Twitter beef and the resolution of it.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tfteacher/2011/07/30/kyla-the-teacher

Click the link to hear my radio blog interview between @TFT and I.

Tell me what you think.

Technology in the classroom, "talk techy to me."

ey guys, 

First let me say "hi" to all my teacher friends.  We should be networking even skyping with one another to exchange ideas or even in the classroom with our students if your site supports that kind of technology.  I wanted to share with you all some really cool things I learned in a speaker series with an author by the name of Alan November. 

TEXT POLLING: 

There's a website called www.smspoll.net that allows teachers to put in questions and question stems and allows students to text their answer. The data is captured in real time and allows students to see a percentage poll of the data that was captured.  Its really great and embraces the technology that students use daily.  

BOOK TRAILOR:

Instead of book reports, if your site based technology that supports it, why not have kids put together mini movies that explain the book rather than simply write a book report, or students can supplement what they write with the book trailor.  iMovie tutorials are available on youtube and are quite easy to do.  Kids get a kick out of it. 

GLOBAL EMPATHY:

Have you ever tried to search for opinions and views on a particular topic in History or literature from a non American viewpoint. A great example would be "What do the Vietnamese called the 'Vietnam War?"  They call it the "American War." All you have to is go to google, search for "internet country codes" and a full list of a country code for every country will show up.  With that code you can input it in the google search box to view sites from another country. 

So following our example, how do the Vietnamese view the Vietnam War.  Go to google put in "Vietnam War site: vm" (VM is Vietnam's country code.)  

Great for other books too like "Number the Stars, Diary of Ann Frank", etc... 

TWITTERFALL:

If you're on twitter, you can input different hashtags so you can see what professionals in our community are utilizing.  Go to twitterfall.com and input your twitter info, some great hashtags to look up are:

#edtech

#edchat

#hiphoped

#blackedu

This is more on a personal level. If you feel your students are mature enough, you can use twitterfall and input hashtags for a certain topic your students are researching. 

As I learn more, I will share more, but I think, again, we should all network more. 

OH, if you're not using www.wolframalpha.org as much as you're using google, you're seriously missing out. 

Black girl pity party, debt ceiling, and 53rd rejection letter.

Short posting tonight.  I'm really frustrated.  I received two rejection notices, one for a teaching position and another for an administrative position, today.  Maybe Southern California isn't the place for my family.  Its so expensive here and for as much diversity as Southern California has, its a very racist place.  Not racist in the same way as the Southern states of America, but in a very social/political cloaked kind of way.  I can't help but to wonder, is it because I'm black?

Yes I have natural hair.  Natural meaning I don't use harsh chemicals to straighten my hair.  I'm sure that is some sort of hinderance too. Black girl, nappy hair wants to be a role model in the school system in San Diego... really?

I don't fit the standard of beauty here either, I'm sure that has something to do with it.

I spent two hours today speaking with another black woman who is employed but is struggling too.

I read an article today on NPR saying the wealth/ethnic gap in America grows wider and wider.  A person need look no further than my home city of Detroit to see how black people in America are slipping, quite quickly, out of the middle class.

Black folks want the same thing as other people: a home, good school for their children, and equity in opportunity.

I'll get over this, but getting two no's in one day is very disappointing.

Every teacher should take an improv class

g

I know what you're thinking... improv is comedy, its slapstick, its juvenile.  Teaching is serious business. 

Well yes... and, here I go breaking an improv rule, NO!  "Why" you may ask.  Because the basic rules of improvisational comedy teach you basic rules for human relations.  Many teachers often work in some form of a "Professional Learning Community" or "PLC" , whether its a content area PLC, a grade level PLC, interdisciplinary PLC, or your school site staff as a whole, you should want to improve the way you relate with one another to be a role model for students.  (See this website for great PLC tips and professional development www.allthingsplc.org) .  

Before I continue with how improv comedy can assist teachers with their roles among each other and with students, I'd like to focus on just how important teachers are to role modeling to students.   To prove this point, I did my own experiment.  I interviewed three different principals, all who do not know one another, to talk about the role of teachers to students... that's right, the key word for this blog entry is, you guessed it, RELATIONSHIPS.

Check out what they had to say

Notice something?  Notice not one principal started with the role of the teacher in delivering content.  The role of the teacher, at the nucleus of teaching, is how you interact and role model for your students.  You may be thinking "How am I a role model, my job is to teach, they should get their life lessons at home, not from me." 

Slow down, let me ask you this.  Do you agree that young people are impressionable?  That young people are constantly defining the world by the input that they receive daily?  Their paradigm of what it means to be an adult is a composite of the adults they see?  

If you said yes to all of those questions, you're on the right track and following me.  If you said no, well... I hope you're looking for a new day job. 

So if teachers are role models, think about some not so nice behaviors you've displayed in front of your students.  Don't think I'm pointing the finger at just teachers.  Counselors, Admin staff, and all adult presence on a campus count. 

If you've ever talked badly about a fellow teacher or administrator in front of your students...shame on you.  Do you allow bullying?  Do you allow students to call each other names?  No, I bet 99% of us have some classroom rule that speaks to respecting others.  Displaying your lack of friendship in front of students counters this lesson.  Believe me, children watch and they wait for you to contradict yourself. 

Okay, I'll step off my podium and get to the fun stuff. 

I became interested in improv comedy after reading this great book.

On page 84, Ms. Fey outlines how Improv can help you "Change your Life...", after reading her rules and now learning them at this wonderful place you see above, I can now see a connection to improv comedy and the world of teaching.

Okay so on to the connection.


Here are some basic ways Improv Comedy and Teaching should be connected and why teachers should follow the rules of Improv comedy.

1. AGREEMENT:

In Improv the most BASIC rule is to agree with your partner.  Because I'm not an improv teacher, I'd rather let you see this short clip to explain how agreement works in improv:

How does this game help teachers:

Well first lets start with staff morale.  A staff that knows one another works better with one another.  I believe that.  As teachers, we are always so engrossed in what happens in our classrooms that sometimes we forget that we have teammates.  I know when I taught, because I was so used to being in my room most of the time, I really didn't know how to connect with other teachers during conversations that didn't involve students. 

"Yes, and" can help you move conversations along.  That's the most tangible way it can help. In the larger sense, lets look at it from a whole group perspective. "Yes, And" means you respect the contribution of others.  You notice in the video the interaction between the two improv teachers.  The first guy says something and the second guy agrees.  He respected what his partner created, he respected his contribution.  This makes improv comedy funny and special.  Not one time did you hear the guy say "NO, that didn't happen."  Have you ever been told no?  Or have you ever had someone disagree with your contribution as soon as you said it?  How did it feel?  Did you feel respected, acknowledged, as if you're a valuable part of the team?  I'm guessing not.  I've had that feeling before and it doesn't feel good.  Even if you think an idea your fellow teacher has created is the dumbest idea ever, respect their contribution.  This leads to higher morale overall.  This also goes for students.  I sincerely hope you are "yes,and"'ing your students. If a student says something incorrect when a question is posed, try to say "well I can see why you'd think that, thanks for throwing that out there...I was thinking more along the lines of..."  This way a student feels worthwhile for contributing, but doesn't feel like an idiot in front of peers.

2. Make Mistakes

There are so many issues in the realm that is Education now.  Serious issues.  What are you doing about it?  To be just a little more blunt, what are you doing about it at your school site?  Do you sit back and complain, sit back and do nothing, or are you not afraid to go out there and do something crazy? That's where this rule comes into play. 

In my improv class, the first day I was so hung up on doing things the "right" way that I didn't really have the gut busting good time I wanted when I signed up for the class.  Mistakes lead to innovation.  Mistakes mean that you've taken a proactive approach to create a solution to an issue.  In improv comedy, people make mistakes all the time and we usually laugh HARDER because of this.  I'm sure laughter isn't the response you want to invoke in Education when creating solutions to serious issues but you can't be afraid to step out on stage and fall.  I'll let you in a little secret:  your principal worries about this too, constantly, probably more times than you.  Be brave, be very brave, but if what you say or do isn't well received (hopefully your fellow teachers have read rule number one) then so what, you tried. And trying and seeing something through in this business is what leads students to success... it also is a great example of tenacity... remember the role modeling thing? 

3.  Always be present, always be in the moment...

If you saw an improv show, a good one anyway, you'd think it was scripted, but its not. Why?  Because the actors are listening intently and don't come to the stage with filters that can hold them back (remember number two), or with an agenda.  An improv show will not work if an actor says "okay, tonight is the night I tell this killer frog joke, I'll insert it somewhere for sure."  You just can't do that.  You have to let things emerge on their own... that's how you become "present." 

This isn't a bunch of hippie mumbo jumbo either.  It helps.  How you may ask.  First it helps with not filling in gaps.  You can't create a story that simply isn't there.   Your mind may take you places... to judgements, to assumptions, to conclusions that aren't factual at all.  When you remain present in  your interaction with students and fellow teachers, you are free from the ills I just mentioned. You are free to let in truth.  If a student says "I didn't do my homework."  You may assume he or she is lazy, or judge the student's motivations or parents, or conclude that they are simply going to fail.  The truth may be that they had to babysit their younger sisters or brothers and didn't have time to do it. Or the student doesn't have a stable home.  We have to remain present.  Don't create stories where there aren't any.  We have to wait for what has yet to come.  By remaining present and removing filters, you can look at what issues emerge for you.  Is it really about the student not doing their homework or do you view it as a challenge to your authority, the student being a rebel, or thinking you're not a good teacher so they chose not to do your assigned homework and that makes YOU look bad?  Its not about you, its about that moment.  Remember that.  Keep that with you.  

Follow these simple tips and you may be able to improve staff relations. 

If staff relations are so hellacious that there is no hope of improvement, sign everyone up for an improv comedy class. 

Google "improv classes in X" to find one. 

                         

Hey young teacher, do you REALLY know what you're doing?

I remember my first teaching assignment in Detroit.  It was at a small charter school.  I landed the position because I sent my resume to about 40 different schools and out of the 40, this school responded.  I was so happy, so eager, so ready to reshape the world for the better by teaching America's youth... sound familiar?  I'm sure it does.  If you have just completed a teacher preparation program, I'm sure these same thoughts are with you.  You want to go in that classroom and have students grasping on to your every word, right?

Well... slow down.  How will you accomplish this? Have you ever really asked yourself how you will get students engaged in what you're teaching.  This isn't college you know... this is public education.  A world where student motivations for attending are as positive as some  students attending because they want to be academically successful to some students attending because they know they will eat that day.  How will you engage this wide range of learners?  HOW?

I'm not trying to scare you. I'm trying to prepare you.  My first couple years of teaching... there were things I didn't know.  Why?  No one told me.  How are teachers supposed to how to engage students? My professors of Ferris State University ensured I knew what I was doing; however, on the job essentials like: cultural proficiency, student engagement, managing discipline... these things you master, hopefully, as you grow into your learning as a teacher.

Ask yourself these questions to get you started with student engagement:


 Do your students know what they're learning and why? There is no magic.

Think back to any memorable lessons you've learned.  Did you seek them out or were they mandated lessons?  I'm not saying students "can't" learn anything from daily lessons but there is no magic in teaching.  So often I hear teachers saying "then the lightbulb went off..." I ask you, why wait for a lightbulb?  Provide the insight in the beginning.  Do you think telling students what they're learning that day will have them make less connections in your lesson?  Oh no... I know, I've been there, you're waiting for them to say "oh, I get it, wow, this is amazing."  I can tell you nine times out of ten, this doesn't happen unless YOU tell them upfront the discovery they will make.  Why is this helpful you ask, well, for one, students can check their own understanding of learning.  If a math teacher says "by the end of this lesson you will be able to compute derivatives", students will know at the end of the lesson if they've mastered it or not.  Also, students can create a sense of purpose around their lessons.  You remembered when your professors told you to create a "hook" or "anticipatory set" in your lesson?  Well... screw that, that's right, in my best offensively stereotypical Italian impression "Fuhgetuhboutit!"  You can create meaning to the student's lives AFTER you have explicitly told students what they're learning.  Try it, it helps and I promise you students will still make connections forever changing their paradigms of your content area.  They will grow, but not through "magic lessons."


      Do students know how to access your classroom environment to maximize learning?

If I were to walk into your classroom and asked a student to take me on a tour, could they do it?  Students need to know where they can look in your room for rubrics, for purpose of learning, for exemplars on current assignments due, and reading libraries.  If you have all of these components, that’s great, but make sure students know what is in your classroom and its purpose.  Being transparent in our teaching and student’s learning is helpful to having students authentically learn content.   During the first week of school, explain to students the layout of your classroom.  You may ask, “How does this help students learn?”  The answer to that question is simple: familiarity.  Think of your own learning experiences.  In college, professors often pass out a syllabus on the first day to create an understanding about what the assignments, expectations and readings will be in the class to lessen student anxiety.  We need to provide that same learning confidence to our students.   When students walk into your classroom and know what is expected of them to be successful and know how to self navigate to obtain answers to questions they may have, we are teaching students to be independent thinkers and observers.   Ensuring students know how to utilize environmental supports to maximize learning means all learners are in the driving seats on their journey to success and puts us one step closer to closing that achievement gap that is evident by our testing results and grades. 

 Are your students involved in discussion?

As educators, we are a group of continuous learners.  In your school, you may have constant discourse around our school’s mission and focus to improve student achievement.  In your professional developments, you may exchange ideas to increase your own capacity… are your students involved in this same interaction?  I encourage you to create time in your lessons for student discussion.  Students who are involved in peer interaction during classroom time can check their own understanding in a small group setting.  Additionally, students who can orally present concise ideas with fluidity are able to clearly justify the meaning behind their thoughts.  This can help you greatly as a classroom instructor to uncover where a student is in their understanding of a lesson.  As an English content area teacher, I found a correlation between writing and speaking with my students.  If you can create a connection in reading, speaking and writing with your students, you will find students are better able to write their thoughts with the same concise fluidity they do in discussion.  Mastering dominant discourse is an important tool that all of our learners need, but especially the ones who do not frequently utilize it among their family and peers once they leave school grounds.  Teaching students the rules to the game of success can help us further close the achievement gap. 

Try these and tell me what you think? This is me my first year of teaching...notice the blackboard, LOL