Work Smarter, Not Harder.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

I did my time. I carted home bags and boxes of reports to read. I covered my dining table with papers to grade. I spent my lunch breaks marking homework pages. I cancelled plans on Sundays so I could prep for the upcoming week in class.

One afternoon my daughter came by to tell me about her pay raise at the job she had for a fast food chain. She asked me how much money I made per hour. I had never tried to compute that before, so I sat down and took an honest look at how many hours I was not only AT school (including staff trainings, bus duties, open houses, IEP meetings, etc.), but also all the hours I spent AWAY from campus doing school work. I did the math - and discovered my young high school grad assistant manager girl was earning MORE PER HOUR than I was!!

Well, things changed. Of course I kept the meetings, duties, training and after-school events. But after that eye-opening calculator total glowed in my vision, I no longer took work home. I kept my job at my job. That meant going into work half an hour earlier, and staying a couple hours later - but it freed my nights and weekends. I became more organized, more focused. I was a better planner and a quicker executer of plans. I didn't delay or procrastinate (as much). And I was happier, more relaxed, and sane.

Try it. It is freeing, and I promise, the students will not suffer for it. A balanced teacher is a good teacher.

TV OR NOT TV II

My career in broadcasting ended when I became a certified educator. After I became an elementary school teacher, I continued to utilize media in my instruction, although I struggle still to convince most principals and administrators of the merits of television in the classroom. An example would be the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama, which was televised on January 9th. I was the only teacher who allowed the students to watch this live, ground-breaking event during class, and I admit I did this covertly. There is such a push to stick to the pacing schedule of mandated curriculum, any divergence away from the routine is a hard sell. But I could not let this pivotal moment in history go by without being witnessed by my small citizens. Plus, I wanted to see it, too! The class loved the coverage, and discussed the whole proceedings with interest. (The favorite single aspect of the whole broadcast, according to my class, was the size of Aretha Franklin's hat! Kids will be kids.) As we analyzed the coverage afterward the students had great questions,  which lead to further research and fact finding on the internet during computer time during the week. 

I have also tuned into pertinent newscasts, recaps of Olympics games, and recorded  videos that related to subjects we were studying. (When I read Make Way For Ducklings to my primary students, I showed the clip from July, 2009 "Washington Banker Saves a Dozen Ducklings".) I believe the difference between education with television media and mind-numbing television viewing is demonstrated in the pause. If I am familiar with the clips I show, and I have intent and direction with the lesson I am teaching, the t.v. is a great resource.  

In the days of VHS tapes, I learned the "Power of Pause". I discovered that by simply pausing the tape, I could produce a number of responses and interactions with the class. The first response is always, "No! Don't stop!", which is a good sign they are engaged. Then there can be questions and conversations, such as "What happened?", "Why do you think that happened?", and "What will happen next?". This deepens the experience of whatever movie or show is being presented. It taps into Bloom's taxonomy of cognition in a subtle, accessible way. And it keeps the process of watching television controlled and purposeful.

T.V., or Not T.V. ? That Is The Question.

Television in the classroom, part one. 


The long standing debate about the merits and curse of using television in schools has been of personal interest for decades. My background and my professional focus, prior to teaching, was communications and media. It was my major in college during the '70's. My interest in this field lead to numerous radio station jobs as a D.J. for jazz, rock and easy-listening music, and there was a period of time I enjoyed hosting a radio talk show focused on Women's Rights. I also was employed as a news reporter, for both radio and television, where I was allowed to 'pull' my news reports*. I especially relished my years on a small independent t.v. network as a talk-of-the-town host. The small staff and limited funding pushed me to try camera work, editing, sound mixing, production and marketing.  I was given free range to book my choice of talent for every show, and the format / message was mine to determine. All this experience gave me deep respect for the power of media.


When I started working in education I wanted to bring my media background into the classroom. While still enrolled in coursework for my teaching certification, I began working as a classified aide in a rural school. The campus had just received a grant for technology, and the principal was inspired to develop an on site television station. I became the school's media director. We had t.v. monitors installed in every class that linked to the main hub of cameras, desks, computers and editing technology purchased. What a blast it was to begin a project and get to see it take hold! The staff was accepting and the students were thrilled to have the morning announcements televised each day, starring classmates and guest speakers. Field trips, science fairs, assemblies and special presentations were taped and archived. Spelling bees were held in the studio and televised to the classrooms, which kept the nerves of the participants less jangled and allowed the viewers free range to cheer and 'assist' without shushing. Every student had their time on camera, as staff became accustomed to incorporating media into their lessons. One memorable film was a 2nd grade class production of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" (Laura Joffe Numeroff), starring several students and the class pet rat! Every family was encouraged to bring in a blank VHS tape, and it was then my job to produce a record of every student's filmed history as a kind of Video Year Book. It was a big commitment, and a daunting learning curve for all of us, but it paid off. Thanks to the vision from a forward thinking principal, the school was recognized state wide as innovative and successful for the media work we accomplished, and I was able to blend my long time love of media with my new inspiration to work with children in education.

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*This was back in the day when news information was sent to stations via teletype to a staff announcer, who would “rip and read” reports offered by the news service Associated Press.

What I Did Last Summer....

I have a number of practices for the beginning of each new school year. Before a new class comes into the room, I cover their work areas* with large sheets of paper, and put out buckets of markers. When the kids come in, Day One, they are given time to draw pictures of 3 or 4 highlights of their summer break. This is a calming activity, as there is no need to talk, nor is there a right or wrong way to do the work. The kids settle in, relax, and by drawing, display their personality, while at the same time they make themselves 'at home' in the class. Their drawing = their space.

There is additional time given throughout the first week to add more memories of add detail to the events they chose. At the close of week one, we tour the room and the artists describe their summer break. It is a great way for ALL of us to learn what interests the individual child, as well as some of their family structure, members and dynamics, and their general background. It is also another way to get the students accustomed to 'public' speaking. I believe the ability to talk in front of groups is an important social skill, and I weave opportunities for public addresses into my classwork as often as possible.

*I tend to teach with students seated at tables, not desks. Large work tables that seat at least four children per grouping work best. I think the tables afford greater work space and better practice with group interaction. Sharing, conversing, assisting, and creating happen in table groups with a more natural ease. It is a quick way to form hetero or homogenous groupings for lessons. Plus, it keeps kids from hoarding and clinging to 'their' stuff and space. It is communal and effective, in my experience. Oh, and it's much easier to keep clean and tidy!

Here's Looking At You, Kid.

During the first week of school I have the students create a number of art projects and renderings. One of the first tasks is a portrait of a neighbor. I pair up the students with someone they don't know, when possible. I give each student a pen (no pencils - they spend too much time erasing), and some crayons. I demonstrate the sketch on the white board, drawing an oval (no Charlie Brown heads!) and dividing that in quadrants to show placement of features. I talk them through a rough drawing, and then give them time to color and add details. These 'buddy portraits are a great ice breaker, in and of themselves, but I follow it up with a 'carpet time' talk, giving each student an opportunity to show off their work and introduce their 'subject'. We keep the portraits posted until our first Open House. A very fun activity, with benefits of connecting with and accepting peers for the year.

D.E.A.R.

Drop Everything And Read.

D.E.A.R. stands for Drop Everything and Read. National D.E.A.R. Day is a special reading celebration to remind and encourage families to make reading together on a daily basis a family priority. Harper Collins Publishing helps sponsor this event every April, in conjunction with Beverly Cleary’s birthday. Check it out:

http://dropeverythingandread.com/NationalDEARday.html

In my class, I schedule DEAR time a couple of days every week. The students are provided ability level books from the school or public library. I also purchase books at the Scholastic warehouse, usually in pairs so they can have a reading buddy. For 15 or 20 minutes, the class gets to grab some pillows, stretch out on the floor, and read semi-silently for FUN! While I attempt to keep a log of books and page counts, I don't require book reports. I learned over time reporting squashes the pleasure of reading for my class. And I want reading to be a positive, relaxing and entertaining time!

Silly Break

I kept this cartoon posted in my class to remind me that sometimes everyone just need to get silly. When the doldrums set into the classroom, or there's tension building between students, or frustration hits me during a lesson, or standardized tests are dragging on and on and on... interjecting some fun helps everyone rebound.

Silly can be music slipped into the CD player. "I Like To Move It" by wii.i.am from Madagascar’s sound track is one of the favorites, or "Bang The Drum All Day" by Todd Rundgren works well to get the class up shaking and jumping. Silly can be a SpongeBob SquarePants video break. Twenty some minutes at the Krusty Krab Shack with Patrick and Gary lightens everyone’s mood. Silly can be reading time on the floor with pillows - as long as it's fun reading (Captain Underpants RULES). Silly can be chalk drawing on the sidewalk outside the class, or a Simon Says walk around the blacktop, or a hula hoop showdown on the lawn. In 10 to 30 minutes, the students (and their teacher) will be able to return to class work refreshed and relaxed. Thanks, Garfield!

To Bee or Not to Bee.

School is a competitive climate. Grades and tests and scores and awards are all designed to show who's best and who's not. My self-appointed challenge is to keep my class as competition free as possible while still grading, testing, scoring, and awarding.  

To stress personal successes over class or school scores, I manufacture individualized assignments and assessments. I develop rubric grading scales that are tailored for the ability levels of the particular child. I have portfolios of each child's work throughout the year so progress can be mapped and achievements concretely demonstrated. I also manipulate the lessons I give 'whole class', so that students with varied learning strengths have opportunities to comprehend the concepts being addressed. This is NOT as time-consuming or unwieldy as it might sound.  

I am mandated to use specific curriculum in my classroom that the district provides. These materials are often out of reach for my special needs students, who might be 3 or 4 grade levels below the texts and worksheets supplied. Adapting lessons has become second nature, as it is the only way I can deliver the information required and address the state's age-level standards for testing. I create my own supplemental materials, as well as employing games as part of instructional delivery.

Games and sports at school are competitive the same way grades are, as there are winner and losers. Over the years I have manufactured ways to present and score games so each child is a winner. Working together as groups is one way I can assist their success. I place students in teams so that their individual strengths can build their group strength. I want the students to experience team-building, not player eliminations!

There are weekly word searches with concept or vocabulary words I have chosen (see the blog titled SPELL IT OUT). I arrange the students in table groups with a mixed ability level, and let them help each other find and highlight the hidden words. Each member of the table group needs to have all the words crossed out in order to be finished. This gives students experience with helping and being helped. There are weekly hang-man games with the same words, and I pair up students for those games with mixed abilities - supplying struggling spellers with their word list so they may better play the game. There is also a weekly spelling bee in my class. For the bee, I will choose students with closely matched abilities for the rounds so there is not blatant disparity in their levels. I start with the smallest, most easily spelled words and move into the more difficult ones. The class is so accustomed to playing while learning, and helping as well as receiving help, that competition does not pose a threat or cast a cloud over the classroom. After days of playing with their weekly words, the students are assured and confident by their test dates on Friday. It's a WIN/WIN situation!

S.T.A.R.

Rules, rules and more rules. The beginning of each school year is a marathon of jumping into classroom rules. The school and the district have mandated behavior regulations and the consequences for not following protocol. Then there are specific expectations for individual teachers and their students. Many rules, district, school or teacher created, end up being posted, and most often rules are led by 'DON'T' ! Don't talk, don't leave your seat, don't hit, don't steal, don't curse, don't cheat, don't disrupt.....

Ew. I find this method too punitive, distracting and meaningless.  When I first started teaching, I encouraged the class to develop their own set of rules. Man, were they tough on themselves! And picky and downright mean. One student might suggest there should be no littering, and the consequence for littering should be no recesses for the whole week. Or another would say gum chewing shouldn't be allowed, and if the student gets caught with gum they should have detention for a week. In one middle school class I taught, the students came up with a list of twenty classroom rules! It was exhaustive and labor intensive to try and track and modify so many 'don’ts'.

Over the years, with trial and error, my students and I have utilized a system for behavior modification that seems to work. There are just four things to track, and these values are wrapped up in what we call our STAR system. STAR stands for Stop, Think, Act and Reflect. If 'googled', this STAR system will yield a ton of information, texts, charts and videos. I didn't invent it - I just adopted and adapted it for my class.

We post a traffic light in the room, and I have smaller handouts of traffic lights I give to each student. I also have overheads or other graphics I can use for whole class discussions. The red light symbolizes STOP. The yellow represents THINK, and the green is for ACT! Reflect or review is our discussion time. The students determine the STOP actions, which primarily are any actions that can cause harm, physical or emotional, to another person or themselves. Any such act is an immediate RED LIGHT STOP! The THINK behaviors are actions that distract or derail the learning process in class, such as talking out, moving about or being inattentive. These are YELLOW LIGHT THINK behaviors. Green is go - and together as a class we decide what actions and behaviors represent a readiness to be a good citizen and student in the class. The list of positive traits include attitudes such as willingness, kindness, or perseverance. We might also list actions such as getting enough sleep, eating breakfast and being prepared.

Once or twice a week we reflect on how we are doing as a class. There are also daily check-ins. And if there is a problem, we immediately refer to the stop light and review what has happened in class. I have a chart by the door that places students’ names in either red, yellow or green. Every morning the class starts out in green for GO. If there are minor disturbances, a student’s name will be moved to yellow and a conference with the teacher will occur. If the student continues to act out or distract, they will move to red and receive consequences. If there is any threat of danger or injury, the student is removed from the class and disciplinary actions are taken. The STAR system is a simple, easily understood, and graphically displayed way to modify behaviors in the classroom.