out of your control

It is May and behavior is spiking as we all anticipate the Summer ahead.  It often feels like in this anticipation, we get short with each other.  One thing that I have noticed in coaching some teachers is that the students behavior, when it rises to a certain level, must be handled by administration.  Now don't get me wrong, there are absolutely some behaviors that must be handled by administration, specifically when safety or loss of learning for others is involved.

The thing we must realize when we turn over behavior that does not rise to this level is that the behavior, and the solution is now out of our hands.  I have talked to many teachers that are frustrated at times with the way administration handles something that they have turned over.  I would like to propose two solutions to this feeling and frustration.  The first is to go and have an open conversation with the administrator about how the situation was handled.  Your administration acting in a way that they feel is supportive to the situation and willing to discuss.  That is a sign of a good administrator; the open door policy.

The second proposal I have is in the situation that a behavior does not rise to the level of safety concern or taking away from the learning of others.  This is where I choose to be selfish.  Rather than turn the behavior over to another person and living with their decisions, I try to work through the behavior in my classroom.  The first step is to get ahold of parents and let them know what is going on.  Let them know you would rather work with their student than escalate the situation to administration.  Parents are appreciative of that.  Many times they will be supportive and you are able to move forward quickly.  I don't say this to imply that the consequence is simply calling parents.  I am firm believer in paying back the energy or time that a behavior took.  This can be done during lunch or after school.  Make sure to be purposeful on what happens during that time, and have a plan to build relationship with the student.  This will pay it forward to class the next day.  It also helps for the student to know there is a line and you are willing to work with them, not just hand them over to work with someone else.  Students appreciate the line and your commitment to them.  It may not show in the moment though.

I challenge you to give it a try.  Take a different approach and see how it pans out.  Wishing you a wonderful last couple weeks of school.

My "Why", and challenging student

This week I was trying to come up with a plan to help a student that is struggling with meeting behavioral expectations.  As I reflected in the situation, I knew I had somewhat of a relationship with the student, so I figured, why not have a conversation with her.  It was what happened next that took my aback and checked my thinking.  

This is a student that we have struggled to get to classes and have struggled to help with academics as well.  We got to talking and I asked her how she was doing.  She asked, "Do you want my honest answer?" I said, "Absolutely.  I want to be honest with each other, and if there is something bothering you, that I can help with, I would like to.". The next phrase from her was not the answer, but rather a question.  She asked, "Why do you care so much?".  I was able to explain her my why.  Why I left the corporate world and took a salary reduction to teach.  How I have seen educators make a difference in my life and many others.  How I don't know her the other 17 hours a day that she is not in the school house, and how during the 7 I did see her she got my full support.  She told me, "I believe you, and it totally makes sense.  I understand that and feel it too.  I just don't know that I believe that this applies to other students.". Coming from a student that has had much trauma and is in a marginalized group, it was a learning experience.  I asked some follow-up questions and we talked about why she felt this way.  At the end of our conversation, she explained that I do believe you, I believe you care about me, and I believe you will help me.  I do have a hard time trusting you and others though.  I know you care, I just don't know if others do.

What I can't tell you from this conversation is a magical answer, but I can tell you, we must have real conversations.  We must better try to understand our students, be genuine in our actions and conversations, and be willing to show vulnerability with students.  It is truly the way to help students.  If we want to reach the students that are resistant to traditional methods, we must try a different approach.  Be brave and willing to be vulnerable, your relationships will change, and trust will grow.

Teacher of the New Year 2022 Edition

So distance learning ended, your students are back in the school building, and the normal we all hoped to have back is anything but reality.  We anticipated a return to normal for the 2021 -2022 school year and what greeted us was anything but normal, and none of us anticipate that what we are walking through is the new normal either.  We will get back to a place where students have the skills to engage in academics and interact in appropriate social ways, teachers are not buried with finding the gaps in behavioral and academic skills from the 2 years prior, and support staff is supporting and not running triage with mental health supports.

Knowing that we are walking through one of the most challenging situations we have ever seen in education, the question is, how do we ensure we can be our best so that we can bridge the gap and make it out on the other side.  My proposal is that you must take care of yourself so that you can take care of your students.

We have all heard the oh so commonly used phrase in education, it takes a village to raise a child.  It is true, however, the village has to be healthy to raise a healthy child.  We have also heard the statement that a student is a product of their environment, and we need to work for a healthy village to help students move forward too.

Coming off of Winter Break, I have heard from more colleagues than ever that they disconnected more than ever before this break and it felt good.  My challenge to you is to find ways to care for yourself in the midst of this year.  Below are 3 practical ways that I have been doing this so far this year, and some great resources for self care.

The first suggestion is to set work boundaries.  Most in education are guilty of giving more than we have, try to leave work at work.  I have taken the email app off my phone this year, although I must admit I do check it through the browser once and a while.  I have also tried to do my prep for the next day at the building.  I have stayed a little later some nights, but when I go home it is off my plate.  I am able to dedicate time to my family and hobbies, which is recharging.

The second thing that is necessary is community and culture.  Encourage your colleagues to find time, even once a month to connect in a way that is not focused on the school day.  Go to a happy hour and learn about each other's lives outside of school.  A healthy village knows each other on a deeper level.

My third suggestion is to find a resource that will walk you through some self care.  Some of my favorite resources are below, in fact I have been going through a study of Onward with colleagues, and the connection has been great.

Take care of yourself friends.  You are the future of education and the new normal will be better than the old.  Stay strong.

Embedding Behavior Skills into your Lessons

This is an idea that I talked about many times as an Instructional Coach with teachers, pre-pandemic teaching. As we return and look at challenges students are facing after a year and half of changed structures, it is very evident that we cannot continue to push strictly content while neglecting the soft skills. The pandemic has in many cases erased the soft skills that students had prior to a shift to distance learning, and we know this is very frustrating as we try to teach in the classroom. As I move forward in this article, I want you to keep a few things in mind. Students were able to mask themselves behind a screen for almost a year and a half (many times without a camera on), we are all re-learning school, and you are a champion for continuing to give students your best. 

The highlight for today that I want to talk about is beginning to plan your classroom in a 2 fold manner. We know that when walking into most classrooms, we expect to see a learning target or essential question for the learning of the day. The second part that I would like to add to your teaching tool belt is the behavior target. This is trick that we used when looking to help with management pre-pandemic, but it makes so much sense for today. Our students need to re-learn school and the expectations that come with it. 

An example of a behavior target is the following. Students will be able to raise their hands and talk in turn when contributing to a discussion. As the Teacher of the classroom, I know that I don't have the magical mute button that I did a few months ago, so I need to recognize where the breakdown is going to be for students and reteach them this soft skill. Pre-teach the lesson and preface the discussion, refer to both your behavior target and your learning target and go. (It will be helpful to have a specific discussion protocol for this too). Start by explicitly modeling what you are looking for and then gradually release it to students. If students are missing the mark set by your target stop and allow them to reset, teaching what you expect. 

Behavior management is not a strict science, but when we look at the rational behind behavior, we need to assume that students may not understand the expectation first. Students need to be taught these expectations prior to other interventions, and a behavior target is a wonderful way to do this. Keep pushing forward I know you got this! 

For another resource with behavior tips and best practice, check out The Classroom Management Book - Wong & Wong do a wonderful job in helping to develop effective practices.

How to not adjust for Distance Learning

Wow, what a crazy school year.  We can all agree that navigating distance learning, hybrid learning, in person learning, and the ever looming threat of changing models on a dime has caused stress and anxiety.  Not only for teachers and students, but also for our families.  Now more than ever is the importance of developing relationships important and presents a challenge we haven't seen broadly in the field of education.

So they didn't teach you how to build relationships over the internet in teacher prep school?  What now?  Tried and true relationship building is the answer. 

If you can get students talking and learning about the social aspect of each other's lives, you are doing just that, developing relationships with students.  Those that do this best develop strong relationships over time.  Here are a few easy ways to succeed in developing strong relationships in a digital world.

Be consistent.  Don't reserve relationship building activities for the first week or two of a course.  Asking your students how their day is going, how their weekend was, or a question of the day not only lets you learn more about them, it gets them comfortable talking in class and comfortable with each other.  Students will come to class excited to share once this becomes a routine.

Be interested.  Don't be lackadaisical in asking how students are doing.  Students will catch on if you are not interested.  Being interested in students means you are asking how they are doing with the intention of listening and responding.  You may even learn something from the collective group that causes a change in your plans for the day or week.  After all, flexibility is our life in a virtual learning environment.  Why not be intentional in our flexibility?

Recognize students outside of your scheduled class.  Giving a quick call home or sending a postcard home to a student or parent just to check in means so much more than it does during class.  Students and families recognize the extra effort, which pays big dividends in relationship building.  Students will show up excited to see you and know that you are willing to go the extra mile for them.  Often this means they are willing to go the extra mile for you.

Relationships are the key most successful teachers hang their hat on.  Developing the skill to be intentional in this area is a transferable skill that works no matter what model you are learning under.  Just because we are learning something new, does not mean we need to leave conventional wisdom behind.  Think about what you have done best in the traditional schoolhouse and then adjust to make it applicable in your new classroom.  This will also make your transition back much more manageable.  Happy Teaching!

Punishment or Relationship Building

It's that time of yeah again where tempers rise, behavior increases, and we are starting my to feel the effects of being cooped up right before Winter Break.  One thing I figured out a couple years into my career was that detention needs to be looked at not only as a punisent, but rather as an opportunity.

In the educational system I grew up in and many of you did as well, detention was handed out for many different reasons, parents were notified, and life became frustrating at school and home.  Many times detention was served with someone else and used as a loss of time.  This is where I decided to change things and be selfish.

I decided that I would make sure that when I assigned a student a lunch detention or after school detention, they had to serve it in my room, with me present.  I then ensured that the time was meaningful to not only talk about the behavior, bit also to build my relationship with the student.  I got to know them for who they were.  Learning more about thei hobbies and family.  

I found that although this didn't minimize the punative side of detention, it also paid huge dividends.  Some of the students that have me the largest run for my money in class, became my biggest advocates.  Some actually started stopping by on their own time to say hello throughout the day.  Believe it or not, their behavioral choices actually became personal.  They no longer viewed the impact of behavior on the class, but through the impact of the lens of their trust and relationship with me as their teacher.  

Not every student changed their attitude, but most saw change for the positive.  I challenge you to make behavior personal for students.  Give them your best by giving them the true attention they are seeking.  Sometimes a student is challenging you simply to see how much you truly care.  

Embrace the "Why?"

When I first started teaching, I hated the question, "why are we learning this?"  I felt that it was a challenge to the way I was doing things, my passion for the content I was teaching, and took it as a personal attack.

I would like to challenge you moving forward to embrace the "why".  A student asking why simply means one of two things.  Either they are disengaged in the content and are displaying avoidance behavior, or they are analyzing the content and thinking deeper about it's purpose.

If the first of these two are true, students are avoiding, we need to be reflective and think about engagement.  Some questions to ask yourself might be, do you need to build in more movement or purpose to the learning?  Is the content relevant to students lives?  Can you build that connection?  Is the content truly something you should be spending time teaching?

The second reason is that students are thinking about the value of the content.  They are reflecting on the relevance of the content in an ever changing world.  It is alright, do not take it as a challenge to your hard work, rather, embrace it.  Take time as a class to build relevance and reflect.  Maybe the time spent on the content really should be minimized.

The final suggestion I would like to leave you with is for those of you that truly want to embrace the "why".  All good lesson planning starts with looking at a standard and forming an objective or essential question.  This should be shared with your students so they know what they are expected to learn during the lesson, but also as a formative check at the end of the lesson.  What if you started asking  yourself why are you teaching this to your students and started teaching your content with a specific purpose in mind?  My challenge to you is to listen to your students.  At the end of your lesson, ask your students why they think they are learning this.  See if their "why" aligns to your "why".  That's where the learning happens.  Continue to be reflective and let your students help you become a better teacher.

Happy Teaching!