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. 

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?

Privilege

Yellowstone River

I live a privileged life. I spent two weeks and 4600 miles on a road trip to Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. I didn’t feel unsafe traveling and camping alone, as a white woman, until an old white guy started flirting with me while I pumped my last tank of gas in South Dakota.  I am truly blessed. It was the perfect trip after my first year as a dean of students at a high school. A year where I was thrust into the realities of our students’ lives and the challenges they face for decisions outside of their control. It was a lot for me to handle; I realized how sensitive I really am. I don’t want to see 18 students get arrested in a year. But I also don’t want a boy to manhandle a girl into leaving school for the day when they are fighting. I want to see these students get the help they need now and an education so they can live happy, prosperous lives. Sadly, I’ve turned to stating “you will be arrested for this if I was a police officer” when a student blatantly disregards my request to call home when tardy or to simply take off their hat, because that is actually what I have seen happen. Disregard law enforcement, then you will get arrested. I want to teach them before they are released as adults with their diploma in hand. 

Delicate Arch, Utah

But then I opened up social media when I returned home yesterday and saw the news of Alton Sterling and I am thrust back into reality. Hours later, I found myself on twitter and see a new hashtag #FalconHeightsShooting, a town just down the road. I proceed to watch a 9 minute video of Philando Castile’s last few breaths on Facebook Live. We must start recognizing our own privilege. I can travel across 8 states without fear, yet a black man gets shot after being pulled over for a broken taillight. Now a four year old might live in fear every time she is pulled over after witnessing a man get shot. We must train our law enforcement to balance force with reason. We must train them to better assess the danger or lack thereof in a situation. Based on this police officer’s expletive’s after having shot this man, it is clear he is not a bad man, but he did a bad thing. The same is true of so many people who get shot or are the shooters in police shootings. We cannot execute people in this way. We need non-violent interventions and we need to value human life above all else, including our irrational fears.

I do not want to say to my students that they should listen to authority figures in school or they’ll get arrested outside in the “real world”, but now I fear I might have to say they could be shot and killed for not abiding by a simple request of law enforcement. Why has it come to this? It has to stop.

And it starts with us, white people, recognizing privilege.  Here is one of my favorite depictions of privilege.  This article by the Washington Post describes white privilege "tends to be unintentional, unconscious, uncomfortable to recognize but easy to take for granted."  We need to start with recognizing our privileges and leveraging them for the greater good.  We can't be ashamed of what we have or who we are, unless we chose not to speak up and demand better.