Testing burn out will lead to poor student effort.

Most teachers and educators (and politicians) were good students, did their best - wanted good grades, tried hard on standardized tests.  So as schools & states set up their testing it was often with little thought about how the student is going to react.  There was little thought of what a student finds reasonable.

We are entering a period of state mandated testing that borders on insanity in my opinion.  We are looking at many days of testing.  And I think about myself - I received good grades, but never was accused of being a great student.  The instance something did not affect my grade it became non-essential (part of my disdain of education due to my early struggles in reading - another post for another day).    So in High School, the Iowa Basic Skills Test became just a fill in the blank exercise - I just filled in B... and stated "I had a premonition that the answer was B."  Ironic that now I will be at least partially rated by student test results - where the students have nothing at stake.

Sometimes we need to remember that students are people and unreasonable things are met with the equivalent amount of effort.  Perhaps we should inform our lawmakers....

Planning is tough

So as I sit finishing my lesson plans for the week, I am left with the thought of how tough it can be to plan a week in advance.  And how I often I deviate from the plan, and if I deviate, and I do, why plan?

I plan cause it makes me reflect on the goals for the next short duration, it makes me consider what I really want the student to understand and be able to apply to real problems in the immediate time frame - always being able to create, revise, and create.  I also hope to instill a belief they can do anything and a tenacity to not stop pushing forward - whether it is revisions or learning new skills or doing what it takes. 

And I consider that every Sunday night as I plan my week.  Nearly all the things I plan happen - but often I find what I would like to get to by Friday is actually the following Monday (that is probably the optimist in me).

It is tough to plan - and plans change, but the reflection is really the important part - because then I deliver on my commitment to reflect on how to make learners.

Targeted Practice.....

So at my school this year we stripped 3 minutes from each class in an eight period day to create a Homeroom where 4 days/week are dedicated to silent reading.  (The other day is meetings.)  As a side note this change has played havoc with me all quarter, I am just getting used to it now.

I do not get a homeroom class, instead this time is for RtI (response to intervention).  This is time where students who are struggling can be pulled to my room for small group or individual work.  And so far this is working.  When there are students that need help I can pull them and get 20 minutes of focus on a concept or misconception.  It really works well for students who are putting in solid effort but need a little more.  This week I pulled some students that aren't putting solid effort in and it worked well too.  The question I struggle with is "When to pull a student for help?"

A student that does the work, puts in solid effort - is easy to decide when to pull, at the first critical sign of struggle you pull them.  Because of the effort of the student as a teacher I can quickly tell what is happening and what should happen next (usually).  The student who does not put effort in, copies homework, just will do anything to be done is so much harder to decipher!  So on a test a less than studious student will not be able to do a problem, must likely due to lack of practice.  Then I struggle to decide "Is it time for this student get extra help or will they get it?"  In the beginning of the year my answer was to just handle the students I know had issues that I could identify.  The other students I waited for more information - but what I learned that the lazy become the lost.

Now I have evolved to pulling students as they show struggle whatever the reason for targeted practice, but not on homework.  The practice is in addition to the homework.  This helps me with the problem about when to pull.  The studious student has really tried the homework and needs something different, practicing homework is not going to help.  The less studious can get more practice and I can still expect homework to be completed - so the time does not become extra homework time.  I also only pull students whose grades are below expectation.

Any way my lesson is that I don't care about a student's attitude or laziness or whatever.  My job is to have them understand how to do math and problem solve for the future.  These are basic skills and I cannot just let a student not get them because "I don't feel" like the student is trying.....

Setting the table. High Expectations, High Returns

Students are just like me.  They (typically) will do what is expected, the minimum expected.  Let me explain through an example from my life.

My example at home is my wife and I have a fairly clear set of chores that we each "own."  But when I am really busy with school some of those things slide to my wife, mainly setting the table for dinner.   I am suppose to set & clear the table, but sometimes I "let her" cause I am grading quizzes or whatever (and she is super supportive).  And these busy times usually run in 2 day sprints, so I won't set for 2 days -- then even though I know I should set the table for supper for some reason I don't.  My wife then has learned to ask.  Cause I am a space-case?  No!  Because I quickly adjust to my new expectation -- I really appreciate the help she gives when I need it , but I quickly revert to the minimum I can "get away with."  (And I really appreciate when she asks me to set the table once I am through my busy spot).    Students are exactly the same....

I can talk about why math and understanding is important, but that does not drive many students at all.  But the consequences of not learning the material is what keeps the average student going, translation they want to pass.  They will learn whatever the minimum needed to survive, to get their minimum grade overall (whatever they set for themselves).  So as long as they want to pass they will work only hard enough to meet their minimum letter grade (not try-ers require different things, their learning cannot be about a grade, their consequences need to intrude on what they want).

So I have to remind students to "set the table" often -- to learn the material, I never talk about grades - my favorite saying about grades is that they take care of themselves.  Thus my courses must require knowledge and application of that knowledge so that every student who passes actually knows the math.  Meaning a D student must have enough knowledge to be ready for the next class without a lot of remediation.  I believe too often math teachers don't get their C and D students ready for the next course in math sequences.  Heck, if 40% of incoming Freshmen in most UWs need remedial math (9th grade Algebra), and they had to take Alg 1, Geometry & Alg 2 to get into any UW; how could we say that our D, C or even B students really understand the material.  I am really proud of my results at Juda the last 2 years.  Any student that has received a D- or better has not been remedial at college the last 3 years.  (Confession: During my first 3 years I had students who earned Cs and Ds but could not really do the math.) 

The above statistic is why I often remind my students and myself that they want to have me be their toughest math teacher.  And since I work for them (their future-selfs, I work for the student when they are 28) I don't let them get away without the knowledge.  By doing that I don't have to care about grades, cause grades prove little.  It proves knowledge at a time, it may show the ability to plan but not too much.  But often it only shows the students who best "play the game of school."  I have had many A students that I would not have wanted in my machine shops prior to teaching but plenty of D and C students I wanted (I miss ya - Tim).

Effort is more important than the ability to "play school."  Drive to learn is more important than grades.  Understanding more important than speed.  I use these thoughts every day, I remind myself to make sure the students understand math, I encourage, I push, I dry tears and then encourage some more, but I do give grades without skills.  I remind myself that once they leave Juda I am no longer there - so I must follow my cliche "Be less helpful" during quizzes/tests (which means I offer no help on assessments - I always say "Don't worry come in before/after school we will review and work through so you understand so you can do on the next one.")

So as I sit here on an early Sunday morning planning my week of courses I remind myself::
Make the students set the table....