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!

The Lion Drop

Mr. Yet-to-be-Officially-Named atop the blogger's father's truck, awaiting his Homecoming Parade Debut.

Last week was Homecoming week here in our little district, and that has big meaning here in football country.

In my middle school reading classroom however, it was pretty much business as usual aside from the wacky dress up days and trying to keep track of whatever odd schedule was running for different activities...nothing I can't handle after seven years in the district.

Crazy Pirate dress up days gone terribly bad?

Do these people really work for the district?

But in the middle of the week, in the middle of teaching seventh graders how to begin blogging, a friend dropped by and delivered the largest stuffed animal lion I've ever seen. I mean, it's the kind of plush toy kids ogle at F.A.O. Schwarz at Christmastime, sized so that it takes at least 3 people to haul him anywhere.

Now I should back up and tell you that I am the Leo Club advisor, a junior group to the community-service oriented Lions Club. And we were in desperate need of a cool float in time for the Homecoming Parade. So those two points help the lion-drop story make a little more sense.

However, there's a little issue about where to store the beast. Put that problem to a bunch of middle school students, and they of course cry, "Keep him here! Let him stay!"

So, he's staying. The giant feline is now permanently installed atop a tall cabinet in my room, and we've moved on to the challenge of finding him a suitable name. I've already propped up a book in between his massive paws, because it's common knowledge that if you're going to stay in my classroom for any length of time, you'd better pick up a book at some point. Jerry Pinkney's The Lion and the Mouse seemed like a good idea.

He's grown on me. I appreciate the way he changes the space in the classroom into something different. My students love him. And he did a good job for us in the parade from the top of my dad's truck: I've received more requests to join the Leo Club than ever before. There is also a lot of good natured arguing about his name. All the obvious ones like Leo and Simba have been shot down, but there's an influential group of readers advocating for Aslan. We'll see. I think there's a club fundraiser hiding in his naming rites somewhere.

My seventh graders may try to tell you some far-fetched story about a very one-sided argument I may have had with him.

I guess if you're going to be interrupted during class, a lion-drop is the way to go.

Check back here soon to find out about his official name and the adventures of this year's Leos.

Midday; Middle of the Woods

Today's teaching and learning adventure plucked us from the hallowed hall of our modest middle school and spirited us away on trusty school bus to the Sugar Creek Bluff State Natural Area, south of Ferryville, Wisconsin.

Ever take 41 twelve and thirteen year-olds to the woods to pull garlic mustard for a few hours? It's definitely one of those endeavors that takes a team of cooperative (if a little crazy) adults to plan and coordinate.

This is the third official year of our efforts to attack this invasive species at the site and give our students some outdoor education experiences along the way. We're determined to get them out and hopefully invested and attached to their natural environments in some important ways.

Our students removed approximately 761 pounds of garlic mustard today through teamwork, dedication, muscles, and sweat.

Amber and Adam, the interns from the Mississippi Valley Conservancy, were fantastic guides today. We appreciated their ability to keep a good sense of humor when working with our crowd of eager and energetic middle schoolers. I think both of them should consider careers as middle school educators. After all they bravely requested to ride the bus with us!

When I find myself in the middle of the woods in the middle of the kind of day where I'm usually tethered indoors, I want to send a bit of gratitude to all those people who make my kind of work possible, and to the events and forces that led me to this particularly beautiful spot on this planet.

And just when I get a little too carried away with this gratitude-in-the-moment stuff, the voices of my woods-weary students call up from points off the beaten path and bring me back: "Ms. H.! Look at this! You gotta see this!!" And it's a 7th grader, hauling a black garbage bag nearly as big as he is, brimming with just-gathered plants, huffing and puffing, all determination and smiles, heading out of the woods.

Thanks go out to Craig, Jenny, and Tony, and to Howie, for their work and fellowship this day.

Middle School Moment

One thing I hope my middle school students understand about my teaching is that I will do whatever it takes to provide them with a positive reading experience on a daily basis. And yes, there are many small goals and lessons associated with that big picture goal, but it's really very simple:

Give kids the freedom to find books that interest them, give them time to read, and then give them opportunities to talk about what they've read. It's a recipe for literacy, and as Nancie Atwell (one of my literacy heroes) writes, "It just happens to be the only way anyone ever became a reader."

Today was a great example of the magic that can occur when everything works, though I can be quite sure my students will laugh at my word choice of "magic" to describe anything that happens in our classroom!

As I fumbled to iron out some issues with our online learning activity at my teacher workstation, I asked the students to share what they've been reading with one another in a whole class discussion.

I can always count on Sam, a voracious reader, to pipe up with her latest book obsession, and she did. She couldn't help but throw three titles together into her talk.

Then Caleb--reliable Caleb-- jumped in with a completely different book recommendation of a fantastic recent Newbery winner that he initially found as an ebook. The first chapter of the book inspired him to find it on our shelves, and he's been hooked.

Katelyn followed with a review of a popular book-turned-movie, and I encouraged her to share the "guts" of the story. Reluctantly she did, though she felt hesitant to give too much away. In doing so, I bet she hooked two or three other people into trying the book.

Alisa was next with a review of a compelling, but somewhat controversial award-winner (my favorite kind of read!). This prompted me to share a connected story of a much younger reader who also tried to read that book. We talked about what happens when younger readers try to read books about things they don't understand, and the class reassured me that they were no longer "immature readers." "We can handle this stuff, Ms. H.," they say.

Emily brought us to the end of the booktalking episode with a plug for a series she's really into. This led to a little discussion about series in general, and we chatted a bit about the pros and cons of the epic series that launched so many readers: J.K. Rowling's beloved Harry Potter books.

I know this doesn't seem like a fancy use of academic time, and there's certainly nothing out-of-the-box about a bunch of people talking about what they're reading, but if you look a little closer, you see the magic part: this whole scene involved teenagers talking about books. Books! Teenagers! Are you reading me, skeptics?

In the middle of this class, I suddenly realized that my goals had been reached with this group: they had become Readers; each one of them different and finding his or her own way through the world of published human stories, but reading all along the way.

And no, it isn't always easy, and some days all some of them can muster is staring at a few pages while their minds wander with adolescent worries (remember?), but I believe that many of them, most of them in fact, will keep this up--that books and reading will be a part of their lives in some way, from now on.

So when I argue with myself over whether I should throw more energy into updating my classroom to include all the "bells and whistles" of a modern educational machine, I hear that persistant voice reminding me of moments like these, in the middle of the afternoon: kids and books; reading and talking.

We move forward in leaps and bounds in what technology can do for us, and yet great writers, compelling stories, and conversation about the things in life worth talking about pull us back and set us down firmly on real ground.

And so here I am, yet again in the middle. I embrace (and struggle with) new technology in the clouds, but I am mindful of our essential ties to "old school" things like reading and talking.

At the end of class today, when I asked my Readers to haul out their netbooks to post comments and review the website that I finally got up and running, the majority of them piped up in agreement with someone who ventured, "No, Ms. H. Let's just read instead."

Magic words to this middle school teacher's ears.

Late to the Blogosphere; Struggled mightily with just the title

Here's the background for my blog title that's still a bit cringeworthy:

Middle School Teacher

Middle Child

Midwesterner

Middle Path, The (occasional student of)

Middle (often find myself stuck in the)

Middle Ground (hopeful searcher for)

First lesson: blogging is a painful exercise. How do all you bloggers do this all the time? I prefer the pain of a 3 mile run in low double-digit weather to this! The very act of starting a blog has caused brain contortions. I should have labored over a title well in advance of blocking time to get this started. All the good, safe, plain-Jane, basic titles are taken!

Personal Teaching Constitutional Law #1: I will not expect my students to accomplish something in their work for my class that I haven't attempted myself. That's my commitment here. They are curious about blogging. So here I am.

I realize that's not a very compelling justification for adding my words to the blogosphere, but I hope this little seed idea about how we might connect the "middles" in life generates some interest.

And as usual, I'm in between worlds--in this case work and home. I must cut this first post short. (Bet you're all pretty thankful for that, too!)

Thank you for coming along on this journey with me.