Hogwarts, Here We Come!

We've embarked on a shared reading experience in my sixth grade classes: I have agreed to read as much of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series as I can for the rest of the school year. We are halfway through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone so far.

Before I began, I polled the kids to see how many of them had recently been read to by an adult for an extended period of time. Only a few raised their hands.

So far, so good. I can tell this was the right choice for a read aloud because at the conclusion of every chapter, I'm bombarded by shouts to "Read more! Read more!"

Update on MS Justice Project

Middle School Justice Project: Since the "trial" there haven't been any disruptions in my presence due to student conflicts...perhaps the one trial was enough? If so, then I will attempt conducting impromptu approximations of our American legal system throughout the year as needed. Perhaps the idea of a possible trial for one's actions might encourage students to think before they act?

Am I naive enough to think the trial made a huge difference? No. But I do think it prompted thought and a bit of contemplation. That makes it a success in my book. Everything doesn't need to be heavy and lesson-laden. We kill so much in our education process by overdoing it.

Start with the End in Mind

My dad went through a Stephen Covey fan phase somewhere back in the '90s. All of his efforts to get me to read and pay attention to Covey's books must not have been in vain, for it's this idea of beginning with the end in mind that popped up in my mind the other day as I thought about what matters in education.

I've been following a lot of people who are interested in turning the tide in the U.S. education system--and in the world, for that matter--and they've really got me thinking. I hope their ideas eventually impress the powers that be, for if education reform is to become a reality, it will never be from the top down. What these change agents are after is meaningful use of time in the classroom.

But back to Covey.

One of his mantras is to "begin with the end in mind." It sounds almost too simple to be life-changing, but what if we actually put this into practice in our schools?

For me, it goes something like this: I want to give all students the power to become lifelong readers who gravitate toward not away from print and reading.

If that's the end, should I ever bore them to death with reading that is uninspired or pointless? Shouldn't every act in my classroom lead them toward this end? This little idea helps me pare down what's essential from what ends up being busy work.

Middle School Justice

Today we threw together a trial in my classroom. I am tired of meting out unauthentic consequences in the classroom. Why can't we model the world outside our classrooms in order to better prepare our students for their existence in it?

How are crimes and misdemeanors handled in the "real world"?

Courtroom trials. Juries of peers. Organized debate. Orderly pursuit of justice.

Now, it can be argued that justice is not always served by our court system, but the system is on average, a fairly decent way to settle disputes amongst us, right?

We'll see how it works. Stay tuned.

"Here, there be dragons..."??

While I was introducing mythology to my sixth graders and outlining a few of our possible directions with our learning, I was overwhelmed by their shouted response to my question about their beliefs regarding mythological creatures. I asked for a show of hands regarding who believed that things like dragons, fairies, vampires, cyclops and satyrs truly, factually existed. I repeat, they shouted emphatically at me to the point where I had to stop teaching. I also believe I heard the old, "There are TV shows about Big Foot, Ms. H.!!"

Keep in mind that I didn't express any doubt or vocalize my own thinking at this point. The strength they summoned to shout me down tells me they've got some experience defending their beliefs. They were ready.

So wait...did I just spoil Santa for some of them?

There was method to my lesson: I was trying to preempt the need for students to interrupt our read alouds from D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths at the part where the sons and daughters of Gaea and Uranus marry one another, and then Uranus swallows his children whole to prevent them from overthrowing him. I was going to talk about the ability readers and thinkers have to suspend disbelief. I thought that this idea would hold some value to them in developing themselves as critical thinkers.

I was also going to follow up with the idea that while we might be skeptical as to the realism in a story or myth, there are important reasons for knowing these classic tales and experiencing them--important elements that draw us toward storytelling in the first place.

But there I was, unable to get a word in while cries of, "Sasquatch walks!" and "Dragons could have existed with a special mineral that catches fire!" lit up the learning space.

It had turned from civilized listening into a mob scene. I stopped teaching because regardless of where any one individual falls on the belief-skeptic scale, it's still unacceptable to browbeat any individual with one's opinion either way.

This lesson needed to be taught.

I calmly removed myself from the front of the classroom, and began quietly organizing materials. The students' cries and shouts eventually died down and they began to ask me timidly to continue. I told them that I was unable to do so because the lesson had been interrupted in the way that it had. I said they would need to come in at lunch to hear what was planned.

And you know what? Every one of them did. They sat. They listened to me explain what I needed them to do with suspending disbelief. They heard me say that because they were so "impassioned" about the topic, that we would explore these issues further. (Read: I need to study up on best practices in addressing pseudoscience vs. science topics.)

It's a slippery slope. We're talking about things people hold dear. We're wading into belief vs. fact.

What do you think? Should we keep going? What do my students deserve in these times?

Setting Goals in Groups: Worthwhile or Waste of Time?

So I think I'm finding that we can encourage students to set goals all we want, but maybe it doesn't really matter. Two recent things have made me think this might be true.

Here's the first:
Today, I asked this year's 8th graders to set a class goal for achievement on the upcoming state tests. I showed them their group performance last year, and then I showed them last year 8th graders' overall group performance. All of this information is available to the world online.

My thinking was that if they set a goal as a group, their accountability to each other might spur on individual improvements in the pressure-filled 8th grade tests.

Then I turned it over to them: "What should our group goal be?"

Cue the audio of a long range missile descending loudly and then exploding.

Total waste of time.

About half the class cared enough to share ideas and vote and listen to one another. About six of them only wanted to be able to have their own conversations about things unrelated to tests, goal setting, or the like. Several of them didn't get involved at all. I dropped out of trying to lead the discussion and left it up to them. It went no further.

Group goal setting as a tool for improving achievement in our American education system?

Good luck.

I passed out the practice test packets and over half the class suddenly had to go to the bathroom.

Go figure.

Here's the second thing:
Maybe I'm getting worried over nothing. Maybe my students already saw this TED lecture , and they were just keeping their goals to themselves as a means to actually achieving them. Riiiight.

So what do you think? Should I bother with this? What does everyone else do out there to get students in the mindset of showing their best abilities on these tests?

High stakes tests...friend or foe? Goal setting for high stakes tests? Like them or not, they are a very real part of student data gathering, teacher evaluation, and school performance assessment. What's a teacher to do?

I welcome a conversation on these questions or if anyone knows how to help 8th graders carry on group discussions in a civilized manner (just please, please, please, don't suggest the "talking ball").

Once We Hook a Reader, Can it Last?

I took my sixth graders to our school library to browse for books for independent reading. They know the expectation is to have a new book ready before they finish their current choice so that we keep up the habit and continue to build reading stamina. And besides are Readers ever without their next books?

As they beelined for the graphic novel section and scrambled to the librarian's desk to request new books in their beloved series, I took a look around.

It just so happened that when we dropped into the LMC today, the sophomore class was browsing for books for their independent book project. I had been their middle school reading teacher and their reading lists and accomplishments came back to me as sure as their faces and names.

Scary.

But then it hit me. They weren't browsing as Readers. They were browsing because they had to for class. Many of them were guffawing and chuckling over their chosen books being "short enough" or something they "already read"...in middle school!

I remarked to two gentleman as they ducked out the door that The Last Apprentice series was extremely popular with this year's sixth graders. It didn't phase them.

So...what do I gather from this chance glimpse into my former students' present reading lives?

1. I must have failed in my mission to help them become lifelong Readers.


2. It's still not cool to be a Reader in our school--the social climate, at least in the high school, doesn't support this.


3. Nancie Atwell's confession about her reaction to the observable decline in reading from middle school to high school in her former students was spot-on as she shared in The Reading Zone (Scholastic, 2007):
   

Now, when I run into them, I've learned not to ask, "So, what are you reading?" Not the girl who read 124 books during eighth grade. Not the boy who read every dystopian science-fiction novel I could lay hands on, from The House of the Scorpion and After, to Brave New World, A Clockwork Orange, 1984, and The Handmaid's Tale. Not his friend who enrolled in CTL at age twelve, never having chosen or read a novel on his own, who graduated with sixty-four titles he loved under his belt. I don't ask them because most of the time I already know the answer, and it kills me: "Nothing..." (106-107)

Just because I can get them reading and thinking of themselves as Readers between the ages of 11 and 14 there's no insurance this will stick. I must confess that my reading teacher heart is a little broken about this.

If reading ability, and I would argue interest, is one of the number one predictors of academic success, what should we do about this trend in reading decline that hits once students walk through our high school doors?

Should this even be on my list of things to worry about?

Can somebody out there (maybe) confirm that sometimes reading lives just go on hiatus during the high school years, only to return in robust form at some future point in peoples' lives?

I know it's wishful thinking, but for this girl, contemplating periods in one's life without great books makes me begin to wheeze, break out in hives, and want to climb the walls.

What makes Readers and non-readers so different?

Cooking for Change

I was very proud to be a staff advisor for our team of five talented young women who developed a lunch menu for competition at the 2nd Annual Harvest Challenge.

We've been working with the ever-generous Madame Monique Hooker to hone our knife skills, acquire kitchen prep techniques, and grow our overall awareness of how to use fresh food. We've been having a great time along the way. Most of the food in our meal came from our school's FFA garden, thereby keeping things local as much as possible.

Tonight the ladies served tasting portions to around 200 people at the event after presenting their work to a panel of judges. It was an exhausting process, but filled with camaraderie and opportunities to learn and problem-solve.

Our side dish of roasted butternut squash highlighted by a touch of honey was a crowd favorite, and it won the honor of Best Side.

We are grateful for all the support we received from parents, staff, school board members, and community friends, and we can't wait for next year's competition! The energy, enthusiasm, and teamwork evident at the event tonight was very inspiring.

This event is a perfect example of why it's great to work in our district. Opportunities like this one present themselves all the time, especially when you're in the middle of many other commitments. I'm so glad that I was involved with this project and that I had the opportunity to work with great people.

The next challenge: serving our menu to the entire school!