Building a Supportive Classroom Community: Three Things

[I find it hard to reflect on teaching when I'm not actually in the classroom.  When I'm actually in the classroom, I find it hard to write my reflections because I'm so busy *actually* teaching.  Teaching is time consuming, even when done mediocrely.]

When I teach HS, I want to try to actively build a classroom community.  Three things I need to think about:

1) Dealing with mixed abilities.  In my college experience, the students tend to group themselves according to ability.  So, the "good" students find each other and work together (which works well) and the weaker students do the same (not so good).  I've tried different ways of grouping students but they (the students) can be resistant and I've always been hesitant to push too hard at the college level (I feel that they come to college to figure these things out independently plus I don't see them on a daily basis which limits my effectiveness at social engineering)

2) Incorporating parents.  One major difference between HS and college is that college teachers are legally prevented from speaking with a parent (of students >18) unless the student has signed a waiver[1] (law is FERPA).  In HS, at least in the Affluent Suburbs where I hope to find gainful employment[2] many parents expect to be fully informed of classroom policies, assignments, etc.  While I could argue whether this is good/bad, it is a fact (I've been a HS parent for the past 6 years.)

3) Gaining student buy-in.  When I talk about building a supportive classroom community to college students, I sense a bit of eye-rolling.  I've been fortunate to (mostly) teach at pretty selective schools which means that, in addition to selecting for high grades/scores also effectively selects for good, compliant students who believe that humoring me will continue to earn them the high grades they expect.  I'm not sure how that will translate to the general HS population.

I'm writing this down now.  I'm sure, after I actual teach HS (will hopefully student teach in the fall) I will find this incredibly naive and, dare I say, dorky.

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[1]I will have a college freshman next year, so I'll get to experience this from the parent perspective

[2]I still have a relatively young child at home, so I'd like to limit my commute.

Geek Pride Day

Today is Geek Pride Day--it's on Facebook and Wikipedia so it must be true, right?

I first realized I was a geek sometime around 3rd grade. I didn't know I was a geek but I did know I was different and weird. I liked math and Star Trek which were both weird, especially for girls. I didn't know anyone else who (admitted) liked Star Trek (aside from my parents, who obviously Don't Count).

I spent most of the next two decades denying my geekiness. During that time, I also acquired a science BS but, I didn't embrace the lifestyle, kept quiet about my love of all things Trek and pretended that I understood human behavior. The last part got much easier because, even as I was denying my geekiness, I was surrounding myself with geekier and geekier people. Graduate school was just the logical next step on that path.

During grad school I finally realized that I couldn't deny my fundamental geekiness. I put on socks and sandals[1] and never looked back. Along the way I acquired two advanced degrees g, discovered usenet (I've met many friends on teh Internets, although we've migrated from usenet to Facebook) and immersed myself in academic science. I didn't really think about being geeky because everyone around me was. I finally understood human behavior--at least the behavior of the humans around me.

Then I had children. And they started public school. And everything changed. I had to become Minivan Mom (although the minivan didn't arrive until the child #3).

I spent the first part of my life denying my geekiness, the second part living geekiness. Since then I've been trying to reconcile the two parts.

Am I succeeding? Too soon to tell. I am pleased that D1 openly identifies as a geek and D2, while self-defining as "artistic" (which is just another word for geeky:-)) posts things like "May the mass times acceleration be with you" on my Facebook wall. D3 is too young to tell (it's fine if she's not a geek, but, if she is, I don't want her feel she has to deny it).

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[1] I've only worn socks/sandals infrequently because (like many geeks!) I have sensory issues and I don't like the way it feels.

Alone Time

Being without coursework (either taking or teaching) about 1.5 months has made my brain a little dull. I think I miss the adult interaction (even on a Bb discussion group). Last night, we had a social outing that involved other adults and I Could Not Shut Up.

Today I took the car to the dealer for service. Instead of having to wrangle rides, or arrange for late night drop offs, I spent the 1.5 hours walking around town. Part exercise, part window shopping.

Someday, I will go back to work full time. My brain will appreciate it. I think it will also miss the luxury of walking around during the day.

Things a Teacher Shouldn't Say

You are XX years old, you should be able to <insert soft skill>

It seems most people, pick up soft skills organization, planning, studying, without explicit instruction. By the time a student gets to college, she should be an independent learner. When are these skills learned? In HS? Before that?

What about the kid who doesn't acquire these skills organically? Whose responsibility is it to teach them? It seems that most people will fall back on "you are XX years old, you should be able to....". This would be nice, if it were true, but just having the conversation is a good indicator that it's not.

What about the kid who is so bright she doesn't need to be organized and/or study? Eventually she will need these skills and won't have had any opportunity for practice.

I've seen HS study skills classes, but they don't seem terribly effective. I don't think you can teach or learn study skills in a vacuum. But how can a content teacher also teach soft skills?

My naive ideas:

• learning journals--have everyone write about their learning and hope they start to make connections between effective techniques and success. Even the brightest can reflect on their process.
  
  
• rewrites--redo assignments to improve/correct them. I think this also gives an opportunity for differentiation--those who have mastered the material can extend it.

If a student has gotten to an advanced point in her studies without mastering the soft skills, berating her for her lack is pointless--a teacher must find a way to help her develop the skills while also learning the content.

Don't say, 'You're XX years old, you should be able to ."

Say, "You need to learn to and here is how I will help."

This looks like a job for Geek Woman!

Star Wars as viewed by the kids

Or, as not viewed by the kids as only one of them watched the whole thing. I was a little disappointed as I'd like to think I'm raising reasonably geeky children.

I put Star Wars* in the Netflix queue because I wanted to share it with my kids (and watch it again as I don't think I've seen in in at least 20 years). Star Wars was a transformative experience for me and--while I didn't expect it to be that to my kids--I thought they would think it was cool.

D1 watched about half the movie with me. The other two watched half the movie in the back of the van. I don't think any movie is really served by the DVD screen in the van, but Star Wars is probably a particularly poor choice for that medium. The youngest (D3) watched the rest on the TV in the house, D1 and D2 never finished.

I did get to explain a few things to the kids. First--I don't like to talk during movies. At all. Really. Especially if we are watching on a DVD and can pause.

Second--if you ask me "Why does <seemingly implausible thing> happen?", the answer is "It advances the narrative.". ("Why can C3PO and R2D2 walk through the path of an outrageous gunfight without getting hurt?" "It advances the narrative.")

Third--if you ask me "Why does <magical thing> only work some of the time?", the answer is, "It's a plot device". (This came up with Obi-Wan using the force.)

Even though they hadn't seen the movie, all three knew that Darth Vader is Luke's father**. I think they've seen bits and pieces of it via YouTube. D1 has seen Episodes 1-3. A movie like Star Wars definitely loses something if you know how it's going to end (or begin?).

In one of those weird coincidences, I came across a reference to "Han shot first" today.

(See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_shot_first)

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*the original, which I can't think of as Star Wars 4: A New Hope. I also don't believe that Episodes 1-3 were ever filmed.

**in our house, when someone has a cold and is breathing loudly, someone else will cover their mouth and wheeze, "Luke, I am your father" (which is not the exact quote, but everyone gets the idea....)

Parenting Lessons from Star Trek

William Shatner often delivered Captain Kirk's lines in a very deliberate/dramatic manner. For this, he's been criticized. But, I've found this style to be very effective when speaking to teenagers.

"Why....Did You Leave....The Milk...On The Counter?"

"Don't...You...Know...It WILL SPOIL!"

Even if it doesn't work on them--all the dramatic pausing helps me control myself (Vulcan parenting lessons post to come...)

I was a little disappointed with "The Big Bang Theory" this week. The plot felt like someone said, "Hey--let's take a really smart girl and make her horny/kinky" rather than an actual story.

I think this is an episode for which I'm not the target demographic.