Noise level: Pin drop

During the portion of my lesson when I model the skill for my students, I always say that the noise level should be "pin drop," meaning the class is so quiet that we can hear a pin drop. When I was explaining the noise level to my students, I took a pin and dropped it on the floor to see if we could hear it. I actually kept the red pushpin I used on the top right corner of my bulletin board, and when my students see me start to reach for it, they know they're being too noisy and need to quiet down (otherwise, I'll take a minute from their Time Bank which they use to earn things like bathroom passes, music of their choice played during work time, 5 min. of social time at the end of the day, homework passes, etc.).

Today, for extra credit on their assignment, I asked students to suggest a name for our red pushpin and I got the cutest/wittiest/funniest suggestions:

1. lil red one
2. Bob (short for Bobby Pin)
3. Herbie the Pin
4. Pinny
5. Pinelope <---cute!!!
6. Pushy
7. Mini Me (aka Mini Ms. S.) <---kind of creepy, but cool nonetheless
8. Drake (like Sir Francis Drake) <---super clever
9. Mr. Sapida <---my favorite :D
10. SLANT (this is an inside joke with my class which I might explain in a later post)
11. Ms. S #2

So what do you think? Help me vote for a name for our new little class pet!

Pay It Forward

My first year teaching was a yearlong hazing process.

It was waking up at 5am daily to put together fresh lesson plans, running to and from the copy room in work shoes, getting very little sleep, having virtually no social life, and coffee. Everything was fueled by coffee. It was weekly, night-time, meaningless traffic school disguised as credentialing class. It was adjusting my practices and discipline methods on an almost weekly basis. It was driving up and down the 580 and the 13. It was accumulating grown up things like thermoses, work bags, dress shoes, and work socks. It was going day-to-day fighting to survive while hoping maybe somewhere in the process good teaching would occur within the confines of my classroom walls.

I survived only through teachers and people who looked out for me.

I beg, borrowed, and stole my way through my first year. Every teacher I met with resources, I asked for them. Teachers from my school, teachers from other schools, bloggers, anyone. I took what they had, chose what I liked and what I didn't like, remixed them, and filtered out what didn't work for my students and me. I know there's a certain pride I could have in saying I'm a great teacher. Period. But I am who I am because of the teachers who helped me get there.

First year teaching is not about reinventing the wheel. Thousands of teachers have taught the exact same stuff you've done and walked through those same pair of shoes. I put all bets that most are willing to share with you what they've got b/c they know what you're going through.

--

Thus, these past few weeks I've found myself paying it forward to this year's new crop of first year teachers. I easily pass along every ounce of digital material I've spent hours producing to the new teacher seeking help before me. I easily spend that extra 15 or so minutes checking in and walking them through exactly what's been successful for me...

being sure to point out: it'll be a year of adjustments and hard work. But find what works for you, and, as one principal continuously pointed out to me so much that it became my mantra, it will get better.

A Second First Day

[A note.

Dear Reader: please don't judge or hate me for writing the following. I feel that it's best to be honest. So here goes.

Sincerely,
Ms. S]

I'm teaching my last class for the day in about 10 minutes. I've been having pretty good days at school. Yesterday was a disaster, but even so, I was able to get through it unscathed, still able to feel positive and look forward to the next day. First days of school are always a disaster anyway... as I've experienced once before. Actually my first, first day of school went really well last year. And, in general, yesterday wasn't so bad for what it was... I'm still not feeling that this teaching thing is my calling though. I'm just not feeling it. I didn't feel it all summer. I have fun during class while I'm teaching, but it's still not me. It's not what I want to do forever.

I have so many thoughts lately, and the one occupying my mind the most is, "I'm so over this teaching thing."

Adding & Subtracting Integers

I've held off cooking a nice dinner, am hungry, am angry, am missing a new episode of Entourage. At this point, I've accumulated a small fortune of years of lessons to fall back on. However, I've spent the past couple hours designing a lesson on adding & subtracting integers. Reason? I've sucked at it. There are multiple methods and multiple models and I can't seem to find which is the best.

I also want to avoid restricting ourselves to rules that serve to negate a sound conceptual understanding of number sense. For example, every year I find several students hoping to apply this rule:

1. If the signs are the same, add the numbers and keep the same sign.
2. If the signs are different, subtract the numbers and take the sign of the larger number.

I'm not trying to create computing machines here, I want thinkers who understand what they're doing.

So, just to share, this is what I'll try tomorrow:

Share 2 models of adding integers:

1. Adrian Peterson's total yardage calculated with losses and gains.
2. Mr. G's bank balance calculated with deposits and withdrawals.

Share 2 methods of adding integers:

1. Number line
2. Counters

Share 1 method of subtracting integers:

1. Add the opposite (meaning, when we see the subtraction sign, let's change the operation to addition and oppositize the second number), then use one of the 2 methods above.

I've contemplated the benefits of showing number line, counters, AND the difference model with subtraction but am afraid sharing those will do one of two things: scare students or confuse students.

Therefore, I go with what I've seen produce the most clarity and success. After we got these methods down for a day or so, THEN I'll show the other stuff. How's that sound? Anybody else got something that's worked real well for them?

Or maybe I'll just show this video:

And lastly, whatever happens tomorrow. I'm no doubt leaving a minute or two to show Kanye's infamous diss. Gotta buy your students' attention, you gotta. Also, I wanna see reactions. Sorry Taylor.

How To Stand Up on the First Day

Since starting this teaching gig, I've now lived through 5 first days. 5 first days of multiple periods where setting the tone, building community, and giving my students a good first impression of their newest teacher is of the utmost importance. It's common knowledge by now that whatever goes down on that first day can determine the behavior of your students for the remainder of the year.

Though I am privileged enough to be entering my third year, there's still nothing more nerve-racking than the first day you step in front of your new batch of students. Sunday night, I was in bed still wide-eyed at 4am.

Less than 4 hours later, I did the following:

1. Greeted students at the door w/ a smile and a formal introduction.
2. Randomly assigned seats by handing out index cards containing a number matching a desk.
3. Asked students to fill out basic information, then an interest survey.
4. Opened up my speech by throwing the image of Jenga blocks on the board (which I'll explain in a future post)
5. Shared carefully selected parts of my life through a "Mr. G is..." slide.
6. Gave students the opportunity to share their own selves through stand up & sit down*
7. Gave students the opportunity to interact w/ their new classmates through a human scavenger hunt.

--

*Stand if you agree w/ the statement. Sit if you don't.

Decided to give this a go on the first day with reluctance; now, I'll never go a first day without it. The rules are simple; the results are strong. Through this, students build community on the outset. Take for example:

1. I was born and raised in Oakland.
2. I speak two languages.
3. I want to be a doctor.
4. I was born in the year 1995.
5. I am excited about the school year.
6. I identify as black.
7. I identify as white.
8. I identify as latino/a.
9. I identify as arab.
10. I identify as asian.
11. I identify as other.

It takes a lot of courage to reveal your minority status to peers you've never met. I'm amazed at how steadily students stood when they were the only one who agreed with a statement. Further, mixing in the more intense is done as easily as the lighthearted:

1. I believe racism is real.
2. I, or a member of my family, have been affected by racism.
3. I have lost someone to gun violence.
4. I have seen a gun.

Even as a 3rd year teacher in Oakland and even though you expect it, you're still surprised to see the majority of the class on their feet with each statement.

And lastly, you can't help but feel good inside when you see not one person sitting with statements along the lines of:

1. I want to go to college.
2. I think I can go to college.
3. I think I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it.

--

I write this post in gratitude to all teachers who've allowed me to beg, borrow, and steal my way to my third year. A good teacher friend of mine shared stand up, sit down enthusiastically. Thus, I gave it a shot.

Paying it forward, I did the same w/ every teacher I walked passed that day. Today, 2 shared that they gave it a go. Appropriately so. Good methods like this should spread like wildfire, and it's only through sharing that they do.

A Fresh Start

New York City schools resume on September 8th and I for one am excited for all the possibility that lies ahead.

Teaching lends itself to a clear beginning and end. This work gives me an opportunity to redefine myself each year. I am not a first year teacher anymore (thank God!). My new batch of students have no idea what to expect from me. I can toss out all the practices that didn't work for me, I can improve upon what worked well, and I can try new strategies! The classroom is my oyster.

There is still a lot of work to do, but after a restful and oh-so-fun summer I am up for the task.

Thanks for the reminder

About a month ago, I volunteered for College Summit, an organization that strives to increase college access for youth from first-generation college backgrounds (among other underrepresented social identities). Soon-to-be seniors in high school were nominated by teachers or administrators at their school to attend a weekend-long workshop where they learned how to submit a college application as well as write a draft of a personal essay. Students chosen were described as "middle-level", not quite the top of the class but college-bound with some extra work. All of these students were also chosen because of leadership qualities or influential roles at school.

I worked as a writing coach; my role was to aid students in finding their voice and telling their story. I was brought back to my time in my Education 190 course. It was a democratic setting where teachers, or coaches in this case, stood on equal footing as students. Part of the process actually had me asking permission from students to coach them. The onus was all on the students to take advantage of the weekend.

The work that we accomplished was amazing and I am not surprised. The Peer Leaders (as we called them) were very bright students who have accomplished plenty despite facing major hardships. The next step for these students? As Peer Leaders, they were to return to their respective schools and use what they learned in College Summit classes. Because many were recognized as influential in their high schools, the goal is to have them lead by example and create a "college-going culture".

This experience brought up 2 things. 1) This work makes me happy and I really should keep access organizations in mind when I job search. 2) The idea of a "college-going culture" intrigues me. I assume that some schools have this culture inherently. Schools in upper-middle to high-income neighborhoods. Schools with a majority population. Schools where a majority of parents attended college and understand the application process and college experience. Schools that have connections with institutions of higher education.

College Summit is trying to create something that doesn't exist at these schools and they are doing it in a grass-roots way by starting with the students. I'm still forming my opinion on this strategy but I can't argue with empowering the students. There's nothing more powerful than seeing students fighting for their own education and opportunities. Now, if we could only get some help on the admissions and assessment side of the question...

My experience was definitely worthwhile and I encourage all of you to check out opportunities to get involved with College Summit. With all of my jabber about the college-going culture, I'd love to hear about aspects of your schools that help to foster a college-going culture. Does your school promote this type of culture? What are the challenges? What are some opportunities to confront those challenges?