This will be my twenty-eighth year in the classroom, and I still look forward to September with a mixture of joy and trepidation. (Oh yes…the school nightmares have started lol) The conferences that I attended this summer fired me up….but how do I bring that to my students, my colleagues, my student teacher? How do I plan for this year?!!
My focus has changed over the years and while I may have once arranged my classroom activities around a curriculum, I now arrange my curriculum around one theme: Building Strong Relationships.
So here I sit, pondering my plans, aware of this significant paradigm shift. What do I want to do in my classroom/program this year?
Build strong relationships………….using the language whenever possible.
Create a safe and trusting environment…….. using the language whenever possible.
Define roles and expectations ………..using the language whenever possible.
Establish routines…………… using the language whenever possible.
Interact with each student…………. using the language whenever possible.
Plan for success for each student………….. using the language whenever possible.
Recognize and honor the needs, emotions, wants, hopes, dreams, struggles, strengths, thoughts,weaknesses, fears, and accomplishments of others…… using the language whenever possible.
Model desired behaviors.…… using the language whenever possible.
Create shared experiences……… using the language whenever possible.
I’m going to start with this framework and choose high-frequency language structures for my classes that will allow me to reach these goals AND promote language acquisition and increased levels of fluency in my students. I’ll let you know what I come up with!!
One of the amazing things that I observed at NTPRS 10 and IFLT 1 was how certain parts of a sentence or a story carry more power than others. Ben Slavic calls it part of the “flow” and when you are watching a lesson, and the teacher taps into it, you can actually SEE the power enter the lesson. It’s incredible.
Let me start with a sentence. As Susie Gross has pointed out to me many times, the brain goes where there is meaning and stays where there is interest.
So…..if you want students to stay focused on what you are saying long enough to get those reps in….there has to be some power added in the sentence. Let’s face it …not every phrase we teach is all that interesting!!!
Where does the power come from? Here are some things that I observed and that presenters and teachers modeled: Power words/phrases:
1. can be clearly gestured.
2. represent or are connected to movement or action.
3. represent or are connected to sound.
4. represent or are connected to emotion.
5. represent or are connected to taste, touch, scent.
6. create an immediate and powerful visual reaction in the listener.
7. tap into memory.
8. tap into a shared experience.
9. tap into humor.
10. are unique.These are all ways to offer the students a way to connect with the language!!!!
Take the target phrase: Jose sleeps. Not all that exciting except that Jose, my Chihuahua is a cute little guy…but…using the ideas above we can more interest…more POWER. If I talk with my students about Jose I can say…
1. Jose sleeps.(and throw a stuffed Chihuahua onto a pillow. I could ask a student to curl up like a dog and snore.)
2. Jose sleeps all day (make ASL sign for day) and Jose sleeps all night (make ASL sign for night)
3. Jose sleeps loudly. (SNORE!)
4. Jose sleeps like a baby. (AWWWW)
5. Jose sleeps on people. (put stuffed animal on students’ shoulders)
6. Jose sleeps on top of the tv. (or in the oven, or in front of the Principal’s office, or on the back of a motorcycle)
7. Jose sleeps with a blanky. (we all have a memory of our blanky or someone else’s…)
8. Jose sleeps during the math class. (oh how language people love math lol)
9. Jose sleeps in footie pajamas. (see how one sentence can tap into several possibilities?)
10. Jose sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeps. (if the word itself isn’t unique or fun, use your voice to make it unique!)As I go through these different reps with the students I can pay attention to which sentence elicits a natural, powerful reaction. What kind of reaction? A visual, audible, or physical response to what I’ve said like….
Smiles
Laughter
Denial/Rejection (No!!!! Not footie pajamas!)
Interest (I want Jose to sleep on my shoulder!)
Interaction (super loud snoring)
Verbal Response (I sleep with my blanky!)
When your students “click” with something….jump on that baby and ride it. We practiced recognizing, and responding to, strong student reactions and I saw it transform the teacher, the students and the interactions.
Sometimes it’s hard to know where to go with a sentence or a story. We are afraid of standing up in front of the class rambling on and on about one thing. It feels like pressure to us and that trickles immediately into a message for our students. They read us quickly and soak up every message we give them.
So this year I am going to try to think of the scripting or listing ideas (like I did above) as a way to look for solid ice. When I find a sentence or word that elicits a stronger response…I’ve found the power….and the place to go deeper. A trail to follow. How cool is that?!!
(originally posted 8/5/10)
In case you’ve never seen it….
If you weren’t watching tv in the 80’s (or if you just want a good laugh), check out the youtube link for the (in)famous “Where’s the beef?” commercial. It’s a classic.
Not only do I love the commercial…I love the message: Hey …where is the stuff that REALLY matters?
That is a great question. That is why CI-based methods rock. If you are looking to “beef” up language acquisition, right now, CI is the best way to go!!
Last week in Los Alamitos, a group of people got together to support each other and develop skills. It was not a formal session organized by the conference. It was a group that gravitated together around a desire to really dig into the ‘meat” of the issue: How can I be a better teacher?
Becoming a better CI-based teacher is so very much like becoming more fluent in a new language (or even in a first language!) We have to be surrounded by the method, immersed in the teaching moment, and gently directed by a focused structure.
When we work with students to provide an environment that supports acquisition, we MUST INTERACT with the students USING THE LANGUAGE. When we are working to acquire teaching skills we must do the same. We need to teach…with a goal in mind..to increase COMPREHENSIBLE INTERACTION with our students. This is how we a) build relationships and b) provide language acquisition opportunities.Learning ABOUT CI teaching is beautiful, fascinating, interesting. But it’s just the bun people.
Whenever possible, take the opportunity to teach, in front of a supportive friend, using the skills you will need in the classroom. That is where you will find the beef!!Yeah I know, easier said than done….but the pieces are in place:
1. Scripting. It’s long been a part of CI-based teacher prep…and you can share scripts with other teachers as a non-threatening way to get started. How does this look? Do you think that this is where the questioning should go? Can you think of other questions that I could ask? If you are already a scripter,then all you need to do is find the email address of a willing conspirator and you have begun your journey.
2. Skype. Wow. Teach in front of the camera….and your audience can be there without being there!!!! We can practice teach any skill…with or without students and get feedback.
3. Blogs/Listservs. Find a partner. Ask and ye shall receive. Folks are out there…I promise! Check out the map at www.tprstorytelling.com Pick a moment that went well or that didn’t . Write about it. Get feedback.
4. Invite someone in. Someone in your department. Someone in your area. A student from another class. A coach. Many of the folks who coached at NTPRS or IFLT are available to come to your school and work right with you in your classroom!! How cool is that?!!
5. Attend a coaching workshop. Whenever, wherever you see one. Ask for one if you don’t . Organize one. Not sure how? Contact me ([email protected]) and I’ll put you in touch with all of the information that you need.
6. Watch. Sometimes it is outside our comfort zone to get up and share our teaching selves with other teachers. Wayyyyyyyyyyyyy outside. So take the opportunity to be a student or an observer in a coaching situation. There is so much to learn there.
Where’s the beef? In the teaching. In the moment. In the opportunity to stand up, get into it, talk about it, break it down, try it again. I saw it over and over and over and over again. I promise you. If you find the right people to work with…it will change your teaching…and your life.
So…I have to constantly ask myself: What is the goal of this activity? For my STUDENTS? (and their brains of course!) I want my students to interact with me in the target language in a way that will allow them to acquire as much language as possible. Students must be doing ALL THREE of these things during an activity in order for me to reach my goal.
Interact
In the target language
In order to
Acquire language
Period.
As I listen to the ideas and suggestions about shower curtains offered by all of these passionate and experienced teachers, it is so easy for me to forget about my goal. The teacher in me gets a “pedagogical high” from thinking about all of the other exciting possibilities and I forget the goal!
My teacher brain is just a’rockin’!! It’s a game? Ooooooo!! Kids love competition! ( teacher-brain starts tracking all of the articles/presentations about involving boys in competition in the classroom…..). It’s visual? Oooooo!! It’s right-brained! It’s multi-modal!! (teacher-brain scans all previously-stored info on teaching/learning styles and brain research……). And it a micro-millisecond I am off on my own teacher-track…having totally forgotten about my REAL goal: to provide activities so that my students will INTERACT with me in the TARGET LANGUAGE so that
they will ACQUIRE LANGUAGE. So what do I REALLY have to have in an activity in order for that to happen?
A) Repeated, Interesting, ComprehendED, Heart-connected language and…..
A situation where we interact using it.
-or-
1. A situation where we interact…
2. Using Repeated, Interesting, ComprehendED, Heart-connected language.
Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay So, what all of these teachers didn’t tell me is what I really need to know.
HOW do they interact with their students in the target language so that the language is useable enough, compelling enough, personal enough, repeated enough, understandable enough for my students to acquire language as a result of that interaction?
THAT is what I need to know.
Don’t get me wrong…the activities are PHENOMENAL!!!! But as you read them, remember that it is HOW these teachers interact with student during the activities that facilitates the language acquisition….not the activities themselves.
It is why watching other teachers is so powerful. It isn’t the shower curtain that is enthralling.
It’s THE TEACHER. It is why mastering skills is so important. It is why going back to basics, taking the chance to be coached, and learning to teach in the moment are so vital. It is the relationships developed during the activity that matter. The activity is not the vehicle that carries our students to proficiency. Compelling and Comprehended language is the vehicle. Games and projects, songs and stories, conversations and TPR are the roads we can explore with that vehicle.As teachers, we sometimes think that the trip gets a little boring….so we are constantly looking for new roads to take. What we need….is to upgrade the vehicle our students are riding in. Would you rather ride to proficiency in a broken-down jalopy or in a well-tuned “luxury” vehicle?
CI-based instruction is even better than a luxury vehicle. It won’t break down. It isn’t uncomfortable. It’s energy efficient. It feels good to be in AND it does the job…very very well.
What are your best CI teaching skills? Do the activities that you use make the most of them? Do the activities that you invest your time and energy in utilize those skills? How can you adapt an activity so that your skills create a luxury vehicle that carry your students closer to proficiency?
These are the things that I invite you to think about as you peruse these suggestions. If you don’t know…ask the person who has successfully used the activity to offer suggestions, not only about the steps involved in the activity, but about the TEACHING SKILLS utilized during the activity so that ALL ROADS LEAD TO PROFICIENCY.
I do love ideas. But I have to make sure to start paying more attention to the skills required by the
teacher and the actions required by the students once these ideas become classroom activities. It can be tough when being a teacher gets in the way of well….being a teacher!!
It was a lot of fun. :o) A little background…this is the week that our seniors finish a year-long endeavor known as THE SENIOR PROJECT. It culminates in all 120+ kids arranged with display boards explaining their research and results to the general public. They are “on” for six hours, talking to strangers about their research and conclusions. There are a lot of steps involved in being prepared and they are all about to tear their hair out before it’s done.
So yesterday, the day before the BIG EVENT, we had a Whiner Day to kick off Whiner Week. I put about twenty-five “whining/complaining expressions” on the SmartBoard. They each had about five minutes to create a mini-graffiti wall about the topic of their choice. As seniors, they had a number of topics to choose from! (I played some edgy rock in the background while they created)
Round one:
Each senior found a partner and stood face to face. They showed their Whiner Wall to their partner. Each student got sixty seconds to whine. The partner had to respond to each complaint in Spanish with an “I know” “Oh yeah” “I agree” “What a shame” etc.
Round two: (you can change partners but my kids were just warming up so I let them keep their original partner)
Each senior took one giant step backwards. They held up their Whiner Walls and had 45 seconds to whine again. (of course, it had to be louder since now they were farther apart!) They alternated with their partner using responses.
Round three:
Each senior took another giant step backwards. This time they had 30 seconds to whine/complain…again…upping the volume.They alternated with their partner using responses.
Round four:
Each senior took another giant step backwards and AT THE SAME TIME whined and complained. for twenty seconds. By this time, they were really comfortable and pretending to be really mad/upset…it got very very funny!
Round five:
Each senior chose a new partner and sat at at desk…face to face with the partner. They alternated complaints……First one partner would whine one statement and the partner would respond. Then the partner would whine one complaint and get a response. They each complained 7 times.
Round six:
We repeated round five….except…..each time a student complained s/he would pound the desk with both fists. Five complaints each.
Round seven:
We repeated round six…except…each time a student complained AND each time his/her partner responded, they would pound the desk with both hands.
By the end we were hysterical! It was a great tension reliever for all of us. :o)
Output? Oh yes. But sometimes you just have to let it out!!
The rate at which students begin to comprehend and produce a second language is totally dependent on teacher-controlled issues save three: student motivation, student work, student “ability”-level.
Therefore:
If all of the students in the class are equally motivated,
(and teachers assume that they should be)
If all of the students in the class complete the same work,
(and teachers assume that they should have)
and
If all of the students in the class are perceived to have the same academic skill level,
(and teachers assume that students are either “teachable” or “not teachable”.)
then they will all accomplish/learn the same material at the same rate.
Therefore:
those who do as requested/planned will earn A’s and those who do not will earn F’s.
and
those who do as requested/planned and do NOT earn A’s are less intelligent than those who receive A’s,
and
students who have earned A’s will know more and be able to produce better language than students who have earned F’s.
Although I thought so for many years………………none of the above is true.
Myth #3:
Saying a word or phrase over and over and over again is the surest way to learn it.
I’d like to share a story from 2000 ( I think….) when I attended my first workshop with Susie Gross. It was the end of day two and we had been working with a select group of words for about 16 hours. For whatever reason, the group could NOT produce the phrase le vert d’eau (the glass of water …please excuse any sp/agreement errors…I haven’t used the phrase since…).
How hard could it be???????!!!!!!!!!!! We were ALL experienced language teachers. We had heard Susie use it over and over and over and over again. Someone suggested that we had not “acquired” the word because we really hadn’t had to use it. We needed to say it. Over and over and over and over.
Susie said, “NO.” The room got very quiet. “I don’t believe in that any longer. I haven’t used it often enough, comprehensibly enough for you all. That’s all.” I didn’t believe her. I don’t know if anyone in the room believed her.
And she began another story…which I don’t remember at all…except that I do remember her somehow inserting “le vert d’eau” in there a bazillion times. Finally…….it clicked. And le vert d’eau was in our lexicon. Just like that. And it was still there the next morning. And it’s still there a decade later. And I definitely don’t go around saying it out loud. At all.
Then there is the word “escaparate” (shop window). I learned it in grade 9. I never said it out loud once in high school (although I really wanted to tee hee it’s a fun word…escaparate! like pamplemousse!! ). I never used it in college. Then, when I was in Spain for a semester….there it was..in my brain…totally ready to use!!! Too bad I couldn’t remember a single one of the question words…..which I KNOW I had to use over and over again in high school and college. In context. Still couldn’t remember them….
Still….I spent many years creating activities which gave students plenty of opportunities to say things in Spanish. Games and role-plays and projects and skits and all kinds of well-conceived, well-written, well-rubricked, totally ineffective activities…..that did not help students to acquire any kind of language for the long run.with love,
I normally do not “attack” any kind of language program. It’s not something I am usually comfortable with. However….one of the enormous frustrations of teachers is their students’ inability to speak and / or write with confidence and fluency. I do believe that traditional second-language instruction attitudes are to blame. This conversation on Ben’s blog got me thinking again…..I wrote a fairly long response there, but would like to rewrite and break it down here…I started with the first myth I think exist and I broke it down. In italics are the teacher’s words/thoughts/etc. when the myth starts to disintegrate into reality….
The Output Myths (and their implications) of a non-Comprehesion-based Program
A student learns to comprehend and to produce language at the same rate.
Students are given a list of targeted vocabulary and grammatical structures for each unit. The end-of-unit-evaluations will require students to comprehend written and spoken material using this vocabulary.
They’ve had this material for almost a month now! They knew that this would be on the test. They obviously didn’t study.
Students will also be expected to produce, with few to no errors, in speech and in writing, in contextually-appropriate, but contrived, situations.
Why do they have to stop and think about what to say? We wrote these in dialogues and practiced them in skits. Why can’t they just spit it out?They’ve had this material for almost a month now! They knew that this would be on the test. They obviously didn’t study.
Teachers know exactly how long it should take for students to master these items.
I have 9 units to complete in 10 months. If I subtract time for review, testing and vacations that comes down to three weeks per unit. They’ll have to study.
Teachers will plan instruction, practice and evaluation according to this knowledge.
If we can’t get to everything in class, then I’ll just have to assign it for homework. They’d better put in the time and study.
Students who do not succeed in mastering these items, in the alloted time frame, are considered responsible for their failure to do so.
They’ve had this material for almost a month now! They knew that this would be on the test. They obviously didn’t study.
Students will be expected to be able to recognize and to produce this list of items at all times once the unit is completed (even those who were unsuccessful during the unit.)
We studied this material for almost a month in ninth grade! They should know it by now!!
Sound familiar??????????? These italicized thoughts/comments are so much a part of the “My Kids Won’t Do Work” litany that they seem NORMAL for people to say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s just not right.
For those of you who are wondering……that is why I am so drawn to CI programs. There is no place for these complaints because the system is simply different. And it works.
At one point I considered naming this website “Wide Open Windows”. I love the idea of flinging the windows open and changing the view, the perspective, the very air inside of a room with one movement. In truth, there are many little steps that take place before windows, or doors, open….and we are often not aware of them at all. So, when the light and air come peeking, or rushing, in it truly takes us by surprise…..and oh did I see that happen this week!!
Earlier this week I wrote a blog about getting past adolescent armor. Here is a piece from it:
“I never really know what will be the key that opens a student up. Sometimes it is something that we do in class: a story, a poem, a movie, a song, a current event. Other times it is casual observance of a tshirt design, a new pair of shoes, a sketch on the front of a book cover. Occasionally it is an item in my classroom…this year the fans that I brought back from Spain have opened up many doors of conversation. Rarely, if ever, am I the one that opens the door. It is almost always the student who shows me, if only for a tiny instant, a glimpse beyond the armor. ”
Sure enough, since I wrote that two different students reached out and turned the handle on the door….even if just a bit. One of them is a young man who has planned all year to drop out at age 16. Unfortunately, he doesn’t turn 16 this year. So, for him, this year has been one long vacuum. He is one of those students who will literally just sit….and do absolutely nothing. His teachers, parents and counselors have been trying to sell him the merits of at least working for a GED….but he hasn’t shown much interest…only disdain. In Spanish 1 we have been watching Selena and for one period we did a webquest about the singer. I was surprised to see that he had logged in to a website and was reading. Halfway through the period he starts waving his hand wildly and called me over. “Hey Profe!” This in itself is unusual. :o) “Did you know that Selena got a GED diploma? That’s cool. There she was, getting rich and famous and all and she still decided to do it.” Oh yes, very cool.
The second student shouldn’t really be in my Spanish 1 class. He was only in the 8th grade program for a few months before he wa pulled out to prepare for the grade 8 ELA tests….so….he had about 10 weeks of Spanish while the rest of my students had 40 weeks before they started class with me this year. One of his best friends in class is another student like the one I described above. The other left the district about two months ago. This kid tries very hard to be invisible in my room. He doesn’t offer eyes to teach to, conversation to interact with or even a response some days. He also called me over to show me something during the webquest, however, it was not anything on the monitor. He pulled the barrel of a paintball gun out of his backpack. (It’s a plastic tube, but I have two paintball-playing sons so I recognized it) He wanted to show me how he had “painted” the piece with black and green Sharpies to make it look camouflaged. We chatted about paintball for a minute, then he got to work on the webquest.
Two students who prefer not to engage. Two students who try hard not to get involved. Two students offering me a connection. A few years ago I would have dismissed those moments as meaningless. A few years ago I didn’t understand the amount of work and effort (on their part) that it took to get to that tiny first step. A few years ago I had no idea of the power of an interaction initiated by a student. A few years ago I thought it was attitude rather than armor. A few years ago I would have missed two opportunities. Open doors. Open windows. I’ll take them. I’m glad that I had written about them earlier this week, or I might have missed these two moments.
He was an athlete, a talented one. He had a wise-ass attitude towards most adults, particularly those in authority. He attended school often enough to stay eligible to play sports, but not any more than he needed to. He smoked a lot of pot. He didn’t hand work in on time…when he did it. He was not voted most likely to succeed.
He now owns a highly-successful construction firm. He bought his first house the summer he graduated from high school. He owns a number of rental properties. He stopped smoking pot when he saw how his pot-smoking employees made a mess of things. He often hires men that are on parole or probation and gives them a second chance at life. He is a devoted and responsible dad. I’d say he is a success.
She was the snottiest student most teachers had ever encountered. She had a small but very loyal group of friends. She absolutely refused to work with anyone else…ever. She was condescending. She had a look that could flatten you. She always gave the impression that she was smarter, prettier, better than everyone else….and that you had better treat her that way. She questioned every grade. She quietly insulted people. She was not voted most likely to succeed.
She is now pursuing a Ph.D at one of the most prestigious universities in America. She spends enormous amounts of her spare time advocating for the poor in Rwanda. She travels to Africa and back several times a year, even volunteering to live in huts and use outhouses. She raises money to help young men combat hunger and poor nutrition. She makes presentations in churches and schools about her mission. I’d say that she is a success.
He was a kid who made friends easily. Maybe too easily. It was often difficult for him to be quiet in class when the teacher was speaking. He spent a lot of time checking with his friends to make sure that they were getting the information. He hated to read….in fact, he didn’t really start reading until the summer between third and fourth grade. He got bored easily. He often got in trouble for defending a friend if a teacher was mean or sarcastic. He missed enormous amounts of school when he developed a severe anxiety disorder. He was not even considered likely to succeed.
He is now a prolific reader and owns a library’s worth of books. He’s won awards for playwriting. He’s a sophomore in college majoring in business and creative writing…but he really has the heart of a teacher. He has maintained his friends from high school and has added a new crew as well. He carries a B+ average and has helped several friends get enrolled at the local community college….kids who were told that they would never be “college material.” I’d say that he is a success.
She was raised by a dad who was a drug addict and left to fend for herself even as a preschooler. She was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment in her junior year of high school. She had to redo the entire year. She didn’t have running water. She rarely had new clothes, a real haircut or a vacation. She had few friends in school. She wore caution tape for a belt. She was considered far from likely to succeed.
She is graduating from a top-notch four year college with a double major in psychology and philosophy. She has worked with professors at Brown and Harvard. She works with young women who are trying to get off of the streets. She spent a summer as a camp counselor for young people with a myriad of social and psychological problems. She gave her brother a computer as a high school graduation present. She has been accepted by the University of Edinburgh (in Scotland, among other schools) for a Master’s program in Philosophy. She has an entire group of friends whom she will miss dearly….and will most certainly miss her. I’d say that she is a success.
I could go on and on. One has traveled the world, earned a Master’s degree in Biology, routinely supports family members in need and hopes someday to become an MD. One is working his way through college to earn a degree in Italian. One is a wonderful family man in South Dakota, an active and amazing part of his community. One is a gifted musician, producing her own CD’s, appearing in cafe’s around the city, working with the developmentally disabled and in a loving relationship with a dear man and two miniature dachsunds. One is a loving, hard-working single teen mom working her way through college…..without the help of her mother. One is a soldier stationed in Germany. None of them were considered “a success” in high school. They are all real, wonderful, amazing people.
Don’t let adolescent challenges, armor, attitudes and family situations fool you. What you see is rarely what you get.
(Please remember that I am working out my thoughts as I write…not necessarily preaching a sermon!!!)
A number of years ago I wrote a piece for the moretprs list about kids with “attitude.” Lots of things have changed in a decade, but the fact that adolescents often have “attitude” has not. This piece talks about what you see….so I will start with it:
It is a well-developed protection mechanism designed to preserve a lifestyle which focuses on these young ladies’ social strengths…beauty and social position. Hair flipping is an art and a well-practiced communication device. It says:
DON’T THREATEN MY WORLD.
Other students have this protection mechanism as well. Each group has its own: The Swagger and Swearers, The Smell like Smoke Shufflers, The Eyebrow Raisers, The Can’t Stop Gigglingers, The Smart Remarkers,The Grunters, The I Still Love Last Year’s Teacherers, The Eye Rollers, The Incessant Whisperers, and among others..another one of our favorites…The Great Sarcastic Remarkers.
These devices are automatic…particularly at the beginning of the school year when you don’t know them, they don’t know you , and the class doesn’t know each other. The mechanism says clearly:
THIS IS WHAT I AM COMFORTABLE DOING AND BEING IN FRONT OF OTHERS. READ MY MECHANISM!!
In our position as language teachers we ask them almost immediately to do things WAY outside of their comfort zone. It is very very threatening.. It is threatening because:
THEY ARE AFRAID TO MAKE MISTAKES. (to them a mistake is NOT always doing something wrong..sometimes it is doing the wrong thing)
THEY DON’T KNOW THEY CAN TRUST US.
THEY WANT TO CONTROL WHAT OTHERS THINK OF THEM.
Deactivating these mechanisms takes love and time. Be yourself. Love them. Push gently. Be patient. Show them that you are proud of your weird and wonderful and individual self. They will see you as a role model…even if they have to be out of their teens before they begin to emulate you.
I wrote this just as I was beginning my TPRS journey and it resonates even more with me today. Personalization is so central to TPRS…yet our students often work very hard to cover and protect what is really important to them. How do we combat that?
First, we accept that they have reasons for their cover. It really doesn’t matter if we like those reasons or not…what matters is that we acknowledge who/what walks in our door. How? By treating them as real, regular people…regardless of their hair color, hair cut, number (or location) of piercings, choice of music, addiction to video games etc.
(now…that doesn’t mean that I am advocating the acceptance of foul language, degrading t shirts, pants on the ground et.al)
One of the requirements in my room is that we treat others AS IF they are intelligent, interesting, capable and important. It is as hard for me, some days, to remember that as it is for my students. Frankly, they don’t always act intelligent, interesting, capable and important. I have some students who make an extreme effort NOT to appear to be any of those things….
However, treating them AS IF they are really does work. In time, using patience, and understanding that they may ultimately work hardest to keep their “cover” in place…but it does work.
It has been much easier to do since I took Susie Gross’ advice to “teach to the eyes” to heart. It takes them a while to get used to being taught to that way…because it is harder to maintain a cover that way. But it works….and the cover starts to melt…or at the very least to transform so that it more closely resembles the heart of the adolescent within…and less like the suit of armor that protects it.
I’ve also learned to open my eyes outside of the classroom. It is amazing how different some students can be outside of my four walls. I’ve seen spiky-haired, black-rimmed-eyed giants play piggy-back with their younger siblings. I might see an exquisite water-color displayed that was created by a lineman. I have had extremely well-coiffed young ladies who can dismantle a four-wheeler…and reassemble it. I have seen tiny fairy-like creatures kick and run like wildfire on the playing field. I am constantly surprised by the many facets of students’ interests, abilities and personalities.
I never really know what will be the key that opens a student up. Sometimes it is something that we do in class: a story, a poem, a movie, a song, a current event. Other times it is casual observance of a tshirt design, a new pair of shoes, a sketch on the front of a book cover. Occasionally it is an item in my classroom…this year the fans that I brought back from Spain have opened up many doors of conversation. Rarely, if ever, am I the one that opens the door. It is almost always the student who shows me, if only for a tiny instant, a glimpse beyond the armor.
It is my job to be open, ready and PAYING ATTENTION…so that I do not miss it.