questions and color

Today my class had a great moment talking about the elections. Developing specific time for learning and experimenting with oral language is so key for ELLs and today I wanted them to discuss and develop questions for the presidential candidates. We have been talking about the elections and, as a project, they are polling other classes during lunch with a few questions we will later put in tables and bar graphs, etc.

Anyway, I gave them some sentence starters such as “do you think…” and “what will you do about…” and “why…” we came up with a few together, and it gave me a sense that there has been some real conversations during their polling. For example, here are some of their questions (the way they worded them):

Senator McCain, why don’t you like Obama?
… what will you do about the environment?
… will people from other countries have to leave if you are president?
… why do you want to be President?

Why do some people not like Obama because he is brown?
Why do some people care about the color (of Obama’s skin)?
Why do people have to vote for President?

Senator Obama, what will you do if the people vote for a tie?
… what will you do about the environment?
… do you like to ride bicycles?
… who will you vote for?
… why do you want more war?
… where are you from?

And then, as they were finishing writing down their own questions that we will later post on a “town hall wall”, some kids started raising their hands and asking each other questions saying, “I would like to ask Jennifer, who do you want to vote for AND WHY?” I put the last but in caps because I was really impressed that 1. They thought to ask a two-part question and 2. They seemed genuinely interested in the answer.

Remember, some of these students have a lot of difficulty getting their thoughts formed in English and using auxiliary verbs like “do” can be tricky. Only one student said she liked McCain and at first it was because she felt Obama was too “brown and gross”. The kids quickly started saying “the color shouldn’t care” and asking each other if they “care about the color”. This allowed me to teach them the phrase “shouldn’t matter” and “skin color”.

I was really pleased how they got into it.

Finally, one student started to ask kids who they would vote for and if it mattered who wins. Most kids were really adamant that they wanted Obama to win but one girl said it didn’t matter because nothing would really change from how they have been. Pretty heavy cynicism from an 8-year-old!

Always a student…

The studying, reading and learning never stop and, frankly, it’s the one thing that keeps me sane!

I think the academic in me is loving being a teacher, but damn if it isn’t overwhelming at times.

(And, yes, I having to read books like Dr. Seuss is a job requirement!)

But they said it’d get easier…!

Just about the time you’ve gained a good grasp of your subject matter and your assignment’s vast scope, and your little webbed feet are kicking up a storm underwater where nobody else can see them, you’re also hit by the disturbing awareness that your job has not gotten any easier.

Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook: Embracing Your Practice

New teacher diaries!

Check out my entry (and place a comment or two), and the entries of other new teachers!

Not all Negative

I know a lot of my posts describe my often critical observations of other teachers at my school. Its not that I only have negative views of everyone else.

I have, and will again, post some of the great strategies and people I am learning from. But, as a new teacher with no background in education, my main source of learning is through the observations I make. And, yes, it all gets filtered through certain expectations and values that I have. I have never claimed to be an expert or even accidentally great at what I am doing.

What training I do have is in observing and reporting, so that is what I do, to the best of my ability. And along with getting filtered, it gets examined and judged by my views and experiences as well. I don’t claim to be an objective, disinterested observer.

Differentiation: Just Another Weight On Teachers?

At teachermagazine.com, an interview with the mother of differentiated instruction, Carol Ann Tomlinson, has inspired an uninspiring discussion (two comments). One person says that differentiated instruction is simply “nothing more than really good teaching” and another says, “It seems that Tomlinson is definitely in a minority position in believing that differentiation is working in US classrooms.” (Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook: Making a Difference)

I think they’re both wrong.

Not that differentiated teaching isn’t really good teaching, it’s just really off-putting to describe it that way. And it’s just not that simple. I have had amazing teachers in my life, none of whom differentiated. In fact, I was always several grades ahead of the rest of my class when it came to reading (I read at all 11th grade level when I was in third grade), so they would send me one grade up during reading. Not a solution. it really wasn’t until I went to a non-graded school that I was able to move myself forward in reading unhindered. And I know really good teachers now (and brand-new teachers like me) who are having a hard time trying to figure out how to differentiate.

But, first, I want to address the person with the last quote I mention above. They quote research and statistics to “prove” their position that most teachers don’t think differentiation works because they prefer homogenous grouping since those who are not functioning at grade level require so much attention that those who are advanced get brushed aside.

Well, that’s the problem with research. Or, rather, that’s the problem with those who don’t understand research.

Like any other approach, differentiation has its talented practitioners and its weaker ones, and cannot be judged solely on how it gets implemented. If you try something and you don’t do it well, it’s far easier to say it doesn’t work, than you couldn’t do it.

Also, I think there are things teachers do that they don’t interpret as differentiation. If you notice a struggling (or advanced) student likes Spiderman and you get him a copy of some of the comics to read, that is a form of differentiation.

For those who are unfamiliar with this topic, here is a conceptual map of differentiation from the NYCTF.*

I think a lot of teachers are reticent toward differentiation because it requires getting to know 30-150+ kids (depending on whether you teach elementary, middle, or high school) really well and teaching to each of them, as opposed to teaching a single subject one way to a generic audience.

In a sense, that is what differentiation is — knowing your audience and developing what you do to meet them where they’re at and take them where you want them to go.

What do you do to differentiate in your class? Who do you tend to agree with more – those who think it’s a necessary pursuit, or those who say it’s a bunch of crap?

*I am in the process of finding out if the copyright prohibits me from sharing this.

Learning From Mistakes Only Works After Age 12, Study Suggests

“Eight-year-old children have a radically different learning strategy from twelve-year-olds and adults. Eight-year-olds learn primarily from positive feedback (‘Well done!’), whereas negative feedback (‘Got it wrong this time’) scarcely causes any alarm bells to ring.”

Learning From Mistakes Only Works After Age 12, Study Suggests.

I just knew I should be using positive reinforcement more! Argh!

What’s funny (or sad), is that plenty of people don’t learn from mistakes after age 12 either!!

Dear Teacher…

A note I got today with a drawing of myself and the student:

“I love you so much you have a nice day and you are the best teacher ever I will rimebar you if I am in 4th grade if I stade with you but you are the best teacher that I ever have and you are not bad at all but you are the best teacher.”

How happy was I to see capitals, a period mark, and to hear I’m not bad at all!

Responding to NY Times Readers Who Piss Me Off

I’m sorry, Mr. Lagnado, but your facts are wrong. Transitional bilingual education in NYC, as it is done in my school and most others, are 60/40, which means that the students are to be taught in Spanish until about January, and only about 60% of the time. Come January, these classes are about 60%-100% in English. Not every school does it exactly like that (and not even every teacher who is supposed to, does it that way, but that’s another story), but that is the idea behind how bilingual education is to function.

Also, anyone who knows ANYTHING about teaching a second language, knows that the more literate and educated a person is in their first language, the better and faster a learner they will be in their second language. It is a knowledge base they can access to help them learn to read, write, and process most other information. This is also why I am an actually advocate of dual language education, where the students, on alternate days, learn in two different languages (some schools teach Spanish/English, some French/English, etc). The more languages you speak, the more successful and well-read a person you can be.

I teach completely in English in a free-standing English as a Second Language third grade classroom. That means all of my students primarily speak a language other than English at home. But the difference between what I do and what “English Only” advocates typically want done – is I don’t simply teach in English, I teach English - and show kids how to learn the language as they are learning in it. I respect their first language and culture, and see them as valuable assets they bring to my room. You’d think this was a typical approach, but it is not. The difference –between consciously teaching the second language and hoping the kids “get it” via osmosis — can often mean a student remaining a beginner in English for years or becoming proficient.

When a child is fully literate in their first language, it can take roughly 4-7 years to become fluent in English. If they have interrupted schooling and/or are illiterate in their first language, it can take 7-11 years. Let’s get right to the question here: What is, honestly, better for our students? Even among experts and practitioners of Teaching English as a Second Language, this is a perplexing question that requires much time and research, as there is no singular solution at this point.

And what state-mandated test can truly determine proficiency? There are plenty of native English-speaking students who would fail the tests these non-English speaking students take.

Lee says, “I once had to learn a language rapidly without total immersion. I was in college, getting the usual three classes a week.[...] I was reasonably fluent. And it is the one language I can still speak after many years. I created a sort of temporary bubble of immersion alone for a couple extra hours a day. It worked.”

My main question is — What do you mean you were “fluent”? You were TAUGHT the LANGUAGE, you were not taught IN the language. Did you have to learn complex math, science or social studies concepts in this second language – first day in the class? I highly doubt it. Were you expected to complete and pass grade-level tests in that second language your first year learning the language? I highly doubt it. Were you expected to read grade-level books in that language? Interpret, explain, and summarize them? I highly doubt it.

Besides that, Lee, you were probably in COLLEGE, with years of understanding your own language and how languages work under your belt. You can hardly compare that to elementary and high school students. Walking around thinking, “El arbol es grande”, “La silla es rojo” is not the same as what these students are expected to do. It’s stunning to me that people think a summer intensive ESL class is all these kids need.

This is the problem with how people view learning a second language. It’s not like the students who come to NY from other countries are simply in “English” classes. They are learning EVERYTHING in English and are expected to compete with native-speakers who come to school already knowing thousands of words more, never mind knowing the precise, culturally-acceptable moments to use those words.

College-bound seniors have a working vocabulary of 60,000-100,000 words and English Language Learners starting school here are starting from SCRATCH. There is a HUGE difference between Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS), or social language (How are you today?), and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP), which is what ELLs in this country are expected to know and use in school (“Describe why the character chose to do XYZ and explain how he felt before and after that big moment.” — all of which has to be inferred).

I can fluently speak and read Spanish, but give me the unabridged version of Don Quixote, a book that a native Spanish speaker with my educational background could read in roughly a week or so, and it would take me a month or more (assuming I was reading it a couple hours a day).

Can some students learn quickly, plopped into a classroom in another language? Sure. it happens. My husband, a native of a Spanish-speaking country, did his final year of high school in a foreign country, with classes in that language and no actual instruction in how to read, speak, or write that language. He was treated like every other high school senior – same expectations, etc. For the first three months, he had no idea what was being taught and sat silently in the back. By the time he graduated, about 6 months later, he graduated with honors.

So, it happens, but not all students can be expected to learn this way. It’s simply *not* the best model. And anyone who assumes they have the best model to meet the needs of any and all students, has never been a teacher in such a situation.

only the beginning, true…but…but…

“It is never too late to get your students to reach great gains and you
will get them there. There’s a lot to do between here and there, but
you’re on a good path and that’s why we’re doing it together. This is
just the beginning.”

I totally agree with this blogger. And I am right where that new teacher is that she’s responding to. I look at my first few weeks and what lies ahead, and how quickly the tests are coming at my ELLs and think, “is it too late?”

Those first few weeks matter so much – they tell the students your expectations, standards and hopes for them as well as getting them (and you!) in the habit of rules, procedures and believing that those things are going to be consistent and actually help the class do what it needs to.

But I’ve already found myself imploring them to “act like grown-up third graders” and “follow the rules” — rather than doing what I feel like I should be doing, even when I’m not sure what that is.

As a new teacher of a class full of beginner and intermediate ELLs, I am right behind that eight ball; they need to make substantial gains and I need to not just lead them and teach them, but document every step and work to prove myself every step of the way.

Principals and APs come in to not just “observe” me, but to write down every word I say. I don’t oppose this, but as a new teacher, I hadn’t realized it had ever been any different. And sometimes it’s very hard to imagine how it could, or should be different – along with everything else I am doing. And when I think about the “will I be able to…” questions, these kinds of ideas mingle in with questions just about me and what I can and will do.

Right now, I’m having to prepare lessons that not just meet standards and are in response to recent research, but also, yes, prepare them for the standardized tests which they must pass or go to summer school and face possible retention. Along side those lessons, I’m having to create language goals in addition to the content goals so that my students are able to actually talk about and think about those things I am teaching them.

I have students who, when we were reading a story together and I had outlined all the words I thought would trip them up, asked me, “what does ‘got up’ mean?”. So, every day I am finding that there are yet new things I do not know (which can be a great thing), and it makes me think I am just unprepared to be the teacher my kids need.

Now, I also feel very deeply that I want to, and can, be that teacher they need but it’s a very long road ahead of me and while I have Fellows and others who I am grateful for because of their support, the room of teachers on the same page as me at my school could fill a tiny room. Most think I’m crazy for even wanting to be a classroom teacher – as if wanting to tackle obstacles to reach up and turn that light bulb on over some children’s heads is akin to martyrdom. As if seeing how being a teacher means being a mix of scientist, artist and poet is just idealism and “newbie-ism” at work.

So, yes, it is never too late and this is just the beginning. But damn, did September go fast.