What do Students Really Want?

Fast Llamas,

I was on my old high school Facebook book group the other day and a fellow SHS Raider posted this question:

         Name teachers from our high school days.  

Wow, the comments filled up so quickly with the names of teachers, their subjects and the experiences we had.  I personally remember my physical science teacher taking us outside to view a Solar Eclipse and he taught us how to make a tool out of paper so we wouldn't hurt our eyes; my 9th grade English class, she was always so creative, we seemed to do a lot of art with words; and finally, Mrs. Jackson, (who I will directly name here) my Biology I and II teacher, who turned me on to science and took us to Houston to see open heart surgery and tour the medical school.  Some of the teachers mentioned, I loved, some I had wished I had (though I really loved my senior year English teacher, there was a another one that everyone always talked about at lunch, super jealous still).  I have a few ex-teachers as friends with on the facebook platform.  It has given me insight to the culture of my high school. 

I came to a quick realization that we were listing the teachers who we liked.  Nobody mentioned the teachers who had reputations for being "mean" or "she doesn't like anyone or worse, she only likes her "pets". (what other words would a 15 year old use to describe a teacher?) Those teachers came to my mind, but I didn't list them.  I didn't want to disrupt the positive vibe that was happening in the comments.  Everyone was celebrating who they remembered fondly... but I am sure the sour faced teachers came to the forefront of their minds.  Mine certainly did... 

Why was it worth our time to stop and mention these teachers?  Why do I remembered the teachers who wouldn't look at me?; the teacher, who in November, was still was mispronouncing my last name?; the teacher who talked to me sharply, only to talk to the next student kindly?  Why is it 38 years later I remember them? 

The only good thing I can say is, I knew exactly the teacher I wanted to be... and the one I did not... 

What are the three characteristics of teachers that appeal to students?  There are a ton of websites that describe the characteristics of ideal classrooms, of ideal teachers, and of excellent teachers.  There was one  I went to said there are 8 characteristics... I would agree it takes a lot of effort to be a great teacher, I have narrowed the list down to three...

Three characteristics - 

Firmness, Compassion and Stimulating teaching style.

Why do you think even disruptive students would find these characteristics appealing? 

Firmness

Firm teachers are consistent.  They have explicit rules, norms, procedures, systems and routines in place.  When you walk into their room, you know what you are gonna get... and it feels good.  Students are more likely to participate, engage and behave when they feel safe.  These teachers also have high expectations of their students and have firm boundaries.  Knowing that not only are students capable of learning their content, they are capable of rising to behavioral expectations.  What makes these teachers different is they believe their classrooms will be whatever they want them to be... and they treat their students with dignity and respect.  They show dignity and respect by teaching students social skills and view teaching students how to be successful humans as a privilege not a chore.  Finally, they embed social skills within their content and the opportunity to show kids what excellence looks like effortless. They never miss an opportunity.  By having clear expectations around their routines (norms, procedures, rules or systems, whatever you all them) and being consistent builds strong relationships.

Compassion

Teachers are kind... I could leave it here.  Kind teachers make their students feel welcomed, cared for and loved.  There is an unconditional positive regard for their students and belief in their students capacity to learn.  They trust that their students are bringing their best.  I like to say that these teachers set up a beautiful dinner for their students and welcome them to the table.  I spoke about dignity and respect before when talking about firmness.  When we have clear boundaries (and when those boundaries are tested and they will be tested) these teachers are able to communicate their consequences without losing students losing their dignity.  Because they are predictable and consistent, when a rule is broken, the consequence is logical and allows the student to serve whatever sanction they earned with dignity.  Finally, these teachers reflect on how they can set their students up for success, thinking about the risks students will take in their learning.

Stimulating Teaching Style

This is not about having fireworks everyday in class. There is a wide variety of instructional strategies used with students.  Relying on a teaching cycle is great way to make sure your students state is factoring into the daily lesson.  I used EELDRC.

Enroll and Experience - using hooks and experiences to grab students attention throughout the lesson

Labeling - the direct teaching is interactive and engaging - lots of drawings, videos, pictures, stories and questions

Demonstrate - students have ample opportunities to practice, there is a wide variety of strategies put into play 

Recall - students have ample opportunities to review

Celebrate - teacher acknowledges effort and learning in big and small ways

All of this is great stuff, but let's not forget, students are watching and listening. Mirroring happens. If the teacher is excited to be at school, excited about the content, excited about the learning, students will pick up on that and follow along.  

Students find that teachers who exhibit these characteristics deserve their respect and respect is the cornerstone of healthy RELATIONSHIPS. That Biology teacher I mentioned earlier?  I actually went to Texas Tech University because that's where SHE had gone.  She and I formed a relationship I still wish I had today.  She passed away several years ago, but her legacy lives on.  

Until next time!

Can I Have Your Attention Please?

Fast Llamas,

For many of you, you have realized that classroom management can be one of the biggest challenges you face in your classroom.  There are many parts to the system that is your classroom culture.  The physical environment, the foundational aspects, the design and delivery of your content all work together to create the atmosphere - the climate of your room.  Is it cloudy or sunny today?  When one aspect of this system is out of sync, over-developed or underdeveloped, it affects the other parts.  Such as a reliance and focus on super fun and engaging lessons but missing the training and teaching of the behavioral expectations that occur during this amazing lesson.  Or the flip side of this scenario... Class is quiet and compliant, but no impactful learning is happening.  

One of the easiest to use tools to use to help create a positive culture and help with classroom management is the use of an attention getter (or call to attention).  Using this strategy allows for you to monitor the volume in the class, manage time, increase the chances of everyone listening and monitor and manage your students' states... all while not raising your voice.  

Here are a few to try:

1.  Join me when you can - Teacher starts snapping and students join in, I like the ending to do 5 snap, 4 snap, 3 snap, 2 snap, and 1 snap.  This is a good strategy when you have to be quiet for surrounding classrooms.  

2. Clap - Teacher claps a pattern and students repeat.  The old if you can hear me clap once, if you can hear me clap twice works too. 

3.  Narrate a countdown - Teacher narrates what they want to see as they count down.  "Voices off in 5, pencils down in 4, laptops closed in 3, eyes on the promethean in 2..."

4.  Give me 5 - Sometime you have to have a quiet attention getting, simply raising your hand with fingers extended will fit nicely.

5.  Song - Playing a song to cue a certain task is a great way to notify students when time is up or it is time to line up excetera.

6.  Timers - I am a lover of all things timered.  (wait is that a word?)  Setting a visual timer is a super easy way to maintain an orderly classroom.  

7.  Call and Response - A creative way to get students' attention is to use this strategy.  Students and teachers can work together to create a saying that suits them.  

8.  A sound or tone - not my favorite, but lots of teachers ring a bell or have a sound effect that works to get students' attention.  

For each of the attention getters we just discussed, there are two important points to remember.

1) explicitly teach the students the expectations for their response.  Practice until everyone can perform the attention getter and praise for their effort.  

2) WAIT  and patrol - when you call students to attention, it is VERY important that students know you are patrolling and looking for students who are successfully stopping their conversations and/or whatever they are doing to actually stop and listen.  Hold students for 3 to 4 seconds, pausing and looking at students.  Say Nothing... then once the students know you are serious, then talk... (don't hold them for long lengths of time... this can create a power struggle, the wait I am talking about is brief and subtle, but sends a message you are serious).

 

Praise and reinforce students for being quiet too, great way to continue to build relationships. 

Last thing, I would use my attention getter to manage volume.  When I thought tasks were getting little to loud, I would use my call to attention, wait, and then do a check in.  A very easy way to monitor voice level.  

Until next time!

Building Relationships with Agency

Fast Llamas,

I once heard that "Learning how to learn is the most important thing you will ever learn".  Talk about an impact statement!  

When we think about this statement, you might automatically think about learning content, which is true... learning and memory and closely tied together and when you learn how to master working memory (especially attention), the learning happening in your classroom will make a major positive shift.  

But, we all know that there are many factors that work together to create and enhance the learning happening in your classroom.  Great teachers assess and reflect on their physical environment, their atmosphere, the foundation and the design and delivery of their content.  These work as a system together to create an optimum learning environment.  

Let's talk about foundation.  Your foundation in your classroom are the rules, systems and procedures that you have created and taught to your students.  Everything is built on this solid foundation.  (it's foundational!)  It also includes your consequences and social skills.  Now, we think learning how to learn is not only content learning, but social skill or behavioral skills that carry the class along.  

I found this graphic and I really like it...

At first I was a little confused with the "Can't".  But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  Students "can't" do these things due to lack of skill or stressors in the environment.  This shifts the mindset of the teacher to either change the environment or teach skills.  

How do we teach skills?  same as content.  We grab students attention, provide the direct teaching, provide ample practice and review.  We also can provide reasons the behavior benefits the student.  If you then this, statements are quite powerful in motivating students.  

Review is important, these skills are reviewed frequently throughout the day in quick reminders of expectations of how to behave.  We never want to leave students not knowing our expectations. Without clear expectations for the behavior we want to see, students tend to make up their own.  And not always in the most positive ways.  

As we head to the end of our fall semester, that January reset is looming.  Start thinking about skills teaching you will be doing in the new year!

until next time, stay fast!

Thoughts on Strategies

Fast Llamas,

It's been awhile since I posted... but I am back!  It's Christmas time and all teachers know how busy December can be, but, take a moment and think ahead to that all important January reset.  That amazing opportunity to reteach classroom rules, remind of expectations and think about what worked and what you want to add to your list of teacher moves. 

Here are some strategies to get you started (in no particular order of importance):

1. Think Time  - The first three strategies here really all go together with an underlying theme. WAIT.  I know I said they had not ranking of importance, but seriously, allow students time to process.  Honoring this idea is a rapport builder.  Make it a norm that in your classroom, "we respect time to think".  No shouting out answers (either from other students or the teacher).  Calm is a super power and you are modeling this behavior.  Thinking is an important task that we will wait on. 

2. Avoid Rounding up - This strategy is built on #1 on this list.  Sometimes we get so excited about students' answering questions or sharing ideas that we interrupt them.  When we ask questions we are sending a message that our students have value and contributions to the classroom learning.  Don't interfere with that message by allowing a one word answer from students, followed you finishing it for them.  If you want students to hear the content again, have them repeat it (see #5)

Wait Time  - Probably should be number 1 on this list, but this list is not of particular order of importance, but waiting to kids to think before answering is a huge benefit to learning.  Process time is a game changer for a lot of students.  Focusing on Wait Time allows for you to avoid Rounding Up.  

3. Body Mnemonics - Want to grab your students attention?  Tying learning to a body motion is a great way to go about it.  What is important to remember, body mnemonics work best with you model them and get the students to do them... one mistake often made is that the teacher does the modeling solely.  Then, wonders why after an assessment, the students don't perform as expected... it's the student effort that matters here.

4. Recap - repeated review... social skills, academic content, expectations... these things never go away.  

'The day a teacher lets their guard down and thinks 'I will never have to check students for this again, they seem to have cracked it' is the day that standards start to slide. It is reminiscent of the man who falls from the roof of a skyscraper. as he passes the 20th floor, someone leans out and shouts, 'My God, are you OK?' and he replies, 'So far, so good!'   Tom Bennett - Running the Room

5. Call backs - Have your students repeat what you said, have them repeat what others say.  Ensure information that is important enough to remember gets repeated. Ask students to repeat instructions as well.  If they cannot repeat it, do they really know it?

7. Sentence Starters - When teaching skills, give students the words they need to get started.  Getting started is often the hardest thing to do... 

9. Learning Outcomes - Begin with the end in mind.  Clear expectations about what you expect the students to learn, how they will behave, what they can and cannot do are important beginnings when planning.  

10.  Attention Grabbers - It's all about attention. There is not remembering without attention.  Bad news, we are not multi-taskers and can only hold attention for about 10 minutes (less for younger kids).  The good news?  We know this, use it to your advantage.  

This list of 10 strategies either can be viewed as "small" moves, just a tightening up of good teachings practises.  However, to a novice teacher... these may seem overwhelming.  So, choose one, get masterful at it and move on to the next.  Noticing what you do and don't do is key... Keep working! 

Stay on the Side of Hope

  Fast Llama's,

A repost - Stay on the Side of Hope...

There are many reasons for the attraction I hold for Doug Curry and his "How to Train Llama's" protocols and ideals.  But, the one thing that hooked me was his treatise on hope, and more specifically staying on side of hope.  When I first read his words in 2013, I was 900 miles away from my home base and I was struggling physically and emotionally.  I didn't realise (or give myself time to process) how difficult is was to move across the state.  My husband had gotten a great job and I had landed in a school with warm and friendly teachers who welcomed me and my son into their circle quickly.  I had however, focused on the physical part of moving, getting my house ready to put on the market, applying and getting an interview, getting my school age son enrolled and of course the physical packing and unpacking involved.  But, I did not reflect on the emotional toll moving would have on me and my classroom culture.  

*side note - switching schools in the middle of the year is challenging even if you have been teaching for 20 years! My new principal let me in the building the Sunday before the students returned on Monday.  The class had had a sub for 6 weeks and it looked that way! The goggle cabinet alone... oof 

In many ways, unpacking my classroom decor helped get me settled back in, but, have you ever moved and an old item doesn't quite fit in your new space?  That's how I was feeling. I had lost my identity somewhat of who I "was".  I kept trying and trying to instill my traditions into a new place without really thinking about "why" I was instilling them in the first place.   I was spinning, trying so hard to be who I thought I needed to be, do ALL the things I thought I needed to do, but, somehow couldn't.  And there was a constant barrage of trainings, paperwork (including mistakes) and updates that needed to get done. I perceived nothing as working and I just felt miserable and most importantly, ineffective at teaching.  

When I read Doug's words, it was the food my soul needed at a time when I was mourning my old life and it gave me the words and phrases I needed to activate a part of my brain that needed to hear it for my new life.  You have to understand, my new home was lovely, my kids were flourishing, my husband and my careers were solid, but something was missing.   I had lost my "why", the meaning behind why I was a teacher and what impact I could have on the next generation. I often blame the "big move" as me feeling this way, but, some small part of me thinks that Doug's message would of impacted me even if I had never moved.  Proof that we are forever learning new things and when we open our hearts and let the light in, it can change us in ways that we could never imagine, even after 20 years of classroom teaching.

Here is his message, I hope it inspires you to reflect on your "why" and the impact you can have on your students.  

Hope or Hopelessness-

The Deciding Factor in your School Two Sides 

When you enter any school as a teacher, in particular a school with special challenges, which by the way, all schools have, there will always be a struggle as to which you side you take. There is the side of hope and the side of hopelessness. There is the side where you look at a child who comes from difficult circumstances. He may not have a mother or a father. He may have been abused. He may just now be learning the language. He has lived in generational poverty forever, and both he and his family really don’t know any other way to live. He may have siblings already incarcerated. His parents may be in and out of jail. Perhaps neither of them wants him anymore. He may come from a family that only sends him to school because it is the law. Education is not a priority. It is not seen as the way to anything. The family may be hungry, and so is the student. It may be all the family knows. Coming from this situation, the student may express, “I don’t care about this stuff” when faced with any educational task you lay before him. The student may appear to be hostile. The student won’t read in class because he never did learn to read, yet somehow he is in your 8th grade Language Arts class. When faced with this student and others like him, which side are you on? There is one side that thinks, “You know, this student only gets one chance at life. He may have been dealt a lousy hand of cards. 

But you know what? Our school is the answer for him! Give him to me! I will help him see what his future can be! I will help him learn to work hard and experience success! If he doesn’t know how to read, our school will teach him. If he is hostile, we will win him over. We will love him. We will show him the first light he may have ever seen in a life of darkness. If we love him unconditionally, and we refuse to ever give up on him, all of the bad things that have happened to him will become his strengths in the future. Collectively, as a school we can do that! 

We have that power to influence kids. He will be successful! We won’t have it any other way!” The other side thinks, “What do you expect me to do with him? I can’t change what he’s been through. I can’t make him care. I have no power to make his life better.” Which side? In every school you will find folks representing both sides. 

Most teachers begin the profession on the side of hope. However, teaching is hard, and challenges occur. Many teachers, when faced with adversity, slowly start moving to the other side. If they don’t choose to leave the profession, they believe that the only way they can survive is to stay on the side of hopelessness. This way they won’t get their feelings hurt. This way they won’t feel like a failure. There’s kind of a protection that comes with being on the side of hopelessness. When you stand on the side of hope, you risk failing. You risk failing and having everybody know it, because you were out there on a limb for everyone to see. Sometimes young teachers leave the side of hope because there is pressure from their coworkers to join the side of hopelessness. These are the grizzled veterans who can’t wait to tell the rookie “the way things really are” in this school. These grizzled veterans have a real stake in bringing others to the side of hopelessness. Deep down these veterans hate themselves for having abandoned the side of hope. It soothes the pain a bit when they successfully recruit someone else to come to their side. 

Many teachers enter the profession at an age where they are far from complete in their own personal growth. They are still learning who they are and what they want from life. They may have never even learned how to be assertive and stand up for themselves in their own lives. Now they stand in front of 30 high school students every day during 3rd period. 

Being able to successfully manage a classroom is often about how you view yourself. Are you confident in yourself? Are you able to acknowledge your weaknesses and faults? Are you comfortable when you realize that others know all too well your imperfections? If you are not comfortable, you are in danger of going from the side of hope to the other side very quickly. You are in danger of feeling personally attacked every time a student makes a bad decision or challenges your authority. 

That normal little game that occurs in every classroom now becomes something much bigger to you. It becomes more about you and protecting who you are. When this happens, the side of hopelessness beckons you. If you don’t care, it’s much safer. You won’t get hurt. If your expectations are low or nonexistent, they are much easier to reach. Some young teachers end up on the side of hopelessness because they have a series of bad experiences due to poor administrators. Maybe they are thrown in a rowdy class of 7th graders and offered no help or support. Instead they are blamed for the chaos that ensues. 

The choice now becomes one of leaving the profession or going to the side of hopelessness. Many teachers enter the profession burdened by warped or unrealistic expectations. They are weighed down by the “shoulds” such as “kids should act this way” or “things shouldn’t be this way.” “Kids should come to school knowing how to act.” “We shouldn’t have to teach kids how to act—I am a history teacher.” Teachers like this either leave or move to the hopeless side. As you read this, do you find that you are on the hopeless side? (Is this beginning to sound like the concluding moments of a church service?) I am not here to judge you for being on the side of hopelessness. You may have a very good reason that you went there, and it may very well have happened because of classroom management. 

Keep going. We may get you to change sides. 

Until Next Time...

http://www.fastllama.com/free-resources

Applauding Your Students

 Fast Llamas,

Today we are talking about what Tom Bennett calls the best extrinsic reward available to you... and it's free...

Praise... today we are talking about praise, how it works and how to be more purposeful when giving it.  I will be breaking down a part of Bennett's book, Running the Room Chapter 12, Rewards.  Running the Room has been an excellent read... poignant, realistic, and intelligent.  I highly recommend it.  

Everyone wants to be recognized, to be valued, to be noticed, to be acknowledged.  They then know they matter and you matter to them.

If you are thinking that you don't believe in praising kids for "doing the right thing" and "they should already know how to behave" or of the mindset that you are not in education for students to "like me" or "be their friend".  Well, honestly if you have that mindset you probably aren't here reading anyway.  But, if you are, I didn't want to friends with my students either,(they had plenty of their own friends and so did I) nor did the "have to like me".  I am sure that out of the thousands of students I have taught, there were lots of kids who didn't like me... (maybe they didn't like science, maybe I reminded them of someone they disliked, they didn't like my jokes or my music, or maybe a thousands things...) And, honestly, there were a few I didn't like myself.  But, I made sure they never knew it.  When you are consistent, fair, and recognize student effort, guess what?  they will end up liking you.  When students like you for these reasons, they bake for you as my husband would attest to going "shopping" for treats I brought home the day we got out for Christmas vacation.  I will say that I am friends on social media for many ex-students (and I few that I ended up teaching alongside).  And I evidently meet ex-students all the time... The message here?  Did they like my class? Do they remember me fondly? In the very tough years of middle school, was my class a place they wanted to be and feel safe?

Let's talk about Tom Bennett's advice.  

In order for praise for be effective it should be...

• sincere
• honest and deserved... you believe it and so does the student
• proportionate
• don't gush, not everything is "fantastic"
• targeted
• feedback is king here - "your report was good because..." give the feedback with specific content tied to it... 

Be mindful:

• The middle bubble - kids who are compliant and do what they should, they need praise
• The very poorly behaved - don't focus on them solely
• The very well behaved - don't over praise - it can lead to the opposite effect and normalize mediocrity
• Effect Praise requires us to know our students very well.
• Watch body language and tone - not too excessive, when you praise, it should reflect your normal tone, volume, sarcasm and body language.
• We rarely want to believe praise, so make sure you deliver it confidently

How frequently should you praise:

1. When you want a behavior repeated
2. When you want a behavior to be normalized
3. When you want the behavior to be an exemplar for others
4. When someone who struggles does something good "for them"
5. When someone who behaves well does something extraordinary - like showing unprompted kindness
6. When someone needs a pick me up

Mediocrity - Oh No!

Avoid praise for actions that are easy to preform, are given away too much, or is excessive (hello sincerity).

I like the idea of praising the action or the behavior, not the kid themselves.  I would not recognize that they are  are "smart, brilliant, or amazing", but their effort, work or product certainly is.  

Well, folks, it's nearly Halloween! We made it through "Teacher October".  IYNYN.

Looking forward to sharing more of Running the Room in future blog posts! until then, have a great fall day!

Changes and Shifts

Fast Llamas,

This poem showed up on my memories.  Don't you love when that happens?  Every time I read it, I get a new perspective. 

   Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

Chapter I

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost … I am helpless.

It isn’t my fault.

It takes me forever to find a way out.

Chapter II

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don’t see it.

I fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in the same place.

But it isn’t my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter III

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in … it’s a habit.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

Chapter IV

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

Chapter V

I walk down another street.

              Portia Nelson from the book There's A Hole in My Sidewalk

What is so great about this poem, is that it could be about anything.  Whether you are dealing with family, patterns of destructive behavior, feelings of helplessness with your current situation or fear of change.  Could it be that your classroom isn't what you want it to be or the relationships with your students aren't what you know they could be? 

But...

If I always do what I always did,

I will always get what I always got;

OR

IF I want something I’ve never had,

I must do something I’ve never done

Sometimes, we don't even know a new street is just around the corner.  Trust in the process and realize that you have choices.  When you fall in the same hole over and over again; how you deal with it, it ultimately up to you.  Reflect and believe that you are in control and change begins with you.