teacher mrw

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Archive for the tag “Homework”

21 Jan 2012
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I’m Done

Are you able to recall an incident which greatly disappointed you, but, logically, it really should not have greatly disappointed you?

My eighth grade Onesies greatly disappointed me recently, and, the situation is one that I really should not have taken so personally.

The Situation:  Approximately 50% of the class (there are 13 enrolled in said class) did not fully complete the assignment due, or completed none of it at all. The culprits: Two major assignments for two other courses due on the same day.  But, the larger issue, at least to me, is ineffectual time management, organization, planning, initiative and follow-through.  This particular group of students as a collective seems to be weak all of the aforementioned areas.

The Problem, #1:  I allowed The Situation to impact me to such an extent, I took it personally.  I really should not have, because, at the end of the proverbial day, it its the academic progress and results of the students in question that is going to suffer.  Until they get tired of low scores, perhaps at that time they’ll raise an eyebrow and make the necessary changes.

The Problem, #2: Where are parents in all of this? Learning support specialists cannot do it all, no more than the subject area teachers can.  Mel Levine once said, and I paraphrase here, getting the schoolwork completed is the job of the parent, and not the job of the teacher.  Naturally, I am in whole-hearted agreement with this statement, but frankly, too many parents are not doing their jobs.

I discussed the situation with my Dear Brother, who said that the reason I took the situation so personally is because I care.  But, at the same time, he agreed that the students in question need to get their ish together.

Anyway, short of after-school homework detention club (which doesn’t currently exist at my place of employ, but ought to), and communicating with parents when the work is completed (I send so many homework-related emails that it isn’t funny), the situation is really beyond my control.

So, short of what is within my power to control. I AM DONE. And, it is only January.  ::SIGH::

Posted in At the Schoolhouse Door and tagged , , , , , , ,
10 Dec 2011

Get ‘Er Done

As part of my campaign to raise the level of expectation in my seventh graders – both academically and behaviorally, I’ve instituted the following. Strategies are courtesy of Teach Like A Champion.

1.  Procedures for Entering the Classroom*

a.  Go directly to seats.

b.  Set everything out that is needed for class.

c.  Place homework on the teacher’s desk.  Name, date and assignment must be on the paper, with pages stapled together, if necessary.

d.  Sharpen pencils or **take a sharpened pencil from the teacher’s desk.

e.  Use the bathroom and/or water fountain during the first 10-15 minutes of the block, or the last 10-15 minutes of the block.

*There was too much trickery and foolery taking place at the beginning of class.  The new procedures seem to be working well.

**I’ve given up on the pencil hunt.  If a student needs a pencil, he/she takes a pencil.  If he/she needs it for the next class, then he/she keeps it.

2. Procedures While Teaching and Learning

a.  I no longer ask for the students’ “permission” to teach, e.g.  “We’re waiting for So-and-So.”  When students are taking too much time to get themselves together, I simply let them know that class time is valuable, and that they are either contributing or detracting from that time.

b.  With respect to students talking when I or other students are talking, I simply say, “What I have to say is valuable, and I expect to be heard”, or, “What So-and-So has to say is valuable, and she/he expects to be heard.” That puts the onus on the student causing the problem, and eliminates the rest of us for having to ask “permission” of the student causing the problem.

3.  Homework Rubric

I collect every assignment at the beginning of the class, and correct it according to a homework rubric I created.  I borrowed from various homework rubrics available on the Web to create one that accomplishes what I need for such a rubric to accomplish, which are: Presentation, e.g. name, date, assignment, condition of the paper, and quality and quantity of the work completed.  The Homework Rubric is not only holding me more accountable for what the students know and are able to do, because I am assessing each assignment, but, it also presents students with a standard by which their assignments are being assessed.  So, it’s 360 degree accountability – for teacher and for students.  During the last 20 minutes or so of the class, we discuss the assignment from the previous class, and I make note of common errors and common successes.

4.  Do Now

The “Do Now” has been the single most effective change to the classroom routine.  Why is the “Do Now” effective? For several reasons:

a. It requires students to put pencil to paper, which raises the level of expectation and accountability for the work.

b.  It is brief: Five minutes.

c.  It relies completely on the student’s capacity and initiative, thus promoting independent learning.  The student needs neither me nor a classmate to complete the task.

d.  It encourages the student to review previously-taught material, thus encouraging accountability for content and lesson concepts, and promoting skill-building and practice.

e.  It gets the students into the proper mindset for the learning that will take place.

f.  It allows me to take attendance.

I  will be rolling out more strategies in the coming weeks.  One of the strategies I am road-testing is “Exit Slips”, or, the activity that the students perform before or as they leave the classroom.  Additionally, my efforts to raise the level of expectation with my seventh graders has had positive residual effects with my Twosies and eighth grade Onesies.  While I have not rolled out the program to full-effect with the two latter groups, I am using the Homework Rubric, collecting every assignment at the beginning of class, and starting each class with a “Do Now” exercise.

Posted in At the Schoolhouse Door, The Five Cs: Foreign Language Teaching and Learning and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
06 Feb 2011
2 Comments

Flip-Floppy, Wishy-Washy?

As some of my regular readers know, I underwent the Big Chop in mid-January. Well, yesterday was my three-week maintenance/clean-up trim. Due to the weather – or, at least that which was forecasted – I cancelled my appointment. Although I really like my chic, short, twa (also known as a “teeny weeny afro”), I contemplated letting my ‘do grow out a bit, and, therefore, schedule my maintenance/clean-up trim in about four more weeks.

I am also experiencing a dilemma with students – particularly those, who, for whatever reason, have not the skills, fortitude, resolve, cognitive ability, or, a combination of the aforementioned – to complete and submit work on time.  Things came to a proverbial head when I had a sit-down with my HOD – Head of Department – regarding one student in particular.  I will spare my readers the sorted details, save to say that the student in question has a combination of emotional as well as cognitive challenges which prevent him from being successful with his school work.  The conversation with my HOD was productive and positive.  Additionally, her mission was not to impose her will on me; she is one who respects and upholds teacher autonomy, for which I am most grateful. That said, she gave me lots to think about.

After much reflection on the situation at hand, and, on my orientation regarding accountability and learning, I arrived at the following decision:  I allowed the student in question to complete some recent work for partial credit. Which meant that I had to allow two other students with similar challenges to do similarly with said recent work. Following a one-to-one, eyeball-to-eyeball conversation with each student, I wrote down the work to be completed and the due date that had been mutually agreed upon, and gave the document to the student.  I also emailed each student’s parents, advisor, learning support teacher – if applicable – and my HOD.  All concerned were very appreciative, and my HOD believed that the arrangement was reasonable.

Am I enabling the aforementioned students?  Am I stunting future success in their post-secondary education and career?  I do not know. What I do know is this:  Accountability for one’s learning and all that is related to it is very important to me. However, what is equally important to me is that the students complete the work that has been assigned, develop the necessary skills, and make progress.  Merely assigning a student a zero does two things: Not only does it critically impact the grade, but it also gives a proverbial “free pass” for not completing the work.  Students will no longer be allowed a “free pass.”  They will suffer the consequences of reduced credit, even if the work is completed perfectly. Additionally, they will be held responsible for the work, and accountable to their language studies.

As for my hair, I re-scheduled my maintenance/clean-up trim for next Saturday.  Weather pending, of course.

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24 Jan 2011
2 Comments

*Ante Up and Kick In!

I spend more time than I would like emailing parents about their children‘s low test/quiz scores, and/or their uncompleted homework assignments.  In fact, I did a fair amount of the aforementioned last evening.  As a result, I was frustrated.  I shared my frustration with my Dear Mom via telephone.  I then asked her if she believes a child’s success in school begins at home?  She said, “Yes.  Of course.” She then went on to say that too many parents are so wrapped up in their own that they are clueless as to what is going on with their children and their education.  So, here is my list of things that parents should consider doing in order to ensure their child’s success in school.  Success in school begins at home, and at a young age, with parents setting the tone for high expectations and excellence.

Please note: I am not a parent.  I am, however, a career teacher, and have observed a range of parenting skills during that time.  Additionally, I did run the following by my own Dear Mom, and she gives the list her Mother’s Seal of Approval.

1.  Make sure your kids do their homework. That way, I won’t need to send you an email asking you to make sure your kids do their homework.

2.  Establish structure, routines, and schedules at home.

3.  Ask your kids more than, “How’s it going?”  But, you can start there.

4.  If your kids need tutoring, get it for them.

5.  If your kids need to learn organization skills, study skills, time management skills, and/or strategies for managing their learning disability, get it for them.

6.  Ask your kids what has been assigned, when it’s due, and if they’ve begun the work. If it looks sloppy, ask them to re-do it.

7.  Ask to see your kids’ tests and quizzes. If they’ve scored below an 80%, ask if they’ve sought extra help. And, require them to correct the tests and quizzes.

8.  Have your child tested as soon as possible if you suspect issues with learning.  I’ve met too many kids who have never been tested, are getting ready to graduate from high school, and who’s learning progress screams, “learning disability.”

Sometimes, I want to be able to confront parents, like Rawlins confronts Trip.

*The title for this post is taken from a line spoken by Morgan Freeman’s character, Rawlins, in another favorite film, “Glory”.

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22 Jan 2011

*Gotta Put In Your Own Work Around Here

It’s like the horrible sequel to a bad B-movie. The student who believed his civil liberties were being violated emailed me earlier today. He wanted clarification on an upcoming assignment. Mind you, the assignment in question was posted to the online homework board several days ago – Thursday, to be exact. So…why did said student not simply log on to the online homework board? Why would he email me? I know not the answer to the aforementioned questions, but, as a teacher, I suspect that the student was feeling lazy, and thought I would cop to his plea. However, when I finished responding to his email, he was left with no other option but to log on to the online homework board – all by himself. I wasn’t mean; I merely reminded the student in question of his need to take the proper initiative in such matters in the future. Contacting me was not.

The lesson: Gotta put in your own work around here.

* The title is a line from one of my favorite films, “Training Day.”

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21 Jan 2011

Yes, We Do, and Yes, We Can. Or…

Cover of "Snow Day"

Cover of Snow Day

How DARE YOU usurp my Snow Day!

Such was the reaction of one of my eighth-grade advisees when it was announced to the Advisory group on yesterday morning that life would not be quite the same during future snow days.  Instead of spending the entire day on Facebook, sleeping, or other non-academic activities, students would be required to check the online homework board, and complete assignments.

The aforementioned student’s reaction was uncomplimentary: He let it all hang out.  In the Black community, we would say that the student got ig’nant (ignorant).  He was truly outraged.  He believes that being required to check the online homework board, and to complete homework, on a snow day no less, is a violation of his personal, off-campus time.  I would even go as far to to say that the student’s reaction was rather uncivil, for which I called him out.  Of course, his reaction merely mimicks the lack of civility of our post-modern society, not to mention the ill effects of so-called progressive parenting practices, i.e. “Tell them how you really feel, sweetheart.”  It took my co-advisor and me to calm down the student in question, and to help him to see the the merits of the decision.  I still don’t think he had bought in, but, such as it is.

Me?  I like the decision for students to check the online homework board and to complete assignments on a snow day.  It’s not as if a snow day is a scheduled day off.  Rather, it is the cancellation of a school day which would otherwise have been in session.  So, how is the expectation to complete assignments out of the realm of expectation?  Furthermore, it holds teachers accountable for the teaching and learning of their students.  Now, I like my snow days. That said, I also want my students to be learning and making progress – snow day or class day.  It also gives me the opportunity to devise assignments that are more student-centered and ask the students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do with the language.  For example, I created an online quiz using the “Forms” function on Google Docs, and an online listening/speaking assessment.

So, my 2.5 cents? It’s a proverbial win-win.

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29 Dec 2010
2 Comments

Rethinking Student Accountability

The standard Swedish lunch. The crackers on th...

Image via Wikipedia

After reading the following blog post, I began to reflect more earnestly about the ways in which I hold my students accountable for their learning.  The truth of the matter is, I don’t hold them nearly as accountable to the degree that I should.  When my students don’t complete assignments, I register the grade in the grade book – usually partial credit if the assignment comes at the next class  - my place of employ operates on a block schedule – or, if the assignment does not come in at the aforementioned time, I change the grade from partial credit to zero credit.  If the student in question is a chronic offender, I will communicate with the parent.   However, in this instance, I am merely holding the parent accountable for what his/her child has not done, which, to be certain, is important and necessary.  Yet, this is indirect accountability;  it is even more important and more necessary to hold the student him/herself directly accountable.

After talking with my Dear Mom, I have decided to implement the following after the New Year: When students don’t complete their assignments, we will enjoy lunch, together, in my classroom.  If I have to go and retrieve said student from the lunchroom, in the event he or she should “forget”, then I will do so.  If the student in question desires to have a meltdown, complete with tears and pouting, we will get through it together.  If a parent should feel the need to explain that his/her child needs his/her lunchtime to relax and to socialize with his/her friends, I will explain to the parent that the child made a choice, and that the choice has a consequence.   If the student did not complete the assignment because he/she did not understand the assignment, then even better reason to sit together to complete the work.

Upper school students have more flexibility.  They have a 30-minute period of time daily during which they can seek extra help, complete missing assignments, etc.  That said, a lunchtime meeting remains an option.

I have been reluctant to implement the aforementioned in light of the inevitable static it will produce. Especially if I am the proverbial lone wolf, which I will most certainly be.  My Dear Mom responded to my concern by saying that I should not decide against doing something merely because others are not.  Rather, I need to implement my own program in order to accomplish what I believe is important.  Dear Mom concluded by saying it is about encouraging the students to be the best they can be.

So, in the name of student accountability: Being the Best You Can Be.

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