Gladly Would I Teach

Based on standardized test scores, this year my school has focused on improving our students’ reading comprehension. Every now and then we have been shown scores and have been encouraged to increase the amount of reading that we require, particularly the reading of nonfiction texts. We’ve had staff development on how to increase reading comprehension and have been asked to document reading activities. Recently, we were told that scores from our upcoming spring tests will measure how successful we have been this year.

We weren’t asked why our students reading comprehension scores have declined. If we had been asked, however, I could have immediately explained part of the problem. Until this year, my school embraced “Quadrant D” learning, or learning that is performance based (at least that’s how it was described to us). We brought in “experts,” who are no longer in the classroom, and they taught us what we needed to do to engage our students in more meaningful learning.

Kids don’t need to sit around and read and discuss Shakespeare, we were told. They need to be up moving around and performing Shakespeare or working on group activities, or working on computers. Traditional reading and writing activities were strategies of the past that no longer worked with today’s students.

So most teachers, particularly the young teachers with little experience that would have helped them filter the  suggestions from the “experts,” jumped on the bandwagon and constructed lessons that allowed students to spend more time performing, more time drawing, more time acting. Reading and writing declined.

Now our students’ reading comprehension scores have declined, something that any veteran teacher could have predicted (and did predict) years ago when we drifted away and decreased how much reading and writing we required from students. Our kids were so engaged, just not engaged in reading and writing.

I am reading Diane Ravitch’s new book The Death and Life of The Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. In the introduction, Ravitch chastises educators for jumping on the latest fad without any proof that the fads work.

We will continue to chase rainbows unless we recognize that they are rainbows and there is no pot of gold at the end of them.

Our kids declined in reading because we chased a rainbow that seemed so happy and colorful and enticing. Well-meaning people chased rainbows, and our kids suffered. I would like to hope that we have learned from this and that we won’t jump on the bandwagon of the next greatest fad, but I know we will.

Why do we always think that the “experts” who have little contact with children know best how to teach them?

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Edie Parrott

For the past couple of days, I have been working on a faculty newsletter tribute to Ed Deavers, an outstanding teacher who died a little over a week ago. As I wrote previously, one of Ed’s former students established a Facebook page for Ed and invited students and former students to share their stories about Ed so they could grieve together.

As I copied many of these messages so I could add them to the tribute, I found one of Ed’s aphorisms particularly poignant. When students were working on plays together and worried about their own performances, Ed told them, “You’re safe; you’re warm; your with friends.” According to another student, Ed sometimes interchanged “family” for “friends.”

If we want students to learn, they must be willing to take chances, and they must learn to work together productively without fighting with each other or establishing factions. A supportive classroom environment is crucial.

What better way to welcome kids into a classroom and teach them to take care  of each other than repeatedly teaching them and saying to them, “You’re safe; you’re warm; you’re with friends.”

I wish every student could sit inside a classroom that emphasized this belief!

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Edie Parrott

How bright is your classroom?

I have been fortunate because all but one of my classrooms during my long career have had windows. I spent only two years in an interior classroom that had no windows, and those were the most depressing years of my career – for other reasons. The lack of windows had nothing to do with how I felt.

At least I don’t think they did.

On most days in the classroom I have occupied now for eight years, two large windows fill my classroom with glorious sunlight. For a couple of hours during the day, the sunshine streaming in is so bright and so hot that we love it, except for the students who sit in front of the windows and have to shield their eyes from the sun and endure the heat. Much to my chagrin, these students usually lower the blinds. It’s a rational and perfectly understandable decision, just not one I like. I can’t really blame them.

When I open the new semester on Tuesday, however, I’m going to reserve the seats right in front of the window for the sun lovers and hope they will leave the blinds open so we can all enjoy the sunlight.

I’m always perplexed by teachers who lower their window blinds and turn off part of the classroom lights. Some even turn off all of the florescent lights and plug in a lamp to create a peaceful ambiance. I used to visit an elementary school where most of the kindergarten and first grade teachers  turned down the lights, apparently thinking the lower lights might calm students. Some of these classrooms were so dark, however, that I would have trouble reading and writing in the classroom.

I like the light!

I want the sunshine to brighten my room and make me momentarily wonder if it’s June instead of January.

Last semester one of my students wrote a research paper about the effect that sunshine has on individuals.  Within the paper, she highlighted several studies that showed that students in classrooms where there is greater natural light from windows and skylights actually achieve more than students in classrooms without windows. I can’t remember the student’s sources, but here is a link to one study I found online.

Daylight and Productivity

I don’t think one study proves that sunshine actually increases learning. I do know, however, that on days when the sun shines brightly into my classroom, students are happier and more engaged in classroom activities. On cloudy and rainy days, we all want to take naps.

So, I’m telling the sun lovers to keep the blinds open and let the sunshine in!

If we all become a little smarter because of the sunshine, that’s an added bonus!

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Edie Parrott

It’s New Year’s, and I suppose its time to disclose my teacher resolutions for the year.

• I have such a hard time keeping my mouth shut during class discussions, and I know I would be a better teacher if I allowed students to participate more as I participate less.  Hence, I resolve to use the World Cafe approach to discussions at least once every other week. (I’ve written about this method several times. For more information, type “World Cafe discussion” in the search box on the right.)

• For years I have heard teachers, parents, and students declare that red ink is upsetting to students.  I have never really believed there was much validity behind this claim, but just in case these people are right, I’m going to switch to another color this year. I’m giving up my favorite red Flairs and grading in green ink. Will green ink really make a difference? I am inclined to think it will make little difference or I would have changed long ago, but I’m going to give it a try.

• I have  always scoffed at the idea that English teachers need to teach visual literacy. Who needs any special talent or skill to understand a photo, cartoon, or video? Several incidents recently, however, persuaded me that some of my students might benefit from more discussion of visuals. This year I’m going to include more opportunities for students to study and discuss visuals, particularly photos and editorial cartoons.

• Finally, although I generally do a good job of recognizing and thanking good students, this year I resolve to write at least three notes per week to students, parents, or former students.

That’s it!  Four resolutions.

Teaching resolutions are so much easier than personal resolutions.

At least teaching resolutions don’t revolve around losing weight!

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Edie Parrott

Over my long career, I have been astounded by how much technology has advanced and enhanced my ability to teach.

For example, when I first started teaching in 1977, it took an hour to read through a huge catalogue and select a movie to show to my class, another hour to complete the proper form and mail it, and weeks before the movie arrived in the mail. When it arrived, I usually had two days to show the movie before I had to pack it back up and return it. I don’t even want to describe the frustration of learning how to thread the movie through the projector and create the proper loop so the movie would not pop throughout the viewing like a “silent” movie in the 1920s.

Years later, VCRs and video cassettes replaced movie projectors.

Years later, DVD players and disks replaced VCRS.

Now, we have moved on to digital downloads. Who knows what will be next?

No aid, device, or piece of technology, however, has made my job easier than a course website that contains information about my class, due dates, information for parents, links to websites that provide additional help, and most of the assignments that students must complete in my class.

I created my first course website about 8 years ago and suffered through learning FrontPage. Today, I use a blogging platform (WordPress) that allows me to add information through pages. This process allows me to post updates and add new information in only minutes.

As the years go on, I keep adding and refining what I have on my website. When students needed more examples, I started posting papers from previous students (with their permission). When I create new assignments, I add a new page and show the assignment. When I stop using an assignment, instead of removing it from the website, I simply type the note “We will not complete this assignment this month.”

Many teachers who look at my website express the idea that they do not have the time or the skills to create a comparable site. What they may not understand, however, is that I built my site a little at a time over the years.

Today, as I prepare for a new semester, all I will have to do is update my syllabus and due dates and make the changes on my website.  I will then direct students to the website, teach them how to use it, and explain that they will need to print assignments when we get to them. I save myself hours simply by reducing the number of assignments I have to duplicate for students,

If you don’t have a website for your class, it’s an idea you might want to consider. Course websites increase communication between teachers and students, teachers and parents, and teachers and other teachers. Each week I receive one or two emails from new teachers who ask permission to use my assignments or who just express thanks. We are all accustomed to sharing ideas with the teacher down the hall. Course websites allow us to share ideas with teachers across the globe.

Here’s the link to my AP English Language & Composition website:

Parrott\’s AP English Language and Composition

“My Access” Helps Students Write

I have my doubts about this new program that reviews student writing and offers suggestions for revision, but I really hope it works. Imagine how much help such a program would be for English teachers who drown under stacks of essays. Although I have my doubts, an English teacher interviewed in the article states:

“It’s important that teachers go back and explain that the score is not necessarily reflective of their overall writing,” said Warren, who teaches advanced placement and honor students. “As far as the mechanics go, it’s dead-on with the spelling and grammatical errors.”

Actually, if the program can check and teach grammatical and mechanical errors so teachers can narrow their focus to teaching the content of papers, I would be ecstatic.

I just wish I had the money to give “My Access” a try!

Holidays are times for students to relax and rejuvenate. Although some excellent teachers disagree with me, I don’t think teachers should assign homework over vacations. (My one exception to this rule is for summer reading.)

This morning we are returning to school after a full week of Thanksgiving vacation. What a blessing to have an entire week off!  For years the district where I teach granted students three days of vacation and two days for teachers. A few years ago they rearranged the calendar so we could have a break over the entire week. What a great idea. Whereas in the past teachers and students were “sucking wind” to survive until final exams that were administered a few days before Christmas, this morning we will return to class happier, rested, and perhaps a little heavier.

If we give homework over the holidays, even homework that only takes an hour or two, we defeat part of the purpose of vacations. While it’s true that we could wedge in another novel or another paper if kids read and write over the holidays, do we really need to do that?

When I left my classroom on Friday, the week before Thanksgiving, I also left behind all of my school work. Yes, I still had some work to do but nothing that couldn’t wait until after the holidays. I wanted my students to have that same privilege.

When my students arrive in a little over an hour, I want them happy, rested, and ready to learn!

Yesterday a teacher asked for advice about easy and quick ways to grade notebooks. I’ll pass along the information I gave in case you are staring at a stack of notebooks you have to grade over the holidays. My method is so simple and practical that I am embarrassed it took me over a decade to figure it out.

The best aspect of my notebook grading is that I do NOT take home any notebooks, nor do I have stacks of notebooks on my classroom floor for days and days as I grade them.

Before revealing my grading suggestion, however, I’ll review why I have students keep notebooks in some classes. I want students to keep all handouts, assignments, notes, and graded work in an organized fashion. I want them to be able to find everything they need to study for tests and to study for the final exam. I hope during the process that they will also improve their organizational skills. I’m not particularly interested in whether or not their notebooks are pretty so long as they can find what they need and read it.

At the beginning of the semester, I tell students how I will grade their notebooks and I make suggestions for how they should organize their notebooks (how many dividers they need, sections they need to establish, etc). I also insist that they have a notebook just for my class since I may take it up during the semester. I emphasize the importance of bringing the notebook to class each day and, particularly at the beginning of the semester, I remind them to place their work in their notebooks.

Instead of collecting notebooks to grade, this is my process.

1. I tell students to place their notebook on their desk and prepare for a notebook check.
2. I distribute a one-page notebook check (See example below.)
3. I tell the students that the notebook is timed and that they must finish it within 30 minutes (adjusted for individual classes). Students must write answers on the notebook sheet. They may not use their textbooks, hunt for papers in their book bags, or ask me for help. They can only use their notebooks to find the answers.
4. The notebook check includes abbreviations that I have to explain to students before they begin. For example. The first question may state:  Night 3.12.  I explain to students that this means they have to go to their questions on Night.  Look at the questions on chapter 3 and provide the answer to #12.  All answers should be 2-3 words. (I don’t ask essay type questions on notebook checks.)
5. Depending on the class, I ask from 20 to 50 questions.
6. I walk around the room to ensure that kids don’t pass papers from their notebooks to other students and to ensure that they can’t copy other students’ work. I collect papers as students finish.
7. If I have multiple classes of the same subject, I collect the notebooks at the end of the notebook check and keep them overnight so students in one class cannot give their notebook to a student in another class.
8. Instead of taking home stacks of notebooks to grade, I only have a stack of short answer questions to grade. Since I make students write answers in little blocks, I am able to grade the papers much faster.

Some teachers wonder about students who are able to answer questions on a notebook check even when they haven’t written down the answer. For example, what if a student did not write down the answer to question number 12 in chapter 3 of Night? As long as the student knows the answer, I don’t care. Students tell us all of the time that they don’t need to write down the answers because they know the answers. If that’s the case and they can indeed remember the answer all semester, I am happy to give them credit for that question. (As we all know, however, most students cannot remember the answers.)

By utilizing a notebook check of this type, I test whether or not students have maintained the papers that I requested and whether or not they have them in a reasonable order that THEY can retrieve easily.

If you still feel the need to check notebooks to see if they are pretty or tidy, you can always add a category to the notebook check and flip through notebooks quickly to add that score after grading the notebook check.

For years and years I plodded through notebooks for hours until I reached the point that I really didn’t care what grade I gave them! Then I went through a period when I didn’t require notebooks because I didn’t want to mess with grading even though I knew it would help students if I required notebooks. When I finally figured out how to grade notebooks through checks of this type, I was delighted because I could emphasize the organizational skills I wanted to instill in students and grade their notebooks quickly and painlessly.

I’m attaching a sample notebook check and answer sheet below.

Notebook Check

Notebook Check with answers

Sunday’s New York Times included an article that asked whether it is wrong for teachers to sell materials that they create.

Selling Lesson Plans Online Raises Questions and Cash

The article highlights the successes of many teachers who now sell their items on Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT). I have written about TpT previously because I think it offers teachers an outstanding opportunity to make money that they can use for their own classrooms or for their personal benefit.

Within the article, Joseph McDonald, professor at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University, states:

“Teachers swapping ideas with one another, that’s a great thing. But somebody asking 75 cents for a word puzzle reduces the power of the learning community and is ultimately destructive to the profession.”

I am perplexed that some people find it unethical or unprofessional for teachers to sell materials which they create on their own time. Do we consider it unethical for college professors to write books and sell them? Why is it different for K-12 teachers to reap benefits from plans and materials they have created?

Several times during the week when I walk into the workroom where I teach, I find the copy machine spitting out lessons, tests, quizzes, and materials that I created years ago, activities that I may not have used for years, but activities that other teachers in my department now use. I believe in sharing materials with my colleagues; however, why is it wrong for me to charge a small fee in order to share my materials with teachers around the globe?

I have had a class website for seven or eight years, and I am accustomed to responding to three or four emails each week from teachers who need help or need activities. I always respond. Before TpT came along and allowed me to sell items online, I spent way too much time sending materials to teachers because I had to type explanations and directions. Now, I can enter all of that information in TpT, and teachers can gain access to much of what I have for only a few dollars. (The most expensive item I have on TpT is $9.) As far as I am concerned, selling items for nominal fees on TpT or similar websites is a win-win situation. Teachers who need materials obtain them for very little money as teachers who have created materials make a little money.

In my early years of teaching, I spent way too much money purchasing published activity or assignment books. Today, teachers can buy better materials for a much cheaper price online. I just wish Teachers Pay Teachers had been around when I first started teaching.

Teachers Pay Teachers

“Before I collect your papers, please turn to the back and write me a note. Tell me how you think you did, how easy or difficult it was to write the paper, whether you allowed yourself enough time or if you waited until the last minute to finish the paper. What grade do you think you will make? Is there anything specific you want me to check?”

Why did it take me more than two decades inside a classroom to recognize the value of the simple act of having students reflect on their work BEFORE they turn in assignments? Many teachers have students reflect on assignments after they have been graded, but I find it is more enlightening to have kids reflect before I read or grade the assignment.

After I grade a paper, I turn to the back and read the student’s note. I make sure to answer any questions that students pose or clarify information that they do not understand. Most of all, I read their reflection before I write my final comments on the paper. If I think the paper is really weak and the student indicates in the note that he waited until the last minute to write the paper and knows it isn’t good, I don’t need to berate him for his bad judgment. Instead, I can tell him to learn from the experience so it doesn’t happen again.

If a student has a weak paper but tells me in his note that he is proud of the paper and thinks it’s really good, I know I need to convey my comments in a way that hopefully will not upset the student and then offer to help the student individually on the next paper.

Often I will have students who write good papers, but in their notes they will tell me that they think their papers are dreadful. Some of these students are frustrated, or have impossibly high standards for their own work, or they are modest and have difficulty complimenting their own work.

Some students will write long notes and tell me how their papers might not be their best work but they enjoyed parts of the assignment and learned a great deal. A few students will share their exasperation of reading the paper and worrying because they know something is wrong with it, but they just aren’t sure what it is. They want help.

Sometimes students write beautiful papers and when I read their notes, they apologize for waiting until the last minute to write their papers, papers they consider to be inferior. I always praise them and say they are among the lucky few who appear to work better under great stress.

Some students actually tell me that their papers are drivel and then apologize for making me read them.

Through the years I have been amazed at how often students are able to see the same strengths and weaknesses in their own papers that I see. While there are indeed times when students think they have excellent papers and I think the paper is weak, this is rare, particularly later in the semester when students are accustomed to my grading.

Student reflections on their own work helps students review their work and think about what they can do next time to improve. Student reflections also help me when I return their work because I have a better idea of how kids will react to my grading and whether or not I need to pull them aside to discuss the paper individually.

If you have kids who are frustrated with their grades or students who always challenge your grading, try giving them the chance to reflect on their writing or their assignments before they submit them. The process certainly would have helped me if I had known to do it when I first started teaching.