Post date: Feb 02, 2013 7:51:25 AM
I know that my emails tend to be long, and this one is no exception. The "discipline" issues I'll address are complex ones for me and it takes me a wordy-while to express my thoughts well enough. So, with that initial apology/disclaimer, here is this week's newsletter:
This week had its ups and downs to it for me. I'll start with the ups. As usual, the generosity and kind spirt of the DCS community had its healing effect and boosted my resistance to the flu. A sub and workshift parent ran classes for me on Monday, and Mr. Jones covered my afternoon classes on Tuesday and sent me home -- what an amazing man! On another positive note I'm noticing some renewed focus on the part of some kids as they make a fresh start for second semester. The 'downs' revolve around my disappointment that some students are not using their academic time and resources to their greatest advantage, nor are they being respectful of their peers or me when it comes to some aspects of classroom behavior and productivity. DCS is not immune to the age-old "games" that are characteristic of middle school: games where the social interactions can dominate the academic endeavors; where the locus of control oscillates between internal and external; and the stereotypically timeless (and therefor almost comical) games of "whose responsibility is it anyway" continue to play out. These issues are not affecting everyone, and those students that concern me are "slipping" to varying degrees, at various times, and for varying durations. Overall, though, I think that it is time for me to impose some progressive levels of consequences that relate directly to counter-productive behaviors. I assume and expect that any "other school" discipline policies I implement will have their effect quickly -- my faith in the tenets of internal control and the DCS philosophy runs deep.
This topic is a complex one worthy of a great discussion far beyond the monologue of an email. Here's the issue: I'm putting a lot of time and energy into getting kids on task and in focus during class, and I'm noticing some resistance (both passive and overt) from some kids in all of the classes -- that just shouldn't be happening during the second half of 8th grade. This does bring up the question as to how much prodding/encouragement/threat do I offer versus letting the kids work (or not) at their own pace and with their own preferred level of engagement, intensity, and attention to quality. I am in conflict about this and have both sides of this argument battling in my head. One says that I have to tighten up the relaxed atmosphere and assert greater control over the social interactions that are competing with instruction and productivity. The other side of the argument reminds me that kids will engage at their own pace and in proportion with their developmental readiness, that autonomy is a rocky road, and that all learning should be interactive and take place in a comfortable, stress-free, and often social environment.
I know that you all have high expectations for your students and the quality of their experiences in class. I do to, and classroom atmosphere as well as student-management are crucial components of the learning environment. I'd love to hear your perspective on this topic, so if you have a chance this weekend, please let me know where you feel a good teacher falls on that control-autonomy spectrum, how much energy and time should constitute the "grace period" for a student, and what positive actions or consequences might work best with your (or other) 8th grader(s). My preference, of course, is to have student self-control and communal responsibilities be enough to inform and regulate student behavior, but it often isn't. I, by no means, feel that my classes are out of control or unproductive, but it is loud at times and I find myself repeating instructions quite often and most often to those that chat at the wrong times. It is a big issue to me right now because I want to have my values clear and my policies well thought through before the need arises to impose increasing levels of control over student behavior, volume, accountability, and consequence.
Ok, now to the easy stuff:
Recap of the Week
As I said, I was home sick on Monday, but the classes progressed as planned, finishing a chemistry lesson and reading about some possibilities for the next long-term project. On Tuesday, after the short chapter 13 quiz, I put on a DVD that explained how the flu virus operates and how the body and immune system respond -- not 8th grade topics, but very timely and engaging. Then, for most of Thursday and Friday, the kids worked on building "chemistry tracks" that are designed to utilize websites to supplement and extend various topics in this unit. The products so far look good, and most kids should be finishing up (if they haven't already) over the weekend. Then, today, I gave a lecture (!) about the chemical and energy reactions involved in the photosynthesis and respiration cycles. This led into an initial lesson on balancing equations using "cookies" and Legos. The kids do have homework for the weekend, by the way ([64] and [65]). Lastly, since 'tiss the season of report cards, I've asked the kids to fill out a Heumann Evaluation Form, giving me their most specific and brutally honest (and anonymous, if they like) feedback. The responses so far have been really helpful and informative for me.
Coming Up:
Math Circles on Tuesday, February 5th
Communitas Charter High School informational meeting, Tuesday, February 5th (details on my "High School" page)
Parent meeting February 6th, 7:00 to 8:00
Weekly chapter quizes on Wednesday (2/6), and Thursday (2/13)
School tours, round 2 on February 13
February 18 - 22: Another week off. (Teachers should never complain about their workload!)
March 6: Prospect and Westmont administrators come to DCS
March 8: 8th grade to "In the Heights" in San Jose
March 15: Teacher learning day (aren't they all?)