E.L.D. - Story Theatre?

In the Dual Immersion classes I've taught lately, the lesson plan always includes a section on "English Language Development" (E.L.D.) It is usually scheduled late in the day, after lunch for sure and it is more relaxed in foremat. Usually there is a contingent from another class or two to participate. These are kids who don't hear much English at home or in their daily lives. They have a very limited vocabulary in both English and Spanish. No one close to them speaks to them in any language more than the usual monosyllabic, interactive commands and directives of everyday living. There is no exposure to books in the home or visits to the library.

For these reasons I have found lately that they, most of them, just love to do "Story Theater" in English and/or by song. It is full of play with and on words that has been missing in their verbal lives. Some of your basic nursery rhymes and stories are just missing. Fairy Tales, whether they be Grimm's or Andersson's are fascinating to them. You could read them a different one everyday. It was always part of my culture growing up but it is missing from theirs. They may have other stories i.e. "Lorena" or (currently) "Dia De Los Muertos" stories. They are just starved for this kind of verbal interaction.

This past week in at least three different classes/grade levels I tried: "The House That Jack Built" in choral verse and story Theatre. You remember "Story Theater". It was very popular and even on TV a few years back...maybe 20? I remember taking our Indian Guide Boys Tribe to the Music Center in L.A. (smaller theater) to see a production of several stories...including "The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg" - my favorite. It was done with a giant scrim - panoramic screne where the characters, all attached, froze in silhouette. The main characters "narrated themselves" as they performed the story. (that's the pure form of Story Theater) It is very charming and effective. Full costumes and props are used.

Well, with "Jack" we modified it to where the main group of the class was the "narrator" and the actor/charactors formed tableaus only moving when a "key" word was spoken over and over again in the narration. i.e.

This is the house that Jack built.

This is the cheese that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the rat that ate the cheese, that lay in the house that Jack built.

This the cat that chased the rat, that ate the cheese, that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the dog that worried the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the cheese, that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cow with the crumpled horn that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the cheese, that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the maiden all forlorn who milked the cow with the crumpled horn, that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the cheese, that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the farmer (Jack) out sowing his corn who loved the maiden all forlorn who milked the cow with the crumpled horn, who tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the cheese, that lay in the house that Jack built.

This the priest all tattered and torn who married the farmer all shaven and shorn who loved the maiden all forlorn who milked the cow with the crumpled horn that tossed the dog, that worried the cat, that chased the rat, that ate the cheese, that lay in the house that Jack built.

They just loved it and wanted to do it again with different people doing the parts...they choose. Each bold word is a verb or adjective which had a "look" or an "action" attached to it and was only done at that moment in the story. We even added another verse to include the left-over kids in the voice choir as "their (Jack and Jill's) progeny" i.e.

These are their kids, all of them born after the priest...(etc.)

Now, what message do you think this subliminally sends to these kids about how we might feel about "marriage"? It is now coming up for a vote...no it is not part of the curriculum...in our 2nd grades. Any school district will tell you that. But this is the "cultural" moral environment in which we teach/learn. It is bound to be passed on.

We tried to make each "action" or movement connected with the verbs and adjectives very dramatic and decisive. i.e. House = two kids raised their arms/hand facing each other to form a "roof", "lay" = cheese squeezed up into a ball in the "house" "ate" = rat nibbled with his fingers on the shoulder of the "cheese", "chased" = cat made a cat-like clawing motion and hissed at the "rat", "worried" = the dog snarled and bared his teeth at the "cat", "crumpled horn and tossed" = the cow making a crooked "horn" on her head with her right (upstage) hand and doing a "tossing" motion at the "dog" with it and her head. "all forlorn and milked" = the maiden looked sad , downcast and wiped down on her cheek and then did the "milking motion" toward the cow with her two hands going down, "sowing and loved" = the farmer broadcasting the seed motion and then looking over at the maiden and placing his hand over his heart and looking "struck", "tattered and torn" = the priest looked downcast but so serious as he "blessed" Jack and Jill by placing his hand over their heads consecutively, "shaven and shorn" = farmer Jack spruces up by wiping his chin and hair as he approaches the priest and Jill to stand, "born" = the kids, any number romp and play in the audience.

A follow-up would be to discuss the meanings all the new words and phrases and how we used them. We could even have a "writing lesson" follow-up" writing it all down as we remembered it or creating new ways to use the words we learned. What I would've seen years ago is that "whole play" make it out to the playground under a tree and performed "ad lib" over and over again at recess (mainly by girls). You never see any of that kind of "play" anymore...even in kindergarten. The dubious "gift" of TV and force-fed imagery in video games? RRR

Hail and Not Farewell to Pete Seeger

" On May 3rd, 2008, shortly after completing (the above)recordings, Pete Seeger turned eighty-nine. Some might ask, 'Why put out another recording at this late date?' The answer is simple, 'Because.' Because, at 89, Pete is still vibrant and interested and creative." (from the notes of the Album) He still chops wood and drives his car and ice skates on his driveway at midnight. He sill attends the Beacon Sloop Club potluck suppers, collects donations for the VFW, boils maple syrup with his wife Toshi, and stands out in the heat and cold every Saturday at the vigil against the Iraq war - and he still writes songs.

He has long been a "mentor of mine". It started when I tried to learn to play the banjo with Mrs. Chase of the Folk Music Center. She had classes at Memorial Park every week and recommended his book. I soon found out that I was more of a "strummer" instead of a "picker" and I gravitated toward the autoharp and ukulele as accompaniment instruments. My career's goal, like his, was getting people (young people) to sing along with me. (not sing solos) Mostly it worked and continues to work as I now substitute teach. My words and content have been more instructive and less "revolutionary". I was very active in the early Environment Movement which has now caught on again as "The Green Movement". I served in the military (Navy) even though, like him, I was against war. (he was in the Army) I can remember having lots of fun singing "Abiyoyo" after I heard his rendition. It is his playfulness with kids that I like. That is when I'm at my happiest.

His on-going support for cleaning up the Hudson River around where he has lived reminds me of drives and endeavors I got into with some of my classrooms. i.e. We did not live anywhere near the beach but we got all the paraphealia to clean-up beaches. We met at a local park. In my visits around to different schools now days I see very little of this type of activity. Kids like to be active and involved in projects and then learn to read and write better with a purpose for their future. Not much of this anymore. "One of these days...or else", a song on this album, is especially meaningful to us now.

I was so encouraged to hear of the artistic success of Springsteen's Seeger Sessions. To hear young people now singing the songs of Guthrie, Dylan and Seeger with new meaning and it is... heartening. "This Land is Your Land" (all the verses) are still being learned even by Kindergarteners. They get "a kick" out my calling my Uke "Woody"...talking to and about it. They think it is "Woody" from "Toy Story". They don't know, it is "Woody" Guthrie.

Just to think that he is soon starting his tenth decade of this kind of "fun life" gives me hope. He has had some "dark times", like being "Black Listed" and admitting to be a "different kind of communist". I don't aspire to any of that. But, I do believe that I do better with "a cause", something to improve and work on in our schools. That's why I'm continuing to write this blog and teach the way I do. I again could've worked everyday last week. I was requested. I had to take a break and only work three. However, in those three days, I was able to suggest and demonstrate some "rubrics" of change, of hope and fun...not just prep for tests. So, Hail to you Pete. Long may you...wave! RRR

Usage Quotient?

Another week of "guest teaching" and some new challenges and observations were brought up for consideration. I actually worked four out of the five days in seven different classrooms. On Tuesday I started in a very organized 3rd grade dual immersion (DI) class in the inner city. They had requested my services again and I found them just as enthusiastic and well behaved. The twenty of them were grouped(4's-6's), with team names and they were used to working together to help each other with assignments. I tried to motivate individuals/teams by putting up a potential list on the board entitled "Muy Bien Hecho" (Very Well Done). They had responded last time and they did again. There was a "front" to the room with an "ELMO" which is a state-of-the-art overhead that can project book pages etc. and not just transparancies. However, I was encouraged to move around the room to motivate and help groups and individuals. I immediately separated two girls who hadn't gotten along last time and were starting again. They were asked to "write" their opinions in their journals and to share them with each other. There was lots of "evidence" of the importance of writing on their bulletin boards. We even had "visitors"=observers who were from another district or within the district who seemed to be impressed. I would give this class a high U.Q. (usage quotient). My definition of "usage" in writing is right out of the dictionary:1. "The act, manner or amount of using. 2. A usual, habitual or accepted practice. 3. The way in which words or phrases are actually used in a speech/writing community." I actually had the question, over and over, do you want us to write this response in English or Spanish?

The next day, a different school and a vastly different challenge was had. I was replacing two teachers who were being "inservice trained" for 1/2 a day. I started in a First grade in the A.M. and again had a "writing/teaching" challenge. They had a story starting on the "group rug" about a bug that made a "secret-hide-away home". We then discussed if they had ever made or had a secret hideaway at home (made with a draped blanket say). This was a long and lively discussion/contribution of all the possible "forts - tents" etc. We then wrote a "story" about it on a big piece of lined paper as an example...with their suggestions for sentences...at least four. Then a picture of it. They were then asked to go to their seats and produce their own "story"/"picture" or copy mine/ours. They were all gung ho to do it with varying degrees of success. I let them come and ask how to spell key words they needed. I put the words on small "whiteboard slates" and sent them back to their desks with the word(s). It was very indiviualized and rather chaotic. They were involved and using their own language. The key was when they or I tried to read what they had written back to them. This was about 50% successful...but it was a first grade. I'd again give this effort an above average U.Q. but it was much more difficult to get these results.

In the P.M. I was shuttled to three different Kindergartens (one was even a Pre-K) where my challenge was more in the area of teaching decoding, reading rhyming words, and singing songs with the groups that used rhyming words. The key was to get them to listen and repeat those sounds and identify them when they saw them again. We played "Phonics Bingo" over and over again with four different groups. We dipped down deep into my "songs" repertoire. We ended up singing "Happy Birthday" and "Las Mananitas" twice in two different classrooms. Here, with these aged kids, U.Q. was very basic and verbal/outloud. Many/most were not coming from a very verbal family, not rich in vocabulary or even "word play" even making up nonsense words for rhyming. This has to preceed any kind of written expression in my book. What a challenge for these kindergarten teachers.

The next day I was again in another inner city school, third grade, D.I. class. This time the challenge was one of constant interruptions of "pulling out individuals for testing" every ten minutes or so. We again tried some "positive motivation" with "extrinsic rewards" (a special sticker) We called the list: "Ganadores" (winners) to replace the usual list of "warnings for getting in trouble" "Let me catch you doing something good or helpful." There was a great response with many kids trying to help me and trying to get noticed...in a positive way. Here the classroom was orientated to one front with the teacher/overhead/white bulletin board in the center. There was no attempt at grouping or getting them to work together. There was no "creative writing" assignment but a series of fill-in hand-outs to go over as a large group. I went through them by calling on individuals to respond in a very predictable way, so they had plenty of warning. It was hard to do much else with all the interruptions. Their highlight of the day was "Silent Ball" played with my "Balzac". I'm afraid I'd have to give this class, these 3rd graders, a lower U.G. because there was not much evidence of their attempts at "usage" of their language, Spanish (30%) or English (70%) as advertised in the lesson plan.

Yesterday, my final day of Usage Observation, was probably the most revealing and pathetic. It was a combination 4th-5th class (not D.I.) and again there were on-going interruptions for testing. However, the other big challenge was the "movement/shuttling" of 1/2 or more of the class every hour or so. This was an attempt to have a more homogenous grouping for teaching Language Arts or Math. I still have a room filled with desks and backpacks on the floor, with 34 plus in each group.
(hardly space to walk/get around to help and observe/correct spelling tests on the spot.)

The Language Arts Fifth Graders were being asked to all write a paragraph about "A Favorite Relative". This was first facilitated?by an "organizer sheet" asking for topic sentences and then supportive detail/reason sentences. They had to fill that out first, then write the finished paragraph in their spiral journal notebook. Of course, we got the questions, how many sentences was minimum? and what is a relative? It was a valid test of their U.Q. I thought and I was looking forward to reading their attempts at this assignment. However, we all had to do a "reading assignment" follow-up sheet. Earlier in the week, I guess they had read a story in their Reader about "La Bomba". They had to listen to the CD of it again and follow along in their books. This was no problem and it took about 15 minutes. The response sheet asked five multiple choice questions about the story and two essay question responses of a sentence or two. I corrected these sheets later and found that they responded to the multiple choice questions with ease but the essay questions were another "story" (pun intended) They didn't get what a "summary" was and only one or two even got close to summing up the "Bomba Story". They were mostly telling how they felt about it. The other question was also lost on them. i.e. the pivotal role of the friend/relative trumpet player in scratching the performance CD to cause it to skip and repeat. There were few capitals, punctuation marks or standards of usage.

I also noticed that their traditional Friday Spelling/Vocabulary Test had no usage component. They were asked to spell 20 words in printing or cursive with no capitals. They were asked to then match them to pre-written definitions on the same page. I asked them if they ever wrote them into sentences, one or two spelling words per their "made-up" sentence (underlining the words)? Nope.
This, at the fifth grade, is one of the best "usage" exercises and should be always given for homework first. I would give extra credit for two or more spelling words in the same sentence or exclamation, declaration or question with the proper punctuation. This would prove that they really knew how to use the words and their meanings. So, I'm afraid that this last class would get a very low or even no U.Q. A quotient is the name of an answer in division. When you divide by zero, in our schools, what do you get? RRR

Froggie Went A - Courtin'...

Poem by Jack Prelutsky

The frogs wore red suspenders

and the pigs wore purple vests,

as they sang to all the chickens

and the ducks upon their nests.

They croaked and oinked a serenade,

the ducks and chickens sighed,

then laid enormous spangled eggs,

and quacked and clucked with pride.

This is the first poem, title poem, in a anthology of poems from the Poetry Foundation and its "Children's Poet Laureate" - Jack Prelutsky. This past week, I found myself four out of the five days in a cute, little first grade class reading books like this to my charges. When I got there the lesson plans were all laid out for the whole week with all the extra procedures and instructions that, "I was allowed to make any supplemental additions to those lessons." So...I have a "bag of tricks" that all subs must have full of stuff I like to share. This was going to be a "fun" week, I thought...

Well, I came to the end of the day (which seemed long) and then realized that I hadn't "covered" all the math. It was still in the pile on the desk. "Oh oh, now I'm in trouble," I thought. I decided to come in early the next day and see how I could fit in the missed Math. I noticed that the regular teacher had already been there. The lights were left on and her purse was still there. I hurried to plan "my plan" and then she walked in. She was very concerned to say the least. I could skip other things, but not Math. Those lessons were numbered daily and it was "tight". I assured her that it was inadvertant and that I would redouble my efforts to "catch up". The objective for the day was to teach "sums up to 4, 5, & 6". I had done that with a very popular game that everyone watched called "Gopher It". In it, you collected cards of nuts, carrots and apples by digging them out of a central pile. In up to three consecutive, elective turns, you could not duplicate a draw or you would lose your turn and what you drew.(a bit of gambling) They loved it and were adding their little heads off. I thought that "covered" the objective of the day without using the overhead transparencies, fill-in sheets etc. Wrong. Well, the next day I did plan to use everything including the "manipulatives" two-sided/colored coins for counting. Now we had to review 4,5,6 and teach sum of 7,8.9. & 10, 11, 12.

We, the regular teacher and I, went back to the office to get the roll sheet and check about upcoming assignments. Evidently, I was now not need on the following Mon. and Tues. and that had to be changed in the computer by the secretary. On the way we passed by the Principal's Office (my favorite one) and the teacher, in passing, told the principal that "things were better" she had run into me when she went back to her classroom. "Wheeew!" Yep, she had "told" on me. Boy, the pressure must be tight to use the "prescribed materials" with no creative deviation by a "master teacher" who likes to teach with games and songs.

Later on, in the week, I was informed by my next-door-neighbor teacher that I was to "walk" my class all the way to the playground at recess and keep them in line and quiet...even when I was taking them to the "exciting awards assembly". She never introduced herself or followed up on her "correction" of me, a lowly sub, or my "unruly class". I must say that another teacher in the first grade team did remind me of the "Fund Raising Assembly" and the "Disaster Drill" (probably planned) just before they happened. I thanked her. Another "team teacher" told me to bring my class right from recess to the assembly. I had decided to calm them down for five minutes in the classroom since I had checked with the "fund raisers" and they had said the assembly would start, ten minutes after recess. Guess what, we were late. They started early. We, of course, came in too noisily. I, mistakenly, had told the kids to quietly sneak down the hall and into the assembly "like Ninjas". The boys took me literally and were doing "summersaults" Big no-no! Oh, well...The assembly was led by one of most positive, encouraging administrator/leaders I know. Too bad "her wonderful attitude and ways" don't rub off more on her team of first grade teachers.

Part of the problem might be that wherever I go now on that campus kids of all ages are calling out my "name" in a friendly greeting. Why? I've been volunteering there in the Kindergarten for four years. One of the teacher commented about my "popularity" as we walked to recess. She didn't know that I had been doing that for four years. What do I do?...and still do?

I bring songs and skits and games as supplements to all levels. I try to have fun and make their learning fun. They seem to remember that. Case in point:

The Frog Suspender Poem/book reminded me of a wonderful song that I used to sing and act out with my classes:

Froggie went a-courtin' & and he did ride

*A-huh, A-huh

Sword & pistol by his side

**A-huh, A-huh, A-huh

Well, he rode down to Miss Mousie's door*

Where he had often been before**

He took Miss Mousie on his knee*

Said, "Miss Mousie will you marry me?"**

"I'll have to ask my Uncle Rat,*

See what he will say to that.**

Without my Uncle Rat's consent*

I would not marry the President."**

Well, Uncle Rat laughed and shook his fat sides*

To think his niece would be a bride**

Well, Uncle Rat rode off to town*

To buy his niece a wedding gown**

Where will the wedding supper be?*

Way down yonder in a hollow tree**

What will the wedding supper be?*

A fried mosquito & a roasted flea**

(veggie = 2 green beans & a black-eyed pea)

First to come in were two little ants*

Fixin' around to have a dance**

Next to come in was a bumble bee*

Bouncin' a fiddle on his knee**

And next to come in was a big Tom Cat*

He swallowed the frog, the mouse and the rat**

And last to come in was a big ol' snake*

He chased the party into the lake**

Well, you can imagine how much fun this was for them, and me. We read the poem Thursday and sang the song with dramatic action on Friday.(I just had to wear my red suspenders that day) We had to do it twice...and could've done it again. When the snake finally slithers in...there is panic and screaming. I'm sure we'll get complaints about that. Oh well, probably won't be invited back to that class/team again.

The first time I heard that song was from my dad on his old, covered, front porch in Kentucky. It ignited such images in me, I never forgot his lesson and the fun of that song. This, I think, is the way we pass on our "culture" and the fun of learning, rhyming, chain of predation etc. Pretty hard to "test" for this kind of stuff...don't you think? RRR

"Moxie"

Meet "Moxie-Crime Fighter"

Ferocious Feline

My Grand Kids' Guard Cat

I would venture to say that most of the students and teachers I work with have pets. They love them and care for them more than their "homework". They teach them "lessons" that are just as valuable and important as any school curriculum "rubrics". Probably the biggest one is one of my most important "R's" - RESPONSIBILITY - These cute, little creatures rely on us/them to "love" them and protect them. They provide "practice" for bigger responsibilities as they grow up and mature.

If you want to get "instant buy-in" on a school assignment, make it one about the student's pet(s). Most kids love to tell you all about their pet and will write pages about them. They will bring in pictures, make posters and volunteer to bring them to class for a visit. In my long career, I have found it very useful to agree to those visits, for an hour or so just to be able to get through to a "reluctant" or uninvolved learner. I've had snakes, guinea pigs, ferrets, and many dogs and cats make the visit. Then, of course, everyone in the class, not just the owner, has to write stories about them and their care and feeding. We have had "Pet Faires" where they all bring their animals on a certain day/hour. This stimulates lots of verbal interaction and can even produce many a "math lesson" about their life-spans and costs of care.

When I first started teaching there was this article in the newspaper about "Room 8" This was a cat that had adopted a class room of kids and was allowed to come and go all during the day/semester. No one knew where it really lived or where it went at night or during the summer vacation. It kept coming back each new year. It was an inspiration to those classes and the kids actually cared for each other more because of that cat.

When I "student taught" I had a master teacher who wanted to give me his snake to start my first classroom with. I was all jazzed to do it...except that I would have to keep it over the summer in my garage. My young wife, we were newly married, put her "foot down". No snakes. It was either her or the snake. I had to find some other "classroom pet" to start out with. We had hamsters, mice, rats, fish, but no permanent pythons. One of those early years a kid brought in his "pet snails". We observed them "scientifically" and tried different foods on them. Several boys dared each other to "eat" one as "escargot". I tried feeding them oatmeal and water to get rid of the green slime that continued to ooze out of them. In the end, no one was actually brave enough to sample one, not even the teacher.

As a family, we probably had more cats as pets than any other animal. We had had some sad experiences with dogs and fish/aquariums. Two or three times I had my whole class writing daily journals to my "literate" cat. I had found a rubber stamp of a paw print...so all I had to do..."was leave out a bottle of ink...and my cat would dip his index claw in a spill and write little notes in their journals over the weekends and at night when his master, me, wasn't watching." Wow! Did that take off! Everyone wanted to write to my cat and find out all kinds of secret stuff about me. He would scold them, in writing (printing) about improper spelling and capitals and sentences etc. Many kids were eager to "suspend reality" to use their creative imagination and write to a/my pet. Sometimes their pet would write to mine. These were normally kids who had trouble writing less than a half page a day about their life, which I required weekly.

"Moxie" what a great name for a pet cat. (a cute kitten, right now) It means "courage in adversity". Boy, what I could do with that...in a classroom. What does your pet's name mean? Why did you name them that? What is it's personality? What could it teach you? Do you have "moxie"? Does it have "spunk"? Will you need it to get through school?...to survive life? RRR

Fund Raisers?

Money makes the world go 'round,

The world go 'round,

The world go 'round...

Yes, it's that time of year again in our Public Schools. Don't you just love it. Sad to say, selling and collecting things for money is now, even more so,a vital part of the curriculum. From Kindergarten all the way to High school, students and their parents and relative/friends are "expected" to help raise funds for all those "extra curricular activities" that would be missing if the schools just relied on the taxes. "Now, kids, here's how you sell, sell, sell!" This is not the "hard sell", this is the "guilt sell".

When I first started teaching...back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, selling stuff to help the school's budget was unheard of. Kids might be caught selling other "stuff" to each other, but, back then, it was rarely a "hard sell" if you know what I mean. Candy, gum, cinnamon sticks that burned your mouth, this was the merchandize. There was no "quality control" back then and my folks warned me not to buy or taste..."because you never knew where those sticks had been" (images of toothpicks dipped in dog dirt on the way to school before the sale). One of my sons used to sell "Jolly Ranchers" (sour candies wrapped up) to his friends between classes in Jr. Hi. Part of the thrill of it was "not getting caught". He then branched out to "widgets", as he called them. He found old bicycle chains, took them apart, cleaned and polished them and then linked back together in groups of three or four to make a "handy plaything". They sold, big time. Now, he's a "bench jeweler" and still makes good money. When I ran the student store as a 6th grade math project for the school, we got the "idea" to make money for our field trips by creating and selling (at that store during recess, before and after school) "Philberts". These little hazel nuts looked cute with little eyeballs and feathers, felt feet etc. They came with printed "care instructions". They loved to "sit on the corner of your desk and watch you work". You were cautioned never to put two, together in a "darkened desk"...They sold like hotcakes until the principal and several teachers "banned" them. We went on our field trip though.

Back then we had "Paper Drives" on a school-wide basis. Rooms competed against each other for the "grand prize" of a "movie" or an extra recess. It was at one of those cursed "paper drives" that my wife, in unloading our contribution of papers in the parking lot, lost her engagement diamond. It must've been picked up by the tread of the tires of the next car in line. Magazine sales were big at Jr. Hi. They probably still are. Discounts on magazine you could never ever get through...all for that good "cause" of "band uniforms" or extra orchestra instruments.

Yesterday, while I was subbing in a first grade, I had them coloring illustrations for their "free writing" (stories). During that "free time" I was instructed to "yank out the center of all the sales booklets going home" It was 4 pages on how to sell magazines. I guess the principal didn't want these K-4th selling magazines yet. There were "wonderful" and fairly cheap items of all kinds for sale and "glorious prizes" increasing in "value" for the more you sold...took orders and collected the checks/or cash. The assembly announcing all this was "very motivating" with lots of "audience response" (yelling) called for and gotten. Hover craft, heliocopters, electric cars (remote control and hands-on) were all there on display for motivation...if you just sold 15 or more items. Then the "whole school" would be eligible for an "X-Treme Party" with massive inflatibles on the field (not just bounce-houses) Well, there went the rest of the day...no I didn't let them see the booklets. They were stuffed in their backpacks to go home.

So now, we are not only teaching kids how to take more and more types of tests so we raise our pre-to-post scores and get more funding, we are also leading them into the world of "super sales" and using all the "extrinsic motivations" of that world. I would guess that the upper grades could have lessons on "bookkeeping" and adding up all the sales figures. They could plan and plot how to sell the most expensive items for greater profits and quicker numbers for rewards. Most of these kids don't have parents who work in offices. If they did, they could send the broschures with them and "big sales" would return, especiallly if their parent(s) were "bosses". This is the way it is done now days. Early training as little "capitalists". Don't you just love it? RRR

The Importance of Self Disclosure

In our profession, as in many, a key factor is openess. If you want the students you work with to try their hardest and commit to their learning, your teaching and improvement, you must allow them to feel unthreatened, and free to "make mistakes" and learn from them. One of the best ways to do this is to "model" it yourself as a teacher and guide. In that initial example of self disclosure you let them know that they will not be ridiculed or deprecated in front of their peers. It is also very valuable to let them know about "you" and what makes you happy, your interests. I try to do this even as a "sub" coming into a class so I look more approachable and less intimidating. It especially works for the younger ones. When I goof, in front of them, I readily admit it and show no embarassment. I admit to my short-coming up front and assure them that I expect them to have some and do the same. A non-threatening environment is the best for learning and making new friends which is also a big part of school.

This past week I was pleasantly surprised to witness this going on at my favorite school with my favorite administrator. Yes, even principals could follow this advice: "Open yourself up more to your teachers and students. Be approachable and accepting of suggestions." This time I peeked in the office and had to wait to be acknowledged because a little 1st grader was sharing his little "bio-assignment" with the principal. This, I found out, is often done at this school. Reward and recognize a student(s) when they do something good by sending them to the principal. Usually it used to be only for something bad...and a tsk, tsk. Catch them doing something good and reward it, not extinguish it. I was told that this principal had recently told each class about her/himself in a sort of bio and how they got to be principal. Then they were encouraged to write back about themselves. Can you think of the positive presidence this sets for the future with this child?

Later that day I was in a class at another school. It was the first time I had volunteered there. I was visited by both the principal and vice principal, shall we say, "observed". With the former, there was no interaction with the students, the resident teacher or me...just checking to see if "I was following the lesson plan". With the latter, much more open and approachable. I was introduced as I was with my small group of "Math Game Players" and I actually shook hands. This is a big new school with at least 5 teachers per grade level.

When I was into my own career and actually studied for being "an administrator". The emphasis then was more on "school manager" not "educational leader or inspiror". What are the qualities of a good leader or motivator? For teachers as well as students? From my point of view, after a few years of observation and working for/under more than a dozen principals, I vote for the "more open and self-disclosing" leader. There can to some relaxed joking and teasing but mostly what you want and expect is "Earnestness" Truth in valid interactions and the absence of "threats" or negative consequences.

I was in my first classroom subbing yesterday. I couldn't help but notice in this 5th grade class, the absence of any of the above. There were at least three systems in place for dealing with discipline and disruptive behaviors: names on the board, warnings, clothes pins pinned in colored areas on a chart from green to yellow to red to black...all with increasingly negative consequences. There was a binder with pages of names, times and incidents already inscribed. On the positive side, there were "group points" for paying attentions and participating...but they were all confused and arguing about which group was which numerically. I even read them the seating chart with the group numbers. No wonder kids starting at these levels are increasingly turned off to the "class experience" of learning. I tried to add a bit of positive fun/games and play to a lesson plan which had none. We played "20 Questions" to reinforce "nouns" and we did some choral, dramatic reading with them after P.E. It was amazing how many didn't want to "risk" getting into character in front of their peers...even at this young age, 10+. This was at a "Middle School" where they are grouped with olders and rotate classes. Lots of "socialization" going on in between classes. Now that's when there is "self disclosure" to each other but I'm afraid it is more "role disclosure" and posing for each other. It might be better to leave these 5th's with their younger "home neighborhood schools" where they can be more themselves without such social pressure and intimidation. What do you think? RRR