Perception

 

I start each reading class the same way, with a quick write. Sometimes I share poems, sometimes picture books, sometimes videos. Whatever I share, the next step is to write our reaction to that item for two minutes. Occasionally I have the kids share their quick write with each other. More often I have them keep it just for them.

Today’s quick write was a bit unusual. I projected my iPhone up on our whiteboard using the Reflector app. The kids cheered as I opened Instagram. I told them that our share today would be to look through my own pictures that I have shared. We scrolled through the top twenty or thirty, and I gave a comment or two to let the kids know what they were looking at. Many of the kids follow me, and I follow them. And that was the impetus for this lesson.

After scrolling through Instagram this past weekend, I noticed an inordinate amount of selfies. Some kids posting upwards of fifteen in a twenty-four hour period. Looking at their feed I wondered, how was this feeding them? What image did they think they were projecting?

So, I shared my photos. After looking through the past month, I stopped and looked at my students. I asked them to be honest. If all they knew about me were the photos I posted on Instagram, what would they think about me? Their replies were:

·      You like Starbucks, books, reading.

·      Your family is important.

·      You go to a lot of basketball games.

·      You like nature – specifically sunrises and sunsets.

·      You have two sons.

·      You have a dog.

·      You seem nice.

·      You seem happy.

The last two really got me. All three classes said a version of that. Each time I asked, what about the pictures made you think that. The answers varied, but a lot of it centered around a positive feeling they had when looking at my feed.

I then scrolled through again and asked them to look for pictures of me. They found three – all with a friend or loved one. No selfies.

I asked them to pause for a moment and think – if they had Instagram, ponder what their feed would say to someone else. And whether they had Instagram or not, to think about what message they are putting out there to others? Would they be willing to stand in front of their class and ask what the others thought about them? Were they afraid of what would be said? If so, why?

And then, they wrote.

I watched each class for those two minutes. They were focused. Some, a little emotional. Two minutes was over and many continued to write. I brought them back and asked them to look over what they wrote and think, were they happy with what they believed to be others’ perception of them? If so, awesome. If not, how could they change it.

We looked back at my feed and I reminded them, what I put out there online, I am proud of. I don’t post a status that I will regret later. I don’t post photos I am ashamed of. I’m well aware of who I am, and I absolutely like that person. I smiled and looked at these beautiful kids. I want them to like themselves. Selfies won’t necessarily get them there. They aren’t all bad; we found one on my feed – when I got coffee. We looked at it and talked about why I took one that day. I asked them if they use Instagram; use it to share, to inspire, to teach us about who they are. Not to look at it to fill themselves up, but to fill up others. In doing so, they will be happier too.

I don’t think you’ll find today’s quick write tied to any Common Core State Standard. I’m also 100% certain there is nothing else I should have been doing.

Teaching Character

When I went to graduate school to obtain a teaching degree, I took many courses. History of Education, Methods, and more. What I didn’t take – what I think I should have taken, was a course in counseling. A course in social work. A course in how to raise children to make the right choices. Those courses are suspiciously absent from my transcript.

Many teachers joke if we could just concentrate on teaching the “curriculum” then our jobs would be so much easier. How true that statement is. On a regular basis I not only try to teach my students to be readers and writers, but I also worry about:

·      The child who is hungry this morning.

·      The children that are in a fight today.

·      The child that is being left out.

·      The child who doesn’t seem to have friends.

·      The child who is angry.

·      The child who is sad.

·      The child who is sending inappropriate texts, Instagrams, etc.

·      The child who is upset because his parents are divorcing.

·      The child who has wrapped up their identity in being popular and, unfortunately, being mean.

·      The child who is trying to be cool, but really is struggling.

·      The child that cannot focus.

And on, and on. I spend at least half of my day dealing with social issues and every year, that time increases. More and more families are struggling at home. More and more parents, it seems, want to be friends with their kids. More and more kids seem to be lost and searching for their place. Fifth grade is an amazing age – the students are excitable, interesting to talk to, and the possibilities are endless. Fifth grade is also a tough age. You are on the cusp of becoming a teen. Peers are becoming more and more important. You are beginning to see who you will become and what you will stand for.

This week we had some issues – girls are being unkind. This isn’t unusual, more par for the course. But I don’t take it lightly and neither do the teachers I work with. We’ve talked with the kids, met with groups of girls, and still the issues persist. Finally I decided to have a lesson in reading class.

We’ve been working on what we take away from stories – how we can connect to them and how they can inspire us to act, change, become better people. We’ve talked a lot about Wonder and choosing to be kind. Friday I wanted them to see how various forms of media can also cause a reaction or change.

I showed them the following video clip:

Afterwards, we had great discussions. We talked about how we could focus on making everyone’s day better. We asked what our school would look like if we tried to give everyone a sincere compliment. The students filled up index cards with their goals on how they were going to make a change. I hope they do.

As the last child walked out the door on Friday, I glanced at my round table. There was a large stack of cards they had made for me to deliver to my mom. They know her as our sub and my mom and they were so concerned when they heard she was in the hospital. I don’t need this visual reminder to know how kind they are, I’ve seen it so many ways this year. We are still working on being kind to each other, but the potential is there, waiting, untapped. This group has so much ahead of them, but old habits are holding them back. I hope Friday’s lesson sticks with them. I hope they realize that they are in charge of who they become, no one else. I hope they reach high and go for something great. I know they can do it.

If my students were just a little older, I think I would show them this video. I just don’t know if they would understand it yet.

I love how Hank Green talks about how our greatest creation is our selves. You create you. This is so important because this is where my students are – they are creating themselves. And I think his line towards the end is so important. I think friendships are the commodity by which we should all be judged. Who our friends are says a lot about us as people. How we treat them says something else. This is what I hope my students can see. Life is short, we need to live it well.

Lessons from a Picture Book

Recently I was reading a post on A Year of Reading where Franki Sibberson shared how she was teaching the concept of community to her third graders. One of the books she shared was, What if Everybody Did That? Like many books Franki mentions on her blog, I immediately went out and ordered it.

This quick picture book arrived on Friday. As chance would have it, I grabbed it off of the porch after reading a conversation among friends who were lamenting a rule one of our schools had in place for an event they were holding. Some of my friends didn’t like the rule and one friend said to just ignore it and do what they wanted anyway. I then picked up this book.

The child at the center of the book breaks a different rule on each page. For example, what is the big deal if he beeps the horn once while waiting for his dad? One honk doesn’t matter. The next page shows everybody honking with the words, “What if everybody did that?” written across the top of the page. While simplistic in style and the overall message, this might be exactly what I need to help my students see the importance of their actions.

We’ve all been there where we think something we’re told to do, or not do, is inane. Why does this rule even exist? This book reminded me of a few things. One, while we don’t think our small actions make a bigger impact, they do. And two, I have many kids watching me – my own and my students. My actions are teaching them. Every time I break a rule,  *cough* *texting and driving* *cough*, I am teaching those that watch me that they can break rules too. I think this book will be a lesson not only to my students, but to me as well. And for that, I am grateful. 

Teaching Reflection

Friday morning I began the day as I always do, catching up on blog posts. I read this one from Pernille Ripp on what her students wanted her to notice. It made me pause.

I always build in reflection into our day, week, month, year. I tell them over and over that the only way to become a better person is to think about where you are and where you want to be. We reflect on our effort in regard to projects, on our behavior in class, on my teaching, etc. When I read Pernielle’s September reflection I was intrigued by the last question,

For October, I wish Mrs. Ripp would notice

Wow. That question made me pause. What would they answer? For a second it worried me – would it show I had missed something big? And then I shook my head. If I have missed something – do I want to keep missing it or do I want to know what is going on? I wanted to know.

I handed out my September reflection – similar to Pernille’s with several questions about reading and writing thrown in. I read the questions aloud to each of my three classes and explained what our purpose was with this reflection. And then I waited.

For the majority of the questions I got the answers I expected. Several wrote how they have struggled with math and made it a goal for next month. (We’ve switched programs and are fully implementing CCSS, so math has been hard for them.) Several wrote how they feel they’re reading more than ever, which didn’t surprise me. Many kids shared that they’ve had some friend issues but are choosing to be kinder after some of our character lessons. One referenced the Walter Payton discussion I wrote about Friday and how he had thought of it during the football game. And then I reached the last question. I had written:

For October, I wish Mrs. S’s would notice…

Nothing, we’re good.

That some of us do choose to be kind, we’re not all mean.

I really am struggling in the other subjects.

I want to be kind, but others don’t. They are mean to me.

I don’t eat breakfast.

I have awesome reading skills.

I am trying.

I read so slow.

I try my hardest.

I am better than I look at things.

How much I read.

I love to read.

That we love her too.

How hard it is for me to find a book I love.

That I am worried because I still don’t love reading.

I am doing better than I was.

I’m trying.

And on, and on, and on. Eighty surveys. Eighty various answers. Some drew pictures for me and made my heart soar. Some made my heart hurt.

This class. This class I have heard about for six years in our district. This class that I have witnesses some of the most unkind acts at recess in my eighteen years of teaching. This class that is worming their way into my heart. I want to take so many of them home with me. I look at their smiling faces and know the sadness that some of them carry, the worries. How could I have been afraid of more reflection? Every piece of themselves they share with me teaches me something new. I grow more and more determined to reach each of them. To help them grow, change, and learn. This reflection was the best way for us to spend our Friday morning. I can’t wait to teach them Monday with the knowledge I have taken from this. And I absolutely cannot wait to see this group in May.  I think they have more potential for change than any group I have ever taught. Now I just have to get them to believe that too.