Back to the Point

After three years in the education policy world, a middle school teacher journeys back to the classroom and back to the point of it all – students, families, teaching, and learning.

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One of my co-teachers in our classroom on the first day.

One of my co-teachers in our classroom on the first day.

Quite the Welcome Back

September 05, 2014 by Genevieve DeBose

The first week is done. Well, actually the first two days. New York City students started school on a Thursday so my first “week” back is officially over. I have a ton of reflections from the last two days but I’ll go ahead and say that I’ve been thinking the most about expectations, relationships, and rigor. 

Expectations

Let’s start by saying that middle schoolers ain’t easy. I pride myself on being an educator who holds all kids to high expectations and has a strong command of classroom management. However, I will be the first to admit that my skills were definitely challenged on my first day back in the game. We all know that young adolescents are talkative but two of my three sections of 7th grade English Language Arts would not stop talking yesterday. So much so that it was tough to get through our first day lesson. I am used to being that teacher whose students do the right thing simply because it’s the right thing to do and yesterday, that wasn’t happening. I was quickly reminded that not only do I need to hold my students to high expectations but that I need to a) know them well enough for them to trust and respect me and b) I need to be transparent about what will happen if they don’t follow my expectations and then actually follow through. I am having a hard time learning all of their names and that’s also holding me back. I’ll definitely be working on that this weekend.

Relationships

Relationships are the core of what I do and after being in a smaller school setting for 5 years I realize how much harder it is develop close relationships with the nearly 100 students I see for 45 or 90 minutes a day. That being said, I am committing myself to building those relationships with my kids. I’m thinking of creating a cheat sheet for myself about each class so that when I greet them at the door each period I can greet them by name, shake their hand, look them in the eye, and ask them about something they shared on the “Who Are You?” survey I gave them on the first day. I forgot how much time it takes to build those relationships and I need to be easy on myself a bit. It’s only been two days so it’s OK if I can’t call every student by name yet. If that’s still the case in a week, we’ll have a problem.

Rigor

In my last class of the day I noticed that some of my kids were visibly bored. Negative behavior was stalling our lesson and I started to lose some of my kiddos. This is one of the toughest things for me as a teacher. I never want to be the cause of any student’s boredom. It made me stop for a minute and reflect on the fact that I need to ensure that the content and activities we’re doing in class are challenging and engaging to kids. An afterschool conversation with my assistant principal about the day also got me to reflect on pacing and how I can keep our lessons moving so there is less down time for students to be bored and/or act out. I am committing to stepping up the rigor in my classes for all students. I’ll take any and all good vibes you send my way on this one.

I’ll end by saying that during my first “week” back I was reminded that incredible educators are incredibly patient. I forgot this on day one and talked to a good friend and fellow educator about this. We started a new ritual to call each other each morning at 7:40 – before we pick up our students - to say the following mantra to one another and into the universe: May I be blessed with patience, loving kindness, and compassion. May I bless others with patience, loving kindness, and compassion. I was much more patient, kind, and compassionate with my students today and in turn they were more patient, kind, and compassionate with me. I wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be and they weren’t where I wanted them to be but it’s a process and we’re getting there.

 

 

September 05, 2014 /Genevieve DeBose
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A few of my new colleagues on our school tour. This mural was a collaboration between the science and visual art teachers and their students. Love it!

A few of my new colleagues on our school tour. This mural was a collaboration between the science and visual art teachers and their students. Love it!

The Power of Leadership

August 27, 2014 by Genevieve DeBose

I’m on the 2 train headed from the Bronx to Manhattan after my first official day at my new school. What a day it was! I stepped out of our colorful building feeling inspired, humbled, and with a lot on my mind. Today was the New Faculty Institute for those of us joining the staff this year and I took away quite a bit from the day but what sticks most with me is the power of leadership.

My school is in its 11th year with just over 600 students grades six through twelve. Our principal is from the neighborhood and founded the school with 77 sixth graders and six teachers in 2004. First off, the fact that he is still there is powerful. It may sound sad to say but in education having a principal stick around that long in a high-need school makes a statement. I strongly felt that today.

Second, our principal, assistant principals, and fellow teachers kicked off the institute in a welcoming and inspiring way. Sharing the history of our school and sending a clear message that they valued the choice we made to join their school team set the tone for a collaborative and safe space. Teachers played a role throughout the day and it was clear that while there are set protocols and expectations for certain things, if we have a different idea or way of thinking that is also encouraged and welcomed.

Welcome to your new professional home and family.

Your success is our success.

We’re all about the three Rs: Rigor, Relationships, and Respect.

We tell our students that learning for learning’s sake is not good enough. You have to give back to the community.

I need you, when appropriate, to share your successes and your achievements.

Take the risk. You will reap the rewards.

These were some of the messages that were shared and stuck most with me throughout the day. The last one was in reference to asking for help when we need it and being an authentic and genuine part of the learning community that is our school - an incredibly powerful message to teachers, especially in the current educational climate. After being out of the classroom for three years, and re-entering as the teacher of a tested grade and subject in this era of Common Core implementation and new evaluations I am definitely taking a risk. It’s one that I know I need to take, one that I want to take.  And after today, it seems that I’ll be supported by my administration and my colleagues in taking that risk. I’m looking forward to the many rewards headed our way.

 

August 27, 2014 /Genevieve DeBose
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Here's my former school in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. Love the colors and the unfinished mural my students and I were working on.

Here's my former school in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. Love the colors and the unfinished mural my students and I were working on.

From Practice to Policy…and Back Again!

August 21, 2014 by Genevieve DeBose

In less than two weeks I will return to my roots, my happy place, a place feared by many and loved by few - the middle school classroom! I’ve been out of the classroom for the last three years and I am more than excited – and a little nervous – to get back in.

After ten years of teaching 5th – 8th graders in Los Angeles, Oakland, and the south Bronx I left the classroom for a one-year fellowship at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) in Washington, D.C.  As a Teaching Ambassador Fellow during the 2011-2012 school year I – alongside 15 other teachers - provided a classroom teacher’s perspective, experience, and expertise to federal education policy makers. I spent the majority of my fellowship working on Middle Grades Reform with an incredible Senior Advisor to the Secretary on Secondary Schools, the one and only Greg Darnieder.  As someone who believes strongly in teachers and students influencing policy my fellow fellows and I organized “ED Goes Back to School” where 50 ED senior officials and career staff had the opportunity to shadow a local teacher for a full or half day as a way to inform their work at the department. I’m proud to say that “ED Goes Back to School” has become an annual tradition at the Department and has even been expanded to include shadowing principals.  As someone who believes strongly in the power of the arts, a colleague and I created “Teachers’ Lounge,” a theatrical performance written and performed by a group of local teachers to share the realities of classroom teaching with ED staff.  As a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) I was fortunate to facilitate a panel discussion between NBCTs and Secretary Duncan at the White House.  You can probably see why that year in D.C. was one of the most powerful of my life. 

While I was sure that I’d return to the Bronx to teach after that fellowship year, my path took me in a different direction. That panel discussion at the White House led me to my next position as the Director of Educator Engagement at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. For the last two years I have been fortunate to collaborate with incredible NBCTs and allies across the country working to advance teaching as a profession and embed National Board Certification across the career continuum. I had a number of responsibilities in this role and one I am most proud of was being part of a team that wrote and won a $15-million federal grant to increase the number of NBCTs in high need schools and provide opportunities and training for NBCTs in high need schools to serve in instructional leadership roles.  

While I’ve loved the work I’ve done outside of schools over that last three years my heart has been yearning to get back to my roots, back to the place I see as most important in this journey towards educational and social equity in our country - the classroom. So, in less than two weeks I will do just that. On September 4, 2014 I’ll meet my newest group of 7th graders. Over the course of the year we’ll take a journey together to become better readers, writers, listeners, and speakers but more importantly to become collaborative, kind, and thoughtful scholars and activists ready and equipped to improve the world around us.

I’ve learned a ton of new skills over the last three years and I’m incredibly curious to see how they transfer to improved teaching and learning for my students. This blog will serve as a place to document the journey as I leave the policy world, return to my roots, and get back to the point  – the classroom, my kids, our families, and the incredibly intellectual, social, emotional, justice-oriented, and crucial work we'll all do to create a more fair and just society.

Here I am with my team of Washington Teaching Ambassadors at the end of our fellowship year in 2012. Pictured from left to right: (back row) Me and Maryann Woods-Murphy (NJ), (front row) Greg Mullenholz (MD), Shakera Walker (MA), Claire Jellinek (NM…

Here I am with my team of Washington Teaching Ambassadors at the end of our fellowship year in 2012. Pictured from left to right: (back row) Me and Maryann Woods-Murphy (NJ), (front row) Greg Mullenholz (MD), Shakera Walker (MA), Claire Jellinek (NM), and Gillian Cohen-Boyer (Director of the Teaching Ambassador Fellowship at the U.S. Department of Education).

August 21, 2014 /Genevieve DeBose
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