Learning from the Activsts Around and Before Us

My students and I launched a new unit last week entitled “What does it mean to be a scholar activist?” They helped co-plan it --- blog on that process coming soon! --- and today they finished presenting group posters on scholar activists from around the world. We’ll now name each table group after a scholar activist and these posters will hang above their tables as visual inspiration. I have so many reflections about this unit so far but I just had to share some of the gems of conversation we’re having as a result of their learning. The 7 scholar activists we selected for their groups are Malala Yousafzai, Frederick Douglass, Roberto Clemente, Dolores Huerta, The Freedom Riders, and two local Bronx scholar activists Sister Miriam Thomas and Mothers on the Move.

We’ve been connecting the work of scholars and activists to the current protests and actions taking place around the globe connected to Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and the #blacklivesmatter movements. My kids have lots of ideas around this issue and we’ll continue to make connections and find ways to take action. Today I laughed and was inspired multiple times during this morning’s presentations. Here are a few very middle school gems.

• Three of the four Freedom Riders group members said they would have joined the Freedom Riders if they were alive in the 1960s. One said that he didn’t want to risk being on a bus that was targeted with a bomb so he would have helped end segregation by telling the story of the Freedom Riders instead of being part of the group.

• Brison connected Malala Yousafzai fighting for access to education for girls in Pakistan to one of the characters in the novel we just finished. In Linda Sue Park’s A Long Walk to Water Nya, a girl in Sudan in 2008, doesn’t have access to school because she is a girl.

• Madeline asked a number of interesting questions during the Frederick Douglass poster presentation. I’m not sure how the conversation turned to Michael Jackson but during the Q&A portion of her peers’ presentation she raised her hand to ask, “If Michael Jackson was alive during slavery would he have been a slave? You know, because he’s white.” This sparked a lively class conversation about race, skin color, plastic surgery, skin bleaching, whether or not people choose to be enslaved, and so much more.

Madeline also had a few questions about the following quote from Frederick Douglass that the group shared:

“No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.”

She didn’t have the context and background knowledge to understand the quote and asked if he was talking about jewelry. At first, her peers were confused and she said, “You know you said chain. Like a chain. A piece of jewelry.” They let her know that these were chains used to put around the wrists, ankles, and necks of African Americans who were enslaved.

After a few more questions from students about how Frederick Douglass taught himself to read and the books he wrote Madeline asked at the end, “Didn’t he have a lot of kids? I thought he had kids with Harriet Tubman.” Her peers respectfully let her know this was not true.

I just adore the conversations that happen with my middle school kids. I also love the learning that takes place when peers teach one another. It’s wonderful as a teacher to sit back and observe students learning from each other. I can’t wait to see where this unit takes us and how we grow as readers, writers, and critical thinkers.

Conversations & Connections on the Subway

I live in one of the best cities on the planet. The opportunities for learning are so rich that there’s no way I can keep my kiddos in our classroom all of the time. Today, in our seventh week of school, my 7th graders and I went on our first field trip.

I prefer the term fieldwork instead of field trip because I want my students out in the field doing research, exploring, interviewing, learning, and challenging themselves. Today’s journey was more of a field trip/fieldwork hybrid. We traveled from the Bronx to Manhattan’s Times Square to see the film “The Good Lie.” The anchor text for our first unit, “Journeys and Survival,” is Linda Sue Park’s A Long Walk to Water which follows Salva, an 11-year old boy from southern Sudan after he is separated from his family because of a civil war. The film follows four Sudanese youth who experience a similar tragedy.

Before the film, my kids were excited for a number of reasons. First, they were going to the movies. Second, they were going to Times Square. Third, they were going to buy overpriced popcorn and soda. (Pricey!) Fourth, they were going to sit with their friends. After the film, they shared how saddened they were by the content, how many of them shed tears multiple times throughout the movie, and how amazed they were by the number of lights and large screens there are in Times Square. (Many of them were also still shocked that they actually had an assignment to do.)

For me, the best part of any fieldwork experience is riding the subway with my students. In part because New York City’s subways are filled with such diversity that you can’t help but learn about the world but also because it gives me that downtime with kids that is so rare in the classroom. Today I learned that burger is a negative term used to describe someone these days. (One student said it’s like using the word trash.) I also learned that my kids are afraid they’ll contract Ebola since it’s now come to New York City. I learned that our advisory has ethnic roots in Mexico, Nigeria, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Italy, Ireland, and West Africa. (So incredible!) And that one of my student’s mom’s – who is pregnant and due in one week but came along as a chaperone (What?!?!? Talk about commitment!) – has yet to find out the sex of her new baby. These are the connections that make me a better teacher. Building community with my kids and their families is key to me being a stronger English Language Arts teacher. Those strong relationships will be what's us through when the learning gets hard.

I’m committed to taking my students out of the building for fieldwork at least once every 6 weeks but I’d love to do it more than that. We’ve got too much to learn and too little time. Let’s get back on that train. Where to next?

What have been some of your favorite fieldwork and field trip experiences as a teacher or a student? Share them in the comments below.

Dessert with Ms. DeBose

One of my students started staying afterschool last week to help out in our classroom. It’s been wonderful to have her around because of the extra set of hands teachers don’t normally have but more importantly, because I’ve gotten to know her better.

As a teacher I know that relationships are key. The better I know my students, the better I can understand them. The better I understand them, the better teacher I’ll be. With close to 90 seventh graders on my roster it’s been tougher that I expected to build community with each of them. So, I decided to start a “Dessert with Ms. DeBose” ritual for the next 6 weeks.

Each day I invite one student from each of my three blocks of classes up for dessert after lunch. The selection of students is random and the four of us are tasked with coming up with four things we all have in common – an activity I stole from another NYC National Board Certified teacher.

Over cookies and sparkling water we talk, tell stories, get to know each other and learn things we never knew about one another. On Friday, Naralee, Brendan, Suzanna, and I discovered that we all like to sleep in, love weekends, have a strong desire to travel, and share (or shared in my case) bedrooms with our siblings. Earlier in the week, with another group of students, I learned about cultural norms in Yemen, that older/younger sibling dynamics never seem to change, and that one of my students felt relieved that I didn’t have a boyfriend in middle school either.

Some days I wish I had that 30 minutes to make copies or look at student work but Dessert with Ms. DeBose has been pretty amazing so far. I will continue until I have cookies with all of my kids and am hopeful that by learning more about my students – and them learning more about each other – we’ll build a safe, supportive, and engaging learning community where we take risks and grow.

How do you learn about and build community with and between your students? Please share your wisdom in the comments section.

The table is set - complete with my Cali love tablecloth, sugar cookies, and cups just waiting to be filled with sparkling water.

My New Union and Our New Chancellor

I’ve only been a member of a teachers’ union once before. My first two years in the classroom were spent in my hometown of L.A. at Samuel Gompers Middle School. By default I was part of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). I wasn’t an active member by any means, mainly because I was a new teacher trying to keep my head above water. We had an awesome chapter rep at our school who encouraged us to be more engaged but I just couldn’t make it happen. As a first year teacher I was trying to figure out what the heck I would do with my 6th graders the next day! I spent the next eight years of my career in charter schools in California and New York and none of them had a unionized staff – even though in one of them, we tried to organize. One of the many reasons I wanted to return to a traditional public school district was to be part of a union. My three years in the education policy world expanded my knowledge about the work that teachers’ unions and education associations do and I wanted to be engaged in that work. Today I started that journey.

Afterschool I attended the United Federation of Teachers Meet and Greet for new teachers in the borough. UFT President Michael Mulgrew and NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña were both there and I left feeling inspired, humbled, and reminded that I’m in the right place. While the event was geared towards first year teachers I learned a ton. There were booths set up with information about professional development, National Board Certification, pensions, Homework Helplines, health insurance, you name it. I met some other Bronx teachers and almost won a prize in a raffle. (Better luck next time!) What I enjoyed most was watching Chancellor Fariña and Michael Mulgrew engage with each other and with us. From an audience member’s perspective they seem to have a strong rapport and comraderie and it’s so clear that Chancellor Fariña is an educator. Her advice to us as teachers was practical and clearly from someone with years of experience in educational practice.

I loved what she had to say to us and the close to 7,000 new teachers in New York City this school year. Some of her nuggets are below.

·      On staying positive - Stay out of the teachers’ lunchroom.

·      On learning from each other - Be humble and ask for help from a colleague.

·      On parent teacher conferences – Role play parent teacher conferences so you’re prepared for all kinds of conversations.

·      On parent teacher conferences - Have an index card with 2 positive comments for each of your students so you have something to say about each of your kiddos.

·      On supporting each other and teacher retention - Write a kind note when one of your colleagues has had a hard day.

·      On supporting each other and teacher retention – A regular Friday check-in based on two questions: 1) What’s the best thing that happened to you this week? 2) What was your biggest challenge? 

·      On schools with silent hallways -  “I judge a school by the buzz.”

·      On multiple adults in a classroom – “It drives me crazy to walk into a class with two teachers and one paraprofessional and only one person is teaching.”

I look forward to getting more involved in my union and in my district. While teaching is incredibly difficult, it’s the exact work I want to be engaged in because the learning never stops. I’m grateful my union recognized the value in bringing together new teachers in the Bronx so we could learn together. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

A not-so-great pic of UFT President Michael Mulgrew (on the right) and NYC Schools Chancellor Fariña (in the middle) from my seat at the event.

"If students enjoy the work, they will do it."

Yesterday I launched a new ritual in my class called Feedback Fridays. It’s an opportunity for my students to give me anonymous feedback about what’s working in our learning environment and what can be improved. Each student completed a short survey with the following five questions:

1. What do you like about our class so far? Why?
2. What could be better about our class? Why?
3. Are you able to learn in this space? Why or why not?
4. What feedback and ideas do you have for your teachers to improve our class?
5. Is there anything else you want to share?

My student responses were eye opening. I learned that overwhelmingly they’re enjoying our first class novel A Long Walk to Water and that many of them appreciate the fact that we welcome them at the door with a handshake everyday. In terms of improvement I learned that they want to do more activities, they want to choose where they sit, they feel I need to loosen up a bit, and they’re bored. While I agree that I need to loosen up - it’s sometime so hard to do! - that last one is especially hard to hear as a teacher.

Regardless of how tough it is to hear it that your students are bored, the timing couldn’t be more perfect because this week I had to let my assistant principal know which of the components of the Danielson Framework I wanted support on this year. As a school we’re focusing on Domain 3: Instruction with an even more specific focus on:

• 3b – Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques
• 3c – Engaging Students in Learning
• 3d – Using Assessment in Instruction

(If you didn’t already know, as a teacher in New York City 60% of my evaluation is based on a series of observations where 8 of the 22 components of the Danielson framework are evaluated.) 

After reading the rubric closely and reflecting on my classes and students thus far, I decided that I’d love more feedback and focus on 3c – Engaging Students in Learning. The elements of this component are 1) activities and assignments, 2) grouping of students, 3) instructional materials and resources, and 4) structure and pacing. I could use an extra set of eyes and additional support in all four.

I’ll continue to gather weekly feedback from my students and work to implement some of their suggestions. This week – like most in a teacher’s life – was filled with highs and lows. I had some great moments and some that caused me to closely examine my practice and my actions. I can see that in one of my classes especially students aren’t nearly as engaged as I’d like them to be. I decided that they’ll be my laboratory. They’ll be the space where I focus on the elements of component 3c and see what magic we can create.

Right inside the door of my apartment I have a daily gratitude calendar where each day I record something I’m grateful for on an index card. On Wednesday after a particularly challenging afternoon I made the decision to focus on 3c and that night I wrote, “Today I’m grateful for the ability to embrace a challenge as an opportunity for learning and growth. ¡Que viva Charlotte Danielson!” I’m looking forward to truly engaging my students in their learning and to a series of Friday Feedback forms that let me know that progress is alive and in full effect in Room 413. As one of my students wrote in response to question 5, “If students enjoy the work, they will do it.” So true. So true. Let’s work towards getting there.

If you have ideas or strategies for engaging middle school students in their learning feel free to share them in the comments below. I’d love to learn from you!

Wisdom from one of my 7th graders