In my entry-level class, I have a student. Let’s call him Gonzo (no actual resemblance). Gonzo is that kid. He is the one who must be off in another world, well, all of the time. I explain something to a (finally) quiet classroom. Heads are nodding, kids are smiling. Directions stop and, like a shotgun start, heads snap down, pencils pop up and the “work” of education continues. Gonzo’s hand comes up. “Okay, so what are we supposed to do?”

Those around Gonzo (and even those on the other side of the room from Gonzo) groan. An audible heave of the “Oh, Gonzo” emotion. Some days it takes all they have to not spout off some snide remark.

Gonzo is not stupid. He’s not even a blue kid. He just sometimes needs to be spoken to directly (one-on-one) when giving directions, and sometimes, even then, even after a one-on-one session with head nodding and eye tracking, I turn to walk away and leave him to his now-guided work, and the hand shoots up again. “Okay, so wait. Now what am I supposed to do?”

A sigh breathes past my lips and I hold back a snide remark, but I turn around and go back because it’s my job to teach… not to give him a hard time.

And this is where I caught myself last week. This is where I had to change.

Another student asks a question, also not listening. I smile, jaunt over and cover what they missed with a sparkle in my eye and enthusiasm in my voice.

Did I probably treat Gonzo exactly the same way the first, second, third, twenty-third time that he asked the question? Yes. I might even put money on that. But when that enthusiasm stopped started to wane, I didn’t even notice. I didn’t notice until last week when I found myself refraining from my snide remark. That’s also when I noticed my squinty, tired eyes, my Bueller voice, and my slumped posture as I spoke with him. It was the tired me that sometimes slips by the attitude-bouncer, but it’s also the me I don’t like seeing.

They say kids know the real truth about people and what we are feeling, the truth that can be hidden from many adults. Our children are watchers. They watch us to see if they can trust us. They watch us to see how much we care. They watch us to see who we really are. They watch us in the times when we are most tired and dealing with people who may not be the easiest to deal with. Perhaps they watch us most at that time because it shows some of our true character. It shows them how we might react to them someday.

I often have conversations with students about how ethics aren’t really meaningful until they’re tried and tested in the tough situations, and last week I caught myself not living up to my own standards.

There is a story in the book of Matthew (25) about the end-of-times as Jesus says to those on his right, “‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

The people respond that they didn’t remember ever having fed or clothed him, to which he responds, “⁴⁰I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

I think our students see the same. They see how we treat the kids who are the most outrageous, the kids who are the most persistent, the kids who are the least respectful, the kids who just don’t listen, and somewhere inside, they take it to heart: all the more reason to not start slipping down that slippery slope.

This week I made a renewing effort to wipe clean, to be excited, and to share that excitement with everyone, but especially Gonzo. I’m doing it for Gonzo, I’m doing it for the Gonzo watchers, but mostly I need to be doing it because I think it’s right and it’s who I believe I really am… and I need to be that no matter the circumstance.

Catching up on my blogroll today, I read a post by dy/dan about “The Blue Students“. It reminded me, in part, of my classes normally, but definitely reminded me of last spring’s class. We were having a hard time, and I had to be on my game every second of the period… or I would lose them, or at least the most influential few.

I like the way of looking at this because I’m sure that class will not be the last class of the blues. It’s a good reminder that they keep you lean (much more than those who can/will learn via almost anything) and that we are not alone in this.

I especially like the note in the comments describing these students as “in fourth down, punt formation at all times”. These are the students that make teachers. The gray students can be taught by anyone. The blue students prove your  mettle.

Tomorrow is the big day!

9. November 2009 is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall.

What a fantastic day, and what fantastic discussions to be had.

So I am feeling overwhelmed.

I know there are SO many things out there about the fall of the wall that I am sure that I am missing some of the very best ones. I have slogged through all of the fantastic content that Deutsche Welle has on the topic both in German and in English and have catalogued it for when I teach the upper level class next semester (and sifted for the things I can use in 85 minutes tomorrow), but I know there is soooo much more out there.

I love the story of the two animatronic robots/giants that went through Berlin to find each other… Riesen in Berlin… I would like to find more about them.

I would love to hear even more stories about that night. I would love to hear more Ostalgie stories. I would love to hear more stories of escape, more stories of the Tränenpalast, more stories of Alltag in der DDR.

But I’m too overwhelmed to even start looking… because with news stories coming and getting buried faster than I can blink an eye, I’m (illogically) afraid all of it will only be available tomorrow and never again.

Do you have anything wonderful you’ve seen?

Actual Hazards and Perceived Threats

Infographics.

I found my renewed interest in these fantastic informational pots of gold when I saw Susanna Hertrich’s Risk infographic. Ms. Hertrich’s infographic was probably most interesting to me because of my nerdy interest in sociology and the psycho- and sociological impacts of fear (and fear-mongering).

Since that time, I’ve subscribed to a couple great websites that focus on infographics. Chart Porn is a great resource for getting a gift basket of meaningful infographics on an almost daily basis. On a more light-hearted note, sites like Surviving the World are great for the occasional  homemade chart/graphic fun.

I can think of easy excuses to add infographics into other curricular areas… but it’s time to brainstorm meaningful ways to use infographics in the world language classroom.

Off the top of my head for my Germans:

• Sports: Look at the sports that are popular (or anything else cultural) and show the popularity by size of the ball. (My crystal ball says that there will be big soccer balls all around…)
• History: Upper-level: show the number of people per state that tried to escape East Germany… and perhaps the number that came from the west via different colors
• Popularity: Popularity of anything: music, movies, food… by state, age group, country

What else…

Tonight is the big Vikings/Packers game  on  Monday Night Football. The night that Favre plays  in the dome against the Packers. Granted, it’s not Lambeau field, but it’s  a pretty  big deal. I  got plenty of comments from  my beloved students today while I was wearing my Packers jersey.

On a (somewhat) related note, the other day we were asked to talk  about one thing we really enjoyed/were good at. Being funny (and not wanting to waste a bunch of time talking about myself), I said that I love to watch and cheer for the Packers.  After everyone shared, the leader  then asked us to make the connection between the thing we  do well and ourselves as a teacher. (i.e. if you like gardening, perhaps it shows itself as you carefully tend to the needs of students to help them grow.) I started to put it together, but today,  wearing the jersey in the middle of this rivalry, it became even more clear.

I am a die hard fan. I will cheer you on in the best of times and in the worst of times. I will wait and support through the losses so we can all enjoy the wins. I am a die hard fan and, I have to admit, I have little time  for fair-weather fans.

So I made a PowerPoint to explain this to my kids… and to talk about integrity. We talked about fair-weather fans, fair-weather friends, and fair-weather everything else.  It was a quick 5 minute talk, but a nice segue  into the (even more brief) note that I am here for them if they need something… even if it’s just to be a connector to the person/people/help they really need.

It’s crazy where educational philosophy can pop up in life. I love football.

In the most recent Educational Leadership (online), there is an article by David Sousa called Revisiting Teacher Learning: Brain-Friendly Learning for Teachers. Although this article is geared at teaching adults, it cites some of the most recent brain research. In the section titled “Feedback Fuels Learning”, Sousa talks about the necessity and benefit of feedback.

Recent imaging studies have shown that brain regions associated with motivation are more active in subjects who are learning tasks and receiving feedback than in subjects doing the same tasks with no feedback (van Duijvenvoorde et al., 2008). This finding should come as no surprise to teachers who use constructive feedback to encourage struggling students. Feedback is a key contributor to motivation.

Feedback is something I would like to do more of in the classroom. I would like to find a user-friendly way to provide immediate and effective feedback for all of my students… not just the ones who raise their hands*. I often have students work in partnerships and give each other feedback… and in some classes that works better than others. It seems that in the classes where the students are already engaged and they feel that sense of community, they are more likely to be willing to try in front of their peers and give and receive feedback to/from their peers. Perhaps this is bringing us back one more time to the idea of community building in the classroom… or perhaps that is just an underlying necessity of many things in the classroom (which I have often come to believe, but find easy to forget when times get tough… which is when we need it the most). Community building is, after all, kind of like fulfilling the “basic needs” part of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. How can students (who aren’t naturally what I will call “professional students”) feel okay with putting themselves out there both to get and give feedback if they don’t feel intellectually safe?

Sousa goes on to talk more about the specifics of feedback:

• “Effective feedback is timely.”
• “Good feedback is also specific. Telling someone, “You’re doing a nice job” doesn’t help that person’s brain explore and apply modifications to behavior that might lead to continued success.”
• “Specific, positive feedback stimulates the prefrontal cortex to reflect on ways to improve performance.”
• “Negative feedback may never reach the prefrontal cortex. Instead, it is often diverted to the limbic area, where it produces stress and results in the release of cortisol so that the individual goes into survival mode. Powerful negative feelings surface, intrinsic motivation declines, and the learning portion of the brain shuts down.”

So what does this mean for my students?

*Isn’t that one of the vicious cycles in education? The students who raise their hands are often the students who already either know the answer or know how to be good students… thus raising their hand and asking the question: fearless of being incorrect. The students who sit quietly or sleep may be the ones who need the practice the most… but don’t know how to get into this society of professional students (or don’t see the benefit of it)… so they just keep doing what they’re doing.

As part of an answer to a struggling class, I put together a plan that incorporates learning styles into our chapter (clothing). I feel like this could be a tool for them to use… and one that might help them find success. I put together the weekly plan, including worksheets. This plan is pretty open… meaning that it should fit with many/any different unit.

If you take a look at it and have some fantastic ideas for improvement, please let me know! If you take a look at it and can use it/modify it for your use, go for it!

Unit- Learning through Learning Styles

Much of this came out of the idea to give students support, empowerment, and a commitment to learning: all developmental assets that kids need to succeed. More inspiring information about this at The Search Institute.

Up next week? Learning through Multiple Intelligences

This is a step-by-step document I created for a brief inservice.

It is definitely for absolute beginners… and is built off our Moodle layout/setup. (Your Moodle might be a smidge different… who knows?)

Take anything and change it so it works for you (if it works for you): Making Moodle Work

Our district has set up a program so that teachers can get into each other’s classrooms and learn from each other: both ways. I find that I learn so much about myself when someone comes into my room. It often validates the thoughts I’ve already had. When I have the opportunity to get into someone else’s room, I learn so many ideas and wonderful techniques to add to my “bag of tricks”.

Today I had a brief meeting with another teacher about the 3rd hour class she visited. She said that something just felt different with this class. The fun, bubbly connections weren’t being made. The laughs weren’t being had. The fun wasn’t there.  The worst part? I remember thinking that day was a good day. I’ve been ruminating about these kids/this class a lot lately… so having the discussion just brought the issue to a head.

So many of the kids in this class are hurting. They struggle academically, socially, with figures of authority, or at home. I love loving these kids, but this class is full of so much need that I have felt like I just can’t help all of them. I’m used to about 20-40% with such high needs. This class easily has 70-90% with real needs in one of many spectra. I’m feeling a bit “in over my head” when I think about the lives and futures of these kids.

I need to come up with a plan so I can feel that I’m giving them more of what they need and deserve. I just wish I had more time with them now that we’ve gotten to this place.

Ideas:

• weekly conferences with each kid: brief, 1-2 minute conferences about the week, my class and their other classes, and their outlook
• make a list: make a list and make “relationship plans” for each one
• hmmm… ideas? anyone? Bueller?

I had a great conversation today after school with two of my dearest friends. We came to the question, Which Battles do You Choose to Fight?

Thoughts in Progress….

There are so many different little battles in every classroom every day: some that we see, and even others we’re hardly aware of. If we try to carry or fight them all, it becomes too heavy. We are humans (like the Scrubs theme, “I’m no Superman”), so we choose.

So which battles do we choose to fight? Do we fight the kids who daze out the window, or the kids who do other homework in class, or the kids who consistently bring out their iPod/cell phone, or the kids who would rather talk to friends, or the kids who have a disrespectful tone, or the kids who really just don’t care, or the kids who purposefully fly under the radar so they can slide by with the bare minimum, or the kids who are hurting so badly that they couldn’t focus on German if they wanted to, or the kids whose sense of entitlement is irresponsible and disrespectful, or the kids who need you to fight for them and love them because no one else in their life will, or the kids who… the list goes on and on. The interesting thing is that we all choose different things… and,  most of the time,  these battles go unanswered even when it looks like a teacher has “great classroom management”.

So the question becomes,
Do the battles one chooses to fight make one teacher “better” than another?