Academics is the TOP goal in the Classroom. Really?

     Many years ago, just before I entered my first classroom, my goal as an educator was that of any novice teacher; I wanted to fill young minds with knowledge.  By the end of that first year, the goal I had set went right out of the window!  Well, not really out the window.  I just packed it away in a safe place.

     Filling young minds with knowledge sounds great, and is the expectation of what we do of layman out in the world.  But, this goal is unachievable on its own.  This is not to say that an educator won’t ever fill young minds with knowledge, rather…it simply can’t be an attainable goal right from the start.  This knowledge acquisition can only be attained by students after much groundwork, legwork, blood, sweat, and tears!  By October of my first year teaching I knew that in order for me to teach pedagogically, I had to first Unteach, engage, entertain, reconstruct, and inspire.  Once all of this has been done (That first year), I unpacked my original goal.

     UN-teaching begins the first moment of the first day of school.  A handful of our kids enter our classrooms (Every year) very knowledgeable about how to work the system.  The attention seekers, the bullies, the blurters, the note-passers, the chatterers, the I-will-get-sent-to-ISS-and-get-out-of-classers, etc.  The behaviors these kids exhibit are learned, so they can be Unlearned.  Shed light on the ugly, and shore-up the weak.  Stand your ground, and draw the proverbial line in the sand.  I could give much advice on how to handle this UN-teaching business, but it would all be MY way.  You must find your own way.  I do give some helpful hints in past posts if you are inclined to read them.  Just remember, all of us have a core.  The behaviors these kids exhibit surround who they truly are…their core.  Never stop, never give in…find the core of your kids!  Peel away the layers your kids have wrapped themselves up in!  Until you do this, nothing else can happen.  Nothing!

     Engage your kids.  Talk TO them, and not at them.  Ask their opinion on things.  Get them talking about something interesting to them.  Allow them to teach you something?  Validate that Math, or Social Studies, or Writing can be boring, and then show them how it’s not!  Be proud-as-hell for every accomplishment they make.  If they fall, encourage them to rise, then rise further!  Gear your lessons towards your kids…we are creative, intelligent beings…we can make anything interesting!

     If you have been teaching for a while then you know that deep inside you is a frustrated actor or a clown waiting for a chance in the big ring!  You must be unafraid to make a fool of yourself.  You must be prepared to laugh with your kids, and at yourself, but never AT them.  Make‘em laugh, make‘em laugh, make‘em laugh!  A happy kid will move mountains, and you will always have a captive audience if your kids know that when you are onstage…anything could happen!  This aspect, when used in the right amount of doses at the right times, will not only captivate your kids it will energize them.  Engagement goes hand-in-hand here!

     Many of our kids enter our classrooms broken.  Some have been abused, or bullied.  Others come from families at a poverty level so low that food of any kind is a luxury.  A few struggle and hate Reading, or Math, or getting up early because they were allowed to stay up till 3am playing video games.  Some will have one or both parents in jail.  Each kid you have has a story; some will have stories that will break your heart.  We can never take the place of a parent, but we still must parent nonetheless.  We must carry these kids, and work hard to establish trust.  Most of these broken kids have learned to trust no one.  We must make every effort to show WE can be trusted, and that our classroom is a safe place.  Never think that by just telling a broken kid to trust you, or that your classroom is safe will solve the issue.  Telling only works where time is concerned.  Listen, watch, listen a bit more.  It may not be possible to completely fix a broken kid, but you can plant a seed.  Perhaps, when June comes around, that seed you planted will grow, and allow your kid to see some light at the end of the tunnel; that maybe there is some good in the world.  Your efforts could cause a bit of reconstruction inside this kid!  YOU could be the one to make a difference.  THIS IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL!

     Finally, you must inspire your kids.  You must strive…everyday…to make your kids see that there is so much more inside them than what they came in with.  A happy kid WILL move mountains, but an inspired kid will build empires!  Give your kids a reason to want to push the barriers, and move outside of their comfort zones.  Travel with them every step of the way.  Take the kid that hates division, and show him that he hates it because of remembering the many steps it involves.  YOU work with him, have a classmate work with him.  Let him take the time he needs to get it.  Once he does…applaud, then share the wealth.  Have HIM help another student to learn it.  Now he is the teacher!  Get inside your kids, find them!  I promise you…each kid (At his core) is a shining beacon of awesomeness!

     Lastly, every year…at some point…I take out my original goal, dust it off, and put it into action.  Once I have laid the ground-work, done all of the leg-work, shed some blood, sweated profusely, and squeezed out a few tears…I know that I will have a class that will absorb, and apply all that I have to teach them.  Then, once June rolls around I pack it away again, and so it goes…year after year.  Oh yeah...and the prayer that I have made some kind of a difference comes into play. 

     I remember about ten years ago a parent asked me,

     “What is your goal in your classroom?  Wait, I know…teaching Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.”

     I told her, yes…I teach all of those things, but if I had a list of the top-ten goals in my class…academics would be number ten.

     The look on her face cracked me up!

Help Kids Do the Impossible...Make Good Choices!

     There once was a young boy who had within him the rumble-tumbleness of a honey badger.  He was headstrong.  He was willful.  One morning he decided to go fishing.  He gathered up his pole, his bait, and his tackle-box and headed for the pier.
     Upon arriving at the pier the young boy baited his hook, and cast his line.  He felt the tug of the current, but not so much as a nibble from a single fish.  He reeled in, and recast.  Over and over he cast his line into the deep blue sea, but to no avail...his hook remained baited, but fishless.
     After a time, the young boy lost patience; as rumble-tumble boys are prone to do.  He decided to cast one more line.  He double baited his hook then thrust his pole forward with all of his might!  The hook, with its double weight, traveled a great distance over the deep, finally splashing and sinking slowly down into the brine.  After a few moments the young boy began reeling in, when he felt something tug at his line.  He froze in anticipation!  Another tug, far greater than the first.  Then a second!  The third tug nearly pulled him from the pier!  It was all the young boy could do to hold onto his pole!
     His excitement swelled, for he knew that he had hooked something big!  Holding fast to his pole, muscles straining, he looked out across the sea and saw what his hook had captured.  Rising from the deep breached a leviathan!  The whale thrashed and fluked...slapping the surface of the sea with such force it shook the pier beneath the boys feet!
     The boy's excitement was replaced with fear!  He knew that if he kept hold of his pole he would be pulled out to sea to his death.  He also knew that if he let go, his catch would swim away, and without proof no one would ever believe his fish story.  Perplexed, the young boy held strong!
     Suddenly, a stranger appeared.  The young boy pleaded with the stranger for help!  Without a word the stranger took out a knife and cut the line.

     I think of this story often.  The message of it defines what I strive to do in my classroom. 
     As educators we have to know when to cut the string!  There are times (Everyday) when I have to make a decision that has nothing to do with me, yet everything to do with my kids. 
     No matter the age, all kids will find themselves at a crossroads at some point and for some...making the right decision is a seemingly impossible task.  Never miss an opportunity to step in, to interfere, to impose, to question, or to act if one of your kids is about to be pulled out to sea! 
     Most kids who seem to always make bad choices always have an inner-agenda, much like the young boy in the story above.  These kids (Secretly) do not want to be hurt, or seen as a punk.  So, step in...help him or her make a choice that never occurred to them.

Honesty is a GOOD Policy!

     Consider for a moment the idiom Honesty is the Best Policy!  There was a time that I used this over-stated and conditional saying often in my classroom.  Years ago, after stating the aforementioned  expression for the 10,000^th time, I took a few moments to really analyze what I stood behind, and defended for years…the notion that honesty is the best policy.  The verb IS, and the adjective BEST denote that honesty should always be employed, that it is at the highest position possible, and above and beyond all notions to the contrary regarding the best anyone could hope for towards success.  Should honesty…absolute honesty…be the end-all or be-all for what is good and righteous?  Hmmmm…I wonder?  Can one still be good and righteous if one is to the left of honesty, or to the right?

     Honesty: being honest, being trustworthy, being dependable, being reliable, being diligent…all of these things (And much more) fall under the heading of Honesty.  Telling the truth would fall first on this list.  I am sure most of you would agree…at least in our classrooms?   This is where I stumbled upon a conundrum, and how I realized that the scapegoat category known as the White Lie came into being.  I found that I was a purveyor of white lies, and untruths!  This realization stunned me!  I had an apostrophe! (Haha…thought I’d throw a bit of humor in).  I no longer use this particular idiom in its concentrated form while playing vernacular volleyball.  I added a personal addendum to it.  I am now known to say…in this case, honesty is the best policy...depending on the situation.

     In my classroom Honesty is a virtue with which our classroom atmosphere is based…our foundation.  Compassion is the framework that houses us, and perseverance shelters us from the cold indifferent winds of doubt.  My kids can expect me to share my thoughts on any given subject, and to show how I feel every minute of every day.  I hold back nothing, and I do not hesitate to expound on my love for each of them, or on how poorly thought out choices killed the cat!   I encourage my kids to do the same.  If there is a problem it is rarely handled on an individual basis.  We hold a Town Meeting and get to the bottom of it, then discuss options on how to fix it, and then we determine consequences to follow as the result of it.  There is no room for lying when it comes to a poor-choice acted out, or harsh words spoken…we are the collective light of truth that shines directly on anyone who decides to go down that road.  For many kids, lying is their go-to reaction.  My kind of Get-to-the-Bottom-of-it tactic is not an easy lesson to learn.  However, once the kid (s) learns that fessing up has its rewards, taking the consequence is an easier pill to swallow.  The reward for honesty, in this regard, builds upon a kid’s self-esteem and strengthens their character.  The kids still hate taking the consequence, but their integrity is intact!

     Ok…back to my conundrum.  If absolute power corrupts absolutely, so does absolute truth!  I remember going-on one day during a discussion on a particular story we read in class.  The discussions lead us to the topic of bad choices resulting in incarceration.  I stated my honest viewpoint on the matter…making a mistake can happen to all of us, but making the same mistake again is a choice.  Those who choose poorly and wind up in jail do not possess the strength to do what is right, and they lack the intelligence to know better! (Harsh, yes…there have more than a few times I wished I could have pulled the tongue right out of my mouth!).  Shortly after, the kids were working on an assignment when one raised his hand.  I called him over.  He told me…eyes down…that his father was in jail, and that he wasn’t stupid.  It was obvious that my student was hurt by my words.  I knew the story of this young man, and I also knew that his father had been in jail off and on my student’s entire childhood.  I wanted to tell him that his father was a self-centered idiot that would probably, one day, die in jail.  That his father was a chronic criminal, a repeat offender that lacked remorse and had no compassion for anyone but himself!  This is what I wanted to say.  Instead, I looked into his teary eyes and said…there are exceptions to every rule!  I am sure that deep down your dad is a good man.  I lied!  How could I tell the truth to this kid who idolized his father?  The kid loved him, and had a child’s hope that one day they would be together!  Honesty would have done more harm than good at this point and time.  Not to mention, I was not in the position to pass judgment on this ten year old’s father, even though what I knew to be true came true.  If I believed that telling my student the truth in this matter would have helped him…no matter how hurtful…I would have risked it.  Again, he was ten!  Time and experience is what he needed to learn this truth, not some white-bearded, mean hearted teacher!

     Throughout my career I have made good use of the white lie; my truth filter.  I cannot knowingly and purposefully hurt someone by stating an absolute truth when there are other recourses.  Instead of…your breath smells like a sick dog’s ass!  I might give the kid a mint, or quietly bring up the topic of oral hygiene.   One year I reamed a kid out for calling a classmate stupid.  His response to me was…But Mr. Mac, what if he IS stupid?  I made him apologize, and talked to him about being more responsible with what he says, and encouraged him to help or tutor the other student.  Secretly I could understand where this kid was coming from.  Most ten year olds do not use the same vocabulary we adults do.  The outspoken student stated what he saw as truth, albeit, in a harsh way.  He had no filter mechanism.  The other student did lag in more than a few subjects, and in the eye of Mr. Outspoken…he was stupid.  Filtering 101 must be part of every classroom at every level! 

     Is it right to state that someone is fat, or ugly, or stupid?  Does stating instead…you are at an unhealthy weight, your look is interesting, or you are academically challenged…make the truth any easier to take?  The people in our lives who make it their policy to state the absolute truth are seen as the assholes, the bigmouths, the blowhards!  These people take great pleasure in the downfall of others.  They spew their caustic rants, and absolute truths to knock down someone in order for them to rise up.  Their statements are not said to help, only to hurt.  If a painful truth must be revealed, it must be done with the intention of helping someone who needs it.  A painful truth revealed should not make the revealer happy!  It takes monumental courage to tell someone a painful truth; because the revealer may be risking everything they hold dear.

     Dearest Teachers…be honest in who you are.  Be honest with what you stand for.  Reveal all to your kids about yourself (Within reason and appropriateness), and never be afraid to admit defeat, or that you made a mistake.  Don’t call a kid an idiot if they did something idiotic!  Be angry, or disappointed in the choice, not the kid.  Like our own children, we won’t stop loving them because they made a mistake.  Scream, pound, and rage if you must…just always make sure that your kids know that after the storm YOU will be there for them.  Giving up on a kid is way too easy.  We educators are made from stronger stock than that.

     My favorite idiom…They won’t remember what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel…says it all, and it goes both ways.  Be honest, and forever trustworthy just not at the expense of a child’s heart or soul.  If you must be brutally honest, do so without any thoughts of yourself and tread lightly.  Honesty is a GOOD policy!

     Years ago, at the beginning of a new school year, I saw the parent (Who also happened to be a teacher) of a student I had two years previous.  Her younger son was to enter fifth grade this particular year.  She was talking with a few other teachers and called me over as I was walking by.  She wanted me to know that her younger son was enrolled in another class, and that he wouldn’t have me as his brother did. 

     My older son needed you, but my younger son needs a real teacher.

     At first what she said didn’t hit me, though by the wide-eyed reactions of the others standing around I guess it should have hit me right in the face.  Point is, that statement wasn’t needed.  If this educator could say this to me, imagine what she has said to her kids!  The hurt from this statement did not linger long.  I considered the source and let it go.

     Lastly, Dearest Educators…straying to the left or right of honesty does not make us fakes, or phonies.  It allows us to be teachers.  Teachable moments happen often, and the best moments…the most memorable ones…happen outside the realm of curriculum!  Keep your minds sharp, not your tongues.

"Plant Your Feet and See What Grows"

 

 

 

    

    

     Many years ago, when I was at a crossroads in my life, my father gave me some advice that would ultimately define the man (And the teacher) I am today. 

     His words were not an easy fix.  His words inspired me initially, but if I was going to put forth that inspiration, take action upon it, make it real… it could take time and great sacrifice.  I remember thinking “How much time?  What will I be sacrificing, and why should I have to give up anything?” 

     The younger version of me wanted what I wanted, when I wanted it!  Once my mind was made up I went for it…no holes barred!  To accelerate a plan of action was my credo; it’s what I did, and I did it well!  The notion of doing something that needed time to germinate never occurred to me.  The idea of giving up anything I already had for a greater good also did not make sense to my young mind.  Couldn’t I just do, and still keep what was mine?

     What motivated me to act upon my Father’s advice was the end result he assured would come.  He told me that if I had the courage to follow through, I would always know who I was, what I stood for, and that I would be able to lay my head down and sleep soundly every night.  If I stayed the course, the crossroads in my life would be at my back.

     Dear Readers, before I continue I want you to think back to the teleplay of 12 Angry Men, written by Reginald Rose.  The character of Juror #8 (Played by Henry Fonda) is who I want you to remember.  From the beginning he stood his ground voting Not Guilty to everyone else’s Guilty verdict.  He then spent the rest of the play being yelled at, looked down upon, accused of being a bleeding heart, and scoffed at.  Juror #8 became the most unpopular person in the jury room, until the end.  Because Juror #8 planted his feet, stood his ground, and persevered, the accused would receive a Not Guilty verdict. He examined then Reexamined the evidence, and he could not in good conscience go along with the throng as long as he had a reasonable doubt.   Juror #8 knew who he was.  Juror #8 knew what he stood for.  I am also sure that Juror#8 slept well the fictitious night that followed his time in that hot, fictitious jury room.

     The reason I wanted you to think back upon Rose’s teleplay (I hope that you have seen this play, if not I highly recommend it!) is because we…good teachers…are all Juror #8!  Granted this is a personal analogy, but I think it has credence for us all? 

     My attempt here is to relate my perspective on the issue of being a good teacher, and though I know there are multitudes of good teachers out there who will be able to relate to this bit of writing, I also know that there are a few who may take offense.  To the few…those who see numbers instead of names, those who place more importance on scores than on individual achievement, those who never deviate from the straight and narrow path, and those who place more importance on grades than on students…I apologize if this post causes you distress.  Then again, it could be that my apology isn’t really meant for teachers, but for the odd administrator, various DOE officials, and the parents who are reliving their lives through their children?  Something for me to ponder, I guess?

     I have always placed my students first.  For this reason and this reason alone I AM Juror #8!  My students’ experience with me, their self-worth, their fears, their attitudes, their past, their present, and their future…all of this is worth more to me than anything else.  I have always kept, at the forefront of my mind, the fact that my students…my kids…each have a path to follow, and their own mountain to climb.  I make it a priority to spend every day helping the fallen rise, the back-steppers to leap forward, and the climbers to find a sure footing.  This is all done between the lines of instruction and testing.

     I make it a priority to take advantage of every Teachable Moment, and I find that some of my best lessons have nothing to do with curriculum.   I have never failed a student, because success is the original Fifty Shades of Gray!  I spend more than a few minutes, everyday, talking to my kids…finding out what is on their mind, and I never make a classroom decision without consulting them first.  How can my kids take ownership of their classroom if they are left out of the loop?  When we are bored, we stop and do something out-of-the-ordinary!  We play a song; we dance to some classroom friendly hip-hop!  Once our batteries are charged, we get back to it!  There are student friendly incentives for awesomeness, and carefully constructed consequences for poorly thought out choices.  In my classroom we are all held accountable for our successes and our downfalls.  For most of my actions spelled out above, I am considered the odd-duck.  To play a song in a classroom where 27 students are dancing their butts off…absurd!  Taking 15 minutes from instruction time to have a Town Meeting (Classroom discussion) about an incident that involved bullying…Just crazy!  That’s me…absurdly crazy! 

     The average kid spends about 13 years in school, 17 years with college attached!  These School Years are developmentally important!  Milestones are laid at every turn on a student’s path during these years, and who a student becomes after, weighs in at the balance.  I knew this LONG before I ever considered teaching!   Don’t we all know this?  I can say that the reason I gained the confidence to accomplish much of what I have in my life is because someone…other than my parents…believed in me!  The many teachers along my own path encouraged me to cultivate the best qualities within me.  I could name quite a few who had a direct impact on my life.  I won’t, but I could!  These few are always with me, and not because one taught me algebra or another taught me how to conjugate a verb!  The reason (s) they stay with me has nothing to do with academics, and everything to do with their belief in me, their compassion, and their willingness to dedicate themselves to me.  Think back to your own formative years, and to the teachers that made a difference in your life.  I will bet you a snow-day that your admiration for them has nothing to do with algorithms, nor with metamorphic rocks!

     My goal, as a teacher, has been clear since day one.  I will make every year the best year ever!  I will find the BEST part of all my kids, and spend my short nine-months with them polishing it up!  I will celebrate a “C” and a “2” achieved by a student who never gave up, and never gave in!  I will put the care and welfare of my kids over state testing every minute of every day!  I will prepare my kids for their own successful academic achievement, future grade levels, and life!  I will do what I must do to help my kids achieve all that is achievable for each of them!  Lastly, I will never forget how it felt to be a fifth grade student.

     Reader, what I have written about here is nothing new; it is what we all do every day.  I believe that we all put our students first…above and beyond all things.  I just wanted to share the advice my father gave me so many years ago.  The 12 Angry Men reference was just an added bonus…though it fits!

     There will be times in your life when you will have to plant your feet to see what grows, my Dad said.  You will have to decide whether you will do what is easy, or do what you believe is right.  If you take the easy road then you will shuffle on with the masses, following the same path as everyone else.  But, if you do what you believe is the right thing to do, then you will begin to carve your own path.  It’s hard doing this.  You might even make a few enemies along the way, but if you have the courage to stay the course, and believe in yourself, you will always know who you are, what you stand for, and you will sleep well every night.  Then he posed the question…will you take the easy road, or will you plant your feet and see what grows?

     In my classroom I will always do what I believe is right.  In addition, I will also attend to the business side of my vocation, of course (PLC meetings, grades, pacing, DCAS, paperwork, etc) but never at the expense of my kids.  I don’t mind being Juror #8.  One day the scoffers will see that I, and others like me, have been right since day one!