Libby Says...
Thanks to my mom for pointing out one of the articles from this week's NY Times magazine, "What it Takes to Make a Student." The article, written by Paul Tough, describes the current standing of the No Child Left Behind act and how many people are trying to judge its success and failure. The article spends a significant amount of time describing the KIPP schools (my schools!) and our mission, techniques, and successes. It's interesting - much of what the article talks about it more prevalent at the middle schools than at our high school, in that we're trying to "grow up" the model. Not an easy task. You have to find just the right balance of keeping the rigid structures that have helped our kids to succeed as much as they have and giving them enough rope and freedom to make their own mistakes, succeed on their own, and, yes, tough as it is, fail on their own. Otherwise, of course, we aren't preparing them to be college students and working adults very successfully. Finding that line of how much to maintain the middle school chanting and SLANTing (read the article -- it describes how a student should listen and participate in class) is tough, but we're "plowing on" with it, as my principal would say. We grow up the model in many ways, but our school does have extended hours, extended days, and many extremely bright and dedicated teachers - people I'm proud to work with. Of course, so many of those teachers are young and new to the field... or, like me, not so young but new to the field. I just hope that we continue to get and keep teachers with both the dedication and intelligence - I agree with the article that our kids benefit from hearing the conversations of "professionals" and the elevated language that often comes with that. Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link
I've been working on lesson plans this morning. As we finish our study of The Catcher in the Rye, our students are going to start a practice in Socratic Seminar -- where we ask open-ended questions, everyone participates, we dialogue and not debate, and students are prepared to have a disciplined conversation with a goal. Now, my entire teaching style is built on asking questions - I am constantly asking questions of one form or another, so I hope my students are prepared to participate in this kind of class, but one thing I'm still working on in my classes is 100 percent participation. In one of my classes, I have four or five students who almost never speak - I have to work extremely hard to engage those students. This process is a challenge for me, as it's not what my problem is in class (as a student). I'm the one who has to make a promise to myself *not* to talk the whole time, to ensure that I listen to what other people have to say. I think we're going to write some participation goals on Monday to go along with our discussion of what makes a good Socratic Seminar. I'll write some sample goals up on the board ("I will add to the discussion at least once each day." "I will help my teammates to participate by asking them questions and listening to what they say." "I will have evidence for each assertion I make." "I will listen actively and be sure to respond to what is being said, rather than just making my own points.") and prompt them to write some that will be updated each day... Hey, that's a good idea! :-) Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link
Now goes into helping our kids put together the yearbook. Yes, you heard right. I'm the yearbook adviser. It's amazing both how many things are similar in running a magazine to running a yearbook staff and how many things are different. It's interesting, though - I don't have the role I'm used to having. At e-Pro Magazine, I was the editor - but we had an editorial director and a publisher/editor-in-chief. For the yearbook staff, I really fulfill those roles and our students fill the roles I'm used to doing and supervising. One thing that hasn't changed? The budget is always the limiting factor. ;-) But, I think we're really doing some impressive things, even with a limited budget and mostly inexperienced freshmen on our staff. This week, while we're in intersession week (a week of tutorials and fun classes between quarters), we have an hour-and-a-half block each day during which to work on the book. So far, we've picked a cover, done some advertising, gotten some training on the software we'll be using, and planned a yearbook signing party for Friday. I hope the signing party goes well - it's an idea that is supposed to get some interest in the yearbook in general, help us sell our 2006-2007 book, and make sure that everyone has picked up their 2005-2006 book. But I think that many people will be there for the pizza. What do you remember about your high school yearbook? Did you work on it? Do you still have it? Were you in it? Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link |
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