REFLECTION ZONE: 21 Seconds to Teach Humanity



I read the article "21 Seconds to Teach Humanity" by Lisa Weinbaum from the Spring 2009 edition of Teaching Tolerance.

The article begins with the author, a 7th grade English teacher, overhearing her colleagues negatively discussing teachers who don't follow the state mandates, and she later realized they were talking about her.

While she was concerned she didn't jump ship and stop the way she was teaching. She wrote that students at her school played 21 in the restrooms.  This was where two children would square off and beat each other to a pulp while other peers watched and cheered.  This was suppose to happen for 21 seconds, but no one timed it because this would shorten the show.  Students were severely hurt, there were consequences paid, and the students involved were suspended.  However, this behavior continued as the winner received respect from classmates.

The teacher questioned her class as to how many have participated in 21, and when they saw their teacher's reaction they stated, " But we're still friends!  It doesn't mean anything! How can you judge us when you don't know what we are going through?"  The teacher didn't feel she was judging, yet trying to keep students safe.

The teacher had her students read "The Lottery" which is a story about a small town ritual to stone a member of their community to death.  She had them watch the tv movie, and she froze the scene just as the daughter was throwing a stone at her mother with a face clear with hate.  She got her students to react that the people were twisted. Her students were sickened and questioned how could these people do that to their friends and loved ones.  Her students asked if that town still does that today, and she responded, "Yes, this practice continues to this day. In fact, it occurs right here in New Mexico, right here within our school."   She let them know that when they played 21, or they cheered on violence that they were no different from the people in "The Lottery," - they were one of them.  She really got through to them.  She made them see what they were doing was so cruel, when they couldn't see it on their own. She knows she made a difference because of the written self-reflections they shared and the bathroom behavior of 21 stopped. 

Her closing sentence held a great deal of power.  "Educators can teach to mandated standards and benchmarks and still teach the ultimate standard, one of human dignity."   Think of the shape some of her students may be in if she had only taught the required standards.  It is too bad this teacher felt like she only had 21 seconds to teach something so valuable, but I am glad she made the time. 

REFLECTION ZONE: Ubuntu

Ubuntu – I am what I am because of who we all are.

Ubuntu is the African concept that all humans are connected, valued, and are equal. One can achieve great things only when people are united with a common purpose and genuinely work together for the good of the group.  There are two levels of recognition of Ubuntu, and I feel the first is the most important piece of the entire philosophy.   The first level is to value others simply for who they are.  This is the heart of Ubuntu, and it must always come first.  This recognition is given unconditionally to every human being.  Each person is respected without preconditions.  Respect is not tied to performance or achievement.  This can be applied to the workplace or within a classroom.  Everyone needs to feel accepted, respected, and valued because they are human.  A teacher needs to display Ubuntu with her students all the time, even when they don’t try their best or do their work or make good choices.  Doing this breeds the trust that needs to be strongly in place for anything positive to follow. 

I also connected strongly to one of the statements listed under the Vision for the Bullseye Company.  The statement was, “The Ubuntu philosophy and the values it represents can guide us to become:  A community from which employees go home at the end of the day with the renewed energy and vitality that comes from hard work well done, pride, appreciation, and a sense of accomplishment. That statement sounds so refreshing, rewarding, and it is what I hope to feel on a consistent basis. I do feel this at times throughout the school year, and it is wonderful.  However, some nights I leave school without these feelings, but instead feeling run down, overworked, tired, or unappreciated as I am asked to keep doing more, more, more.  I am hopeful for the day where I feel more of the Ubuntu spirit inside me.  I am aware it starts with me, and I need to work at growing this spirit within me and it will contagiously spread. 

Overall, I am glad that there are different personalities that make all humans unique and beautiful.  I believe any personality type is capable of leading a life rooted in the Ubuntu philosophy.  While Ubuntu might come most naturally for the givers, such as Simon, any type of person is capable of incorporating these beliefs and attitudes, which can lead to a rich and meaningful life. 





REFLECTION ZONE: Unpacking the Common Core Standards

Unpacking the Common Core Standards



This past Friday I had the opportunity to attend an Unpacking the Common Core Math Standards workshop at CESA 11 in Turtle Lake, WI.  Each grade level took time to read the standards we will be expected to have our students master once the standards are implemented by 2014.  We also read the standards that were assigned to the grade level below and above the grade we teach.  Most of what 6th grade teachers will be responsible for is similar to what we already do with a few exceptions. It appears that we will be expected to go deeper into subjects instead of teaching more topics.  It is also expected students will come to us mastering skills needed to begin where we are suppose to.   There might be more pre-teaching in order to have students ready to learn the expected material.  I wonder if we will continue to have varying levels of math if all students in a certain grade are expected to master the exact same concepts and skills.  Currently we have a team-taught math for special ed and struggling learners, regular math classes, and accelerated math classes.  It will be interesting if the students with these varying degrees of math skills will all be in the same classes. 

We also spent a great deal of time writing the standards in student-friendly "I can" statements.  These will be posted as learning targets in our room to help students structure their thinking, know the expectations ahead of time, and see a reminder of where they have been.  While this seemed to be a time consuming activity, it was fairly easy to do since we as teachers already use student language while teaching. 

At times I feel like a lot will change, but when I look closer at it, I feel like we already have some of the work done.  I'm sure adopting the common core standards will change our specific standards, our materials, and even how we teach some of the topics.  I need to be ready to make the change whole-heartedly. 

REFLECTION ZONE: Essential Enneagram Reflection

Essential Enneagram Reflection

Abby Marish

After reading the essential enneagram:  The Definitive Personality Test and Self Discovery Guide, I identified my dominant personality type to be a perfectionist. While there are positives to this personality type there are also negatives that come with it. Some of the strengths of a perfectionist include integrity, putting forth a great deal of effort, being highly responsible, and keeping high standards.  Some of the negative characteristics include being critical of yourself and others, being consumed by making things right, and consistently putting work before pleasure.

I chose to follow one of the suggested practices for about three weeks.  I choose to start out each morning by centering myself with a few deep breaths and reading a scripted paragraph.  The paragraph was: “Today I will practice accepting my own and others’ mistakes and errors as part of the natural flow of life.  I will practice appreciating different points of view, different values, and different ways of doing things.  I can do this by releasing resentments when they arise and practicing forgiveness.  I will try to bring a sense of harmony and balance between work and pleasure into my life today.”

 

I read these words with an open mind and in a positive manner.  It was a calming time each morning.  I would also find myself taking a little extra time to say a prayer as well.  Both these activities helped create a very calm mood that stayed with me on the drive to work, as I prepared for the day, and throughout my day.  These words reminded me that it really is ok to make mistakes; they are a natural part of life and they sometimes can even make life more interesting.  Sometimes I think I know the best way to do something, and I might feel a little upset if someone wants to do something differently.  These words reminded me to be open to others’ good ideas that would accomplish the same task. I found myself more aware that someone had a differing idea, and I would consider it more realistically and not be irritated if we decided to try someone else’s idea.  My sister and I are different and yet very similar.  You could say we are identical, but also opposites.  We are best friends, but sometimes we choose to do things differently than the other one would.  I find myself being more critical of her than others, and I do not like that I am like this since she is my closest friend and someone I can always count on.  I am making a more conscious effort to accept her different points of view or different ways of doing things. 

These words also seem to give me a sense of permission to not always put work first.  Between schoolwork, masters work, preparing for a long-term sub, and reading about upcoming motherhood I could work all day and all evening everyday and still have more to do the next day.  I feel sad about this part of my personality because I feel my husband sometimes gets the short end of the stick, or might get bored as I don’t spend as much time doing fun things with him as I wish we could.    I also worry because I know I can’t put our soon to be daughter’s needs second.  I need to be a mom first and letting some of the schoolwork or extra committees go might be a very difficult transition for me to make.  Reading these words makes me feel ok and even good to put some of my work off in order to make time for the fun things in life.  I still have a ways to go in this category, but I am willing to work at it.  I am proud of the work I do, but I also want to be proud of the fun I have and the memories I am a part of making.

REFLECTION ZONE: Academic Intervention Tier 1 Results



I implemented the help signal with my second hour team taught math students.  Each student received a laminated help button to use during work time.  I collect them and keep them in the room so they do not get lost, and I pass them out during work time.
The students' reactions have been positive.  Students have asked, "Are we using the buttons today?"  I introduced them before taking the WKCE, and a student was disappointed that they weren't allowed to use them on the state test. :)
Students place the green side up when they are understanding and do not need our help.  The red side would be displayed when they were stuck or needed some assistance.
Positives:

• Easy, non-threatening way to ask for help
• Hands don't need to be raised, so they are able to keep working and not just sit and wave their hands around without working. (very nice)
• Shy students are more likely to flip their card than raise their hand or approach a teacher.  One student who has not once initiated help this year has flipped her card multiple times since the start of the intervention.
• Not everyone notices if your card is red, whereas raising your hand draws attention
• When the green side is flipped I can still stand over their shoulder and check that they are understanding, but I don't need to interrupt them to check in.  They are communicating they are fine with the green card.
• I have one autistic student who started out shouting, "My card is red.  My card is red."  He then progressed to smacking it down loudly when he turned it to red.  We have talked about flipping and still trying.  You first have to have evidence that you tried the problem on your paper.  If you are still stuck, you will need to move on to a different problem until a teacher can get to you.  He is learning patience as he has progressed to trying to make eye contact with me before flipping, but this is an improvement. 

Overall this has been a positive intervention.  It was easy for me to prepare and easy for the students to use.  I will continue using this with this group of students and would consider trying it with my other math classes as well.

REFLECTION ZONE: Live @Edu

 I introduced my 6th grade advisory team to a collaborative online document at Live@Edu(Office365).  I was going to create this on Google Docs, but our tech. dept. responded that it would be easier to use WindowsLive as all staff members already had an account created for them.  The tech. dept. offered to provide a how-to session for our team, but I played around with this as it is a little different than google docs, and I was able to share it with my team. I created an online spreadsheet where each advisor recorded notes from Parent Teacher Conferences.  My team did not have experience with this piece of technology, and they were happy with its ease, that they could access it from any computer, and the fact that it automatically saved. :)  We display this document on the promethean board. We are planning to use it at our Students of Concern meetings to keep records on kids that anyone can access.  We are also using it in preparation for the next time we have conferences.  It was fun to introduce something new to my team that they found helpful.

REFLECTION ZONE: Teaching With Poverty in Mind

End of Chapter 2

Some of the most important skills teachers should foster are social skills and problem-solving skills.  If students are taught social skills to resist peer pressure they stay in school longer, do better academically, and get in less trouble. p39-40

Low SES children are often subject to health and safety issues like malnutrition, environmental hazards, and insufficient health care.  Kids raised in poverty have more cells in their body "under siege" and therefore their ability to concentrate, learn, and behave appropriately are diminished. p41-42

Effects of Health Issues on School Behavior & Performance p43
school absences, tardiness rates, incidents of illness during class, rates of undiagnosed or untreated health problems or disabilities

Action Steps p43-44
provide physician on site, work with local pharmacy for access to meds, have a dentist make school visits, provide tutors to help students who miss classes to catch up, improve staff awareness about health-related issues
Anyone finds it difficult to listen, concentrate, or learn if they don't feel well. 
Does your school do any of the action steps listed or any additional steps to help out with health and safety issues?

Chapter 3

The brain CAN change - it is designed to change.
Positive Changes can occur from quality nutrition, exercise, and learning.  Negative changes can result from long-term neglect, chronic drug abuse, and boredom.
Research shows that IQ may be affected by the following factors:  home environment/living conditions, early childhood experiences, educational interventions, amount and duration of schooling, and quality of nutrition.
To succeed in school, students need to have an academic operating system in place.  The must-haves are: p55

• ability and motivation to defer gratification and make a sustained effort to meet long-term goals

• auditory, visual, and tactile processing skills

• attentional skills that enable the student to engage, focus, and disengage as needed
• short-term and working memory capacity
• sequencing skills
• a champion's mind-set and confidence

These skills help form the foundation for school success and can give students the capacity to override the adverse risk factors of poverty.
The operating system can be improved through many activities such as: physical activity, playing chess, the arts, and music.   Low SES kids' brains have adapted to survive their circumstances, not to get As in school.  Teachers need to upgrade their operating systems in order to make a difference in their academics.
Action Steps

• Change Staff Members' Mind-Sets
• Invest in Staff
• Support Ongoing Collaboration
• Encourage Staff Dialogue
• Gather Quality Data

Do you feel all the teachers in your school fully believe that EVERY kid can succeed?