COVID inventions

Random thoughts

• retrofit metal detectors with those fever detectors we have at the airport. But also attach nozzles like mist a bleach solution at public entrances. 😅
• have drones that go into classrooms between classes and spray everything down and then huge industrial fans to dry
• create infrared or UVB (or blue light?) strips that just disinfect a room.
• have a 360 camera in a classroom so that sick or absent kids came still participate with VR.
• every person gets a plexiglass cube with a door that they step into attached to wheels and a standing desk…. Like those knee scooters when you break a leg.
  —– instead of whiteboards kids could write directly on the plexiglass. And if a kid gets in trouble, the teacher can just write the note directly on it before the next class 😅
  —– icebreakers would be tetris games but I’m person.
  —– outward facing fans would be at the top of these cubes.

LOLOLOLOL. Can you imagine walking around in a 5’x5’x6′ box? And you’d like bump into people but you’d probably also like push off and crash into your friends on purpose. … There would definitely have to be expectations set.

Part of leaving is you leave one by one and you wipe it down OR a drone comes in to spray everything.

You stay with your pod of 18 classmates where you all have a similar focus for the trimester. You meet daily with your advisor teacher and the other subject teachers tag team to check in.. but they take the role of guidance and modeling vs directing.

Alright. It’s almost tomorrow. I should sleep.

Teaching and Policing: let’s imagine

I know on Instagram I’ve been sharing posts on defunding our current police departments and dramatically shifting funds. This is not an extreme call to suddenly lay off ALL police officers next month, but it’s an invitation to design and dream radically.

I still have a lot of love and respect for my retired and current friends in blue. One key adult figure who invested into my life was a sergeant and a 4th and 5th grade Sunday school teacher. He invested in us, taught me that you can give TIME as a gift (literally – he gave us each a ticket that we could use. I used mine for ice cream in the rain and mini-golf), and was the first adult I met who sincerely apologized to children when he made a mistake. My current small group leader is a retired sharpshooting special forces person (I don’t actually know the title). She is easily the MVP at our church. She spent an hour interviewing with my 8th grader just last month to share her experiences and answer his questions. I’m thankful that my friends in blue are thoughtful, careful, and principled.

I know I can’t completely empathize, but as a teacher, I’m also used to being in a profession that other people belittle on social media and tell me they could do better. In my small ecosystem of a school, I can empathize a little bit with the thanklessness, exhaustion, and seeming senselessness of the actions that go on in the day-to-day. And I wonder… in my little ecosystem, I need to make sure that we all follow norms, that students reap consequences, and first and foremost, everyone is safe. …. Which is basically what law enforcement is for, right?

Let Me Tell You a Long Story About Me:

I started teaching in Oakland at a really punitive school. Parents sent their kids to our school because they thought we were good because of our test scores and safety. There was no family engagement, and the school had such tight policies and so many ways to earn infractions that I was able to “focus on teaching.” I turned a blind eye to common practices such as having them clean the school with a toothbrush, signing a bunch of backlogged after-school program signatures (to qualify for $), cussing out children, and not providing meals (they said it’s bc we didn’t have a kitchen).

I didn’t realize how damaging it was teaching in such a school ruled by fear and “no excuses” until the last day of school. I thought since we had had 2 years together and that because I wasn’t sadistic and because I tried to make my space warm, we’d be tight. We had been together for TWO years. But literally, that day, the kids walked away and never looked back. I realized that despite my best intentions and efforts, I was just an arm of a terrible institution that only punished and incentivized and never restored or engaged to collectively come up with goals and norms. And I didn’t teach them to have a good heart- they navigated the confusing graying moralities of middle school alone and just got good at hiding.

It was HARD when I shifted into a new school culture. I knew this was what I wanted after TWO years of witnessing traumatic discipline measures, I even stated in my interview that I didn’t believe in any discipline. LOL. After my first month’s honeymoon, my classroom was a mess.

• Kids were frustrated with me
• it was unstructured
• I didn’t know how to deliver calm, fair reminders
• kids and my coaches felt like some kids always got called out while others didn’t
• I didn’t know how to build community
• and it didn’t work for me.

I didn’t know how to build a conducive space without the threat of outside force. … and THIS is probably what our communities might feel like the first few years after funding is funneled into other ventures. But stick with me..

But I learned.

And I wanted to learn. Because even though that first year was so hard, my students were patient with me, and there was already a culture of student agency and trust I could look to. Knowing what it could look like helped me keep trying new things.

Fast forward, a few years later and I was at my current school. I was feeling myself. I had built rapport with my students, we collectively created norms rooted in our goals and values, we had sporadic community check-ins and I was strict — we were getting ish done! Annnnnd, one day, I was so angry at a girl’s attitude/defiance that instead of giving her space and following our progressive discipline system, I took her phone to take to the office. It turned into a huge fiasco…. and I’m not proud. I wish I could take it all back, yet to be honest, I also didn’t think I was the wrong one until muuuch later hindsight.

But I do see this: in high pressure situations where both people have their individual baggage — even in a GOOD system, bad things can happen especially when people flex their power. But we had checks and balances. Our Dean of Culture and Assistant Principal got involved. I got even more angry because I felt super unheard. My Assistant Principal did some work with me on the side. I felt like a martyr throughout the whole situation. And although there are situations where I look back and know that even though nobody agreed with me, I made the right call… THIS WAS NOT IT. In THIS situation, I look back, and I’ve REALIZED just.. how gracious EVERYONE ELSE around me was (including the student).

So back to the situation at hand:

Unruly teenagers aren’t too different from unruly adults. Most just want to be seen and heard. There may be a tier of folks who need extra support (whether they want it or not), and that’s what community resources could be for.

Engaging community, being aware of your neighbors, checking in, being vulnerable and talking directly to your neighbors instead of tattling to the police — these are all skills we learn at school and … we forget as we increase in our privilege.

It’s tireless work and yes, it takes money, but I don’t know if it’s more tiring or riskier or pricier than what is already happening. The current training law enforcement receive (or don’t receive) appears to enforce one narrative and this narrative has not only caused the deaths of people (predominately Black), but abuse, power trips, aggression, and grief.

Just like a teacher doesn’t enter the classroom intent on making a student’s life miserable, I don’t think police officers entered the service because they wanted to eventually get so seared in their consciences that they end up defending ALL folks in blue. Imagine a different future.

And Also, you don’t have to agree with ANY of this, in terms of how to fund, or de-fund existing structures. Think creatively on your own – you’re smart. But please stop trying to justify to yourself why you, non-Black person, are not also complicit for the systems that we allow to continue. Please stop blandly citing Bible references that point to a promised future in Heaven as you comfortably reap from a societal structure that serves you. If at this moment, faced with un-charged murder after murder and watching the genuine sadness of your Black friends (if you have any), jump immediately to warnings about politics and a liberal agenda, repent for your disconnect. And educate yourself. Seriously.

I guess it’s tiring to keep trying. And it’s easier to say God doesn’t promise us social utopia. But He knows our world is broken. That’s why He leaves us here. To be a light.

Report Cards in times of COVID

So, we’re doing a Pass/Incomplete system with comments.

As I was writing my comments, I began to cry. Because I’m thinking about that one (rare) teacher who might go back and look at a child’s CUM files. Or even just the previous year’s transcripts.

Will that teacher see how this student was “near meeting” his standards and was getting positive messages on his cheerful demeanor and growth mindset in class? The gentle nudge to be more consistent with homework and ask more questions?

And then when that teacher eventually reads the trimester 3 comments. About how this kid completely AWOL’d. Didn’t respond. Required multiple adult communication. At the end, earned an incomplete.

Why is this teacher even looking into this child’s past? Is this smiley, social 13-year-old now a surly, insecure 14-year-old? Is it because he spent 2 months straight receiving phone calls and talks while he himself struggled with bewilderment, depression, and apathy?

What do you write? Do you write real things? Like parents – I’m sorry – this sucks, it’s hard, it’s inequitable. But you have to come back. You have to go back to the early days when you checked on your kid everyday. Because at the end, we can decry society, but the day-to-day effects are on your kid.

Do you write false positives? So that they remember things fondly? Since this won’t affect them anyway since they’re only in 7th grade? And at least they’ll remember the good things?

But they won’t remember the good things. Because the way this year ended was crazy. And it might sound hyperbolic, but I’m sure half of my kids will start experiencing PTSD-symptoms related to all of this.

Is there something we should have done differently? Pause the academics and embrace the child? But how does that work when you’re far away. What’s the better route? Because we all know that across the bay, kids are plugging away and letting the divide grow.

Classroom Agreements

So, I finally started year 7, and I have to say, it’s the smoothest one yet.  There are definitely a few bumps (quite a few these past few days actually), but I am glad to say that for the most part, the classroom is up and running.

I always have a hard time figuring out what to do at the start of the year, to ease my kids into the idea of school and what school requires.

This year, I was pretty happy with a short lesson I did on the third day of school. It’s something I did to set the stage last year when I took over a 4/5 combo classroom in November, and I tweaked it for my 7th and 8th grade math classes this year.

The philosophy of this stems from my experience that when students take part in creating their classroom rules (norms, agreements, expectations, blah blah), they are more inclined to at least grudgingly accept that they exist when they are called to account for them.

However, beyond just having a floating set of classroom agreements, I like to root it in why kids come to school anyway and WHY in the States, at least, we FUND free education.  Reminding students of WHY we’re here, then looking at the obstacles that prevent them from achieving the WHY, then leads us to the agreements that the class sets for themselves.  It’s a rather tidy package, and yes, it sounds tidier than the messy work of day-to-day getting along, but at least we have a foundation that I feel able to build upon.

Without further ado:

Materials: post-its, large construction paper, projector

Optional: slides with discussion questions/photos

Warm-Up / Do-Now / Bellwork: (2-min)

On your post-it, write your name and answer the question, “Why do you go to school?”  (For kids who claim they have no idea, ask them why are their parents sending them to school.  Allow the “I’m forced to.” responses)

Hook (10-12 min):

After most of the kids are done, I set up my projector and show these slides with photos taken from the article, “25 of the Most Dangerous and Unusual Ways to Get to School.”

I don’t preface these slides too much — just showing them gets the kids awed and amazed.

Once we finish clicking through the photos, I have the students turn-and-talk.  Since this is the third day of school, prior to the turn-and-talk, we go through what a meaningful turn-and-talk is, and what students should be doing.

I ask the kids to answer 2 questions: Why do people go to school, and why do they (my students) go to school?

(Aside: Depending on the group, sometimes, I feel the need to remind them that unlike many other countries, and even the US 100 years ago, our schools are free and open to everybody.  I ask them why people would pay for an education or why people care so much.)

Then, I have a spokesperson from each table group share their table’s main thoughts.  As they do so, we practice listening respectfully, projecting our voices if we are talking, and using agreement hand signals.

Also, I collect the post-its from the individuals from the table that is sharing and post them on the large construction paper I have.  I roughly group them in categories.

They range from “To go to college and get a good job, to make my family proud, and to learn” to “my parents make me go.”

Framing The Objective (2 min):

I explain today we are coming up with classroom agreements.  I then emphasize how these kids have been in school for almost a decade already and they know what they need to succeed.  I also don’t want to make a BUNCH of rules or USELESS rules, which is why I need their ideas in crafting classroom agreements.

Building Agreements (15-20 minutes)

To help us with agreements, we should root it in our reasons for why we come.  I summarize for the kids what their main reasons are, and then, I ask them What obstacles get in the way?  I bring up each main reason, “To learn, to succeed, to make friends, etc etc,” and then kids pipe up with obstacles.  As I call on volunteers, I actually like to call one person, and then have that person call the next one.  It helps me gauge the social meter in my classroom.

I end up with a whiteboard full of obstacles such as…

• not paying attention
• not getting enough help
• not enough money to get supplies
• distracting others
• others distract you
• feeling shy about getting the wrong answer
• having a bad day
• etc

Then, I talk about what we can control and what we can’t.  I cross off the obstacles we can’t control (there usually are only 1 or 2.. mainly having to do with parents or money), and then ask students, “What can students do to overcome these obstacles?”

As they express an idea, I draw an arrow specifically to each of the obstacles the actions would fix (we are usually able to fix most of the obstacles).  From this, we are able to specify, clarify, and narrow into 4-5 agreements.  I frame it as, “Can we agree to…?”  If a classroom is missing an agreement that I would really want, I just bring it up and ask them.  “Hey guys, I know that these are your agreements, but do you think we could also agree to come to school prepared with our materials and homework?”  I keep the explanation short, and kids are usually agreeable.

The paper with their reasons why they come is to the left.

This is the last class – the arrows are much more organized…

 

Lastly, I ask, “What can the teacher do to help?”   I want them to know that along with their classroom agreements, I also want to actively join them in their endeavors for success.   This ALSO is a time when I’m able hit the rest of the obstacles that kids feel get in the way (for instance, “Not understanding how to do something” gets nixed by the teacher agreeing to try to break down a problem if a student doesn’t get it the first time).

The first time I did this, it was a suuuuper long conversation on the rug, and most kids were able to hang in there, but I didn’t want it to last that long this year.  So, my first period, we took about 50 minutes, but the rest of the classes took about 35-40 minutes.

Afterwards, I removed the post-its, but in that space, I wrote their reasons and made the ones that had more public approval a larger font while the random ones were smaller.  It was interesting to see how some classes were mainly motivated by force while others were motivated with the desire to learn.

 

 

 

 

Then, I wrote each classroom’s agreements on separate sheets of construction paper.  This year, I posted them at the front and grouped the 7th grade classes together and the 8th grade classes together.

 

Lastly, I combined all the agreements for the teacher from all the classes and put them into one sheet for me.  (Aside, it’s really interesting and sweet to see just the obvious but simple agreements my kids wish from their teacher.)

The next day, I showed these posters to the class.  I toyed with the idea of having them sign it, but to be honest, I was ready to move into some actual math lessons and didn’t want to spend time passing the poster around for them to sign.  However, I know that a lot of teachers do that, and I’m sure it would be nice.  I’m also certain that this will quell any child’s future retort, “I never agreed to…”

I also told them how rather than having different teacher agreements for different classes, that I believe that if one class felt it would be good for them, it probably would be good for all the other classes.  I also have it so that all the agreements that I’m following number way more than theirs.  This is ALSO good arsenal to have during follow-up conversations with a child who breaks an agreement by pointing out that Ms. Kim has more agreements to follow.

As the year progresses, I like to personally read it and remind myself what the kids want from me, and I like to gauge myself in public with a classroom (especially a class I might be having issues with), just to model what it means to agree to something within a community, and how to reflect on your progress.  I also told them how rather than having different teacher agreements for different classes, how I believe that if one class felt that it would be good for them, it probably would be good for all the other classes.  I also have it so that all the agreements that I’m following number way more than theirs.  This is ALSO good arsenal to have during follow-up conversations with a child who breaks an agreement by pointing out that Ms. Kim has more agreements to follow.

Thoughts for the Future and Next Year

• Have students fill out a survey for why they come to school.  Then, create a wordcloud for each class and one large wordcloud for the grades.
• Bring the 7th grade agreements to the 8th graders and ask them what they would keep or change
• In the 2nd month of school, bring up the “why we come to school” posters, and ask ourselves if we are on track.  Tweak the agreements if necessary.
• Survey at the end of the year: see if reasons why we come are still the same or different.