Teacher Evaluations

Every year, educators go through the process of being evaluated. Administrators come to the classroom, stand in the back (or front) with a clip board, and watch. As an educator, I provide a copy of my lesson plan, and the butteries fly in my stomach throughout the ENTIRE period. Are they going to behave? Will I be able to actually teach? Do I have my objectives posted? Am I assessing the understanding of my students? Are they all paying attention and on task? Something I do everyday, all day long, suddenly becomes a nerve racking experience.

However, for some reason, usually the worst behaved classes do remarkably well during teacher evaluations. Maybe its because I'm actually a decent teacher. I am feeling mostly though the reason is the presence of an administrator in the classroom. Do they behave out of respect for me, because they want me to do a good job during my evaluation, or do they behave out of fear of consequences from the administrator? In my 5th year of teaching, I think I'm doing better at establishing relationships with my students.

This year, my students did an excellent job. I woke up at 5:40 a.m. before the evaluation to make up my lesson plans - I'm teaching a new class, and a new unit, so I needed to organize my thoughts. The project I planned for my students is creating a t-shirt design. As I organized my thoughts, I came up with a research opportunity where students find information about a college of their choice, exploring admission process, history, enrollment of the college, and what programs they offer. A stroke of genius- they'll do a design, AND research and writing!

I got excited about this lesson, and as I presented it to the students, we were able to talk about vocabulary words and learn new things not intended (what does post secondary mean? What does enrollment mean?)

The feedback from this observation was great. My administrator gave me a few suggestions on what I could do better, but overall, the class did an awesome job. What have your experience been with observations? How have the students done? How can I encourage my students to always behave as well as they did on the day of the observation?

Teaching in the 21st Century

This weekend I worked with another teacher to create a multimedia presentation on the importance of teaching in the 21st Century. It is kind of a video version of the Did You Know presentation, but we added our own lines at the end and got most of our stats off of a different website. You'll understand after you watch it.

Most of the information came from the following (VERY HELPFUL) source:
http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/01/12/social-media-web-20-internet-numbers-stats/

We also got the 'script' for the Did You Know? Video here:
http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/file/view/Text%20of%20Did%20You%20Know%2020.pdf



So the questions we have for those who view this video are:

What tools do you plan on using in your classroom to help engage the 21st Century learner?
How can we best prepare students for jobs that do not yet exist?
How can we as teachers who "know" impact our colleagues who do not know?
How did this video impact you as an educator?

Validation

Check out this youTube video:

Validation



It is pretty long, but it is a good watch. I hope I can genuinely give more compliments like this. We talked about relationships at our staff 'retreat' yesterday and how we can develop better relationships with our students. I think as we give more compliments and help people feel better about themselves they will open up to us more. They will WANT to be in our classes interacting with us instead of wanting to be somewhere else and not wanting to be in school.

A superb assembly

Every year our school has an end of the year assembly called the REACH assembly. I do not know what REACH stands for, or where the name originated, but it is what we call the assembly. Basically it is a showcase of EVERYTHING that has happened during the year. The following groups usually perform:

• Band
• Orchestra
• Choir
• Dance team
• Forensics (no- not the crime solvers, the speech team)
• Teachers (we do a goofy skit so all of the kids can laugh at us)

In addition to the performances, also slide shows of the following are put together:

• 3.5 & 4.0 GPA's
• those with perfect attendance for the different quarters
• pictures from the school year with the different spirit days and different events
• Athletics

Usually there are a few different awards presented at the REACH assembly. This year the single student in the entire school who has perfect attendance for the entire year was honored, along with the 7th grade teachers for their outstanding job at the Challenger Space Center, athletes of the year, and a drawing was held for iPod nanos for each grade level for those who had perfect attendance during various quarters during the school year (for each quarter they had perfect attendance they got one entry into the drawing).

For the past two years I also put together a video for the REACH assembly, but this year I was fresh out of ideas to make a funny video, so it didn't happen. :(

Since I didn't have a video to show at the REACH assembly I decided to do something a little different with a few other teachers from Russell- I played with the band! It has been almost 6 years since I actively played my clarinet. I had a spell after Christmas break where I practiced once a week, but then I had to prepare to move. Anyways, the night before the assembly I took the music home to look at it for the first time. I practiced each piece several times before I needed to stop so my kids could go to sleep. I didn't even take one of the pieces home that was played the next day, but I recognized it because I played it in high school! I played the piece in high school and yet here the middle school band was playing it!

The performance went great- but not because of my playing! I'd say probably 2/3 of the notes and music I played correctly. The other 1/3 I either just looked in amazement as they played through the notes or I was the one clarinet who was off while the others played correctly.

In addition to playing in the band, I wore an Afro wig I bought for our LEGO League tournament this past fall. During the teacher skit (they danced the macarena) I went around and juggled. I must admit it was NOT my best performance- I kept on dropping and couldn't get any of my tricks to work right!

ANYWAYS- the point of this post isn't about what I did goofy during the assembly- it is about how all of the performances of the various groups and all of the slide shows helped to remind me why I teach. I teach to help my students have experiences that they will remember for the rest of their lives. I also teach because they touch my life as well. I learn from them and treasure everyday I have the opportunity to be in the classroom.

Thanks students, for everything.

Trying something new

The end of the school year fast approaches and many of my classes are finishing up projects and all of the planned curriculum for the year. In the case of my 6th period advanced technology class, they were reaching a stalemate on their current project(s). Those who were going to do the work had it nearly done and those who weren't doing any work were continuing to find other things to occupy their time that had NOTHING to do with what they were supposed to be doing. So I set the deadline for the last day on the project and stuck to it. Many got something done, a few didn't have much done at all. Anyways, after the project normally we would do a mini-unit on mass production. However, I only had three-four days left of the school year which would not be enough time for the students to have the experience I wanted them to have. I decided to do something completely different that I never tried with my classes before.

For our sixth grade classes we take a few days to do a mini-unit on rocketry. We discuss Newton's Laws of motion and what keeps a rocket up in the air and then we make paper rockets. I have found the paper rocket activity to be easy enough for a second grader to complete yet fun enough to keep the interest of even 8th graders. In this case, I had about 25-30 nose cones left from this year so I decided to have my 8th grade class mass produce paper rockets. I demonstrated the process to create the rocket (which done efficiently can be accomplished in about 5-10 minutes). As I explained each step I told them "this could be a job," "this step, #8, should be broken down into two jobs," and so on. Next I divided the class into team equally sized teams, and told them to assign each other jobs. I gave both teams about 10 minutes of planning time to get organized before giving the official start.

Of course, the students complained after doing the same job for about 15 rockets about how boring it is to do the same job over and over again. I can't even imagine what a fuss they would make if we made enough paper rockets for the entire 8th grade! That would be quite a fun project. Block out several periods, and have them just work and work and really get the sense of a REAL assembly line. As they complained, I explained to them the benefits of the assembly line process and how it really sped up production and thus lowered the cost of creating many things like the car, clothes, shoes, computers, etc.

I really got excited to see the students working hard to beat out the other team. They really took hold of the project and did a good job. We judged which team won by how many rockets they produced that had a 'successful'* launch. While one team had more successful launches, the other team had more rockets that went higher and further. So in the end they both won out.

One of the things I love about teaching technology is how I can constantly change the curriculum to fit my students' needs and to keep pace with the world's changing technology. If ever I get complacent and teach the same thing too many years in a row I feel like I'm doing my students a disservice. What becomes especially fun is this time of the year when I've covered most of the 'planned' curriculum and I get to come up with meaningful activities to keep the students engaged in learning and yet excited about doing the activities/projects.

*a successful rocket launch became defined as one where the rocket returned to earth in one piece with at least two fins still intact.

A focus on the many, not the few

My 'special' students in my 4th period class continue to be a challenge to me. The end of the year is fast approaching and most all of the curriculum I had planned for the class has been covered. I have been delaying doing the 'hovercraft' activity because I do not think the class can handle it. Specifically, I do not think my special students can handle it. However, today I decided to not let the entire class suffer because of the horrible behavior of the few. My first two quarters this year I did not have time to do the hovercraft with my students. 3rd quarter I had a few students who ruined it for the entire class, so they didn't get to do it. This quarter I have some really good students in the class and a few others that just are NEVER on task.

Today I decided to make a concerted effort to concentrate on the many instead of the few. My special students' attempts to get my attention and get the class off track were ignored. By the end of the period I was fed up with them and it was great to have an excuse to have them out of the class the next day (as much as I HATE sending them to other locations, for the good of the many, I am determined to help the rest of the class have a more positive experience). So yet again, while I am improving, there is still room for being better.

My favorite time of the month

This past week I have been working during 7th period (my planning) to organize and recognize the technology students of the month. This tradition actually started the year before I taught here, but when I arrived I did NOT have the time to worry about who to name as the student of the month. Two years passed, and my school started the Positive Behavior Support focus, so I decided to take it upon myself to have one student from each grade recognized by the technology department. These students are typically students who are doing well but not necessarily the best in the class. Last year we did not get EVERY month, but this year I've been more consistent with getting them done each and every month. I have made a point of not allowing any student to get student of the month twice so that we recognize as many students as possible.

I just really enjoy going around during my planning period and pulling the kids out of class to let them know they are the technology student of the month. We try to recognize them in multiple ways:

• Certificate with their name on it
• 20 ROCKS coupons (they are coupons the students get for doing something good that they can redeem for special awards and privileges)
• Lunch bought by one of the technology teachers
• Picture taken and displayed on the wall outside the technology classrooms

Anything special you do for recognizing students' efforts in your classroom?

The power of choice

This past week I moved. Those of you who have been through the grueling experience of packing up your entire life and relocating it to another place know what a hassle this is. Moving becomes exponentially more difficult with each family member you add on. When I went to college, moving myself from one apartment to another was no trouble. A few boxes, a couple of suitcases, and presto! I'm in my new place. Then I got married and inherited a whole bunch of furniture (a couple of beds, couches, we got a dining room table, etc.). We moved from Utah to Colorado with a 17 foot U-haul truck loaded with stuff. I won't go into all of the nitty gritty details of this past move, but let's just say in the 4 years I've been in Colorado we've gained two kids and a whole lot more stuff.

I got back from the three days off to see that my sub had about the same problems that I have with my classes. The same kids goofed off, the same classes were off task, nothing really surprising. My third period, it seems, did next to nothing. The more I read the report the sub left the angrier I got at them. In my mind I started coming up with all kinds of methods of punishment for them being slackers and my mood was just brewing and boiling.

Amidst all of this frustration, I thought of this blog. I thought- what can I do to make this a positive experience and instead of punishing the students for three days of slacking, encourage them to make up the three days of missed work with a week of really hard work? Come third period, I had my plan. First I gave them an opportunity to show that they really did do something. I did not want to get mad at the entire class if there were a few who did do work. Those who did the work showed me the evidence of the work, and I allowed them to continue with the filming of their flight vehicle documentaries. Then I had the rest of the class sit down and I laid into them. I talked about how disappointed I was with their behavior while I was gone and even read to them the comments the sub had left. I reminded them it is the end of the year and the project we're working on has a VERY tight timeline. ANY period at all spent fooling around or slacking and their projects are down the tubes. I gave them a choice- either get to work and make up for your lost time, or write a seven paragraph essay on the history of your flight vehicle since you don't have time to make the video. This was my last ditch effort to let them redeem themselves and do the 'fun' stuff.

The result? 100% participation. Everybody was with their groups, everybody was planning their movies, everybody was doing what they were supposed to. I moved around from group to group reading what they came up with, giving them pointers, and directing them to have a better final result. It was amazing.

Interestingly enough, nobody opted to do the 7 paragraph essay.........

How many days?

Towards the end of the school year oftentimes students and teachers alike want to pull out their hair in frustration. On the one hand are the students who have been working hard all year (hopefully) and are ready for the break. They figure they've done their time, what really is accomplished the last couple of weeks anyway? On the other hand are the teachers scrambling to cover all of the curriculum required and mystified as to why some students have just 'quit' before the end. Here's a closer look at each prospective:
The student considers their labors like training for a marathon. You train, work, run, and prepare. Then the day or two before the marathon you take a few lighter workouts to relax your body a little bit so it will be prepared for the big race.
The teacher looks at it like you're already in the marathon. Why stop running the last mile of the race? Why not just finish it with all of gusto you can manage?

Who's perspective is right? Is there a balance between the two? While I get frustrated with the lack of effort of my students in these last few weeks, I also recognize that they are just as ready for summer as I am.

Unexpected Results

For the first part of our major end of the year project on flight history groups of students assemble a flight vehicle. They get to choose between kites, gliders, rockets, or hot air balloons. The hot air balloon is probably the most difficult to make but ends up being by far the coolest. During 5th period the first day of the construction students started dividing themselves up into groups of three. Most of the students easily found a group of students they could work well with. However, the two 'trouble maker' boys in my class did not find a group and petitioned to work together. Against my better judgment I allowed them to work in a group.

The task for the first day (at least for hot air balloon groups) was to read the instructions before getting any materials. These boys glanced at the instructions and decided they did not want to read them. Since I refused to give them any materials before they read the instructions we soon reached a compromise. I would give them the materials provided they would watch a video that demonstrates how to construct the hot air balloon. Inbetween helping other groups, I vainly tried that first period to get the DVD to play on a student computer and then on my computer. Ultimately, the bell rang without the boys ever even starting the project.

Day 2 & 3 we obtained the DVD player from the other classroom and they started to make their hot air balloon. I must say, I have been rather impressed with their work ethic and progress throughout this project. They nearly completed their balloon in the allotted three days for the project, and finished up on today, their four day.

Every once in a while as a teacher you get pleasant surprises like the two most off task students in the class actually completing the first major part of a major project.

Accepting innovation

This post actually was supposed to be done yesterday, but it was a long day... I'm doing it this morning instead- expect another post later today!

In my class I am always encouraging the students to be creative, to think outside the box, to do things differently. I think the hardest part of having this mindset is accept students creative and innovative ideas even when you don't think they are that good. Example-
Three boys in my 5th period class have formed a group and are constructing a water bottle rocket. Water bottle rockets do NOT have that much trust to begin with (pressurized water is it), so the weight of the rocket shouldn't be that much. These boys found this really long tube in my cabinet with the tubes (meant to be cut and used for multiple rockets) and decided to stick the entire thing on top of their rocket. Then they found ANOTHER tube and stuck it on the top as well. What resulted is a water bottle rocket about 4 feet tall (almost as tall as my 5th period student assistant). While I do not think this is a very good idea, it is definitely different than anything else my students have ever done. So, I allowed them to make the rocket. They are SUPER excited about it, and yesterday even developed a parachute to deploy (I don't think it will go high enough to need a parachute, but I didn't discourage them from coming up with the parachute). I figure as long as their excited about the project, on task, and coming up with creative and innovative ideas, they're going to learn from the process.

Bridge Testing Time!

Today we started one of my favorite parts of my sixth grade industrial arts class- testing out the bridges. In the beginning industrial arts class, I teach the students measurement, technical drawing, shapes, structures. They go through the design process to come up with a bridge design which they draw out using drafting tools and ultimately construct out of balsa wood sticks.


No matter if the students worked hard or not, there is always some sense of excitement in the air when we start to test out their bridges. All of the students hold their breaths after each weight is placed in the bucket. 1..... 2..... 3..... 4.... 5..... Quick, put in another weight! They all want to see how much can be placed in before the bridge collapses from the strain. Often other students in the class are more dismayed when a bridge fails than those who completed the bridge themselves.

I think what brings the class together is a celebration of a week and a half of hard work. Day in and day out they have labored to cut small pieces of balsa wood, patiently glue them together, and hope everything holds. Some coat their bridges with glue, others sparingly place dabs of glue here and there.

I also admire how the students can recognize those who have truly labored hard to construct their bridge well. When the bridge finally collapses instead of getting jealous or envious of how much the bridge held, the students congratulate that student or group of students for their hard work. Likewise, if a group worked hard on their bridge and for some reason it didn't do well, the class is emphatic with those students. Usually the class can pick up on who the slackers are and are duly surprised if the slacker bridge did well. Praise and admonition often are much more powerful when coming from peers instead of the teacher.

Anyone have similar experiences? Any favorite projects that you can tell the students enjoy seeing presented and seeing the fruits of their labors?

Take a breath....count to 10......

Today passed away as one of the not-so-positive days of my teaching career. My classes were average, with a little more than 70% of students on task at any given time. My sixth period has been learning about manufacturing through two different projects. One is to create a metal pencil box and another is to turn a wooden pen on a lathe. My normal superstars are all over the projects, done with the model I require them to make of the metal box and making their pens. The handful of students (there is ALWAYS just a handful) who are left pass the period away by pretending to work and not really getting anything done.

Sadly, today, I just lost it. One particular student did everything in his power to avoid doing what I had asked him to do. He wondered around the room, gave the good 'ole excuse "I don't have a pencil," claimed he already had done it and somebody else lost it, you name it, he came up with the excuse. I tried my best to answer his various excuses, and get him to work. After about the third or fourth time, I blew up. All of my frustrations with his horrible attitude came storming out. At one point he said simply "Mr. Twining, I'm right here, you don't have to yell at me." And he was right. And my balloon popped.

I tried my best to get him on task, and took a personal time out (by just going to focus on some other students in the class). After I composed myself, I apologized to the student for yelling at him and reiterated my belief that he could do this project, and do it well. I helped to outline a plan for him to get caught up with the class and gave him materials to take home to work on the project at home.

So I think the point of today's post is I had an 'ah-ha' moment when being frustrated with one of my students. I realized that sometimes we just have all of this frustration built up inside of us because of the stooges among our students who are constantly off task and then suddenly it just blows up. We need to take a step back and realize the world is not going to end. Channel our frustrations into energy we can use to redirect and help these students become engaged in the great work we have for them- gaining an education.

Discovering the Passion

This past week has been so amazing!! Starting this blog has really helped me to look differently at how I teach and how I react to what students are doing. I'd like to say that everything went perfectly and I can now manage my classroom with 100% of students on task 100% of the time. But alas, that is not true. However, I have one story I have been itching to tell on the blog since this morning.

One of my 3 stooges during 4th period was in ISS yesterday. I gave him an assignment to work with a program on the computer building a bridge. West Point Bridge designer - you can download the program for free. Colleges use this program to help with engineering and designing concepts, but it is so simple a third grader could use it. What I usually challenge the students to do is make a bridge that will hold the hold of a truck for as little money as possible.

Judah, the student, was excited for the challenge. He went over to the pre-engineering classroom and constructed a well planned bridge. However, his bridge cost $400,000. I had seen students do a bridge for as little as $135,000 before, so I challenged him to half his cost- making a bridge for $200,000. He tried a few times on his own but was not successful. I showed him a couple of tricks in the program (hoping he would experiment on his own to find some other variables to change), but he did not. He tried my tricks, but got distracted by what my students were doing because he was not willing to push his envelope further to experience success. I eventually dismissed him back to ISS, frustrated that he wouldn't experiment on his own to find out how to make a cheaper bridge. I wrote to his guardians to let them know how he had tried to work on the bridge problem, but didn't find much success and since he was distracted by what my class was doing, I sent him back to ISS. I thought that would be the end of his bridge building.

I was wrong.

This morning I received an e-mail from his guardians in response to what I wrote the night before. I'll quote it because it will be communicate what happened:
"Pastor had a meeting in Denver , however before leaving he visited with Judah concerning his day in ISS. Judah was already on his computer, he is not allowed to be on the computer before supper unless it is school related. He verbalized that you had given him an bridge building assignment. he showed us on the screen many attempts to build the bridge for $2000.00 or less. He said

" Mr. Twining showed me how to lessen the price amount, how to change the type of beans, the thickness," and other things he shared with us that you had taught him, however it was not working.Judah worked on it ,He said that if you said that there is a way, it must be a way, the bridge continued to collaspe, be weak over the budget ,or something. He continued to work on it, His Sister, who is a dental student observed his bridge building as well as a friend of mine who is a School Teacher. They both know that he loves a challenge and encouraged him to keep trying to find a way!"

What a wonderful e-mail to receive to start the day! Not only did he continue working on it at home, but he also brought a netbook to school with the program loaded on it to continue trying! Part of what I wrote back:

"Yes, I will give him a chance, and yes, I believe that Judah CAN succeed at school with these challenges. Typically my goal as a teacher is for students to be able to discover these things with as little interference from me as possible. But sometimes, as Judah has experienced, they hit a wall, and so they need a little more guidance, which I will give. The difficult part is discerning when they have actually hit that wall and when they’ve just given up before they hit the wall."

When I met with Judah (before 1st period even started he came and found me), I showed him some other things he could do to reduce the price of the bridge. By 6th period, he figured it out. $195,000 - he made a bridge for $195,000. Since he is currently failing my class I made a deal with him. Last night he and/or his guardians found a YouTube video that showed a bridge designed on West Point for a bridge that was $166,000. I told Judah that if he could design a bridge for cheaper than $166,000 I would give him 15 extra credit points. That along with extra copies of other assignments for me that I gave him to do should bring his grade up to a C! :) Hopefully I can keep his attention with other projects for the rest of the class so he can get an A. I'm sure after a year of struggling in all of his classes he would be most happy with that.

A healthy dose of discipline

Classroom discipline is probably my biggest struggle. I can't stand sending students out of the classroom, whether to the Behavior Intervention Office (BIO), the main office, or even another teacher's classroom. When the student walks out of my classroom that means that something broke down, that I failed in some way to get the students attention enough for them to be on-task and doing what they are supposed to. I try my best to give students second and third chances, to just re-direct them in an attempt to get them on track. However, most of you who teach middle school know that this approach does not always work the best. Especially when you have students who are manipulative. They'll push that envelope and push that limit as far as they can.

My 4th period class is a class of sixth graders. Typically, sixth graders are the best behaved of the three grades of middle school. They are fresh from elementary school, their parents typically are more involved in their lives, and they are more eager to learn (typically). For exploratory classes at my school, sixth grade classes switch every quarter, so this will be my fourth and final 4th period group of sixth graders. 97% of the class is great- 3 boys in the class are not so great. On Wednesday, I talked with an EA (Educational Assistant) who helps in the classroom about the classroom environment. She helped me to realize that by giving these boys more and more chances to perform in the classroom I was just limiting the other student's ability to work in my class. The boys would harass, bother, distract, and destroy the concentration of other groups in the class. So I finally decided I need to just put my foot down and 'be mean.'

Thursday (yesterday) turned out to be a perfect 4th period. Here's what happened:
Boy #1- in ISS all day. I didn't even have to worry about him. I DID however, write a nice little note to his guardians informing them of his recent behavior in my class.
Boy #2- Within the first five minutes of class received two strikes (on three strikes they get moved to a different location-BIO room, classroom next door, etc.) For 2/3 of the period he stayed with his group and at least appeared to be working. With about 15 minutes left in class he decided to throw a piece of balsa wood with glue on it at another student (it got stuck on her sweatshirt and she didn't even know it was there). I sent him next door to a teacher who he does not like to complete a behavior reflection assignment and write a letter of apology to the student.
Boy #3- Within the first five minutes of class, received 3 strikes, and got sent to the door of the classroom until I was done giving instructions to the class (I didn't want to send him out because I figured if I could impress upon him I was serious, he had the chance of shaping up for the rest of the period). After I sent the class to work, I went to talk to him. I asked if he was ready to work with the rest of the class, to which he responded yes. I told him he would sit in a stool where his group was working and he was forbidden to EVER get up out of that stool for anything unless he had my permission. And he did exactly that. Everytime I looked to find out where he was and what he was doing, he was in the stool, working with his group. Only twice did he leave the stool, and those times he was either coming to find me to get some assistance, or seeking for materials his group needed to work on his project.

At least I had success with 1 out of the 3. Now I just have to remember to be consistent to either keep these 3 boys on track or keep them from distracting the rest of the class and we just might have a successful rest of the quarter.

An award winning discussion

It was the tale of two discussions. The same group of people participated in each of the two discussions. They both took place during relatively the same time period. They both centered on school improvement. Yet, in the end, they were both vastly different.

In the first, a few months ago, a group of staff members were gathered to discuss the problems/issues the school is currently facing and how we can work to solve them. Issue after issue surfaced as weeks of frustration came tumbling out. Solutions were proposed only to be met by other problems to be solved. Unfortunately, in the end, there were more problems than solutions. Most walked away (or at least I did) feeling that the work to do to get to where we needed to be would be insurmountable.

Then, this morning, at the ripe hour of 7 a.m., the same group of staff members met. A warm breakfast was served. The only prompt for this discussion was- what has been done at the school to foster improvement? Everybody brainstormed what they remembered as having happened and then we all shared. For a good hour we discussed everything from RTI to PBS. After the meeting I walked away feeling on top of the world. I knew we were still not perfect, yet I believed perfection was obtainable. The problems still exist, but somehow I knew that together we could master those problems.

I venture to say that our classrooms can be like these two discussions were. One day, nothing seems to go right, and the next, nothing seems to go wrong. What makes the difference? I think that all of us prepared ahead of time before we spoke in the second meeting. We methodically thought about what points we wanted to address. The vision in the discussion was a little different- instead of a 'problem solving' discussion, it was a 'solution' discussion. We focused on the positive, on what had already worked, instead of focusing on what needed to be solved.

Compliments/Praise

Today's challenge for me, is to give as many compliments as possible. Compliments to the class, to the students, to groups of students. So often all that ends up happening is just yelling at the students who are not doing well. My theory is that if I compliment all of the good behavior I see, then I will be able to focus more on the positive things going on in my classroom. The more time I spend concentrating on and complimenting good behavior, then hopefully the less time the students will spend doing things they're not supposed to. Today during first period, I kept track on a little slip of paper I carried around with me. Each student who completed an assignment I complimented on their good work and I still only had seven compliments. SEVEN! An entire class period and that's all I had. So I'm going to be working harder throughout the day. What do you think? Do compliments need to be given to everybody? Does just complimenting the good kids help others feel incentive to want to get praise?

First Real Positive Post!

I got this article the other day off a list serve I belong to. It is kind of long, but worth the read. Read it and let me know what you think! How many of us have students like this in our classrooms?

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big 'F' at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners... He is a joy to be around.'

His second grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.'

His third grade teacher wrote, 'His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken.'

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.'

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, 'Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.'

After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her 'teacher's pets..'

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer.... The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, 'Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.'

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, ’Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you.'

(For you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)

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