Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Do Over

Day 3 of 31 posts for the Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted by the team at Two Writing TeachersStaceyTaraDanaBetsyAnna, and Beth.
Head over to the link up for seconds or to serve up your own slice!

What it would take to get one-hundred percent of the students in my class to ____ (fill in the blank).

 How can I be sure that students are able to _____.

Because being able to_____ is the point of teaching. I teach students how to do things. I teach them how to appreciate literature. I teach them how to read to solve problems, to entertain themselves, to investigate issues. I teach students how to write a letter of appreciation that will make a mother (or teacher) cry. I teach students to write argument, to write analysis, to write to plan and write to learn. I teach students how to listen and to talk.

In my classroom I want the world for my students. In order to get that, they need to become critically literate. They need to be able to flexibly use the language arts to suit particular purposes, occasions, tasks, even demands.  I want students to be able to summarize objectively and respond personally or aesthetically to a text. I want students to be able to tell and write good stories because story is central to the human experience. So many things I want for the students in my classroom.

What would it take to get one-hundred percent of my students to read a text and take notes in order prepare for a Socratic discussion? Is that a homework question, a reading question or some combination? What would it take to get one-hundred percent of my students to demonstrate an understanding of theme?

It takes work. It takes movement. It takes hands-on deck, talk and practice. It takes me walking around and talking to individual students or small groups. It takes me knowing which students know what. Sometimes it takes extra time. Sometimes it take reteaching the moment something is due.
Instructional routines help me give students time and opportunity in class, but they can't be so rigid that when I notice a need I don't shift to meet the need.

Sometimes I think about Wayne Gretzy. He said "You miss one-hundred percent of the shots you don't take."  I can't assess nonperformance. It can't be right to assign it a failing grade, but at the same time at what point does the clock run out?

Image credit: Montreal Gazette.

Am I asking students to comply or learn? I wonder sometimes.  Still, how can I help students take that shot? Those are instructional questions I'm thinking about right now.

17 comments:

  1. I love that quote by Gretsky. Why not try to reach them all? You just might make it!

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    1. I am trying, Anita! Though I had to laugh this morning when I asked students what they thought. They thought that teachers could get 100% engagement if they offered food and extra credit... had to laugh.

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  2. Great questions Lee Ann! I struggle with this too. Our jobs are complex and depend on the actions of another human being and all the factors affecting that individual. We have to get 100 % to take the shots, and support them to be good shots. But honestly I think the outcome is not guaranteed because of the other variables. A coach doesn't know the outcome of a game, nor do we know how our writing coaching will pan out.

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    1. I love the complexity of it--it is fascinating to think and examine what works, what doesn't and what might. Thanks for sharing your thinking too.

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  3. I love reading your posts. You articulate so beautifully the struggles I feel too! This question, "Am I asking students to comply or learn?" is one I often wonder about too. Hmmm...I have no answers...really more questions, but thank you! That's where the real learning takes place!

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    1. Thank you, Michelle. Sometimes answers aren't as interesting as the questions, so we can question our way there.

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  4. Lee Ann, the essence of good teaching is reflecting on practice. You are indulging in essential questions. It is what sustains us as professionals. I often try to ask myself what do I have to do to set the learner up to be successful? Thanks for putting your inner thoughts into words.

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  5. Lee Ann, the essence of good teaching is reflecting on practice. You are indulging in essential questions. It is what sustains us as professionals. I often try to ask myself what do I have to do to set the learner up to be successful? Thanks for putting your inner thoughts into words.

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    1. It does feel indulgent, Alan, to spend a little time spinning out what ifs and wonderings. It's one of the perks of teaching.Thinking and reflecting on what I see happening with learners in the room fascinates me--sometimes the process of figuring out what will set up success for each student seems to take more time than I'd like though .

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  6. There are definitely no easy answers. You're right on track. And I think the fact that you're always questioning is what keeps you on track. Thanks for sharing your questions and your thinking!

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  7. No easy answers, as you know. But, I think the key to your students' success is that you keep asking the questions and pushing the envelope. That takes courage.

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  8. Lee, I wrote a brilliant response in the wee hours this morning only to see a _________ space after I tried to post it. Bummer. As have others, my original comment noted the thoughtful reflection in this (and many others) post. You're asking kids to take the shot, to be part of living life and learning, to avoid leaving in the wake of their school days the __________ spaces.

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    1. That happened to me earlier when commenting. I think it was because I'd signed out of Google (or whichever identity the comment captcha was using). It's frustrating. Thanks for persisting thought, Glenda. I appreciate you sharing your thinking.

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  9. Just keep going...listening...asking...pushing...

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  10. I am grappling with the same thing - assessing nonperformance and when does the clock run out? The sad part is, they are usually my low students and the ones who need to perform in order to get feedback and continue to grow. Sigh...

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  11. I had a conversation a few days ago about the difference between compliance and engagement (learning). I think it's an issue on a lot of teachers' minds a lot of the time...

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  12. Love those early questions, Lee Ann. I'm at the end of my career & having taken on this new class, have new challenges because I missed the first 11 weeks with them, talk about catch up! So the question for me is how to re-ignite their ideas of what our school is all about. Many have always gone to our school and know what it's to be, most kept going, but some were set so adrift that it's hard to pull them back in, & I don't wish compliance but personal engagement. Guess that's why I named my blog teacher dance-it is!

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