First of all, I am so glad that we are reading this book. I have spent a lot of my time reading it thinking about how I wish I had known these things about the Common Core as I entered my year teaching. I think that my reading, writing, and language instruction would have looked a lot different - although I am currently tweaking it and making big plans in my head for next year. One of the effects of this book is that I have found that it is easy to beat yourself up about your instruction - at least it is for me!
The first thing that stuck out to me a huge way were the expectations for writing. I mean, did you read those? The sample kindergarten papers were incredible. I felt deeply challenged and deeply distraught as I read through those examples about where my students are as readers. I felt distraught about the standards that I have been holding my students to this year. While, yes, they have grown a ton as writers, the Common Core holds high, high expectations for the tone and process incorporated in writing in the fifth grade. I felt deeply challenged to hold my students to those standards. I want to use Appendix C to show my students what my expectations are and what they are capable of through their hardwork in our writing workshop. This writing is made more probable and possible through integration. Calkins discusses the need to weave writing throughout the course of the day so that students are gaining the time for practice with the different types (not genres!) of writing (p. 105). Through this practice, writing truly becomes a life skill that students can use no matter what occupation they come to in their futures (p. 110).
I was also struck by the research need for the argumentative texts. The expectations of the Common Core are that "student should not just lift quotes from texts and plop them into their opinion and argument writing, but instead analyze their sources of information with more and more nuance, and then use that analysis within that writing" (p.135). This quote blew me away. These are truly things that I did not learn to do effectively until I got to college and truthfully is something that I often still struggle with today. Students have to first understand the content THEN analyze it THEN write effectively about it. That is a powerful, powerful skill. My students have done research to help them with their argument and opinion writing, but so far this year, we have not delved into texts that would drive their writing. I want to think about how I can scaffold this moving forward and make it a part of writer's workshop.
My final realization (although there are certainly many more) is that I really did not know much about the speaking and listening standards. As I was getting to know the curriculum this year, it is something that I largely skimmed over as I worked to consider how to teach my students to use the correct verb tense or find the main idea of a text. These standards are lost often in my school as teachers jockey for control in their classrooms and push students to sit and work quietly. These standards require collaboration and debate and questioning. Reading through these standards and actually pulling them apart reminded me how important these conversations and talking time is. While this is something that is very much incorporated in my room, I want to use this more. The chapter also spoke of "using technology with a purpose" to aid with the speaking and listening standards(p. 167). I am thinking more about how I can incorporate this purposeful technology use with the "rigorous, curricular-aligned conversations" that students are having in book clubs (p.168).
Overall, I am looking forward to getting to know the Common Core standards for reading, writing, and language better over the course of this summer in preparation for next, or in the words of Dr. Smith devour them. This book has been a huge step in that process already. I want my students involved in heated academic debates and writing stellar pieces all through the workings of pointed, instructional research.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
March was weird.
March has been a really weird month for me. Looking back through my reflections, I honestly have not taught much. Between the writing test, benchmarks, and being out sick for two weeks, I cannot believe that the month is over.
It's that scary time of year where there is a ton of pressure being put on the teachers about CRCT testing and that pressure is being placed on the students' shoulders. Reading back through my reflections and thinking about the course of this month and upcoming weeks, I know that that is something that I want to avoid in my classroom. I want to impress upon my students the importance of doing their best without putting unnecessary pressures and anxiety on them. One way that I have struggled with that this month is through the administering of benchmark testing. My school has not used benchmark testing at all this school year up until now. This is the first time that we have used a county normed test to see where our students are and they are throwing on our kids the day after they take the fifth grade writing test and the month before the CRCT. While I am thankful for the data provided, the timing is not conducive for students to put forth their best effort and show the skills that they have gained over the course of this year. The scores from these tests were BAD. Getting them back was overwhelming and quite scary for me as a teacher. I am struggling between the line of trusting my kids and what I know that they can do and putting a ton of doubt in myself about their readiness to take on the CRCT and my ability to help them gain reading skills. This is also coupled with frustration at the amount of instructional time that has been taken or lost over the course of this month.
I think that I am fully realizing the weight of standardized testing this year. Last year, not only was I just trying to keep my head above water, but I was also teaching a less essential subject. My students did not have to pass my CRCT (Social Studies) in order to move on to the sixth grade. This year, I am feeling like the pressure is on. I am working day in and day out to combat that pressure for myself and for my students. I know what the pressure is like and it will not help them to do their best or to focus better or to read more carefully. I am trying to remind myself that they have worked hard this entire year and this is our opportunity to show the learning that has happened in Room 116 this year.
Having said that, I have so many sweet moments with my students to share from this month. I was out for two weeks with some medical issues this month and the outpour of love from the school staff as well as my students was overwhelming. I felt so loved and missed when I finally came back to school. Besides that, my students got two really cool opportunities in the month of March - a writing workshop with Erik Cork and a field trip to City Hall. These two things were definitely the highlight of my month for personal and educational reasons. The writing workshop with Erik Cork was PHENOMENAL (Look up his stuff!). He had the kids up on their feet and excited for the ENTIRE school day. That takes some skill. He used rap to teach the students the power of poetry and songs and gestures to talk to them about ways to raise the level of their writing. The kids loved it and I was able to gain valuable professional development as I watched him interact with my students. I have so many phrases and gestures that I can use with my writing workshop next year to help the students understand the writing process and have fun with it at the same time.
The other fun thing that my students and I got to do was go to the Atlanta City Hall. This trip was organized by a former TFA Corp member who actually taught at Seaborn Lee and now works for Kasim Reed. The students were able to go behind the scenes into offices, meet the Mayor's staff, and explore City Hall. The best part of this was that my students got the opportunity to meet many African American city officials (two of which actually went to Seaborn Lee!). They were able to have conversations with them about the pathways that they took and connect with them on the community that they live in in College Park. I was pointed to thinking more about how to get the community involved in my classroom. I have been doing more of this through the TICC project and as I have gotten to know the school community better but I also realized the importance of bringing other people into the classroom as often as possible to share their lives with my students. There are so many opportunities that my students just don't know about because they have never had any experience with that and having people talk to them about those things makes it easier to connect their lives to their future selves.
March has been weird. I am looking forward to a much more sane, rested, and healthy April.
It's that scary time of year where there is a ton of pressure being put on the teachers about CRCT testing and that pressure is being placed on the students' shoulders. Reading back through my reflections and thinking about the course of this month and upcoming weeks, I know that that is something that I want to avoid in my classroom. I want to impress upon my students the importance of doing their best without putting unnecessary pressures and anxiety on them. One way that I have struggled with that this month is through the administering of benchmark testing. My school has not used benchmark testing at all this school year up until now. This is the first time that we have used a county normed test to see where our students are and they are throwing on our kids the day after they take the fifth grade writing test and the month before the CRCT. While I am thankful for the data provided, the timing is not conducive for students to put forth their best effort and show the skills that they have gained over the course of this year. The scores from these tests were BAD. Getting them back was overwhelming and quite scary for me as a teacher. I am struggling between the line of trusting my kids and what I know that they can do and putting a ton of doubt in myself about their readiness to take on the CRCT and my ability to help them gain reading skills. This is also coupled with frustration at the amount of instructional time that has been taken or lost over the course of this month.
I think that I am fully realizing the weight of standardized testing this year. Last year, not only was I just trying to keep my head above water, but I was also teaching a less essential subject. My students did not have to pass my CRCT (Social Studies) in order to move on to the sixth grade. This year, I am feeling like the pressure is on. I am working day in and day out to combat that pressure for myself and for my students. I know what the pressure is like and it will not help them to do their best or to focus better or to read more carefully. I am trying to remind myself that they have worked hard this entire year and this is our opportunity to show the learning that has happened in Room 116 this year.
Having said that, I have so many sweet moments with my students to share from this month. I was out for two weeks with some medical issues this month and the outpour of love from the school staff as well as my students was overwhelming. I felt so loved and missed when I finally came back to school. Besides that, my students got two really cool opportunities in the month of March - a writing workshop with Erik Cork and a field trip to City Hall. These two things were definitely the highlight of my month for personal and educational reasons. The writing workshop with Erik Cork was PHENOMENAL (Look up his stuff!). He had the kids up on their feet and excited for the ENTIRE school day. That takes some skill. He used rap to teach the students the power of poetry and songs and gestures to talk to them about ways to raise the level of their writing. The kids loved it and I was able to gain valuable professional development as I watched him interact with my students. I have so many phrases and gestures that I can use with my writing workshop next year to help the students understand the writing process and have fun with it at the same time.
The other fun thing that my students and I got to do was go to the Atlanta City Hall. This trip was organized by a former TFA Corp member who actually taught at Seaborn Lee and now works for Kasim Reed. The students were able to go behind the scenes into offices, meet the Mayor's staff, and explore City Hall. The best part of this was that my students got the opportunity to meet many African American city officials (two of which actually went to Seaborn Lee!). They were able to have conversations with them about the pathways that they took and connect with them on the community that they live in in College Park. I was pointed to thinking more about how to get the community involved in my classroom. I have been doing more of this through the TICC project and as I have gotten to know the school community better but I also realized the importance of bringing other people into the classroom as often as possible to share their lives with my students. There are so many opportunities that my students just don't know about because they have never had any experience with that and having people talk to them about those things makes it easier to connect their lives to their future selves.
March has been weird. I am looking forward to a much more sane, rested, and healthy April.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Speak Now
Coming into graduate school, I would not have labeled myself as a reflective person. I would take things at face value and make a judgment on them without much thought except about what was most rational. I found value in making rational and logical decisions without inundating myself with the process of reflection and analysis. As I read chapters three and four in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, two things really stuck out to me - the need for dialogue and the need for reflection coupled with action (praxis). I think these are two of the most important things that I have learned both personally and for my classroom through the course of my journey at Georgia State. They are two things that we have been hit with over and over again - sometimes completely unwilling - that have had a profound effect.
"To speak a true word is to transform the world (Freire, 1970, p.87)." Through my TICC project, I have been encouraging my students to use true words. I want them to say what they mean and express themselves in a way that is both reflective and informed. I want those words to hold value that they can make a change. The need for dialogue about things is present in this. Both myself and my students need to be allowed the space to talk through problems and work with others to formulate solutions. Isn't this how adults solve problems? They reach out to trusted family members, friends, and coworkers when there is a problem that they need to solve. Freire reminded me that there has to be a space for this - not just with my TICC project but in my classroom as a whole.
Students who are able to "name their world" automatically take a sense of ownership in that world. They become "masters of their thinking by discussing the thinking and views of the world explicitly or implicitly manifest in their own suggestions and those of their comrades" (p.124). This says it all. The investigation process through the students' projects has created a forum where they can ask in depth research questions about things that are close to their hearts and a huge part of their lives. Through discussion in their groups, research, and problem-solving based inquiry, they are inundating themselves in HOW to come to a solution with their own ideas and voices in unison with their like-minded classmates. They are practicing the use of dialogue through self-advocacy and giving a voice to problems in their school and community that need to be talked about instead of continually being swept under the rug.
The other part the Freire pointed out that was related to my work was the connection between reflection and action. I do not want to turn my students in complainers or talkers. I want them to be full of action and ready and willing to not only stand up for what they believe in but do something about it. Praxis eliminates passivity. Freire calls for reflection. THE REFLECTION HAS TO BE A PART OF IT. That is something that I have learned over and over again through teaching. Without the reflection and processing and the thought, the action can often be misguided or totally wrong. I will admit that some of my project has turned into rants between my students about the problems that they see that are not solution-based. I think that one of my downfalls in this project is letting that get too far in some cases instead of redirecting the discussions into ways that we can make changes.
For that reason, reflection is so important but action must come next because there is "no transformation without action" (p.87). Transformation comes when the voices move from the hushed tones of teachers and students in their classrooms out into the building where they are expressed and solutions are created. Transformation comes when the students believe what they have to say is valuable and that someone is listening to them. Transformation comes when the reflection behind the scenes in met with the action in the forefront. Freire holds that both dialogue guided by reflection and reflection that leads to action must be a part of releasing the oppressed from their current situation. This applies strongly to the voices of my students that are growing through their explorations in my TICC project.
"To speak a true word is to transform the world (Freire, 1970, p.87)." Through my TICC project, I have been encouraging my students to use true words. I want them to say what they mean and express themselves in a way that is both reflective and informed. I want those words to hold value that they can make a change. The need for dialogue about things is present in this. Both myself and my students need to be allowed the space to talk through problems and work with others to formulate solutions. Isn't this how adults solve problems? They reach out to trusted family members, friends, and coworkers when there is a problem that they need to solve. Freire reminded me that there has to be a space for this - not just with my TICC project but in my classroom as a whole.
Students who are able to "name their world" automatically take a sense of ownership in that world. They become "masters of their thinking by discussing the thinking and views of the world explicitly or implicitly manifest in their own suggestions and those of their comrades" (p.124). This says it all. The investigation process through the students' projects has created a forum where they can ask in depth research questions about things that are close to their hearts and a huge part of their lives. Through discussion in their groups, research, and problem-solving based inquiry, they are inundating themselves in HOW to come to a solution with their own ideas and voices in unison with their like-minded classmates. They are practicing the use of dialogue through self-advocacy and giving a voice to problems in their school and community that need to be talked about instead of continually being swept under the rug.
The other part the Freire pointed out that was related to my work was the connection between reflection and action. I do not want to turn my students in complainers or talkers. I want them to be full of action and ready and willing to not only stand up for what they believe in but do something about it. Praxis eliminates passivity. Freire calls for reflection. THE REFLECTION HAS TO BE A PART OF IT. That is something that I have learned over and over again through teaching. Without the reflection and processing and the thought, the action can often be misguided or totally wrong. I will admit that some of my project has turned into rants between my students about the problems that they see that are not solution-based. I think that one of my downfalls in this project is letting that get too far in some cases instead of redirecting the discussions into ways that we can make changes.
For that reason, reflection is so important but action must come next because there is "no transformation without action" (p.87). Transformation comes when the voices move from the hushed tones of teachers and students in their classrooms out into the building where they are expressed and solutions are created. Transformation comes when the students believe what they have to say is valuable and that someone is listening to them. Transformation comes when the reflection behind the scenes in met with the action in the forefront. Freire holds that both dialogue guided by reflection and reflection that leads to action must be a part of releasing the oppressed from their current situation. This applies strongly to the voices of my students that are growing through their explorations in my TICC project.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Contentment in Chaos
Looking back at the month of February, it is clear that it has been a hectic time for myself personally, in my classroom and within our school. I think that one of my biggest takeaways is learning to make the most of time and be content in the chaos. Between snow days and test preparation, my instructional time has been severely limited with my students. We have missed so much time together but I also think that leaving this month, I am feeling really close and connected to a lot of my students.
I have never been good with loosening the reigns and giving up control. Teaching in an urban school, specifically within a lot of disorganization, I am constantly reminded that it is out of my hands and I have to make the most of what I've got. Contentment in the chaos extends to both my school experience and the occurrences in my classroom. We have lost so many days of instruction to weather which is completely out of anyone's control, but we have also lost so many days due to school programming and writing test preparation. It seems like every week is something new with writing workshops and practice writing tests and Black History Month celebrations. While all of these are important, some days I feel like I have barely seen my students let alone had authentic reading instruction. Within this, I have been learning about how to use the time in my classroom in the most efficient means possible. The fluff gets set aside and we are forced to spend our short time together diving into texts and really trying to make sense of them. We have been working with words of poetry and discussing how the strong imagery allows the author to make a point or create a visual in our heads. We have been discussing the importance of professional writing and how to make the most of the words on your page.
This contentment in chaos also extends to the happenings in my classroom. Chaos isn't necessarily the right word to describe it, but what I mean by this is the ease that I am beginning to feel when I let my students take on their learning and do what they need to do for themselves. Over this month, I feel like I have spent some real time growing relationships with students. I think that not seeing my students as often has really made me value the time with them to ask more questions and listen more carefully. They are doing such an amazing job at asking for what they need and I am truly working on giving them the space to take what they need. Students are taking the time to talk with one another about their writing. They are using the resources around the room with freedom. They are taking control and I am sitting back and watching (sometimes! but we're all still a work in progress, right?). Through this, I have been able to see more trusting relationships grow between me and my students and between students.
The time is often abbreviated but this month, I have improved my practice through patience with school leaders and my students as things happen that I cannot and should not try to control.
I have never been good with loosening the reigns and giving up control. Teaching in an urban school, specifically within a lot of disorganization, I am constantly reminded that it is out of my hands and I have to make the most of what I've got. Contentment in the chaos extends to both my school experience and the occurrences in my classroom. We have lost so many days of instruction to weather which is completely out of anyone's control, but we have also lost so many days due to school programming and writing test preparation. It seems like every week is something new with writing workshops and practice writing tests and Black History Month celebrations. While all of these are important, some days I feel like I have barely seen my students let alone had authentic reading instruction. Within this, I have been learning about how to use the time in my classroom in the most efficient means possible. The fluff gets set aside and we are forced to spend our short time together diving into texts and really trying to make sense of them. We have been working with words of poetry and discussing how the strong imagery allows the author to make a point or create a visual in our heads. We have been discussing the importance of professional writing and how to make the most of the words on your page.
This contentment in chaos also extends to the happenings in my classroom. Chaos isn't necessarily the right word to describe it, but what I mean by this is the ease that I am beginning to feel when I let my students take on their learning and do what they need to do for themselves. Over this month, I feel like I have spent some real time growing relationships with students. I think that not seeing my students as often has really made me value the time with them to ask more questions and listen more carefully. They are doing such an amazing job at asking for what they need and I am truly working on giving them the space to take what they need. Students are taking the time to talk with one another about their writing. They are using the resources around the room with freedom. They are taking control and I am sitting back and watching (sometimes! but we're all still a work in progress, right?). Through this, I have been able to see more trusting relationships grow between me and my students and between students.
The time is often abbreviated but this month, I have improved my practice through patience with school leaders and my students as things happen that I cannot and should not try to control.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
"The goal is clear. The pathway is not."
I have spent so much of this year trying to figure out what I was supposed to be teaching in alignment with the Common Core. I have spent hours pouring over the documents and appendices trying to decipher what my students are supposed to be able to do and how to present it to them in a way that is both authentic and engaging. As I started out as a reading teacher, I struggled to walk to line between teaching standard after standard but wanting to have a reading block where my students were truly engaged with a text of interest. I wanted someone to tell me what the standards meant and outline which texts I should use with my students, which anecdotes I should tell, and which which terms they needed to know and understand. I was caught up in the concrete and missing the point. I still struggle with that in the day to day but reading this book has made it more clear to me that yes, the Common Core is a set of standards, but it's goal is to have students reading and engaging with complex texts. As stated by Calkins, "standards define what all students are expected to know and be able to do, not how teachers should teach (p.13)." It is a goal, not a pathway.
After reading this book, I have a clearer understanding of the Common Core standards as a goal and not a pathway. It gives me the space as a teacher to use what I know about my students - both their levels and interests - to create a curriculum where they will be working with texts that they WANT to explore and CAN understand. The standards "value deep comprehension and high-level thinking skills" (p.25) and "demand a sharp rise in expectations" (p.40). Within this though, it accentuates the need to meet students where they are so that in the rigorous expectations, students are feeling successful because the texts are where they need them. Students need to be matched with the right books to progress up the ladder of text complexity (p.43). Students with IEPs should still be given books through which they can practice their critical thinking skills. Lessons should not be so scaffolded that they become call and response for lower students but are created in such a way that the thought process is laid out but not the thoughts themselves. In this model, students have to KNOW their students. They have to work to provide for their needs, no matter what they are. It is a goal, not a pathway.
Something else that also really hit me was the importance of incorporating informational texts into content areas. This is something that I really missed the boat with last year while teaching Social Studies. I heard all about integration and its importance but Social Studies last year became inundated in test preparation and trying to keep my head above the water. As I was reading this, I thought about all of the missed opportunities with primary sources as stories are presented through a myriad of firsthand accounts. I missed the discussions of biases and what is labeled important. If students are to keep the ratio of reading literature to informational, tying complex texts into the subject areas is of keen importance (p. 89). The Common Core will really be able to work in building these critical thinking skills and high levels of comprehension when it is being used across all subject areas. Informational texts give students the opportunity to take what they are interested in and learn all of its facets through careful study (p.90). This exploration goes beyond the study of fictional characters to encompass things that are happening in their world.
All of these shifts are improbable without providing teachers proper training in the language and implementation of the Common Core. The entire time I was reading this book, I was thinking about how beneficial this would be for so many of the teachers in our building who are overwhelmed as they try to blow through standard by standard and teach isolated skills. They have piles of resources from Good Habits, Great Readers piling up in the corners of their rooms because they haven't been show how to use them. They cannot figure out the language of the Common Core and therefore, their students are given graphic organizer after graphic organizer and articles to read to help them fill them out. While there is nothing truly wrong with that, in general, it becomes problematic if that is ALL the students doing are doing with those texts. So much of the Common Core is thinking beneath the obvious, surface level presentation. I say "they" but I, too, fall into this category often. Once teachers are able to see that the standards are a set of standards and not a national curriculum, they will be better able to come to understand that it is a goal, not a set pathway for both themselves and their students.
After reading this book, I have a clearer understanding of the Common Core standards as a goal and not a pathway. It gives me the space as a teacher to use what I know about my students - both their levels and interests - to create a curriculum where they will be working with texts that they WANT to explore and CAN understand. The standards "value deep comprehension and high-level thinking skills" (p.25) and "demand a sharp rise in expectations" (p.40). Within this though, it accentuates the need to meet students where they are so that in the rigorous expectations, students are feeling successful because the texts are where they need them. Students need to be matched with the right books to progress up the ladder of text complexity (p.43). Students with IEPs should still be given books through which they can practice their critical thinking skills. Lessons should not be so scaffolded that they become call and response for lower students but are created in such a way that the thought process is laid out but not the thoughts themselves. In this model, students have to KNOW their students. They have to work to provide for their needs, no matter what they are. It is a goal, not a pathway.
Something else that also really hit me was the importance of incorporating informational texts into content areas. This is something that I really missed the boat with last year while teaching Social Studies. I heard all about integration and its importance but Social Studies last year became inundated in test preparation and trying to keep my head above the water. As I was reading this, I thought about all of the missed opportunities with primary sources as stories are presented through a myriad of firsthand accounts. I missed the discussions of biases and what is labeled important. If students are to keep the ratio of reading literature to informational, tying complex texts into the subject areas is of keen importance (p. 89). The Common Core will really be able to work in building these critical thinking skills and high levels of comprehension when it is being used across all subject areas. Informational texts give students the opportunity to take what they are interested in and learn all of its facets through careful study (p.90). This exploration goes beyond the study of fictional characters to encompass things that are happening in their world.
All of these shifts are improbable without providing teachers proper training in the language and implementation of the Common Core. The entire time I was reading this book, I was thinking about how beneficial this would be for so many of the teachers in our building who are overwhelmed as they try to blow through standard by standard and teach isolated skills. They have piles of resources from Good Habits, Great Readers piling up in the corners of their rooms because they haven't been show how to use them. They cannot figure out the language of the Common Core and therefore, their students are given graphic organizer after graphic organizer and articles to read to help them fill them out. While there is nothing truly wrong with that, in general, it becomes problematic if that is ALL the students doing are doing with those texts. So much of the Common Core is thinking beneath the obvious, surface level presentation. I say "they" but I, too, fall into this category often. Once teachers are able to see that the standards are a set of standards and not a national curriculum, they will be better able to come to understand that it is a goal, not a set pathway for both themselves and their students.
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