The Modern Child

Every year around this time, I meet with teachers and parents from elementary schools to set up an intake plan for students who are coming to the learning support program at my high school. Here is a collection of descriptors of a typical student who will be coming to my school next year, one who I see as the “modern” child.

Strengths:

• highly verbal, active participant in class discussions and projects
• charming and engaging personality
• loves to  read; reads above grade level
• highly capable with the use of any form of technology
• kind, empathetic, has lots of friends
• enjoys being active, outside
• plays piano and guitar
• talented in performance: singing, acting, public speaking

Needs:

• weak math skills
• poor organizational skills
• difficulty getting started with writing, or completing written assignments
• easily distracted, impulsive/ or/ daydreamer, slow to get started (it’s often one or the other, not always ADHD, but often showing some signs of inattentiveness)
• some history of failure in school
• some conflict with teachers, but very cooperative if he likes the teacher

I call this an example of a modern child, because these are the qualities of so many students today. (I have taken bullet points from the Individual education plans of a random selection of my students.) Most of the students coming into the support program for students with learning disabilities have many of these traits in common. The severity of the challenges that these students face describe the nature of a learning disability, these students have so much potential as learners, but lack success as students.

I  think it’s time for all educators, not only teachers in “special education” to take a look at the challenges that schools pose for the modern student. (What if the school could be adapted to eliminate many of this modern child’s challenges?)

I’ll start with his strengths-who wouldn’t want to meet this child-he’s bright, affable, interested in learning, and he enjoys reading and the arts. Is this not the renaissance child? Now, the needs, or challenges he faces in school. How are his impulsiveness, lack of organizational skills and inattentiveness so severe that he cannot perform at an age-appropriate level  in math and in his writing? What are the expectations for him in these subjects?  Is there not some way that he can be taught math? What is inhibiting his writing voice?  I may sound frustrated, but I have met so many of these children, year after year, who have so much potential to learn, yet they are fed up with school by the time they’re 13. Some arrive in high school, ready to give it a try in a new setting, but they are stepping onto a train that is going in one direction. My job is to keep them on track.

The traditional student, one who has relatively easy success in school is one who follows direction, always gives their best effort, is responsible, respectful,and a diligent worker. This child will succeed as an employee, and as a functional member of society. There should be room for both the modern and the traditional child in schools today. The idea that one curriculum should fit all learners is absurd, but it continues to drive our planning. I include myself in this, I am not criticizing teachers -it is very difficult to design learning activities around the needs of each student. But it’s not  impossible.

I think the  place to start is through innovation. Try out new activities that can incorporate your existing learning materials. You don’t have to throw out every lesson you have in your filing cabinet/computer.  Little things, like the arrangement of tables and desks in a classroom can change the learning environment, and consequently the amount of learning,  significantly. You don’t have to go all the way to creating a flipped classroom, though aspects of this idea sound great, but make the centre of the classroom the student, not the teacher. If you’d like a place to start researching, start with Barrie Bennett’s Beyond Monet for more information on intelligent instruction.

A final note for the end of a rainy long-weekend Monday:  I do hope some teachers find my ramblings to be helpful in some way. Please feel free to share.

ref: Bennett, B., & Rolheiser, C.  (2001).   Beyond Monet: The Artful Science of Instructional Integration. Bookation.

Personalized Learning

I have been reading about the BC Education Plan, trying to become an informed participant in the change that is going to happen in BC schools. I’m drawn to the first of the five elements the most, Personalized Learning, probably because of my special education background. I think the plan involves significant changes to the options for learning, and whether or not I think they’re the right approach, these options are going to grow. I can, however, look at the changes that are possible in the classroom that exists now.

I am not worried about designing curriculum to reflect the core competencies.  We have been doing this for a number of years now-every lesson is planned with goals of critical thinking. I also like the move to fewer but higher level outcomes. I think this will affect secondary level math and science the most, as the rush to cover content has been the biggest hurdle for my students. For my own sons, who enjoy these subjects, I know they would enjoy delving deeper into these subjects, especially if it meant less rush for homework. The increased flexibility is a nice idea-I don’t know what it will look like, but I know it will help with the students who are at risk of dropping out of school. When I was was teaching solely in the Learning Assistance program, my high risk students were the ones who hated school, and only went along with it because they had to. For some students, there was always a breaking point, where they just gave up. If there are more options for these kids, it has to be a good thing. I think it’s easier for a student to accept the need to get over the hurdle of basics, if they also  have the freedom to study topics that interest them.  My concern will be for lower income families though. For students whose parents are already paying for music lessons, for example, there won’t be much change.  I  worry about access to enriching programs for low income families. This is where I see a potential discrepancy between different communities in the province. If the plan is meant to increase the number of students graduating with a dogwood certificate, then some logistics are going to be needed to support these families.

Pen vs Keyboard

I think we have reached the point where our students are more comfortable with a keyboard than they are with a pen. I watch the intense focus my students have for a screen and feel I’m not reading the way they do. I just can’t help but think they’re going too fast! If I look at a screen at the same time as a student, let’s say, on a newspaper website, I’ll be starting to scan through the headlines, and after 3 seconds, the student is moving on to another page. How can they possibly take in information at that rate? Are they actually reading, or just skimming? I don’t know if skimming is a bad thing, but I feel it’s necessary to stop and think sometimes. Well, I am old. My students were born into  different worlds, so I have to accept the fact that my idea of reading is not going to be the same as theirs. I know I need to communicate with my students, so I’ve been doing some research (at my own pace.)

Pecha Kucha-this a new term for me. I think this term describes a presentation of images that move at a quick pace. This trend seems to be perfect for a marketing-style presentation. Slides appear on the screen for 20 seconds, the presenter can talk about a slide for 20 seconds, then the next image appears. Just as I might feel frustrated by the lack of depth in a Pecha Kucha presentation, my students will tune out if I try to linger too long with my thoughts.

Assuming the reader of this blog is an adult, and  hoping that I still have an audience, I think it’s important to think about the reasons for this trend, and consider applications for the classroom. From what I have seen in “the modern student”,  fluid reasoning is still an asset. Students need to be able to think about incoming information, make connections to stored information in the brain, to file it accordingly, and use the new information for greater insight. This has always been true in an educational setting, but students are now able to process information very quickly.  I think it is important to consider both the amount of information being presented to students in your lessons, and the level of processing you require. If students are expected only to read and recall facts, then the depth of their comprehension will be limited. Instead, we need to design lessons which acknowledge the ability of students to process a higher volume of information, and require them to look for connections between the different elements of incoming data. If I haven’t lost you yet, I’ll move on to an example.

I like to present lessons which require multi-sensory processing. I ask students to discuss, draw and listen at the same time. I often have my students doodle examples to go along with new concepts, then I have them narrow down research to the key words that can be used to summarize main ideas. Constantly working with text and images to find the big ideas, I then have them make personal connections through journals or think-pair-share style discussions. The instruction has to be dynamic, and I have to be thinking on my feet to keep my students engaged, but if I keep in mind their facility with incoming stimulus, I will be attempting, at least, to communicate effectively with today’s learners.

A Strong Foundation

We’re approaching the end of the school year, and it feels like all of my classes are thriving. I always hope my students are thriving, but when you can walk into the class, knowing how things will go, I think the class as a group is thriving. It’s a reassuring feeling, because this is the time when I see a great deal of individual growth in my students.  I wish I had some systematic method to recommend, to somehow describe the way to get a class to this point, but it’s not really a matter of procedures or routines. I think this feeling I now have with my students is really about relationships. By this point in the school year, I know how each of my students will react to my own behaviours. I can make a joke, and they’ll laugh, (or not) or I can let them call out answers, knowing that they’ll automatically start to put up their hands if the noise level starts to get too high, and shush anyone who interferes. There is a level of enthusiasm at this point in the year, where the students join me in wanting to make lessons go smoothly. It feels like we’re working as a team. This teamwork is something that takes time, but it depends upon the foundation that is built early in the school year.

The community of each class is dynamic. It develops over time until it’s an operational unit. The first thing I do to establish a strong feeling of community in my classes is to take the time to get to know every student. This means not rushing to start or end a class, so that I can have short, informal conversations with my students. It is amazing when you give undivided attention to the quietest of students, to see how drawn they are to speak to you, knowing that they look forward to your class. This individual attention is also very helpful with the attention sponges, who tend to talk out of turn. When you give them individual attention, they will interrupt less often, or at least apologize every time they do impulsively interrupt a lesson.  I can’t think of anything more important than making the effort to know each of your students as individuals.

The second priority in establishing a class that operates smoothly is planning. Once you can see how long it takes your students to complete independent tasks, you can set up a dayplan that will be flexible enough to work with. I tend to have a week at a time mapped out, in terms of curriculum. This may vary, but if I plan my activities based upon the success of previous activities, then I can be realistic in terms of time and the expectations for work completion. It starts with big ideas, gathering instructional materials, and then getting a rough plan for the week ready before I go home for the weekend. I never get through everything, and of course, the best stuff is usually something that pops into my head, but I am prepared, with materials ready. By materials, I mean articles to read, visuals to discuss, bookmarked websites on my laptop. My materials are readily available to use, but I can’t predict the outcome; it all depends upon the students. In my mind, the skills (reading, writing, and critical thinking) are the curriculum. The content (eg, Life in the Middle Ages) is just the incidental part of my canvas.

The End of the Course…

I created this blog as a  portfolio for a course on Narrative Writing with Carl Leggo, at UBC. I had seen other blogs on WordPress, they offered simple set-up, it was free, I do like to talk about teaching, and, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. I approached this assignment in a manner which is typical of me, just diving right in, starting with no real plan, and hoping for the best. Some of my posts were experimental, and some a little controversial (yes, I did chicken out and remove  one post about extra-curricular work) but I have noticed a change in my writing over the past month. I have started to find my stride, and I’m discovering that I really enjoying writing. I feel I have so much to share with teachers, especially new teachers, who are trying to figure out if they are in the right profession. My second surprising discovery is that I feel like I’m becoming a better writing teacher. Writing  is difficult to teach. There are no right answers. I have always just had an intuitive sense about what looks and sounds right. This intense focus on my own writing, though, has helped me to reflect on what it is I do to organize my own thoughts and how I play with the language. It is difficult to help students find their own voice in writing, but by asking them the types of questions I would ask myself as a piece unfolds, I am seeing my students’ writing ability and confidence grow. I think I’ll keep going with this blog. I feel a little like a late-night DJ on an obscure college radio station, but I think I’m actually the one getting the most out of this!

Accidental Brilliance

I had a great lesson today- well, hopefully more than one, but I love it when one of my spontaneous ideas really works. I feel like sharing, because, as mentioned on my previous post, no one other than another teacher would be remotely interested in hearing about this inspiring lesson.  I was teaching my ESL English class today, and I was thinking about a way to move their written language to match the level of their  spoken English.  I  often tell my students some little anecdote that pops into my head to help them make a connection to the point I’m trying to convey to them. Today, it was a Bart Simpson story. I described the episode in which Bart goes on a student exchange to France, is forced into slave labour,  he cannot communicate in any way with his captors, and he’s desperate to escape. After enduring weeks of hard labour, immersed in the French language, Bart finally finds a police officer and desperately tries to describe his plight, in English. The officer is about to walk away, thinking Bart is some crazy person, when, from out of nowhere, Bart starts speaking French and realizes with some shock that he is, in fact, communicating. So, after the blank stares from my students (who do not watch the Simpsons, apparently) I asked my students to start a free-write with a picture prompt. I assured them that, like Bart, if they just started to write, it would come, they would start sounding like fluent English speakers somewhere in the middle of their stories.  After 10 minutes of questions, bordering on whining, my students finally settled in to some silent, focused writing, and the entire class wrote for about 10 minutes. Do you know what-it actually worked! Some wrote more than others, but for those kids who were just riding along that cusp of shorter, grammatically fine but dull sentences, they somehow just started writing as if they were talking. It really was brilliant. I’m so proud of them, and can’t wait to tell them!

Sharing in the Modern School

One of the nicest aspects of working with other teachers is collaboration. Teachers are happy to share their ideas and lesson materials with their colleagues, because that is how schools work. The Professional Day is the best example of this sharing between colleagues in similar disciplines. It is inspiring and invigorating to discuss our work with others (especially since our spouses are rarely that interested in hearing all about our days!) But as we move from worksheet to website, I wonder how far the sharing will go. Just as file sharing has moved into the music and film world, I wonder how much of the work that teachers create will become accessible online. As far as I know, most teachers have secure websites or use other forms of social media that have restricted access to their students. I suppose that if someone really wanted to find my unit plans though, it would be possible. That’s fine with me- sharing my lessons will not cause me any loss of income. But the camera (via cellphone) has entered my classroom. Students freely copy notes from the board because it’s convenient and quick. That too is fine. But what if that camera, or my website contains student work. What if my students create the most brilliant works of literature and art – Who owns that art? Can a student photograph another student’s work and use it? What if they sell it? Does the school own the rights to anything created in the school? I ask these questions because they are things to consider when you’re teaching, and I suppose the need to discuss plagiarism will be ongoing,  but as far as I’m concerned, anyone is welcome to my teaching ideas. I’m not likely to use them again- my lessons evolve out of materials, but I doubt they’ll ever be the same twice. Lessons and unit plans are not commodities. Our inspiration for teaching is not something that can be copied. I don’t think we need to fear the movement of schools to an online world any more than musicians need to fear the loss of the recording industry. There have been significant changes there, but broadcasting a song does not take away its value. The classroom is growing, and teachers are not being replaced by online reference materials. The school of the 21st century is still a place for sharing.

Movement and Thinking

A student who is not moving can often be a student who isn’t thinking, much. I think restless students are just trying to find a way to keep their minds active. I’m not talking about moving from place to place, though that would be preferable for many students, but movement of some part of their body. The best method I know to promote thinking, myself, is either through actively getting up and using large muscle groups (walking, swimming, running) or focusing in on smaller muscles. I would prefer to play the piano when I really want to think, but writing or drawing have the same effect for me. I am not an artist at all, but it doesn’t matter. There is something about the movement of a pen or typing on a keyboard that allows my thoughts to flow. I think the ultimate goal for any classroom is for ideas to be flowing freely.

Through years of school and getting older, adults learn to sit still and at least look like their listening, but I’m pretty sure most of us have experienced moments of a wandering mind, even with the best of intentions. Most adults have learned that we shouldn’t disturb others, but really, a wandering mind is a good thing. It shows that you’re thinking. The challenge for teachers, is to invite those wandering minds in your classroom to join you in your own thinking. As a teacher, you can move around, but the layout of a typical classroom restricts student movement.  In some educational settings, large muscle group activity is possible within the time of  a class, but with the areas of curriculum based upon written language (reading and writing in any language, including math) it’s usually more practical to limit most of your students’  movement to the smaller muscle groups of the hands.  Limiting movement to the hands does not need to be restraining in any way though. I think it’s important to discuss this with students, as a way of inviting them to think without interfering with  other students’ thinking.

I invite you to experiment with ways of introducing movement of small muscle groups into your students’ allowable classroom activities. For my most hyperactive students, I have always suggested that they find a way of moving without letting anyone know they’re doing it. Scrunching up toes, stretching fingers or alternately flexing calf muscles are some possibilities. They can have some fun experimenting with these movements that allow them to sit without disturbing other students. But for students who don’t have the constant need to move, I suggest writing and drawing. If you work free writing and doodling into your lessons, the level of active thinking going on in the classroom will increase. I’m sure of it because I have used this with my students, but I also invite you to try it yourself. Get a notebook and start writing and drawing in it and see where your thinking leads you. The brilliant ideas that pop into your head as you start to write will amaze you!  I’m actually just starting to read a book on this topic now. To quote I Swear I Saw This by Michael Taussig, “Drawing breathes life into an idea.” Actually, he was quoting someone named Christopher Grubbs, but my point is, there a many ways of incorporating movement into your classroom, and if you not only allow them, but encourage them, you will be helping your students to become life-long thinkers.

The Artistry in Teaching

We had a guest speaker visit our school today, an inspirational, charismatic drummer, named Mitch Dorge (from the band, The Crash Test Dummies- he was great!) He came to speak to our grade 9 students, mostly about following your passion in life, but his talk had so much more to it, and it made me think about the artistry of teaching. In order to teach, you have to have expertise in your subject area, but it goes far beyond theoretical knowledge. Watching Dorge’s presentation today, the students (and I) were carried along together on an hour-long ride. That’s the best way I can describe the way he told his narrative. A truly artistic teacher is a storyteller. Students are hooked at the beginning, as their interest is sparked, and they’ll follow along, wanting to know how it ends. The details of the subject being taught are not nearly as important as the big ideas. Questions fire around in your mind as you listen, making connections between the lesson and your own world. Not often enough, I get the opportunity to watch other teachers. I’m sure Dorge considers himself an artist over a teacher, but he was an excellent teacher and role model for our students today. He spoke passionately about his love for playing the drums, and used that devotion to his work as the incentive to give kids positive options for their lives. His energy, which he somehow fed to a theatre full of  teens was given right back to him, as he had seemingly everyone in the audience laughing and listening intently. He spoke of that tremendous feeling of getting energy from his audience, and I knew exactly what he meant. When students look at you as if they’re just waiting to hear what you’ve got planned for the day, it is amazing! I think it’s so important for teachers to remember that teaching is an art form. Engaging a class of students requires timing, voice, the visual elements of movement and something from inside you that no one else can duplicate. It takes enough self-confidence to risk looking like a fool, while inviting the students to play along with you. I should probably write Mr. Dorge and email to thank him for his inspiring presentation, and I may if I have time, but by the reaction he got from his audience, I’m pretty sure he’ll know he nailed it today!

Teachers Supporting Teachers

I had to write a short postcard style story for school yesterday, about a time I learned something. I don’t know whether it was the supermoon, over tiredness, or just an empty brain, but I really couldn’t think of anything to write. Now, it’s rare for me to find myself at a loss for words, as anyone who knows me would agree, but I was stumped. So, I just started writing, I didn’t come up with anything brilliant, but a little story about learning to swim came to me, and it got me thinking. I wasn’t writing about learning to swim for the first time, I described the feeling of learning how powerful my body could be in a swim race when I was in university. The lesson I learned , though, was the empowerment I felt from my team mates, running along the side of the pool, cheering me on. I swam for years, it’s very hard work, but I loved it because I was always part of a team. Twenty five years later, I am still part of a team, and I think it’s that collegiality that makes my work so enjoyable. I work in a large school, so there are departments and divisions by grades and subjects taught, but our varied teaching roles don’t seem to interfere with our friendships. We have a great time together. Our staff room at lunch time is always lively and entertaining. We only get about half an hour together a day, but we manage to check in on everyone’s family lives, we discuss students and specific issues, and most importantly, we laugh! I don’t know how many schools have a similar feeling of support amongst their teachers, I hope that most do, but I can say why I think our school works the way it does. I think it does because our school administration allows us the autonomy to work together as a teaching team, and to solve our own problems. They are readily available if needed, but our roles and responsibilities as teachers and administrators are clearly defined without anyone mentioning them. It might sound like a simple solution, but I have heard from teachers in other school districts that this is not always the case. Teaching is not a competitive environment-no one gets paid more for doing a better job with their students, at least not in Canada, so I hope teachers will think twice about opportunities to work with their colleagues, and not take them for granted.