Interested and Hard Working

I am frustrated.  

If you walked into my room yesterday or peeked in through the window, you would have seen that my students were in their seats, their hands were busy taking notes, and their mouths were closed.  They could get into "ready position" whenever I used my signal and they were not calling out or disrupting others.  On the outside, my students looked engaged...but I know they were not.  I don't know if it was the warm classroom, the cheeseburger sitting heavy in their stomachs, or a lack of enthusiasm on my part, but my classroom was not the environment I wanted it to be yesterday...and that needs to change.  

We talk a lot about being "compliant and on task."  We want 100% of our students to be sitting in their seats, following directions, and paying attention throughout the entire school day.  Students should not be on top of desks, under desks, or aimlessly wandering around the room.  (By the way, all three of these things have happened to me at least once during my 3 years of teaching.)  It makes sense that if students are sitting and generally following the teacher, they will have a better chance of learning.  And ultimately we know we are here for...everyone say it, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT!  But what happens when "compliant and on task" is not enough?  What happens when following the rules and appearing to be engaged is not what we need to make true academic gains and create that "transformational classroom"?  How do we push students from listening and copying to truly absorbing and owning...not just academic content, but everything they learn in a day?  

The first step is getting to the "compliant and on task" level in your classroom.  This takes time, but ultimately, students need to know you are the leader of the classroom and you will do whatever it takes to teach them the rules and procedures of your room.  If they need you to take 5 minutes out of the day to review a procedure so they are really doing it silently as you directed, then you need to be willing to take that time.  I talk with my students every day about the reason we are in summer school (or the reason we are in school during the regular school year).  Just like Mr. Cormack told us all the first day at Quitman this summer, this isn't about me...this isn't about us.   Whenever students are off task, I remind them of the fact that I am not here for me.  Every second in the classroom is their time.  Their time to promote to the next grade, their time to recover missing credits, or their time to improve their skills so they can start at the top of their grade in the fall.  IT'S NOT ABOUT ME. I say it every day because I want them to be reminded that they have ownership of our time together, and when we spend 5, 10, 15 minutes getting 100% compliance on a procedure, they are losing valuable time.  Compliance isn't about being scary...compliance is about making the situation real to them and giving them a reason to invest in their own development.  I truly believe that the key to the best management is effective investment.  


So if our students are sitting down, are listening and generally on task throughout the day, but their exit slips keep coming back with poor data and you can tell they really aren't engaging with the material...we still have a problem.  Now, there could be multiple reasons for this problem including planning, executing, other external factors...but even a weak lesson can be effective if students are interested and hard working. If students are engaged and purposeful, they can push themselves to excel despite perhaps an ineffective lesson on our part.  The trick is, how do we get them there?  How do we create a classroom culture that is electric with a sense of urgency and possibility?  How do we empower students to be ready for the daily content and see the sense of purpose in everything from academic content to a line procedure?  How do we foster that LOVE OF LEARNING that so many of us talked about in our visions for our classrooms?


There is no ONE correct answers to these questions.  Teaching is an art not a science.  We learn from trying and making mistakes, but there is no quick fix for the problem.  However, I have some ideas.  These are some steps I am taking immediately to move my students from compliant to hard working:

1.)  I need to come in energized and focus.  This means getting SLEEP and eating a lunch.  I am a grouchy, distracted teacher when I am tired and/or hungry...we all are.  Make sure you are taking care of yourself so that you can truly take care of your kids. 


2.)  INVEST INVEST INVEST.  I need to remember to instill not only the sense of urgency with my students, but also a sense of possibility.  They need to know I believe they can achieve our goals so they are able to start believing it themselves.  So much can be accomplished with a positive and encouraging tone.


3.)  Continue to hold high behavior expectations and give clear directions.  Students need to know what I expect AT ALL TIMES so there is no confusion.  They want the structure.  They want you to be in charge.  


4.)  Lighten up!  :)  I need to remember that I want my classroom to be a warm, engaging, and safe place for my kids.  I get wrapped up in the data and the how it looks from the outside...what I need to remember is how I would feel to be a student in my class.  Would it be a place I wanted to be?  Would it be a place were I could learn and love learning?  There is a way to mix structure and joy...and I need to get back to my balance.  


I am feeling confident that Wednesday will be a better day.  I will remember to be engaging, positive...and even a little silly.  The best teachers I ever had were not only firm and experts in the content, but they were silly and made us love learning every day.   I want to be that teacher.