still Know Where Students Are At?

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One great thing about blogging about what happens in our classroom and to me as a teacher is that I am often asked to clarify how all of this works.  So after my latest post "My Kid iS Drowning in Homework" I received an email from Mr. Feltman asking me some questions.  I figured my answer back might be helpful to others as well, so with his permission here is our communication.

Mr. Feltman wrote;
If you don't mind, I'd like to ask a few questions, that would assist us in this endeavor.

Do you have research or articles backing this up?

What percentage of tests and other activities make up the students grades? (another way to ask is when you switched to "no homework" how was your class grading scale affected?)

How do you assess their mastery of learning (especially poor test takers)?

And here is my answer (emphasis added by me);
I do have research and articles!  A big push for me came from Alfie Kohn's book "The Homework Myth" in which he collects a lot of research about it, and other sources which I have some of here
http://www.diigo.com/list/pgreens/nohomework

I did want to do my research as well so that my principal would back me.

Along with the no homework I am opposed to letter grades, however, my district is not.  So the compromise I have figured out in my room is that students only get letter grades on their trimester report cards, and those  are decided through discussion with me after we have decided as a class what each letter grade means.  The limited homework that does go home is therefore not used to determine grades but rather to determine instruction needs.  So my grading scale was affected in a positive way since students know that if they do work in class and hand it in, we discuss and dissect it and then figure out their needs from there.  There is no final letter-grade assigned to it but rather a common conclusion is given and we determine the path from there.

Tests are part of my formative assessment and students are mostly given a chance to revise and rethink their answers.  I do not want a snapshot of that kid at that time, I want to gauge their overall understanding.  Because the pressure of letter grades (and the finality aspect of a test) has been removed, students also tend to work through assessments much more calmly because they know I am looking for their depth of understanding rather than the pressure to perform right then and there.  This has provided me with a much more comprehensive view of the child's abilities, which in turn I communicate to parents through feedback and observations.

Mastery of learning is shown in many ways.  I always think of what the large goal is or the skill and through conversation or even in-class work I can figure out if they have mastered that skill.  Math tends to be the only area where there is daily work (class time is given for this) but other than that most students are involved in longer projects covering a range of goals from the common core and district standards.

I know giving up homework can seem daunting but once you take the plunge it really isn't that scary.  Sure you will have some parents that do not understand it but if you communicate your intentions clearly; mine are to keep school at school as long as the students work hard, then parents seem to come on board.  Getting rid of homework means I have to be much more on top of class time and what we need to get done with a focus on the larger goals rather than small worksheets where the students just regurgitate information or daily work that could be covered in a long-term project.  


Thank you for the email Mr. Feltman and good luck!

Related articles

• My Kid Is Drowning in Homework - Why Parents Should Be Speaking Up and How (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• 5 Steps to Letting Go and Learning More (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• Gender Bias in Assessment - Even Students Do It, Do You? (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• When Students Speak Do We Even Really Listen? (mrspripp.blogspot.com)

The One Word that Defines Us

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If there is one word that sums up my classroom management it is "Represent."  It is the word I leave hanging in the air behind me if I have to leave early.  It is the word I write on the board if there is a sub the next day.  It is a word we discuss, we make our own, and in some ways it ends up defining us as a group.  It is not indoctrinated, neither are my students punished if they fail to live up to it.  It just becomes a hole system, without us even being aware of it.  No rules posted, no heavy-handed discussions, just the word and all of the meaning it has.

According to the dictionary one of the many meanings of the words is To stand for; symbolize and that is exactly what it means for us. When my students are on their own they still represent the community we have created, they are carriers of the message we have chosen to nourish; tolerance, respect, politeness, and engagement.  When we go anywhere we represent our community, our school's values and those of our parents.  We symbolize what we strive to be, we stand for being upright citizens, humans beings with empathy who know how to act.

Yesterday, a teacher paid me the biggest compliment I could get, "Your students just seem to get it, when they are asked to clean up they do it right away and they do it as a group."  I couldn't be prouder.  They do it as a group, they take care of where they are, even when I am not there.  I don't force the word, it comes up naturally throughout the year and we never define it formally, but it us and it is who we choose to be when we are engaged in school.  It s what we choose to do whether spoken or not.  I could not be prouder of these kids.

I Have Managed

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This year, I have managed

• To go without rewards and still have students work hard
• To go without punishment and still be respected by my students
• To shift the focus from "what's my grade?" to "what are we trying to learn?"
• To have 23 responsible students that are learning to self-advocate
• To not teach to the test, in fact, we really don't do tests but show our knowledge in a  different way
• To teach study skills without boring students to tears
• To share responsibility for the room
• To have hands-on learning and still cover all of the standards
• To see growth in all of my students and even better to have them recognize it themselves
• To have students groan at the end of the day because they don't want to stop their work
• To have students discuss without raising their hand
• To not manage my students but have a classroom where we each know our part and responsibility
• To expand my family by 23 students and change

What have you managed?  How can I help?

Surprise; The Biggest Obstacle in The Classroom Isn't Your Students

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Nor is it what happens to them outside of the classroom... it is you.  Perhaps a simplistic view of the world but think about it for a moment; how much does our mood affect the moods of our students?  How much does our body movement, our choice of words and even our inflection affect those we are surrounded by?  And that doesn't even mention the choices we make as far as how the classroom is run and what type of curriculum we teach.  So while there are many outside factors that do play a significant role in how a student performs in school, the one consistent factor is you and how you choose to be with your students.

Every day you have control over:

• The expression on your face
• The tone of your voice
• The words you use
• Your body  language and its hidden signals
• Who you give attention to
• How you give attention
• How do you get attention
• How much control you cling to
• The respect you give
• How you speak to other people in front of your students
• How disruptions and unexpected events are handled
• How curriculum is taught
• How much choice your students have
• How you handle students who fail to meet expectations
• How you handle students who are distracted
• Anything that has to do with the flow of your classroom

And the list could continue.  Think about all those choices.  Think about the effect each one of them can possibly have on a student and then think of what you can change.  We do have a lot of power.

You Know Those Kids in 5th, They Become Those Kids in 6th...

My 5th grade team met with some of the 6th grade team at the middle school, one of those rare occurrences where everyone's schedule just meshes and you finally get to sit down and discuss expectations.  Hallelujah!  While the whole meeting was a gem to be a part of, one thing that struck me was that the kids who are struggling in elementary are the kids that end up struggling in middle school.  Simple conclusion, yes, but think about the impact of that...

Those kids who have problems handing in work, or don't know how to ask for help, or who sit back and wait for someone else to figure it out, they keep doing it in middle school.  Those kids who don't show up to school, or show up with half of their things, who seem unaffected when we ask where their work is, or why they didn't finish something.  Who horse around, who get in trouble at the blink of an eye, those kids that the whole school seems to know.  Sure ,those kids come to us like that in 5th, much like they came to their teachers in 4th the same way, and yet I wonder; what are we doing to change their habits?

The age old system of losing recess, docking points for late assignments, a stern talking to, parent phone calls, and drill and kill don't seem to be putting these kids on a different path.  Neither does compassion and community, showing that you care and giving them extra time.  We don't seem to be having many eureka moments.  So what can we change?  How can we intervene differently?  How can we stop the cycle?  That's what I left wondering after today.

10 Easy Things You Can Change in Your Classroom Today

Let's be honest, most teachers at the halfway point in the year are feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the great ideas they want to implement.  Our students are grooving, perhaps even getting a little too rambunctious, the routines are in place and yet it seems like there are so many things on our plate.  So I present to you 10 simple things to change to make your life a little easier....

1. Assign jobs.  I have jobs for everything and they change weekly.  My students take attendance, pass back papers, run messages and help pick up the classroom.  They love to help, they know it is expected, and together we take care of our room.  I don't have to hound people to do their jobs, at most I give them a reminder but it is a lot easier for me to say "Do your job" than remind 23 students to sign in every day.
2. Be on a need to know basis.  My students don't need to ask for permission to go to the bathroom or get a drink, just let me know either through a raised hand, a look or a gesture.  Class keeps going, students take care of themselves, everybody is happy.
3. Have extras.  This year has been the needy year for markers and calculators.  Instead of asking whether they can borrow something students just grab whatever they need, put it back when they are done.  If they accidentally take it home, so be it.  I will have to find more then.
4. If you can, plan right away.  After my morning math class my students leave for recess.  I take that opportunity to finish correcting fact tests and plan the next day's lessons.  This works much better for me since what they are secure in or not is fresh in my mind.  The next morning the lesson is ready to go and we are picking up right where we left off, reveiwing, securing and deepening our knowledge.
5. Keep a Google Calendar.  On our classroom blog we have a Google calendar where I put everything related to the classroom as soon as I know.  If I am gone from the classroom, it's on there, if we have a large project due it is on there.  Parents know I update it faithfully and go there to answer their questions regarding upcoming events.  This has cut back on a lot of confusion and questions from everyone, plus I refer to it in later years.
6. In fact, have a classroom blog.  Our blog is our hub of activity; upcoming events, extra project information, pictures, videos - all have a home on our classroom blog.  The students post there sometimes, I post often, and parents have a place where they can go for the information they need.  I showcase it on orientation and encourage them to add it to an RSS feed or get the email updates, this has cut back paper copies by a huge amount.
7. Ask your students.  This has to be my mantra for our classroom.  Winter is here, colds are all around us and I am pregnant - all reasons that lead to less creativity in lesson planning.  Yet my students are still amzingly creative and have no problem sharing their ideas.  The problem lies in that we forget to ask.  So take 10 minutes at the beginning of a lesson and ask them what they would like to explore, what would they like to create and then actually listen to their ideas.  I promise you, you will not be dissapointed.  (And yes it can fit into your standards and goals no problem - those don't dictate the path you take).
8. Dance a little.  This time of year can be rather depressing, particularly with winter in Wisconsin, so to bring in a little bit of fun and a little bit of sun, we take 4 minutes to dance.  The students pick the song (I usually check the lyrics) and then we crank it up.  We get back to work right after with a smile on our face and tensions gone.
9. Ask your papers where they want to go.  I used to have a very strict organizational system that required me to do a lot of thinking of where I put things.  I cannot tell you how much time I spent trying to remember where I had organized something to.  So one summer I decided to let my papers tell me where they wanted to go.  Those places now have trays in them for said papers and everything is in its place.  By letting your subconscious mind create your organizational system, things seems to stay organized.
10. Follow the one minute rule.  I am a procrastinator when it comes to filing or dropping things off.  It seems like I always have something more urgent to do than to take care of whatever I have in my hand.  So now I live by the 1 minute rule; if it can be done in 1 minute, do it right away!  My room is cleaner, my emails are more quickly answered, and I feel on top of things.  I even do this at home, what a difference it makes in a home with a toddler!

So there you are; 10 easy things you can do right now to, indeed, make your life easier.  Do you have mroe to add, please do share.

Why Trusting Your Gut Can Be the Best Classroom Management Course You Ever Take

A year and a half ago, I went through a radical change in the way I am as a teacher. The whole foundation of what my classroom was was discarded and re-born, all on the basis of my gut instinct. It told me that to increase student motivation and increase buy-in that my method of teaching and, indeed, the whole feel of my classroom had to change.  That to see motivation increase and excitement build that the old method I was using was so far away from what I wanted that it simply should not exist anymore. So instead of dismissing what some may have viewed as a crazy whim, unsafe territory if you must, I pursued, I went there and I took the chance of implementing it into my classroom and my unsuspecting students.  

I trusted my instincts and my own desire for how my schooling should have been; projects, team-work, choices.  And now in the second year into this implementation I am the proof that it works.  I am the proof that if you believe in your students, if you believe in their ability to make great choices, to work together as teams rather than as individuals their learning will benefit.  I have students who love coming to school, and not just those 50% that love you no matter what they do.  I have kids that had given up, that believed that they could not succeed, that they were not smart enough to go to school, now tell me that they love coming, that they cannot wait to learn.  That they cannot wait to be challenged.  They may not ace every single assignment but they try and they grown.  They may not get the grades that others get but they participate, they share and they know that their voice is just as important as those who used to be the top-kids, the stars of the room.  They smile, they belong, and they own the community.  School is a place they want to come to, not somewhere they have to go.  

I cannot take credit for all of this because the students trusted me as well.  They trusted me with their dreams of school and of learning.  They trusted me with how they want to learn, how they see themselves as individuals and the paths they want to take.  That speaks a lot of the relationships we have created.  Those children trusted me enough to let me in, and to make our classroom their second home.  So my classroom is the proof that these strategies work, even if you do not know that is what you are doing.  My classroom is the proof that sometimes following your gut is more important than following any college class on classroom management. My classroom is the proof that even though your mentor does it one way, it is ok for you to do it completely different. We can change the way we do school and we can make school all about the children.  We just have to be willing to change ourselves.

Related articles

• The Story of the Child that Changed Me (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• What Would Pernille Do - Some Thoughts on Prescribed Systems in the Classroom (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• How We Became that Room (mrspripp.blogspot.com)

The Story of the Child that Changed Me

If I could go back and undo what I did to a child some years ago I would.  This child, who so desperately needed to feel in control of something in their life, came to me and only got more of the same.  Less control, more demands, more punishment, rather than a safe haven to feel like they was ok, like they belonged, like they were listened to.  They say you learn from your mistakes, and this is one of those kids I have learned from the most.  

    Peter wasn’t always unhappy, as evidenced by the smiling pictures I saw of him from younger years.  By the time he reached the third grade though life had gotten in the way and those smiles were far and few in between. The first time I met him, his mother dragged him into my room late for orientation and started to tell me how I would have a hard time with this one because he was lazy and didn’t care.  I don’t think any child’s shoulders have ever slumped more than that.  As I nodded through his mother’s complaints, I swore that I would be different, that Peter would start to love school again, that I would help turn this kid around.  Looking back, I see now how failed this notion was given the constraints I had placed myself under in my classroom.  I was a novice teacher, someone who still believed that I should run my classroom like those who had come before me, like people I had read about in textbooks, like they had taught me in college.  I believed that the teacher was the power, the one with all of the knowledge, and the best way for students to learn was to listen to me dole out wisdom.  Sure there would be fun, we would have parties and rewards for homework turned in and good behavior.  There would also be punishment for those who misbehaved or dared to not hand in their homework.  Grades would be motivation and threats would be the norm.  Nothing like building a relationship with a child by telling them if they don’t comply they will get an F.

    So Peter put his trust in me and at first I got him to smile, to open up a little, to have some success.  Days passed and I thought I was helping, I was fixing, I was changing this child’s life.  That is, until he didn’t do his homework.  I didn’t take the time to find out why, I didn’t ask any questions, but just told him to put his name on the board and to stay in for recess.  During recess he worked so slowly, punishing me for calling him out in front of the class, that the next day his homework was still not done.  Again, I didn’t ask any questions but just called him out, embarrassing him a little and then told him again that recess would be mine until this math was done.  Again slow and painful work meant that he barely finished.  What I didn’t know was that our power struggle had just begun and it would last the whole year.  Me in the role of enforcer, as supreme teacher that took away instead of gave, that punished rather than asked questions, that wanted more control rather than let him have some.  You see, I think all Peter wanted was control.  He wanted a space where he could come in and feel that he had a voice, that he mattered, that he belonged.  But by removing control from the classroom and even more so for him, I didn’t let him find his voice.  I didn’t let him invest himself into the classroom.  I didn’t change his mind or change his ways about school, I just let him live up to what his mother had so thoroughly predicted; that he was a no good troublemaker.

    Peter made me almost quit teaching because I saw what I had done to him.  I saw by the end of fourth grade how my decisions to run my classroom in a traditional sense had taken all of his pleasure out of learning.  I knew that summer that I had to change and one of the biggest things to go was the passion for control.  Students had to feel they belonged because they had to feel it was their room.  They had to have a genuine voice that listened to their needs and let them shape the classroom.  They had to have room to grow, to fail, and to embrace each other’s strengths through collaboration and hands on exploration.  No more teacher as the sage on the stage, but rather shine the light on the students.  Had I given Peter classroom like the one we create now, he would have had a reason to speak up, to get invested.  He would have loved the choices, how his voice mattered, and how his creative side could be explored.  He would have perhaps taken a small leadership role to show the other kid that he was worthy, to show them that he did belong on the team, he would have cared.

I run my classroom now with the mantra of students first in everything I do.  Their voice matters, their choices matter, and their opinions matter.  I do not punish and I do not reward.  Students work together when we can and always have a choice in how they do things.  They sit wherever they want and we try to eliminate homework.  If you work hard in our room you do not have to bring the work home.  They belong, they own the room, it is theirs and that is what I should have done from the moment I started teaching. I realized it isn’t about me, but about them.  I can never undo what I did to Peter and those other students before him but I can make sure I never do it again.  I have changed my teaching style because of this child and for that I am grateful, even if he will never know how much he influenced me.

How We Became that Room

“...And if you walk into our room you may be surprised at the noise and the mess, but to me that means the students are engaged.”  So ended an elementary teacher’s presentation to my class on classroom management and I was horrified.  Noise?  Mess?  Not this teacher!  I was going to run my classroom like a machine.  Those kids would know routines for everything, even down to when they could sharpen their pencil, and they would love me for it because that was part of my expectations as well.  Equipped with all of my Harry Wong ideas, I was ready to whip these kids into shape and they would be so thankful.  After all, how could anyone possibly learn in noise or out of their desks?  

Now some years later I look around our room and we are that classroom.  The one you can hear coming down the hallway, the one where students are splayed out on the floor, discussing, laughing and gosh golly sharpening their pencils whenever they like.  There are no laminated rule posters hanging on our walls, there are no reminders of how to get their stuff or how to come into the classroom.  There are no sticks to move or stars to give.  Just a classroom being run with the students and by the students.  To the untrained eye it may seem chaotic.  After all students crave routines, even in their classrooms.  But if you look closer, you will notice they are there.  Students get to work and stay focused, they treat each other with respect.  They tell me in the morning when they forgot to do their homework and they ask to work on it during recess or to get it to me the next day.  They have their things organized, they know when I need their attention, and they know how to treat each other.  Behold, the managed classroom without the overt rules.  

I did not start this way, in fact, I am not sure any new teacher should.  As a new teacher it is so important that you discover who you are as a teacher, that you discover your own best practices and then start to question them.  Question the ideas you are taught and see how they fit into your vision.  I was taught that I should post the rules of my classroom so that the students would be continually reminded of what the expectations were.  Except I like clean walls, and I don’t think students need constant reminders.  Down came the posters and my room somehow got uncluttered.  I was taught that I had to be the ultimate authority in the classroom or it would turn into Lord of the Flies, except I found out that by sharing the authority I created autonomous learners that were much more engaged.  I was taught that students would learn better if they were rewarded with stickers or A + but found that we didn’t need the extrinsic motivation if the learning was worth it.  How did I learn all of this?  By watching my students and questioning my own practices and then trying it.  I was terrified the first year I threw out the rules.  When I told my students there would be no rewards and no punishment I thought I would have a riot on my hands, kids who refused to work, homework that would be weeks late, and instead?  No change.   In fact, the kids shrugged, no big deal, they knew they had to get to work.  

So this year I did the unthinkable; I didn’t tell the kids the rules.  I instead asked them what the routines should be and what type of classroom they envisioned.  They discussed without much of my input and that was it.  We didn’t make a poster, we didn’t all pledge to follow the rules, we moved on to more exciting things.  Now students live up  to the they expectations set and they help each other work well in the classroom.  If a day is louder than normal, then I know we need to get out of our desks and I adapt our learning to their moods.  By being clued in to what their behavior is telling me, we have a lot smoother days because I am not trying to squeeze them into my box of expectations.  They are in the truest sense of the word active learning and teaching participants.

So how can you make this work for you?  Start to question what you have been taught.  Question those tips and tricks you were given that didn’t seem natural to you.  Ask yourself how do you learn best and then ask everyone else you meet.  The answers may surprise you.  Ask the students; their voice is the most important one in the room.  Yes, that’s right; their voice, not yours.  Create a space where the students feel comfortable, welcome, and have ownership.  Show them you trust them to make great decisions and then give them an opportunity to do so.  Change your curriculum to fit their needs and get them moving; long periods of stationary work lead to restless bodies which means their minds have long since wandered off.  Have i fit their age; I teach 5th graders so I can expect a lot more autonomy than I can from a roomful of kindergartners, but even our youngest students can own the room.  And most importantly; believe in your students.  Believe that they have buy-in in the room, believe that they care about it, and then give them a learning experience that they actually do want to care about.  Tear down the authority between you and them and give them a chance to prove you wrong.  Give them a chance to show that they can work without the overt rules, that they can set the expectations, that they can rise to the occasion.

Related articles

• Why Have You Not Given Up Rewards Yet? (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• This is My Room - How Controlling Ones Classroom Can Send the Wrong Message (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• Technology Does Not Make the Classroom Succesful- the Teacher Does (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• 10 Ways to Make it "Their" Room (mrspripp.blogspot.com)

The Dangerous Weapons in School, Or When You Remove the Permanent Markers......

Recently, and no I am not making this up, we were asked kindly to confiscate all permanent markers from the students.  It wasn't that there had been a huge problem with students using these to write on things, but there had been a couple of incidents and it was therefore deemed necessary to ban permanent markers in the 5th grade totally.  After all, it is much easier for us to ban things rather than teach appropriate usage.  To say I was perplexed at the approach is an understatement.

So this got me thinking, if we remove the permanent markers, what else should we remove from the students?

• Paper - not only can this create dangerous paper cuts but it can also be used to communicate secret messages or ideas.  Highly subversive stuff if left in the wrong hands, and let's face it, all students hands are wrong.
• Pencils - this master weapon can be used to write these aforementioned dangerous messages, and also if you sharpen it really really well it is a dangerous weapon in itself.  (For more bad usage of pencils duo check out #pencilchat on Twitter - there is some scary stuff there)
• Rulers - ever see a kid spin a ruler on their pencil - 'nuff said.
• Compass - sharp points and the ability to poke things, no more of these.
• Scissors - who allowed this stabbing and scratching tools into the classroom in the first place?  Gigantic bad idea.
• Erasers - these things can be thrown at other people and also used to erase things we want to see such as notes being passed and wrong answers.
• Textbooks - these mammoths of knowledge create backaches for kids, they can be torn apart by devious students and dropped on someone's foot.

The more I think about this more I see the problem here.  These kids are not equipped to handle any of these tools maturely and I am sure there are more out there that need to be banned.  Think of how wonderful this will be; then all the students will have to do in a classroom is listen tot he teacher filling them with knowledge.  Win!

10 Ways to Make it "Their" Room

1. Visualize a flow - do you see students moving around a lot, or will they be more sequestered?  Either way, make sure people can get by each other without any issues arising.
2. Create different spots - I learn best sitting in a comfy chair or sprawled out, as do many of my students.  Some though prefer the rigidity of a desk.  Offer options within your classroom to fit all of their movement needs, which leads me to the next point.
3. Let them use your classroom in whichever manner they see fit, as long as it is within safe reason.  My students don't ask whether they can move, they know that they can, as long as it is not disruptive or unsafe.  I love that they feel like it is their room.
4. Talk about it as our room not your room.  Language matters and how you label the classroom is huge.  Do you have a sign that says welcome to "my" room?  That sends a message.  I still catch myself saying "my" even though I know it is ours.  
5. Have them set the expectations.  We all work better when we decide our working conditions.  I have the students discuss routines and expectations for the year and then we adjust them as necessary.  Again, this is their room, not my room.
6. Un-clutter.  At the elementary level there seems to be a need to cram as much stuff on our walls as possible to help the kids or inspire them.  I chose instead to give them room to create and to only put up things that are vital for our learning at that time.  Our room is by no means bare but it does reflect what we are working on and then provides calm.
7. Get rid of your desk.  I cannot tell you how the energy of my room changed when I did.  I still have a table for my computer and planner but it is against a wall.  The students use when I don't and they also use the computer.  I was worried I wouldn't have a place to put all of my stuff and it turns out I have had to get a lot more organized because of this.
8. Give them space.  Make sure the students feel they have enough room for their things, we just have bins and cubbies but it works for us.  The kids spread out more when they need to but they also clean up after themselves.  I had to let go a bit of how clean the classroom is but have noticed that the kids now take more pride in the room.
9. Stop managing and controlling them. You control animals and manage tasks, not children.  How about guiding or leading them instead? Language matters because it changes your own mindset.  I don't do classroom management, we instead have classroom routines and expectations.  The power of words is immense.
10. Believe in it and prove it.  You cannot talk about their room but then act like you are the queen bee.  It just doesn't work.  So if you truly want students to take ownership of their learning and their room, get out of the way.  Let them experiment with how the tables are set up or where they gather for a lesson.  Let them figure out how it works best for them.  You can direct obviously but have them discuss and try.  

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This is My Room - How Controlling Ones Classroom Can Send the Wrong Message

I used to be the ruler of my universe; my classroom, the queen of the systems.  You need to sharpen your pencil?  There's a system for that.  You need to leave the classroom?  Here is the system for that.  How we walk down the hallway, how we get our jackets and backpacks.  How we act when others come into the classroom, how we borrow books from the library, how we borrow supplies.  Don't answer the phone, don't sit in my chair, don't eat your food now, don't, don't don't...Everything had a protocol, rules to be followed, always designated by me, and I was exhausted.  I was so busy keeping track of all my check out sheets and reminders that I forgot to just enjoy what I was doing with the students.  I was so wrapped up in managing my space that I lost focus on what was important and instead wasted time getting upset when my system wasn't followed.  It was time-consuming, overcomplicated, and downright ridiculous.

Yet I feared what I knew had to be the opposite of my contrived systems; chaos.  I feared what would happen if I just let a kid check out a book without having them sign it out and leave it in their desk at the end of the day.  I feared what would happen if I didn't know who had which manipulative, or how many pencils someone had borrowed from me.  Add that fear drove those systems forward until they got me so lost that I didn't know the teacher I was anymore.

So I stopped the endless control.  I "let" students borrow books from my library and take them home.  After all, the worst that could happen if a book was lost was that another child might read it.  I showed the students where I kept all of the supplies and let them grab what they wanted.  I had them unpack and come in from the hallway in the way that suited them best; some need one trip, some need more.  I stopped obsessing over our systems and gave the room to the students instead.

And the result?  Not chaos as I had feared, but ownership.  It turned out that these students knew exactly how to take care of our space and actually were a lot more invested when they felt it was theirs.  They no longer come into my room, but into our room.  They no longer ask permission to use a stapler or use some tape, they just do it.  They fight me over my chair, and take pencils when they need.  They now welcome others to our room, answer the phone with their name, and take over the space every day.  I don't manage them, but instead focus on our learning.   Giving back the classroom to my students righted a wrong I didn't know I had committed; I had taken their space from them.  I often remind myself that teaching is not about me but all about them, and now our room reflects that.  Does yours?

What Happens to the Doodlers?

Recently Richard Byrne shared the fantastic short TED video by Sunni Brown called "Doodlers Unite."  (Shown below).  Being a lifelong doodler myself, and also one that has realized how much my students do it, I was eager to share the video with the rest of my school and see how they reacted.  So imagine my delight, when my principal emailed me the following story today:

The framed pencil sketch of "Mr. Rykal's class" on my wall is from my first classic doodler. When he was in 4th grade, I went to him, ripped a doodle page from his notebook, and then stapled it to my bulletin board. I told him if I couldn't stop him from doodling, I was going to be the first person to own his original work. The result was the portrait.

Later, when he graduated from HS, he sent me a note, thanking me for recognizing that he had to doodle.

He is now an artist who illustrates children's books. I purchased one for our library, and a couple years ago emailed him a picture of the portrait on my wall.

As a new teacher, I was always the one that would try to "catch" students not paying attention and doodling was definitely one of my many "clues" as to who was aptly listening and who wasn't.  I assumed that if they were busy with their hands there was no way my fascinating lecture could be captivating them as well.  Often, my doodlers would be embarrassed by being called out in front of the class like that and their  doodling would disappear.  I wanted control so badly of my room that I confused it with controlling my students' every move as well.

It wasn't until two years ago, when I realized that some people focus much better when they doodle and perhaps I had just given doodling a bad name.  What was an annoying habit that I needed to get rid of, was something I myself do when I sit in meetings.  Oops.  Big learning moment when I realized that.   And now I wonder how many students grow into be artists when we let them doodle?  How many students discover their love of using tools to create when they doodle?  How many students focus more aptly because their hands are busy?  I now encourage doodling in my classroom as we work and have had students share their doodles as well.

So there we have it - Doodling isn't wasteful, it is an art-form, something that helps students focus.  Rejoice and celebrate the doodling.

Do We Need to Set the Rules? Or Do Kids Already Know Them?

Photo Courtesy of Bloggertone

Yesterday was my very first day with my 24 new 5th graders.  I don't know who was more nervous; me or them.  As we got settled into our new tables, 23 sets of eyes on me  (one child is still on vacation) eagerly awaiting what this teacher would share with them I asked; what is the first thing teachers usually talk about on the first day of school?  Hands shot up and one child blurted out "Rules!"

It's true, isn't it?  One of the first things we welcome students into our rooms with is indeed the discussion of rules.  Walk into almost any classroom on the first day of school and somewhere on the agenda is a discussion of rules or an explanation of the rule poster that is already on the wall.  As some of you may know, there are no rules posted in my room.  And yet the kids knew that rules had to be discussed.  They knew it was important, they knew that in fact it is one of the first things we choose to welcome students with.

The room got really quiet, the kids were waiting for me to list the rules but I didn't.  Instead I asked them whether they knew the rules?  A couple of kids nodded.  "Again, don't you already know the rules of a classroom?"  More nods.  "Isn't this your 6th year in school?"  All nodded and starting to wake up a little.  "Do you need me to explain the rules or can you tell me what they are?"  With this, the buzzing started.  That little bit of chatter that kids get involved in when they start to see the light.  "We know the rules, I know how to act, we can set the rules...."

So I told them to discuss rules at their tables; what works for a classroom, what type of environment do we need to learn in, what do you need, and the kids took it from there.  They all brainstormed and then shared their ideas and guess what; they knew it all.  How to respect, how to work, how to be a community.  We discussed fidgeting which in my book just means the teacher is boring or you need to get out of your seat.  We discussed interruptions and blurting out, how to be safe, how to be nice (You don't have to be friends with everyone, but you do have to be nice to them).  And then we decided that we didn't need to discuss anymore because we all knew what the expectations were.  In fact, they decided we didn't need to post our discussion because our rules are going to change and that maybe they shouldn't be called rules but rather just expectations.  And with that our expectations were set and for now I don't need to spend anymore time discussing them.

I gave my students a voice and let them lead and they showed me they already know.  I am so excited for the rest of the year.

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A Discussion of Rules

Last night it happened again, another school nightmare.  The kids were running around screaming, not listening, not thinking they had to follow directions.  And there I stood, in the middle of it all, yelling louder and louder, hoping to capture their minds and hearts on that all important first day of school.  Except I didn't.  And I wouldn't that way either.  It appears that in my nightmares I betray my own teaching philosophy; not to yell, not to punish, not to stand up there and blabber on and on.  In my nightmares I am everything I used to be.

In this nightmare I kept kicking myself that I hadn't gone over the rules.  If I had only gone over the rules then they students would behave.  Except they wouldn't because kids are not stupid.  They know once they get to 5th grade what the rules of school are.  They know not to yell, run around, dismiss the teacher.  They know what is expected of them because those same rules apply in society as well.  Those same rules apply in all of their classrooms and are so fabulously taught by our kindergarten teachers, (I don't know how they do it).  And yet we cling to our rules.  We cling to our decision about classroom management making sure that it is one of the first things we discuss with the kids.  Not what to expect out of the year.  Or what they should be  excited about.  Not the amazing discoveries and failures that are bound to take place.  No, the rules, my rules, my classroom.

So this year, the rules will be discussed but it will be by the kids.  I am not sure when it will happen, probably within the first couple of days as we share our expectations. The kids will tell me how they want to learn, what type of learning environment they thrive in.  If it is one that is a little bit noisy then I am ok with that.  If it is one that requires lots of movement, I am ok with that.  If it is one that requires breaks and variety, I am also ok with that.  They will mold our classroom because mostly it is theirs, not mine to decide over.  And I am ok with that.  What are you ok with?

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Put Your Name on the Board - a Tale of Why I Gave Up Classroom Discipline Systems

Image from here

Put your name on the board! Those words spoken in a very stern voice accompanied by a teacher look was enough to whip the toughest student into shape. Except when it didn't which for me was enough times to make me wonder. Could my discipline systems really be thrown out and replaced with nothing? Would chaos then reign supreme?

If you had come by my room last year you would have seen them. Those sticks in the cups or the names on the boards with checks, sometimes double checks and plenty of stern looks to go around. I was doing exactly what I had been taught in school, exerting my control as the main authority figure and if students misbehaved, well, then there was some form of punishment. Oh don't worry; there were plenty of rewards as well. If students didn't move their stick or get their name on the board for a week then their name got entered into drawing for pizza with me. At the end of the month if they didn't have their name in my book for not doing their homework, they could also enter their name, and then I would finally draw names and five lucky students would have pizza with me. Confused? I was! I could hardly keep check Of all those names, checks, and punishments.

However, last year I realized something after reading Alfie Kohn; I knew I had to change. By perpetually focusing negative energy on the same students, who, lets face it, are most often the ones having their name singled out somehow already, I was indeed just adding more to their self doubt. While I believe in discipline for all students, I also believe in compassion and that philosophy simply was not fitting in with my chosen system. So I did as many teachers may do; I threw it all out. However, instead of hunting for a new system, I decided to detox myself, start this year with no system for reward and punishment and instead strive to create a classroom community where students just know what the expectation is.

I was petrified that first month. I run a tough classroom in my expectations for my students and I know that if you do not set the tone those first weeks, it can be detrimental to the rest of the year. And yet I held strong in my conviction that even the more unruly students would eventually figure this out through repeated conversations and respect. And boy, did we talk. We talked about expectations, rules, how to speak to one another, and what to do when something goes wrong. A lot of the time, I just listened to these amazing students come up with solutions to problems, listened to them explain how they envisioned our classroom, how they wanted fourth grade to be. And I was in awe; these kids knew how to behave without me telling them over and over. And they certainly would figure it out without me alternating punishment and rewards.

So after the first month I started to breathe again. I let our new system flex itself and watched the students help keep the classroom stabile. Sure, there are times when I think ooh if I just had a way to "punish" it would fix this and this and then I realize that perhaps I just need to find some time to speak to that particular student. Now instead of an exasperated tone and a system to keep them in check, we discuss, we try to fix, and we reevaluate. I don't run the classroom with a complicated system of checks and balances, rewards and punishments, but rather with an atmosphere of community, of belonging. Is it perfect? No, but neither am I, nor my students. I am just glad I believed in my own skills enough to realize that perhaps, just perhaps, my students would know how to behave without me rewarding them for it. Once again, they blew away all of my expectations.

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