Teacherscribe's Teaching Thoughts
Week 23 - Feb. 10-14
It's always possible
Move in
Chief Inspiration Officer
The World is a Fine Place and Worth Fighting For
Teach Like a Champion 2.0 by Doug Lemov
It's not for everyone as the subtitle notes, "62 Techniques That Put Students On the Path to College." This also comes with teacher videos to see Lemov in action. I'm envious of his passion and drive. I wish I could teach like this, but thanks to his book, I have developed strategies that have made me far more effective.
Here is one of my favorite strategies -
It's called "No opt out." This is a strategy to never let a student get away with the classic, "I don't know." The concept is brilliant. Instead of just moving on to a student who knows the right answer, this concept allows the teacher to keep the student who muttered, "I don't know" on the hook and it also lets that student practice success.
So if I ask a student, say Joe, about a symbol in "The Lottery," and he shrugs and says, "Uh, I don't know," I will not let him opt out. I might give him a momentary pass by turning to Simon and asking him. Now if he knows and says something like, "I think the black box is an obvious symbol." Then I'd turn to a third student and ask if they could guess what the black box symbolized. This is where Marryn chimes in with, "I think it represents the tradition that the villagers are blindly following."
Now it is at this point that I focus back on Joe, my "I don't know" student. I will have us all turn to the page in the story that focuses on the black box. I'll read the selection and then ask Joe if he could explain how the symbol of the black box represents tradition using evidence from what we just read. He can't help but get it right as I've set him up for success. The trick is to just linger long enough to help him piece it all together.
This is what "no opt out" is all about and what makes it so effective.
Teaching Thoughts
Week #23 February 10-14
Teaching Thought #98 - When it comes to teaching, can’t think of anything worse . . .
Than being a mediocre teacher. At least after 21 years in the profession. I was worse than mediocre when I began, but then after graduate school something changed in me as a professional. I began to work harder, care more, and work to improve at my craft.
But I was close to just being content with being average and going through the motions. Again, as a teacher (or anything really), I think of anything worse. Just why do people settle for average?
This article, “This is the Reason Most People Get Stuck in Mediocrity,” looks at the real reason people settle. They pin it all on our fear of failure. This leads to a fear of trying anything new, which leads to use getting stuck in what Seth Godin (in his iconic book, The Dip), calls the Cul-de-Sac. This is where you get stuck doing the same thing over and over and over.
I learned how to break out of that early. One of the best things to happen to me my first year teaching as that I had to teach the same class, Communications 10, all day long. It helped me improve as a teacher, for I mastered the material quickly (reading Julius Caesar and A Separate Peace five times a day for weeks on end will do that to you). But something began to happen later in the year, I began to do things differently in each class to try and save my sanity. This helped me break out of the monotony of doing the same thing every day.
I’ve never been the same. In fact, I’ve never taught the same class twice. Even at the ALC in the summer I have the need to tweak and refine and improve.
That’s the key to my passion and any effectiveness I may have as a teacher. How do you stave off the dreaded Cul-de-Sac?
Teaching Thought #99 - The Future Will Not Be Multiple Choice
Amen. Our obsession with high stakes testing is what I despise about teaching.
These educators have it right: curiosity is what the future is all about. Not multiple choice.
Enjoy this video. If these guys can fascinate elementary students with deconstructing your average tissue box, what can’t you fascinate your students with?
Teaching Thought #100 - Fistbumps are fine, but I’m a hugger
Several years ago, the school lawyer spoke to us at the end of our inservice week. I don’t recall much, but I do recall him talking about how he coached his daughter’s soccer team and how he decided to give fist bumps instead of high fives because he didn’t want to miss a player’s hand and hit their breast. So he encouraged us to think about how we interacted with students, especially when it came to hugging and texting and being alone with students.
I am sorry but this is nuts.
I'm not against boundaries and following rules, but no student ever returns to a school to thank a teacher who impacted them and said, "Thanks for keeping your distance when I really needed it" or "Thank you so much for following the student handbook so well. It really made an impact on me."
It's our job to be role models and to show them - in the words of one of my heroes in education, Deborah Meier, how awesome it is to grow up and become an adult who is curious, passionate, and a life long learner.
One of the things at the core of my teaching philosophy is approaching the material with my students not as an all knowing teacher bestowing information on my students but as co-learners. In other words, we are in this together and we need to learn together.
That means we sometimes work as peers. That was a big no-no in the lawyer’s message. But he is wrong.
Every year we face immense challenges. We lost a student in a car accident last year. We lost another former student over the summer. We have teachers battling cancer. Our kids have been, are, and will be hurting. They need us.
Hugs will be given. I hope so anyway. Not fist bumps.
In my opinion, that is what makes Prowler Nation a family and not just a bunch of people simply doing their jobs and following policies.
Teaching Thought #101 - How much choice do you give students?
This article, from a high school English teacher, focuses on what he did when a majority of his students hated the classwide book they were reading and how it changed his teaching.
I love the agility this teacher displayed. How do we pivot and alter course when a lesson doesn’t go as planned? I think the worst thing is to just furrow your brow and forge ahead. That’s not good for anyone.
In fact, I’ve had to change things up on the fly before. It’s not easy, but the one thing I’ve found is that students appreciate this.
I’ve also opened up to allowing my students more choice in their content, which this teacher also suggests.
One of my most successful assignments is the Sticky-Note book report where I tell students that they will have a week of class time to read an entire book. They can add their own time on the weekends and at night, but I’m giving them a full week of 80 minute blocks to get it down.
Then I ask them to write down on a note card three topics they are interested in and love learning about and tow topics they don’t enjoy at all.
From that list, I select two or three possible books for them to read from my classroom collection or the media center. Then I turn them loose to read it and get out of their way. They do have to annotate their books with 50 Sticky-Notes and then give a 10 minute book talk the following week, but that’s it.
Then something magical happens. The books take over. Kids text me pictures of their progress or where they are reading or they talk about how they don’t want to put it down and feel like a total nerd.
And this just isn’t with my College Comp students. A few years ago our former principal came in for a walk through during a free reading day when I was doing this same assignment with my remedial reading students. When he left he said, “You know. Every kid in there couldn’t wait to tell me about their books. That’s pretty cool.”
It was. And it’s all because of giving students choice.
Teaching Thought #102 - Give one pagers a try
One pagers are just that, illustrating what students know about something in one page. I learned about these from The Cult of Pedagogy podcast from Jennifer Gonzalez.
The point is simple: a student takes what they have learned (or the key takeaways) from a textbook, a book, a TED Talk, even a slideshow and illustrate it on a single page or sheet of paper.
Gonazalez notes in her podcast and website:
As students create one-pagers, the information they put down becomes more memorable to them as they mix images and information. According to Allan Paivio’s dual coding theory, the brain has two ways of processing: the visual and the verbal. The combination of the two leads to the most powerful results. Students will remember more when they’ve mixed language and imagery.
Plus, one-pagers provide variety, a way for them to share what they’ve learned that goes beyond the usual written options. Students tend to surprise themselves with what they come up with, and their work makes for powerful displays of learning. Plus, they’re fun to make. Let’s not pretend that doesn’t matter.
So, assuming you’re sold on trying this out, you’re probably wondering what exactly goes into a one-pager?
Students might include quotations, ideas, images, analysis, key names and dates, and more. They might use their one-pagers to make connections to their own lives, to art or films, to pop culture, to what they’re learning in their other classes. They might even do it all. You’d be amazed at how much can fit on a single piece of paper.
Many teachers create lists of what students should put inside their one-pagers. Knowing they need two quotations, several symbolic images, one key theme, etc., helps guide students in their work.
I am all for any new (and creative) way for students to illustrate what they know or have learned.
How could you use on pagers in your classroom?
Why I Teach
Never Give up on Kids
Podcast of the Week -
These facts are quite simple, but they shed so much light on how to deal with Gen Z.
First, they break with the current generation. So Gen Z is breaking with the Millennials. In other words, what the Millennials did was cool BUT what Gen Z is doing is even cooler.
Second, Gen Z will strive to correct for two generations older. So this brings us to Gen X (my generation). Gen Z sees what we did and strives to improve on that (which I'm quite thrilled about). In other words, Gen Z looks at their parents and thinks, like MOST generations have over time, I'm never going to do that with my kids. And thus they break from us. I'm happy about this as one thing the Gen Xers have done is create the snowplow parent. Now Gen X sought to correct for two generations before them, The Silent Generation, and their 'hands off' or 'free range' attitude of parenting where kids were turned loose into the street with no supervision or direction other than (come home for supper when the lights come on).
Third, they will replace those three generations older than them. So they will strive to replace the Silent Generation. Watch to see what 'retro' things will become cool again.
Here is a link to the podcast if you want to learn more.
Video of the week - Kevin Eastman on the Power of Bold
Thoughts from Twitter
One way I try to do this is through something I call "111 Things About You." This allows me to see random things about students (I'm left handed, I am the youngest of my siblings by 12 years, my parents divorced and then remarried a year later . . .), but it also allows me to see what they have been through (I lost my best friend in a car accident last year, my father has brain cancer, or I have no idea what I'm going to do once I graduate). These are all little glimpses into their worlds that I then try to use to hook and engage and empathize with over the semester.
Tech tool of the Week - Screencast-O-Matic
I use this whenever I need to push out an instructional video or tutorial for students. I just whipped one out a couple of weeks ago to share with my College Comp I class to help them find resources via our media center data base. Then I emailed the link to my students.
It's not perfect, but it didn't need to be. It communicated the points I wanted and saved me about a hundred texts and emails while I was home sick.
Where are they Now?
Dane Kjono
When did you graduate from LHS?
I graduated from LHS in 2003.
Where did you go to college and when did you graduate?
I graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2008.
Where have you taught?
I have taught 10 years - all of which have been at East Grand Forks Sr. High School
Are you doing any coaching or advising?
I am an assistant coach for our varsity FB team.
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
My favorite thing about teaching is knowing that my job matters each and every single day. Also every day/class period is so different each with its own set of challenges and rewards.
What made you want to be a teacher?
It is cliche, but the people who taught me at LHS made me realize how big of an impact they can have on a young person. I was extremely blessed to have some of the best teachers and coaches around. I hoped that I one day I could return the favor and try to be that type of difference maker in somebody's life.
What advice do you have for teachers?
Always remember why you chose to be a teacher. There are so many challenges to teaching (parents, difficult students, lack of resources, time, etc.) that are leading to more and more teachers burning out. However, there is a reason we all chose this profession and we need to keep it in mind. Each and every day there is some kid out there that is going through a rough patch and you have the opportunity to be the bright spot in their day.
Bonus content of the week -
If you give one a try, I'd love to get feedback from you.
Chief Inspiration Officer of Room 205
I am married to the most amazing person in the world, Kristie. It was love at first sight. At least for me. And it still is.
We have four wonderful children, Casey, Koko, Kenzie, and Cash. I also happen to have the greatest job in the world: teaching English to high school students.
I am about to begin my 22nd year of teaching at Lincoln High School. I graduated from Lafayette High School in 1992. I decided to enter the field of education because of two amazing teachers, Mr. Mueller, my fourth and sixth grade elementary school teacher and assistant baseball coach, and Mrs. Christianson, my 9th grade English teacher.
I attended Northland Community College, and had my life changed by the amazing Dr. Diane Drake. Then I transferred to Bemidji State University in 1995. There I had amazing professors who further inspired me to teach English (Dr. Helen Bonner, Dr. Mark Christensen, Susan Hauser, and Gerry Schnabel). I graduated with my BS in English Education in 1997.
I student taught with the wonderful Lisa Semanko and then began teaching full-time at LHS in 1998.
I took a year's leave of absence in 2001-02 to return to BSU for my MA in English. There I had the privilege to teach and work closely with my greatest mentor, Dr. Mark Chirstensen. I earned my MA in English in 2006 and was honored with "Thesis of the Year" for my creative non-fiction, braided, multi-genre memoir, "Meeting Myrtle: A Biography."
In 2013, thanks to my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Jodi Holen, I was offered an adjunct teaching position fall semester at the University of North Dakota. Tuesday nights I teach Intro to Education: Teaching and Learning 250 from 5-8. Those three hours fly by in about ten minutes.
Then in 2016 I was blessed to win a WEM award (thanks to a nomination from a former student (and now an elementary school teacher), Ciera Mooney.
In 2017 I became part of the #pineconepd podcast club along with Brian Loe, Jeff Mumm, Kelsey Johnson, Kelly Weets, Josh Watne, Tevia Strand, Megan Vigen, Mariah Hruby, and Laura Brickson. This has been one of the best forms of PD I've ever been a part of. They make me a better teacher every time we meet. Please think about joining us in the summer at the Pine Cone Pub from 6:30 - until we've solved all the world's problems. For that evening anyway.
Thanks to the inspiration of Shane Zutz (our former principal) I devised this as a way to distribute my Teaching Thoughts and add more content to, hopefully, help out and inspire others.
Email: kurt.reynolds@myprowler.org
Website: http://teacherscribe.blogspot.com
Location: 101 South Knight Aver Thief River Falls MN 56701
Phone: 218-686-7395
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