What do we value?

Last week, I had arranged for a sub for a planned absence.  Two days before, the substitute stopped by to check in on what the day would look like so I gave her a rundown.  She then proceeded to give me (and my students) such a sweet compliment, that when she's subbed for me earlier in the year, students knew what to do and were great to sub for.  At this point in the year, students are ready to engage in the work. AND, coming off a year of distance learning where they were independent learners EVERY DAY, many students are ready and able to work independently for an hour here and there. Are they perfect? Absolutely not. BUT, they do pretty darn great for 15 year olds. 

Students do well when the know what it looks like to do well and when we create routines and structures in our classrooms (and school) that lead to success.  Teaching is hard because we have to be "on" all the time.  We have to pay attention and be alert to our classroom, continuously reinforcing the routines, behaviors and such that will ensure students will be successful.  My students don't do well because I just make tests easy or help them through questions during a test.  They do well because they know what is expected of them and they rise to the occasion.  My expectations are HIGH, and they reach them.  This doesn't mean I'm constantly nit-picking every small act/mistake/misbehavior, but that I capitalize on routines and habits and reinforce them. The goal is not to never look at your phone, for instance; the goal is to be able to look at your phone for a moment, then get back to work.  You might have a bad/off day, but the goal is to do your best that day and keep striving to do better.  Conversely, when I see routine behaviors by a student that are not in line with what leads to success in my class, I follow up, reaching out, trying to remedy the problem.  

This is true for entire school systems.  We need to be "on" reinforcing good behaviors and keeping our expectations high.  It's ok to be tardy here and there, but are you tardy ALL the time? Then we've got a break down in the adults in the system and missed out on creating structures that reinforce behaviors we hope to see.  

Do we value students being in class? Then we need to show that value by creating expectations of being in class, creating accountability when the expectations are not reached repeatedly.  Students are ready to rise to the expectations we place upon them with the proper support, but if we don't reinforce our expectations, then what? 

Additionally, reinforcement can't just be stating the expectations over and over again.  We need to walk the walk, and model the way.  We also need to talk to individuals, instead of just hollering into the void.  Not every kid needs to be reminded of being to class on time.  One-on-one conversations are so important and 100% necessary.

When I was Dean of Students and would talk to students who were sent out of class, I always had to weigh the rights of the student with that of the class as a whole.  That student's right to an education is important, but so are the rights of the other 29 students in that class.  I called it maintaining the integrity of the classroom.  We valued the ability for the whole class to learn on any given day.  If a student was impeding the right of others to learn, it might require them to miss an opportunity for them to learn that day.  Additionally if the student is getting in their own way to learn, that also warrants a pause.  This cannot be 100% on the teacher to do that work because, again, you are now pulling them away from the other 29 students. 

If we value ALL students learning, we need to show that and start expecting all students to be in class, expecting all students to put their phones away so they can engage in the learning, AND recognizing when this isn't happening and do something about it. 

This year, I don't see us doing something about it. I don't see us expecting all students to be in class. I feel like a frazzled teacher who doesn't have support in keeping expectations high.  I feel like kids are slipping fast and there's no one there to catch them.  It's slowly breaking me. 

Thanksgiving Blessing

This thanksgiving I feel blessed to be surrounded by a team who strives to create capable students.  Students who not only feel like they can do the math in geometry class, but who also feel as if they can handle girl drama, family tragedies, or no food for dinner.  Resilient students who rise above their circumstances and learn to navigate this unpredictable world. Students who understand how to learn despite all the noise of life around them.

Recently, out of anger, a student put another student in a headlock during class.  This came on the heals of the student teasing the other and taking it too far.  A common playfulness between two boys went awry when one student just snapped.  Upon talking to the student who placed the headlock, he shares that he had a terrible night.  You see, he has no record of any sort of aggression.  He doesn't get sent out of class for being defiant and gets good grades.  The night before, however, his father was arrested.  He witnessed the whole ordeal.  I could have simply yelled at this student and sent him off with his consequence, but I have found that simply asking questions creates a much better learning opportunity.  This is true for any person.  We can either jump to conclusions, reprimand and redirect without ever learning why or we can ask questions and get to the heart of what is going on.

So many students have cried in my office.  It has honestly shocked me.  When one on one, these hard, disengaged students reveal their true colors.  They are hurting.  They are lost.  They feel forgotten.  They feel misheard.  They feel beaten down by stereotypes and discrimination.  They feel in over their head.  I seriously wonder whether I know what I am doing and how I got into this position.  Where did I learn to console a student who finally confided that he is simply sad and too depressed to go to class?  Where did I learn how to talk to the girl known as a bully to remind her that she is better than that, that I believe in her?  Where did I learn how to listen intently and how to seek help as a student talks about harming themselves?  These are not things I was taught formally in school and I fear daily that I might mess it up.  But when we know better, we do better.

This weekend a student passed away abruptly from a medical condition.  When anyone passes away people often revert back to their last interaction with that person.  What were my last words?  How did the student feel leaving my office? Did they feel belittled, hopeless, and angry, or did they feel capable, reflective, heard and optimistic?  I hope it was the latter.  I know in my heart that the team I work with always strives to ensure the latter.  I am blessed with a team that seeks to understand and educate versus harm and belittle.  A team that doesn't want to show their power and dominance over students, but seeks instead to help the students know better and do better.

Somebody's child

As I go about my work as a Dean of Students it could be easy to lay down the law and assume all students have to abide by a particular set of rules.  That is simply not the case.  These are somebody's children.  My mom learned early in my life that I have to have more meals in the day or I would become a whiny baby.  She didn't know that when I arrived, she learned that through trial and error because, as my mom, she made it her mission to figure out what I needed. Our students have a unique set of needs we need to consider as well.  We mustn't assume they are just being bad to be bad.   We have to get to the root of the problem because, after all, they are somebody's child.  What would you want if  it were your child?

This isn't something I knew going into teaching.  The rules of school worked for me.  I lettered in academics, had opportunities to be challenged and opportunities to be successful.  But what didn't work for me was three big meals a day as a child.  I needed snacks, and that's ok. Nobody wants a hangry Jessi!  The same is true for students in our classrooms, hallways and communities.  As a Dean, my line gets drawn at safety and the integrity of the classroom; I make that known to students.  If you are making a class unsafe, making classmates feel unsafe, or if you are inhibiting the learning of others and compromising the integrity of the classroom, then something needs to change.  Additionally, it behooves me to ensure that while demanding safety and the integrity of the classroom that I find a way to educate the student.  They deserve an education too.  What would you want if it were your child?

So, when constantly thrust into the world of a couple of students who I find myself interacting with daily, I remind myself that they are somebody's child.  Somebody loves them and wants the world for them (and if that is not the case then it is my duty to show them I want the world for them).  As their educator, I have a duty to find a way to educate them and prepare them to have a prosperous life despite their need for an extra meal (or two) in a day.  What would you want if it were your child?