Staying present and motivated

While this post isn’t technically about the things we’ve been reading for class, those texts have really made me feel like I need to step up my game. I’m noticing that it gets overwhelming trying to answer everyone’s questions, hand out graded assignments, make sure no one’s on their phone as they’re doing their assigned work that it is difficult for me to be present in every moment. When I say present I mean that it’s hard to always keep purpose in the forefront of my mind. 

Choice Words had so many wonderful examples of how to make any moment a “teachable” moment. Ladson-Billings’ case studies of the the effective teachers also inspires me to make sure every encounter I have with my students is worthwhile. It’s easy when I get stressed by misbehavior, or the pressure from admin about testing or the rigid curriculum to get too inside of my head and go through the motions of teaching. I try to always be present and enjoy my time with my students. I consistently attempt to make sure my conferences and all of our interactions are worthwhile but at the end of the day I find myself wondering what I can do better. How could I have handled that class differently? Why didn’t I mention this or that when I talked with Oscar this morning? I try to not be hard on myself. I know there’s a learning curve and that it takes time to perfect the dialogues we have with our students but I want to make sure my students know that I value our time together and I don’t want to waste anyone’s precious time.

I subbed for my teacher on Friday afternoon. It was really crazy, to say the least. We had three classes in the afternoon because of Lanier’s wonky Friday schedule, including our inclusion class. I think by default they were a bit wacky because it was Friday. I tried my best to keep everyone motivated and working but there was confusion about the assignment and a lot of students weren’t sure about what was supposed to be due for that day. I had trouble making sure everyone was doing their work. A lot of students didn’t touch their papers they were writing until I walked up and talked to them one on one about their progress. After the bell rang I asked myself how I could have handled it differently. I wish I would have brought the class together establish the importance of simply asking questions when they’re confused. I also wish I would have reaffirmed the necessity of revision, we’re working on revising and editing narratives. Overall, the work was finished and I had some strong conferences with students, especially the ELLs but where do I start to make sure every class starts on a positive, motivating note?

Back at it

All last week I read Choice Words in the morning before I start teaching for the day. I’m glad I started my day off with it because it’s a reminder of how vital every conversation I have with my students is in their development as critical thinkers, readers, and writers. I’ve used a lot of these techniques before without really having a way to name them. It’s true that most of them are geared towards elementary students. I recognize that I was trained to speak with students in this manner when I worked with AmeriCorps in South Austin.  However, I find them really helpful with my secondary students as well.  Asking students how they came to write about what they did or what was their thought process for finding a solution to a difficult question makes them think about their position as an engaged learner who has control over their education.

As we talked about last class my class has been erm…a little more scripted, shall we say? We assigned our juniors to write a narrative about death. For some reason the powers above enforce that we have to have all of our writing on those cursed 26 lines. Yes, even for juniors who don’t have to take the test. So that was pretty lame but I tried to make the most of it. I walked around and conferenced with some students and read their essays with them when they were finished. Then I tried out a few of these quips in Choice Words. I don’t know if it was the way I was asking these questions or if they’re just not used to being questioned in this manner but most of my students thought that I was questioning them because they were wrong and they needed to change what they were writing. I realized I had to preface our conversation with a reassurance I was asking them about their writing because I wanted to know how they thought of their story and why they wrote it that way because I am honestly interested and eager to help them become passionate writers. One of my challenge students who doesn't like to read and always seems to dislike what we’re doing in class turned in his essay to me and I sat down with him and immediately read it. After words I was so enthusiastic because he really did set a great scene incorporating his upbringing in Jamaica and I told him so. I gave him specific examples of what I liked about his writing and he seemed genuinely surprised and happy. It seemed like he wasn’t used to being praised for his reading and I’m hoping that our conversation will help him to continue writing. especially about Jamaica.

I don’t think a lot of these students are used to being asked to reflect on why they write a certain way or how they came to their decisions. The questions usually stop after a correct answer is supplied. Does anyone else feel this way too?