11/12/2017 0 Comments Student Apathy & ways to Fight It
Now, don't get mad at me. I know any bad attitude, frustration, anger, or hurt you have has been caused by being let down by your students. They started it. So if you get called out on showing some of your resentment or it turns into your own chronic absenteeism or apathy, you'll get mad. Rightly so! But... they are kids. They will NEVER see their own actions as the cause of your problems. It's like genetically programmed into their little DNA to deny any responsibility. So if they see you stop caring, they will *think* that is all the reason in the world for them to (start) continue being apathetic. WE CANNOT LET THEM WIN. I had an administrator tell my staff this awhile ago, and I was raging angry. I thought I deserved to be mad, apathetic, resentful, bitter toward my most apathetic learners. And it was only through time that I realized that apathy breeds apathy, and I could kill more flies with honey than vinegar (is that even the right phrase? Anyway...) This mindshift was a choice, and it made my days A LOT more tolerable. Some times you have to pull yourself up by the bootstraps, remind yourself that this is YOUR classroom and you are the adult, and by golly they are NOT going to win. You WILL teach them something. They WILL learn. And they WILL like it! Some days it's a whole lot of fake-it-till-you-make-it. Some days you are so good you even convince yourself. But wallowing in (well earned and totally understandable) self pity truly has no place in the classroom. Vent to your bestie over a glass (bottle) of wine, then LET. IT. GO. (see also these decompressing strategies) My second strategy is less preachy and more tangible. Always plan with the "why" in mind.(THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME). It's a hot trend now, but for ages people have wanted to know why they are doing what they are doing. Students, teachers, parents, your own spouse--they are not being disrespectful when they ask why. They need to see the PURPOSE in their time and action. Philosophically I believe humans sense that time is finite and want to make the most of their presence and experiences on earth. That comes across wrong sometimes, but it doesn't make the idea wrong. If you plan each lesson starting with WHY the students are learning it, you'll come a long way in getting their buy-in. And let me say right now... "you'll need this for the test" or "when you're in college, they'll make you do this..." isn't going to fly. They. Don't. Care. Connect with the big ideas and essential parts of being a human. As a former psychology teacher, I can connect nearly everything to social psychology. Students are totally egocentric, but also naturally social beings. This generation cares about their climate, their environment, equality for all. They care about justice and sustainability and change and power and technology and ethics. Why are we reading Lord of the Flies? Connect it to groupthink and mob-mentality. Why do we still learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycotts? Tie it to the NFL National Anthem protests. Why are we memorizing verb tenses in Spanish? Discuss the future of American economy with the current population of immigrants and native Spanish speakers in your state. There is always a big idea, a big picture purpose. As teachers, it's our job to engage them in critical thinking that matters to us AND to them. Once you have lessons that give them their "why," capitalize on their strengths and create engaging lessons with engaging strategies to get them to... engage. Please do not underestimate the value of movement, games, conversations, laughter, brain breaks, music, and technology. I taught BELL-TO-BELL with reading, writing, listening, and speaking in almost all my lessons. I rarely sat at my desk. I was constantly managing by walking around, laughing with kids, asking them about their progress, expressing concerns, listening, and by the end of the day I was exhausted. They did most of the mental work, but I did the facilitation. And if I was bored, I KNEW they were bored. If I didn't know the why, I KNEW they wouldn't care. I am a person who loves routine but HATES monotony. So I made my classroom an engaging place. If you are looking for strategies, I suggest googling "SIOP" (Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol) or "TPT" (Total Participation Techniques) to find more. Here are some of my favorites:
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Be fully present in the moment. Pay attention to your surroundings. Don't give up. Focus on the positive. Know that you always have more to learn. Grow your brain. Learn from your mistakes. These are all things we want our students to grow up to be, but waiting until they become adults is too late. We need to create classrooms that are mindfully calm, positively reflective, and continually resilient. Not only do we teach our students how to do this, we must model it in our own life and in our classroom climate. Over the years I've been learning about all of the ways positive psychology and eastern mindfulness practices can affect our lives. As an educator, I quickly made connections to the classroom. Because of the underlying psychology and biology behind all three of these things, I've begun to see them as woven together into one. Forgive me if I use them interchangeably. I'll try to address each separately, then bring them together in the end. Hang with me to see how you can use these practices in your classroom to make it as comfortable as it can be. Resilience (grit)
I always told my students I expected a lot of them. I raised the bar. I communicated what I would and would not accept from them. I told them and modeled what I would and would not allow. And I followed through. The coach in me rarely accepted their meager excuses or whining. I was hard core intimidating in the most loving and supportive way possible. I've been told I'm complicated :) But it works. When students see a passionate teacher who gives them (appropriate) challenges and helps them rise above, they will continue to grow and get "grittier." It's an ugly way of saying I helped challenge them and helped them meet those challenges head on. I believed in them, so they believed in themselves. I love the idea of productive struggle. "Try again." or "Not quite yet." or "I know this must be frustrating. What else can you try?" or "I see that you're ready to quit. Can we come back to this in two minutes? I bet your brain just needs a break." It's amazing what a little compassion, empathy, and facilitation can do. Don't let them off the hook. Don't helicopter and try to save them from all the trials that could ever challenge them. Let them struggle. Then help them overcome. Growth Mindset (positivity)
Mindfulness (Presence)
The main things about a comfortable classroom are positivity, trust, and respect. We do this by modeling, creating, and encouraging students. Cultivating resilience, mindfulness, and growth mindsets makes them better students. Eventually it will make them better spouses, parents, and citizens (I'm trying to teach my husband... but he's not cooperating... ) But more importantly, it will make them healthier and happier with themselves. With the rise of bullying, depression, anxiety, divorces, and suicides, there is no more important job than this. It is my belief that everyone's responsibility is to make the world a better place. And when you are responsible for so many young minds and futures, having a comfortable classroom is absolutely essential for learning.
For my next set of blogs I'll talk about making our classrooms challenging as well as comfortable. Higher order thinking, conceptual learning, construction of knowledge, discussion or problem-based classrooms... tons of strategies in store! 10/29/2017 0 Comments An Environment of Risk-Taking"We are a risk-taking, mistake-making class!" I saw this on Pinterest and knew I had to make it part of my classroom. Easier said than done. How do you get students to try new things, step outside their comfort zone, and be willing to be wrong in order to learn? How do you bypass grades as "right-or-wrong" feedback and get into real learning? From my 13 years in teaching, the only answer I have is... TRUST.
So, how do you build trust? This seems so theoretical, but it all comes down to how you interact with them and how you set up your classroom expectations. What follows is a list of things that works for me. I hope it also works for you. Classroom Expectations
Personal InteractionsWhen teaching, the most important thing you can do it work with students and develop a relationships where they feel valued. Although I never explicitly set out to do this, I have created a few "non-negotiables" of my relationships over the years. Here are some of mine:
Classroom ChoicesI spoke about this briefly in my last post about creating a comfortable classroom. I am HUGE on choice. That and respect are my two big foundational concepts to teaching. When students have a say in what or how things are done, you can make an inch last a mile. When I'm working with students and giving them options to process or show what they know, they will often ask me what I want them to do or how they should do it. This is the same from students with IEPs to my TAG Honors kids. They want to please me. They want to be right. So when I turn it back on them and say things like, "Do what you think is best." or "You're the author. What do you want to do?" Or "It's totally up to you, as long as you..." The looks on their faces when an adult gives them ownership is priceless. They really don't know how to handle that sometimes. But the underlying respect, risk-taking, and comfort that comes along with that is indescribable. For years my student teachers and colleagues asked me how I got my students to do all the things I asked of them. For years I didn't really know what my answer was. But now I know it comes back to that relationships, the respect, the ownership, and the comfort they had with me. It's been the best unintentional effect I've ever created in my classroom. Hopefully, now that I've verbalized it, it's something you can use too. My next post will be about creating resilience. This mentality, connected with Growth Mindset and Mindfulness, is something educators need to leverage to get the most out of education. This is where the science of education meets the art of counseling that is so prevalent in teaching young adults. My background is psychology has helped me, once again, to accidentally foster a comfortable classroom for my students. Check back next week to see how to create resilience, or "grit" in our students.
~Peace The Comfortable Classroom 10/18/2017 0 Comments What makes a classroom comfortable?Imagine one of your favorite teachers, past or present. What make them so memorable? My most memorable teacher is a wonderful woman who never yelled at us (although we deserved it). She knew us as people; she knew when we were having a bad day and helped us problem solve in all areas of life and school. She was an encourager, a challenger, and a mentor. As I work with professional development, student teachers, and teacher preparation programs, one of the main questions is, "do they have what it takes?" What is that "it" factor? Though others may disagree with me, I believe that "it" factor is the ability to connect with another human being in a respectful, comfortable way. This includes actively listening, encouraging with positive and accepting body language, and using positive, growth mindset based dialogue. One of the most important things that creates a comfortable classroom is the climate you create with and for your students.
This is my final note to you: if you respect them enough to let them make little choices along they way, they will follow your big choices wherever you want to take them. This will tie into creating that risk-taking environment that I will talk about next time. If they don't trust you or each other, they will never try new things or be willing to learn from their mistakes.
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AuthorA midwest teacher in love with creating awesome opportunities for students to think, communicate, and produce. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Comfortable-Classroom
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