Remind me when I run for president, to include a kid friendly fact sheet on my campaign website. Oh and also remind me when I become the chief editor of the New York Times to dedicate a section of the website to educators. I love including current events in the classroom, but it is so hard to find kid-friendly, objective information. We are covering the Pennsylvania primary and the Olympic Torch controversy in our classroom and I spend more time searching for kid friendly articles or online videos than I do planning and teaching combined. If you have any ideas, please send them my way.
Despite the lack of resources, the students seem to really dig talking about current events. Eleven year olds are so innocent and it reflects in their simplistically brilliant questions. One fifth grader stumped me with, “What is the difference between Republicans and Democrats?” In an effort to remain as objective as possible, I dove into the difference between a republic and a democracy. About 45 seconds into it, I was tripping over my words and realizing that I wasn’t answering her question at all. I was vaclempt. It wasn’t that I didn’t know the difference, I was a political science major for Christ’s sake! But I didn’t know how to explain it without revealing my own personal biases and without generalizing beliefs on key issues. I finally had an epiphany and I asked the class. They totally bailed me out! One student brought up state vs federal governing styles and another discussed differing views on the military.
So the moral of the story is children pick up on things here and there and are able to synthesize and articulate, sometimes faster and more eloquently than educated adults.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Sparta's Fortunate Break, My Unfortunate Fall
So I am recovering from a fall I took last week where I inured my leg, elbow and ego. I tripped in front of the class. It wasn’t a little shoe scuffle either, it was a full fledge, limbs flying through the air, thud producing trip. It was mortifying.
We were in the middle of our third Olympic event, which I called “Olympic Trivia”. It acted as a group comprehension assessment of a couple of articles we read earlier in the week. The class was broken up in their city-states and in different sections of the room. I asked the class 15 questions and they worked together quietly as to not give away answers to neighboring city-states.
When I asked the seventh question, “Pheidippides ran the first marathon from the city Marathon to which neighboring city-state?” I realized that an extra copy of the Pheidippides article was sitting on my desk across the room, which at the time, was acting as Sparta and was hosting the Spartan Olympic Team. I watched to see if the Spartans realized the answer was next to them. As soon as I saw Walter’s eyes migrate in the direction of the article, I panicked. I yelled, “Walter, don’t look!” as I started to walk frantically in his direction. He smirked because he knew he stumbled upon Olympic Gold so I picked up the pace on my power walk.
The next thing I know, I am on my knees, slumped over a chair and the room is silent. I slowly looked myself over and then turned to look around the room. All of their eyes were on me and for once, it wasn’t because I was begging and pleading or clapping or dancing or some other type of refocusing technique. They just looked horrified.
I slowly stood up. I needed to use the chair to support my trembling knees. Apparently, the force of my trip propelled the chair into the wall resulting in a small hole through the plaster/dry wall. The whole in the wall managed to make me even more embarrassed. I finally said something to the class, “Oh jeeze. That sucked.” I am sure that using the word “sucked” is entirely in appropriate, but I was still in shock. I am lucky I didn’t curse!
I knew I had to let them react, because I am sure the act of tripping itself looked entirely goofy. So I also told them that I was alright and I gave them an opportunity to laugh. **On a personal note, I am one of those people that can’t help but laugh when someone else trips, but absolutely HATES it when others laugh when I trip. I realize this is entirely hypocritical but it is the way it is. So, I let them laugh because I knew I had to, but I was also completely uncomfortable for just about every second of their laughing fit.**
I was anxious to move on, so we refocused and continued with our Olympic Event. While reading question nine, “Nancy Bobofit threw pieces of her sandwich at Grover on the bus on the way to the MET. Name the two ingredients in Nancy Bobofit’s sandwich.” (from The Lightning Thief), one student raised their hand and said, “Um, Teacher Eve, I think you might be bleeding,” and she pointed to my elbow. Blood had soaked through my sweater. I guess I had been so anxious to end the moment, I hadn’t actually noticed if I was injured.
Looking back, I should have just let Walter use the article. I mean, he and his teammates were representing Sparta and out of all the city-states, they were the only ones willing to steal, cheat and lie to win. It just would have added to their team character.
We were in the middle of our third Olympic event, which I called “Olympic Trivia”. It acted as a group comprehension assessment of a couple of articles we read earlier in the week. The class was broken up in their city-states and in different sections of the room. I asked the class 15 questions and they worked together quietly as to not give away answers to neighboring city-states.
When I asked the seventh question, “Pheidippides ran the first marathon from the city Marathon to which neighboring city-state?” I realized that an extra copy of the Pheidippides article was sitting on my desk across the room, which at the time, was acting as Sparta and was hosting the Spartan Olympic Team. I watched to see if the Spartans realized the answer was next to them. As soon as I saw Walter’s eyes migrate in the direction of the article, I panicked. I yelled, “Walter, don’t look!” as I started to walk frantically in his direction. He smirked because he knew he stumbled upon Olympic Gold so I picked up the pace on my power walk.
The next thing I know, I am on my knees, slumped over a chair and the room is silent. I slowly looked myself over and then turned to look around the room. All of their eyes were on me and for once, it wasn’t because I was begging and pleading or clapping or dancing or some other type of refocusing technique. They just looked horrified.
I slowly stood up. I needed to use the chair to support my trembling knees. Apparently, the force of my trip propelled the chair into the wall resulting in a small hole through the plaster/dry wall. The whole in the wall managed to make me even more embarrassed. I finally said something to the class, “Oh jeeze. That sucked.” I am sure that using the word “sucked” is entirely in appropriate, but I was still in shock. I am lucky I didn’t curse!
I knew I had to let them react, because I am sure the act of tripping itself looked entirely goofy. So I also told them that I was alright and I gave them an opportunity to laugh. **On a personal note, I am one of those people that can’t help but laugh when someone else trips, but absolutely HATES it when others laugh when I trip. I realize this is entirely hypocritical but it is the way it is. So, I let them laugh because I knew I had to, but I was also completely uncomfortable for just about every second of their laughing fit.**
I was anxious to move on, so we refocused and continued with our Olympic Event. While reading question nine, “Nancy Bobofit threw pieces of her sandwich at Grover on the bus on the way to the MET. Name the two ingredients in Nancy Bobofit’s sandwich.” (from The Lightning Thief), one student raised their hand and said, “Um, Teacher Eve, I think you might be bleeding,” and she pointed to my elbow. Blood had soaked through my sweater. I guess I had been so anxious to end the moment, I hadn’t actually noticed if I was injured.
Looking back, I should have just let Walter use the article. I mean, he and his teammates were representing Sparta and out of all the city-states, they were the only ones willing to steal, cheat and lie to win. It just would have added to their team character.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The NCLB Gauntlet
We started the Olympics this week! Students are in teams working on their ancient city-state identity and mixing it with modern twists, such as, they declare their own anthem (a lot of Chris Brown suggestions, he is dreamy) and devise their own slogan. The classroom has the right kind of noise, students are collaborating with students they might not have collaborated with before and they are working with multiple mediums to display their understanding.
Next week we start the official Room 504 games, and it could not come at a better time for students. Fifth grade (along with 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th) will undergo its second round of PSSA testing. Even though the students will start the day with two to three hours of independent silent testing, at least we can end it with the Olympic games. No Child Left Behind emphasis on standardized gives charter high schools new criteria to use when evaluating applications from incoming freshmen. Being in a charter school, this added twist does not go unnoticed by our administration or by our students. Students know that these scores will effect where they will end up in three years. This made me think about how far these test scores will follow our students.
While No Child Left Behind weighs heavily on standardized testing in order to track each individual student’s progress, it does not actually track whether each individual student graduates or not. I came across an article in the New York Times a couple weeks back discussing the discrepancy between what states report to the federal government in terms of graduation rates, and what the states publicize at home. In every case, the number reported to the federal government is higher. The article cites No Child Left Behind as one of the reasons for the divergence.
Since school funding is allocated based on the results of these tests, schools have great incentive to paint the best picture for their school. In addition to using valuable classroom time to teach to the test, No Child Left Behind has actually created an incentive for schools to persuade failing students to drop out. Students who do not perform well on standardized tests are not being tested, and therefore not reflected in the school’s official report to Washington. How is it that standardized tests haunt students all the way up to graduation but never ensures students receive their diplomas?
It is amazing that these fifth graders are under so much pressure. These tests will determine if they go to Central High School or West Philadelphia High School. In some ways, it will determine whether they will be encouraged to shine on standardized tests, or persuaded to sit them out, take one for the team and just drop out.
At least this week we can let loose with a little ancient Greek-style classroom competition. We will wear our olive leaf crowns proudly, cheer each other on and hopefully, momentarily forget about the stress, the over-emphasized importance of standardized testing and the obstacles No Child Left Behind has laid before us.
New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/education/20graduation.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Next week we start the official Room 504 games, and it could not come at a better time for students. Fifth grade (along with 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th) will undergo its second round of PSSA testing. Even though the students will start the day with two to three hours of independent silent testing, at least we can end it with the Olympic games. No Child Left Behind emphasis on standardized gives charter high schools new criteria to use when evaluating applications from incoming freshmen. Being in a charter school, this added twist does not go unnoticed by our administration or by our students. Students know that these scores will effect where they will end up in three years. This made me think about how far these test scores will follow our students.
While No Child Left Behind weighs heavily on standardized testing in order to track each individual student’s progress, it does not actually track whether each individual student graduates or not. I came across an article in the New York Times a couple weeks back discussing the discrepancy between what states report to the federal government in terms of graduation rates, and what the states publicize at home. In every case, the number reported to the federal government is higher. The article cites No Child Left Behind as one of the reasons for the divergence.
Since school funding is allocated based on the results of these tests, schools have great incentive to paint the best picture for their school. In addition to using valuable classroom time to teach to the test, No Child Left Behind has actually created an incentive for schools to persuade failing students to drop out. Students who do not perform well on standardized tests are not being tested, and therefore not reflected in the school’s official report to Washington. How is it that standardized tests haunt students all the way up to graduation but never ensures students receive their diplomas?
It is amazing that these fifth graders are under so much pressure. These tests will determine if they go to Central High School or West Philadelphia High School. In some ways, it will determine whether they will be encouraged to shine on standardized tests, or persuaded to sit them out, take one for the team and just drop out.
At least this week we can let loose with a little ancient Greek-style classroom competition. We will wear our olive leaf crowns proudly, cheer each other on and hopefully, momentarily forget about the stress, the over-emphasized importance of standardized testing and the obstacles No Child Left Behind has laid before us.
New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/education/20graduation.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Saturday, March 22, 2008
PA's Moment to Shine: One month away from our primary
Thank God for Spring Break! As much as I love the fast paced, intenseness of this program, I really needed a chance to recharge. Though, for people like me who thrive off of packed schedules, relaxing does not look like the standard vacation package. I headed to Center City to the headquarters of one of the political campaigns and helped the voter registration effort. This is the first time in my lifetime that Pennsylvania’s participation in the primary will actually matter. As a swing state that receives a fair amount of attention during presidential elections, it is a shame that our diverse choir of voices is usually a day late and a dollar short when it comes to deciding upon the candidates. Now, for the first time in recent history, our comparatively late primary election is national news.
It was really exciting to spend a week behind the scenes and on the streets. There are a lot of dedicated voters out there that are determined to register as many people as they can for the April 22 primary. Even though I was volunteering for a particular campaign, the registration effort was non-partisan so it felt good to be a part of an effort that helped all types of voters.
Though I started to take it personally when people wouldn't stop to register to vote. One student, when asked if she were registered to vote on campus, smugly replied, "Not interested."
I actually yelled at her, "Oh, not a fan of Democracy? I see. Yeah, I guess it's overrated." It was at the end of a long shift standing outside on the Spring Equinox, which for Philadelphia means about 40 degrees. I know that yelling at people probably isn't the best tactic but it sure felt good.
Plus, this opportunity allowed me a chance to travel around Philadelphia. With our packed schedules, it is a miracle when I am not teaching, at class or glued to a bulk pack.
I kept thinking about how I was going to explain the presidential candidate nomination process to the fifth graders! They know the names, they hear what their parents say, but I think they might be confused with why this looks like the actual election. So despite the fact that I am still sleep deprived and still have loads of work to do, I can honestly say that the break effectively recharged my teaching senses.
It was really exciting to spend a week behind the scenes and on the streets. There are a lot of dedicated voters out there that are determined to register as many people as they can for the April 22 primary. Even though I was volunteering for a particular campaign, the registration effort was non-partisan so it felt good to be a part of an effort that helped all types of voters.
Though I started to take it personally when people wouldn't stop to register to vote. One student, when asked if she were registered to vote on campus, smugly replied, "Not interested."
I actually yelled at her, "Oh, not a fan of Democracy? I see. Yeah, I guess it's overrated." It was at the end of a long shift standing outside on the Spring Equinox, which for Philadelphia means about 40 degrees. I know that yelling at people probably isn't the best tactic but it sure felt good.
Plus, this opportunity allowed me a chance to travel around Philadelphia. With our packed schedules, it is a miracle when I am not teaching, at class or glued to a bulk pack.
I kept thinking about how I was going to explain the presidential candidate nomination process to the fifth graders! They know the names, they hear what their parents say, but I think they might be confused with why this looks like the actual election. So despite the fact that I am still sleep deprived and still have loads of work to do, I can honestly say that the break effectively recharged my teaching senses.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
A Little Pre-Spring Break Burn Out
Every lesson plan has the hope of being engaging, thought-provoking, and stimulating. I have visions of fifth grade students calling out, not because they are unruly or disrespectful, but because they are bursting with excitement about the material. I can vision chatter in the classroom, but not the type of chatter focused on gossip or video games that have nothing to do with the lesson, chatter as a result of collaboration proving the old adage “two heads are better than one”. I can see myself having to use the line, “You are doing great work, and I know you are still interested in this topic, but we have to move on.”
In reality, I consider a day successful if only a quarter of the class is sluggishly propping their heads up on their elbows, if I only heard three groans/whines throughout the 45 minute class, and if we engaged in five minutes of healthy, respectful discussion, informally expressing the students understanding of the material.
I know that it is far cooler for children at this age to resent school and learning than it is for them embrace it and show a little enthusiasm. If they only knew the day would be a whole lot smoother for all involved if they participated. They would learn more (God forbid), their voice in discussion is far more entertaining than mine, plus, not for nothing, but the time would go a lot quicker if they were active participants!
In reality, I consider a day successful if only a quarter of the class is sluggishly propping their heads up on their elbows, if I only heard three groans/whines throughout the 45 minute class, and if we engaged in five minutes of healthy, respectful discussion, informally expressing the students understanding of the material.
I know that it is far cooler for children at this age to resent school and learning than it is for them embrace it and show a little enthusiasm. If they only knew the day would be a whole lot smoother for all involved if they participated. They would learn more (God forbid), their voice in discussion is far more entertaining than mine, plus, not for nothing, but the time would go a lot quicker if they were active participants!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Am I smarter than a fifth grader?
Is it normal that I am scared of misinforming my students? Is it pathetic that sometimes I doubt my competency with the learning material? I am in a fifth grade classroom. I have passing praxis scores assessing that I have the knowledge to cover the upper elementary grades. I attend an Ivy League graduate program and have successfully competed 8 courses thus far. Not to mention, I myself, before these wonderful qualifying feats actually attended the fifth grade! Now, I know it was many years ago but still, as an educator, I have to believe that what I am teaching will stay with young minds and help build foundations, right? So, is it silly for me to be insecure in my knowledge of fifth grade level language arts and social studies? I had to look up what a homophone was the other day. My fifth graders knew what it was, why didn’t I?
This week, I did a lesson on time lines and introduced the terms BC, BCE, CE, and AD. Now, these are really abstract terms PLUS it doesn’t help that there are four terms to describe two time periods AND one of the terms is in Latin. On top of these teaching obstacles, I decided that when one draws a time line, the present year is on the left. This is not even a little bit true. Apparently my fifth grade failed me and now I have passed on this misinformation in a vicious mis-teaching cycle because now about 50 fifth graders share my misconception.
So, in conclusion, no, it is not silly for ME to be insecure in my knowledge of fifth grade level language arts and social studies. Hopefully this week, I can actually TEACH the fifth grade and not just confuse them. Wish me luck.
This week, I did a lesson on time lines and introduced the terms BC, BCE, CE, and AD. Now, these are really abstract terms PLUS it doesn’t help that there are four terms to describe two time periods AND one of the terms is in Latin. On top of these teaching obstacles, I decided that when one draws a time line, the present year is on the left. This is not even a little bit true. Apparently my fifth grade failed me and now I have passed on this misinformation in a vicious mis-teaching cycle because now about 50 fifth graders share my misconception.
So, in conclusion, no, it is not silly for ME to be insecure in my knowledge of fifth grade level language arts and social studies. Hopefully this week, I can actually TEACH the fifth grade and not just confuse them. Wish me luck.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Critical/Cuticle Issues
A student is sitting at his desk, biting his cuticles while taking a quiz. The number he was doing on his cuticles looked PAINFUL. I quietly whispered to him, “Stuart, that looks like it hurts.”
He replied, “I hate that I do it and the dance is only two days away and I just can’t stop and how I am going to go with my hands looking like this!” I couldn’t believe it! The idea of going to the dance with severely damaged cuticles seemed to fill him with anxiety!
Sometimes I forget just how old fifth graders are! They have insecurities about other’s perceptions, even down to their cuticles! I don’t think I have ever been concerned any person’s opinion of my cuticles (though I am not a nail biter); in fact, if someone were to negatively comment on my cuticles, I think I would think less of that person, rather than own up to any negative cuticle habits.
Fifth graders are so interesting! Most of them are not too cool for school just yet, while others have already started manipulating the system (“Uh, I was late because I was, uh, busy telling another kid that you were the best teaching in school.” Yeah…….right). They are just starting to form cliques and just starting to flirt with members of the opposite sex (or members of the same sex depending on who they are attracted to). Some lunches are spent speculating who is “dating” whom in the fifth grade. Graffiti in the bathroom provides the best clues. I am just amazed at how dynamic teachers have to be to be able to work with kindergarteners AND sixth graders! It’s a whole different game!
He replied, “I hate that I do it and the dance is only two days away and I just can’t stop and how I am going to go with my hands looking like this!” I couldn’t believe it! The idea of going to the dance with severely damaged cuticles seemed to fill him with anxiety!
Sometimes I forget just how old fifth graders are! They have insecurities about other’s perceptions, even down to their cuticles! I don’t think I have ever been concerned any person’s opinion of my cuticles (though I am not a nail biter); in fact, if someone were to negatively comment on my cuticles, I think I would think less of that person, rather than own up to any negative cuticle habits.
Fifth graders are so interesting! Most of them are not too cool for school just yet, while others have already started manipulating the system (“Uh, I was late because I was, uh, busy telling another kid that you were the best teaching in school.” Yeah…….right). They are just starting to form cliques and just starting to flirt with members of the opposite sex (or members of the same sex depending on who they are attracted to). Some lunches are spent speculating who is “dating” whom in the fifth grade. Graffiti in the bathroom provides the best clues. I am just amazed at how dynamic teachers have to be to be able to work with kindergarteners AND sixth graders! It’s a whole different game!
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