Be a Manager and not a Punisher

Today was all about discipline. I realized that I was very lucky in my training because I already believe in and use the fundamentals that were presented today. This is a good thing, because I know that my style of discipline aligns with what the district wants to support. This was a bad thing, because I didn't feel like I left today with many NEW things to take with me into my classroom.

So the fundamentals of today were to take each discipline opportunity as just that- an opportunity return to the class, gain understanding of what happened, make reparations and get closer to the kind of person they want to be. This means asking lots of questions when dealing with an issue: what does our class believe about how we treat others? is what you're doing right now helping or hurting our learning? what does it look like if you're being respectful? You get the picture. Rather than TELLING, we are all about getting kids to think about their actions by questioning. We know that physiologically, you activate a different part of your brain when you are thinking about a question- it's more sophisticated thinking.

What I love about this is it gives students a chance to make those better decisions that all of us teachers and administrators want them to make. We need to give them tools to control those impulses that may be naughty or disruptive or violent. When you get angry or agitated, chances are your thinking processes aren't functioning the way they normally would. Some students have no other resources but to punch or talk back or skip class. This discipline takes on a student with a rap sheet of fighting and suspensions and says "We want to give you tools so you can deal with the stress that you're probably going to face, and we want you to do that in a way that doesn't get you in trouble." Some schools draw a line in the sand about behavior and rules, basically challenging students to act up and get in trouble. And they do that because they really don't want that "troublemaker" in the school. And that's throwing away a student's future.

Our presenter today has been an Assistant Principal for 18 years and she loves her job. She is passionate about this type of discipline because she's seen it work for 17 years as an administrator and as a parent. She told us umpteen stories where she used the principles of these methods and talked students out of making bad and dangerous choices. She also told us about times she wasn't able to use these strategies and why that was, and how she would have done better if only...She was very real about the issues we will face and did a good job addressing our own concerns.

So all discipline aside, I've officially finished 7/12 of my days of training. We get down to building business next week. It will be interesting getting the whole staff together and getting down to some nitty gritty work. I will also have TONS of time in my class to do things like label my student's mailboxes, organize their writing journals, get my math tool kits together, find things to put up on my walls, make my classroom inviting for the open house coming up next week.

WHEW! Nearly ready for the kiddos!
~J

Lets talk about the achievement gap

Just about any educator will tell you that there are many factors to high and low achievement:

• Literacy
  
• Socio-economic status
• Race
  
• School resources (money)
  
• Gender
• Health
  
• Home/School support

The one thing that most people don't like to talk about is race. We talk around poverty and race and access to nutrition and we may or may not mention race. We discuss McIntosh's White Knapsacks of Privilege and agree that as educators we need to work very hard to overcome the institutional racism that exists in our society. We know race affects student achievement and the achievement gap, but what are we DOING about it?

I am proud to say my new school district is, not only talking about achievement, gaps, and race, but we are actively shrinking that gap (or so the charts say). We have administrators that are passionate about this issue. The teachers seem to recognize the need for changes. The perfect storm for taking on race and achievement seems to have formed and I'm excited to be there. We all know that it's a long road. We know there isn't a map to help us. But we also know that, as a country, there are VOLUMES of research about how to address achievement and we are using it!

~J


The links above are from Case Western Reserve University and RethinkingSchools.org

Every day is for MATH!

I've spent the last three days sitting at tables, listening to people talk. About math. And the new curriculum we have. And I'm on overload. I can only handle turning and talking to my partner so many times before I get fed up. Not to blame my partner (or small group) because everyone has been wonderful~ but without letting me get at a copier, my classroom, and my students, we can only prep so much.

I've got other things to deal with as well, which are minor annoyances. In my big square room I have six circular tables for 22 students. There is only one spot for my desk to go thanks to the way the room was wired for the network. Oh and did I mention that I have NOTHING to put on the walls???? Jeez, I knew my first year of teaching was going to be tough, but come on, I'm starting to feel ridiculous. I know teachers get to take tax money for the stuff they buy for their room, but do I want to start that before the school year even begins?

And let me just say, that the idea of selling a math curriculum in Spanish generally means we expect things to be in Spanish. Not the case for many big items- like report cards, the games that are in integral part of the lessons, the teacher resource materials before the Spanish lessons, the vocabulary lists at the start of the unit... and you get the idea. I guess we just make "suggestions for the next edition" that THEY GET EVERYTHING IN SPANISH.

I'm a bit out of my blogging practice so bear with me as I 1) move into a new place, 2) go through three weeks of teacher training, 3) get my classroom set up, 4) blog about it to keep myself sane!
I'm gonna try to get some photos. I'll do what I can.

But now, I'm off to color my C/F Thermometer. Yes, they gave me directions in my new math materials on how to color it.

~J

Last week of summer holidays

So with leaving one job to start another, I ended up with only two weeks of summer vacation. Not nearly enough to get a good "back to school" paper written, but enjoyable none the less. Mini road trip, taking the dog for walks, enjoying the heat wave, and catching a few of the summer's flicks.

Since I have nearly three full weeks of training starting the 17th, I've got my calendar all highlighted and labeled. A tad on the type-A side, but it keeps me organized and makes it harder to forget things. Math training, new teacher orientation, district training/school and classroom setup. The last being the most stressful to me! I know that what a classroom looks like makes a huge impact on students and in setting the tone for the classroom. Unfortunately, I'm low on my Spanish posters and wall coverings. And actually, I'm just low on stuff in general! Not that I want to acquire useless teaching materials, but as this is my first year full time, I don't have all the files and books and posters and labels. So I just hope my school can provide the necessities and lets hope my bubble letters look okay on the wall!