The first two weeks are flashing before my eyes but also feel very grueling. Especially in the first month, I am prowling the classroom. I am a lion. Hear me roar. Two of my classes are back to back for a 100 minutes with 8 minute passing periods. I did the arithmetic and I stand and prowl for 3 hr and 40 min straight. Coming from a previously sedentary summer, it's safe to say my body is in small states of confusion and weariness.
Yet somehow, this is still better ... infinitely better.. than my first year teaching. One of the biggest changes is that I'm addressing problems more directly. I've spent most of my life avoiding problems and hoping things will either resolve themselves or go away. I've found that as a teacher- problems only go in one direction: bigger. I've been interlacing math content with culture building activities. Today, I asked students to share a cultural practice or tradition so that we got a sense of who we are as people walking into the classroom. In one period, I could sense that students weren't buying in. "Why are we doing this? This is math class." I guess all that mumbo jumbo about learning together as a community wasn't cutting it. The problem is... that even if most of the class is cool with an idea quietly, a few vocal minority can turn the class around really quickly. It's one of those kind of remarks I might have stumbled through and proceeded on as if nothing happened. I gathered my thoughts and said, "I apologize that you don't find this a worthwhile activity. I want people here to know each other and know their backgrounds and histories better." I had responded for now, but made a note in the back of my mind to directly address it with her later. Then I gave my own example. I had crafted it beforehand. It was time to work the crowd. I sold my story. Students were nodding along as they journeyed through my early years without Thanksgivings. I saw a few faces that were grossed out when I mentioned kimchi- a spicy pickled cabbage. I had them hooked. They spent a few minutes crafting their own memories and I bee-lined to the disgruntled student. She had her eyes ready to roll. I said: I know you might not find this a valuable activity. And I can't force you to do it. She said: I'm not going to. I responded: Let me explain why I'm doing this. When I was a student in high school, I always felt like I had to leave some part of me at the door. Maybe it was because I'm from a Korean family with different values and maybe it was because I never felt very comfortable in a white-centric environment, but I felt like I had to be a different person to succeed. I'm doing this activity because I want people to know that whatever their background, history, or culture, they are welcome here. And I want you to know, whatever your background or history, who you are now, is welcome here. I don't usually say something so direct, and honestly- I'm not even sure that I knew would come out of my mouth. She didn't respond, but I observed a subtle yet noticeable shift in her attitude toward the class and the activity. We had a few people share their stories aloud- from New Years on a boat, to making Saturday deliveries with dad, to soccer Sundays, we listened and clapped as people shared. We'll definitely need a LOT more reinforcement before our class becomes a community but I'm hoping to take strides there. And mostly I'm hoping that responding to students and problems immediately is going to be way better than previous years. okay, I'm exhausted. next time I'll post a mistake making activity that students completed.
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I don't like to give automatic detentions for tardies... Sometimes people are late. And after school is over, there is no instance where you will get a detention because you're late. Most of the time, you just explain why you were late and apologize. You try not to make a habit of it. One of my mentors and I had been trying to problem solve two years ago. Problem: Kids come in late. Solution: She suggested that I could have a post-it system were kids explain why they were late.
I think a natural response is, "What if they lie?" and "What if they're late every day?" As for the lying one... I think that's always possible, but I want to start the year trusting students until they show me a reason not to. (not the other way around: don't trust them until they earn it.) And... honestly, lots of students tell the truth. As for the late every day part, I think that one person could have a different consequence than the entire class. I'm not yet sure what that is though. As students come in through the door (late), I hand them a post it and ask them to put it on my desk with their names on it once they explain why they were late. This is what adults do. They explain to others why they were late. And sometimes it makes a lot of sense. These are the rules and procedures I give to students at the beginning of the year. An alternative approach to the typical syllabus.
Classroom Structures and Procedures (but not Grades) All structures and procedures are created with the following in mind: Is it helpful to learning? If yes, then do it. If not, then don’t do it. Part I: Redefining Success We’ve been trained to think that success in school means something to do with getting the right grade. Often times, people leave a school thinking they’ve been successful but haven’t learned anything! Even more confusing, this conversation is something I hear all the time: “Hey bro, I got an A in that class and I didn’t learn anything!” “Man, I’m jealous! I got a C” This is how brainwashed we’ve become about how grades are more important than learning. We need to re-evaluate our notions of success. We are human beings- we were meant to learn. If you are copying other people’s homework to get some points, this seems like a waste of time if your goal is to learn. Exams and quizzes are used as tools to check your learning. Have you learned what you intended to learn? If not, we need to fix that by learning the material. Cheating will serve you no purpose here (or in life), so why do it? Part II: Directing Your Learning You will have several opportunities in class to rate your own understanding on your assignments and quizzes so that you can recognize what you know and don’t know. Being able to assess your own understanding is really important for this course and for college. You will also have opportunities to choose different assignments depending on your need. Directing your own learning is what the steering committee is all about. The steering committee is comprised of two or three people per class and will meet once every two weeks in the first semester. They will provide input on the class pace, problems in the classroom, and any other important issues that arise. This will help both direct the class but also give the class another voice to direct learning in a way that is helpful. Part III: Being Responsible Adults For all of us to be gaining and learning, we need to be present both physically and mentally. We rely on the class and the class relies on us. Part of being responsible is being present in class and on time. Part of being an adult means that I believe you won’t abuse my trust. If you are late, grab a post-it note, explain why you are late. This is to communicate as adults and that you are taking responsibility that you are late. This year, we will have a bathroom pass. I don’t need to hear about how badly you need to go. If it is available, feel free to use the bathroom UNLESS it is during a lecture (this is so you don’t miss the notes). If you need to go to the bathroom frequently, then we will need to talk... This is not a talk EITHER of us want to have. Now let’s talk about cell phones. Being responsible means that you’re not on your cell phone during class, because you are actively participating and focusing. Being an adult means that I don’t check over your shoulder all the time. Maybe you need your cell phone as a calculator, or maybe you need to quickly respond with a text “k.” If you abuse this trust, we will need to talk about consequences. Part IV: Creating a Community Much of the learning of mathematics will happen through conversations with each other in groups of 3-5 so that we can build knowledge together. You will be working with random groups for the first semester so that you can decide who you work best with. You may think today that this will be your best friend, but you may find in a quarter that someone you had never met before is a better learning partner for you. You will be teaching, learning, and struggling with your group. You should be responsible to your group and have homework or other necessary items prepared. As part of a community, everyone will also be tasked with a “class role” so that everyone is helping make the classroom a better place. |
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