Thanks for Talking

Mrs. Willis asked me yesterday if I was going to write about communication in my blog for this week. She was right. That topic has consumed much of our jobs in the front office lately. Getting parents, students and teachers to communicate often solves the majority of problems in a school. 99% of the time, both parties can come to realize that we are all here for the same reason and that no one is out "to get" the other party. Without communication, we often assume the worst and become defensive. We build up situations in our heads and make mountains out of mole hills.

Greene Central's administrators, counselors, front office staff and so many of you have been helping facilitate conversations lately about student performance in school. We are at that point in the semester when we get the ever-annoying question, "What can I do to pass?" Every educator has that sarcastic answer in the back of their minds ready to go, but what we really end up doing is communicating about the problem. We speak with parents, coaches, family and community members to find what motivates students to finish what we started. The process can be frustrating, but without the communication, no progress takes place.

Thank you to all of you that help facilitate the daily communication for our students and our school. Whether you are the one that found the correct number to call a student's mother, translated for a Spanish-speaking family or counseled a student that only listens to your voice, you made communication work and gave a student a shot at success.

Comfort Zones

The term "comfort zone" came about when the first heating and air conditioning systems began being installed in homes. Rather than have a thermostat that was fixed on one specific temperature, requiring the system to cut on and off regularly, a temperature range of about three degrees was programmed in. This range was called the "comfort zone." Today we use this term more often to describe what we are comfortable with in our lives. Daily transactions with our friends and family, good health and a little money in our bank accounts often leaves us right where we want to be. When something disrupts that we can be as uncomfortable as living in a home with no heat and air.

Our school and our classes all have comfort zones as well. We find patterns for what works and what doesn't and we get used to routine. We like teaching one way that works for us and for most students. Then comes that student or parent that disrupts that. (Ok, maybe that principal disrupts it too.) Sometimes this is good because it makes us think about what we do and why we do it. We learn to refine practice and adjust that comfort zone. Reflection is one of the most important things we can do as educators. We need to think about what we do and do not do and make decisions, often tough ones, about adapting our practice. This is what Standard 5 of the Teacher Evaluation Rubric is all about. Please take some time to reflect on your practice and your comfort zone and determine where you might need some adjusting to maximize your effectiveness. Your adjustment just might make everyone's comfort zone a little bit better.

Cast Down Your Bucket

I always find it funny when we acknowledge simple practices in one aspect of our lives, but cannot apply that same practice to something else. The phrase "meet them where they are" has become a little cliche' in the education world, but the practice is really quite simple. I've been met with this idea is so many different places lately and this seemingly simple concept becomes quite difficult to practice. Think of a water well. It's just a deep hole that meets ground water. When you want water, you send down the bucket, fill it, and bring it back to the top. Simple. Easy. Anyone could see that if you only sent the bucket down halfway and asked the water to meet you in the middle, that you would never be satisfied. The well analogy is an old one. Booker T. Washington popularized the concept at the turn of the 20th century as others made the argument for African Americans to return to Africa in response to discrimination in America. Instead, Washington encouraged African Americans to "cast down your bucket" and pull up the best of African American culture here. They had to start where they were and focus on moving up, not away.

This week I have had several data conversations about EVAAS and conversations with parents about student behavior and performance that fell within this same analogy. As adults and educators, we want and even expect students to be at a certain level of behavior and education. That doesn't always happen. It frustrates us. How can we work on higher order thinking skills when a student reads or does math significantly below grade level? How can parents talk to their children about college and life if all they want to discuss is their friends or music? We have to meet them where they are to start. Otherwise we are just sending our bucket halfway and asking the water to come up. Understanding this analogy requires us to change as the motivator or teacher and that's hard. But refusing to adapt is only as effective as yelling down the well for water to come up.

Mirror Neurons

The story goes like this: In Parma, Italy, researchers in the 1990s were studying the neurons of monkeys. Devices were attached to the monkeys and brain scans showed when individual neurons in their brains activated. The purpose was to determine what neurons activated as the monkey made reactions. While studying a monkey, a scientist walked into the room eating something (the story varies here) and the neurons of the monkey begin to fire as he sees the scientist eat. The strange thing was that the same neurons fired in the monkey watching someone eat as they did in the human actually eating. Who knows if this is how mirror neurons were actually discovered, but the point is that they actually do exist. People (and we think several other species as well) actually have neurons in our brains that are wired for empathy. We can see someone in distress, happy or in fear and we can instantly feel the emotion that they feel. This probably explains why we watch feel-good movies during the holidays or get that creepy feeling when we see someone else with a spider on them.

Knowing this, just think about the impact this knowledge has on education. As the teacher, you have the power to directly impact student attitudes and emotions based on your own. The key is to controlling ours and not letting the student emotions control our neurons first! In our Grit book study this week, I shard a thought that I have long held about teaching. I strongly feel that great teachers are also great actors. They perform for an audience several times a day. The best teachers change the story or the main character's actions based on how the audience reacts. They can recognize what the audience needs and can ad-lib appropriately. By doing this, science says that they are literally controlling their minds.

So just think about this the next time you start that tough class period or have to deal with that difficult student. Both of you are wired for the power of mind control, but only one of you gets to use it first.

Where Are You Going?

"Where are you going?" It's a phrase often heard in the hallways of a high school. On any given day teachers and administrators ask students where they are headed. They may be in the hallway without a pass, in the parking lot or on a hall during lunch. Whatever the reason, we want to know where their intended destination is. Having a direction keeps you from wandering aimlessly. While students may know where they are headed in the hallway, how many of them have a direction for the school year or beyond high school? We often talk about students being unmotivated, but think how hard it must be to be motivated when you do not have a goal. So often, I speak with students that have no idea what they want to do after high school. They have no goal. Without that goal, they have no reason to make good grades or apply themselves in certain areas. Kids today have grown up in a mass media culture that
tells them what to wear, what to eat and what to listen to. So is it any wonder why they struggle to answer that question for themselves, that they struggle with the process?

Now that we have talked about students, what about us? What do we want? Do you want to be the best teacher? Do you want more kids to score well? Do you want kids to be better writers or thinkers? As a teacher, what do you want? Can you answer it? If so, what are you doing to make that your main focus? In essence, "Where are you going?" Take some time to focus on finding direction for yourself and help your students do the same. When we know where we are going, we are much more likely to be satisfied with where we end up.

Why Students Care (Or Don't)

Teachers are equipped to deal with learning disabilities. We have methods and procedures for overcoming language barriers, broken homes, and cognitive impairments. The biggest problem that we do not have a manual for is apathy. So what makes some students care and others not care, and why should we care? Those of us reading the Grit book have an answer to this question. While the author acknowledges that grit is naturally higher in some than others, grit can also be learned and grown in everyone. The first key to growing grit is finding a person's passion.

It seems like a no-brainer, but people tend to do better and grow more in areas that they have an interest. Our problem in schools, is that not every child comes to school with a genuine interest or passion for what we teach. In fact, some kids down right hate what we teach. So how do we move beyond that hate and generate a passion for what they do not like? Easy, build relationships first. All good teachers do it. A student may not care about what you teach, but they can care about you. I barely remember all of the things that I was taught in high school, but I do remember working to please my favorite teachers. Building a relationship with your students is an important first step, but it is not the only step. Leveraging that relationship toward understanding curriculum is what has to happen and that's the difficult part. Many teachers are good curriculum presenters or good relationship builders, but those that can make both happen are the ones that do the most good.

I wanted to say thank you again to those of you that have already taken the Positivity Challenge and I encourage the rest of you to jump in as well. It's never to late to appreciate others!

What Students Bring to School

It's almost so normal, that we don't pay attention to it anymore, but think about all of the times a student did not come to school with paper or a pencil. You (like me) probably rolled your eyes, and worked to provide the student with what they needed to make it through your lesson. It is easy for teachers to complain about what students do not bring to school. We find ways to get around this problem most of the time because doing anything else is counter-productive for us.

With all of the things that frustrate us about what students do not bring to school, it is easy to loose sight of what students do bring with them every day. Students bring the thoughts and words from their households and community with them everyday. These ideas cloud their judgement at times and keep them on the right path at other times. This week I have been hit hard with parent fears about their children. America is very divided right now. Politics, religion, race relations with police, immigration, terrorism and many other factors flood students ears at home and they can't help but bring these ideas to school with them everyday. As the election approaches, we are likely to see outward expressions of these things that students bring to school with them. I want for us to treat these the same way that we treat the missing pencil. We give them what they need to be successful in school and in life, and despite our personal frustrations or disagreements, we teach them anyway. Young minds are impressionable in many ways, and while they may hear things that we do not agree with, we still have to show them how to be the best person possible. They will remember that part as well.