Accelerated Radar

Well, we'll just call him 'Radar', Spot! He arrives late, tries to sneak out to go to the BR or the nurse, and he never, ever has his homework...that's when he generally tries to bail. And how do you come to reading and not have your book? It's just plain maddening, Spot. But your buddy, Radar is a charmer, first class.

To some, my reading students are known as the 'goal-huggers', I don't know. I never can see a kids as a number. But many of my kids just can't seem to get themselves over the hump numberwise. Radar loves to read, but isn't great at putting a pencil to the page and writing about reading. He picks the hardest books and only half finishes them. And he's a w-i-d-e writer...spreads his words way out--about three or four words to a line. He sure can fill up a lot of lines. Trouble is--those lines are filled with nothing. He's the sixth grade verson of Seinfeld--writing all about

n-o-t-h-i-n-g.

He wanted in the worst way to read The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. He caught me reading it. So now? We're working up to it. But Radar? He's not living up to his part of the bargain. So, he knows I've got my eye on him. Today he picked out a Margaret Haddix book, Among the Hidden. (You just gotta love the irony!) We divied up the pages, and set a few goals. And next week--it's on to the journal! No mercy, Mr. Radar...you are on my radar now!

Beware of the Dog!

Conferences. Well, Spot, we made it through another set of 48, minus a few. It's been quite the week for chatting. Early dismissal days, power teaching...twenty-three minutes of what's-the-point-periods, if you know what I mean. I can't say that to the other pups, I just get so frustrated by the constant array of interruptions/seams in the process of learning. When I'm fired-up to teach...I just want to keep going. But...

Accountability and communication is where it's at. I know that, Spot. Your mama and your papa too, just wanna keep themselves in the loop! We have interim reports, AR reports, conferences too...and report cards. THEN we can teach--well, no! Then, we'll be staring at the holidays, and we all know what happens to those puppy brains then.

We had a great conference yesterday, with your friend, Peaceful Petie's parents. What a great doggie! He's not perfect, but he works hard and looks out for other doggies in our cluster. He's got that little spiky thing going on with his hair, and he pays attention all the time, Spot...not like you, that's for sure. (Just kidding!) But Petie...gosh darn it! He sure knows how to earn it. And you know what? Now I get why.

Petie's parents don't push him. They honor him. They encourage him...and they set the greatest priorities for him. They actually said the word CHARACTER and they weren't being corny. They said grades are secondary, character-building comes first. Kindness and caring are their family's primary value. And when we were done chatting, Spot? They jumped up and thanked us...and then thanked us again. When we got to the door...yup, one more thanks for the road. And today...when I looked at Petie? I was thankful to them! Fired me up all over again! Well, Spot! You may have the weekend off, but watch out on Monday...we'll have those sweet fifty minute periods back for two whole days! You're all mine!

A Taste of Reading in Grade Six

Caught ya today, Spot.

Yup, YOU: the guy that came into my room kicking and screaming...saying all kinds of stuff like, "I don't like school." Or, "I don't like reading. And YOU can't make me!"

Well, you didn't say it--out loud, but I heard it.

Here's how it happened, Spot. And this is what I LOVE about teaching, honestly! It all started with that interview, you know when I asked you how much you read each day and you flashed that little silent circle...zero! Well, no wonder you hated reading! You didn't have a plan, you didn't have a time and no one was keeping an eye on you. And then it started to happen...you started reading each day, writing it down and next you started to speak up too! I mean, bark it up really, in class each day. All the other pups' heads whipped around! They'd never heard your voice before! And you know what? What came out of your mouth was so darn smart...you even surprised yourself! And now, Spot?

I've seen you...you've even started reading books just for fun...that aren't assigned. All you needed all along was a boost, a little confidence and the taste of a good book! I'm proud of you Spot! Darn proud!

When the Teacher Takes a Seat

Hard to imagine, Spot, but I am one wiggily woman. Sit still?

Not me. You know my M.O., right? Move and manage. Keep everybody thinking, large and in charge. Yup. I am a little teeny bit of a control freak.

Well, tomorrow it's my turn to put my proverbial butt in the chair. (Sorry, that was probably not a very professional word, right?) We've lost all our inservice days, so this is it!

And you know what, Spot...it makes me want to run out and redesign the whole set-up. Sit? Well...nobody sits anymore. We're all active and interactive. We're on the net, reading a little, moving a lot and discussing everything under the sun. We like to compare and contrast, understand our work in the light of what others are doing. Make real-life connections and then come back and share our findings. That's 21st century learning!

But guess what, Spot? I'll bet my eyeball that's not going to be how it's done. We'll sit in our chairs and listen, fight for focus and try our hardest to take something away that we can use in our classrooms the next day. Learning needs to be immediate and useful. One thing's for sure, I'll miss you tomorrow, Spot. Can you just climb a tree, read a book and sleep a little later than usual for me? (I just might be the one with the head on my desk at school!)

Pulling It Out of Thin Air

You must be kidding, they say. Seriously. "Me...write?" I have no idea where to start. No idea.

Well, that was then, Spot. That's where we started. Happens every year. That's why we spend the first six weeks of school focusing on the many ways to pull an idea out of thin air. Most kids think that the ability to write well is some sort of mysterious gift. My hope is to teach them otherwise. It's a game of practice and endurance...and I am the personal trainer. There's no mercy, Spot, we take no prisoners.

And now...we've just finished our Memoir Unit, Spot. I have a huge stack of papers to read and make comments on. And you know what, Spot? I'm actually eager to see what you guys have come up with this year. Kids have not only settled on an idea and crafted it, but they've learned to "step away from the text" and hear the comments of others hearing their story out in the world for the first time. We randomly fishbowl-conferenced and the audience was able to tell the author what three ideas they walked away with after the reading! We even had 'personal connections,' Spot! And that is...in truth, the best way to compliment the author.

Here are a few of the mini-lessons we covered along the way: Word Puddles, Writing off a List,

Right in My Own Backyard, The Places to Love, Cherries...and the Pits, Mind Your Mentor, The Heart's Tug/Playing up the Hot-Spots, the Look Back Factor and many, many more! Many people tell me kids can't write these days. That notion is so unfair. People think texting, Twitter and Facebook are wrecking their writing. But you know what, Spot? This is so untrue! Learning to make your ideas clear in 140 characters is no easy task. It connects kids to an instantaneous audience! But in order to make lifelong writers out of kids, we need to give them more time in school to work at it. A good idea takes a long time and a lot of hard work to spin!

Eager Al

Okay, so here he is, Eager Al. I'm listening as hard as I can, honest. My eyes are going to bulge out...I'm listening so hard! Can't you see me? Can't you hear me? Oh, yeah Spot...I see him, and I hear him. He's bouncing out of his seat. (And by the way, I do love him!)

He's one of my most enthusiastic students! Eyes on me...no 1-2-3 needed! His eyes are always on me. BUT! Those eyes and that brain can't be connected, I think. Not that this little doggie isn't smart. No! He's a smart little cookie. But he's working too hard to hear the whole thing, wrap his head around it...and then get what he needs to do something about it. Two seconds after I've given directions, he asks me this question, "What are we supposed to do?" OR with the homework board in plain sight, he says, "What's the homework?"

For you new teachers out there, here's the important response to this situation: STEP AWAY FROM THE STUDENT! Take a deep breath, and smile. (Not that sarcastic kind of smile either.) Eager Al is a Nervous Nellie. He wants in his worst way to get everything right. He's a worrier with a capital W! But he's the WORST kind of worrier, because he has a shut-off valve right in the front of the brain. If it looks or smells like directions, Spot...I swear, his brain goes right into sleep mode. You don't even know it! So...we're working on this right now. Breaking down the task, small steps, proximal seating, restating the directions...you know all the RtI lingo. We used it in special education for years, and now it's moved to a theater near us.

Here's what keeps me coming back, though. Eager Al says to me just this week, "Hey, Mrs. Lynch...you know those Pen Pals in Africa?" I say, "Yup, I sure do." I hold my breath thinking about whether he'd turned in his letter, which he did. I look over at him and he's smiling the broadest smile I've seen all year, and he says,"I'm really going to make this a friendship that will last." Makes me smile just to think about it. (Now follow my friend John's blog...so you can see where are letters are traveling to: http://bridgesofpeaceandhope.blogspot.com/)

The Ideal School

Wading through the newspaper one night, I came across a back article on The Ideal School, an integrated school started by two moms of children with Downs Syndrome in NYC. They built their enterprise on the proposition that class size mattered and that 25% of their students would have some sort of disability.

Their class size: 16. Ah, intimacy. A chance to be heard and responded to. Differentiated Instruction? Well, of course. The key to anything done well in education is about getting to know your students WELL! If I have the time to hear what's going on inside my kids' heads and to witness the ins and outs of their writing, listening, reading and speaking, I'm sure to hit a home run every darn year.

But, Spot? The doggies out there, just don't want to share their money with the schools and the kids inside them. It's a tough thing to think about. But every time money and education come up in a discussion, money will win every time! Sorry Spot, until they care...deeply, all of our schools are in jeopardy! We need more teachers and more classrooms filled with less students. Think about the impact we could make on those city classrooms if we could take them from 30+ students to just 16?

I just got a new and wonderful student today. She became doggie #24, and she was my priority. But it's going to be a while before I'm able to get to know her really well...and that is just a simple division problem, Spot. There's one of me, and 24 of you...and only a little under 7 hours in a day. Can you do the math and get back to me? I'll be looking forward to it!