The "I Can't Trust Myself" Drawer

 For some students, sometimes the hardest part about completing an assignment is hanging onto the paperwork. 

When I taught math and science at another school, I had a drawer in the corner of my classroom for students to store their work in. It was for work in progress and nothing else. I called it the I Can't Trust Myself" Drawer.

I would say to the kids, “If you don’t think you can trust yourself to hang onto today’s work and have it ready to finish tomorrow, put it in the drawer.” A lot of kids took advantage of this. Mind you, they had a notebook they could have put it in, but for some reason, the drawer resonated with them. 

They loved it and they used it. 

I think it took some pressure off them in terms of managing all the paper they dealt with during the day. 

Now, since I only teach science and every student has a science notebook, I say, “fold your work in half and put it in the pocket of your science notebook.” 

That seems to work - except for the scholars who can’t seem to find their science notebooks on a given day. Where these “lost” notebooks go, I have no idea, since they never leave the classroom and I have very specific places to store them in the classroom. 

Maybe I need a, “I can’t trust myself to hang onto this notebook” drawer?

The Cheat Codes; A Conversation

 

“I can’t ever remember stuff for the test,” my son complained after a particularly poor score on a social studies test in middle school. 

“How many cheat codes do you know in GTA?” I asked, “I’m guessing about 50?”

“But, but….you can’t compare school with video games,” he said with a bit of sneer in his voice.

Continuing, I said, “And you’ve got a bunch of video games.”

“But, but….I know, but that’s not the same thing,” he implored.

“Ahhhhhh, but it is. It shows you can remember things that are important to you. Clearly, social studies is not as important to you as Grand Theft Auto,” I began, “If you can remember all those cheat codes for all those games, you have the ability to learn and retrieve the information.”

Silence…

“I’m not suggesting Social Studies, or Math or English or any class in school is going to be more interesting than using the cheat code to get a tank to roll all over San Andreas causing mayhem, but I am suggesting that you could do better in school.” I finished, “If you really want to. IF you really want to.”

First Quarter Reflection

The first quarter is in the books. I assume you have a pretty good sense of how this school year is going so far. Your parents will get tangible feedback on your work next week in the form of a report card. 

But, you should already know what has gone well and what hasn’t gone so well. If not, take a few minutes to think about it and ask your teachers how you are doing.

Now is a great time to take stock of your work and your work habits and look for ways to improve. Missed too many homework assignments? Reconsider your process for getting work home, getting it done, and getting it back in your teacher’s hands. If you don’t have a process, develop one. Are your quiz grades not what you would like them to be? Examine how you prepare for a quiz. Do you study the night before or 5 minutes before? Develop a pattern of preparation - one that actually helps you get ready for a quiz or test, then do it the same way each time.

If you do things in the same way, again and again, they become habits. 

Habits require less thought - you just kind of automatically do the same things the same way. That’s why I always park in the same place at the mall or pack up my stuff for school each day - no thought, no forgetting, just habit. 

You can literally train your brain to do the right things in the right ways. Of course, you can also train your brain to do the wrong things, and undoing that takes a lot more time and effort. 

So, how’d the first quarter go? What can you do better? What good habits can you reinforce and what bad habits can you retrain yourself out of?

Ahhhhhhh Yes, the Phones

 Most days on my way to school, I pass several groups of kids waiting for the bus. They are scattered across two towns so they don’t all go to the same school, but they all have one thing in common. 

They are all staring at their phones.

They’re not talking to each other or really interacting with each other in any way. They’re staring at their phones. 

These phones we all use are wonderful inventions. They connect us, help keep us safe, guide us, and keep us informed. But, they can also rob us of direct human connections. 

Think about how you use your phone. 

Is it helping you make connections with people you know in the real world…or is it getting in the way?

You Never Know What Someone is Dealing With

Everyone is dealing with something. 

Everyone is going through something….and you may never know. 

It never hurts to be little more patient, a little kinder to people because you don’t really know what’s going on in their lives.

Two examples:

Last Christmas Eve, my mother-in-law had a stroke - a blood vessel broke in her brain and caused extensive damage. She lost the ability to stand and walk. She could not feed herself and had difficulty communicating. As you can imagine, this was very difficult to cope with for my family and I. My students last spring and this fall, right up until she passed away, had no idea what was going on in my head and my heart. I showed up every day, taught my lessons, joked around with my 7th grade “llamas” just like I normally would. None of my students knew, but it was there all the time.

In another school, I had a student who was dealing with some serious anxiety. I didn’t know. He hid it well. One Friday, he seemed a little quieter than usual. I sat down at his table and asked if he was okay. He did not answer for about a full minute, then looked at me and said, “I’m really nervous. My dad’s been in jail and I haven’t seen him in three years. He’s picking me up from school today.” This 8th grader was dealing with some serious stuff and no one knew. 

You never know unless someone chooses to share. 

So it couldn’t hurt to just be a little kinder, a little more patient with everyone, because you just don’t know what they are going through. 

You May Have Noticed...

I am now in room 22 instead of room 23. I was in a room that was purpose-built as a science lab and now am in a room that was built to be an ELA room.  It’s a big change for a teacher to switch rooms. I spent five school years in room 23 and, despite its poor physical condition, I loved working in that space. 

Each room in a school is unique and it takes time to be able to use that room effectively - it may not make sense as a student but trust me, that’s the way it is from the teacher perspective.

When Mr. Holtz told me he was changing my room assignment, I went through a lot of different emotions. I was disappointed, angry and sad. For several weeks I was upset. Finally, I realized that all these negative feelings were not productive and would distract me from my mission - teaching science. I had to find a way to let them go and focus on the positive. 

So, here’s what I did. I intentionally reframed how I was thinking about the move. Instead of “I’m losing my science lab,” I starting thinking, “I get to build my own science lab.”

Flipping my internal thoughts from a negative place to a positive place has helped me prepare for the new year and the new space. I confess, it hasn’t been perfect. I still have some of that sadness and anger lingering under the surface, but I’ve been trying to maintain a positive thought pattern. It’s been good for me. 

This is a strategy you can adopt, too - sometimes, if you get in a dark headspace, one thing you can do is talk yourself out of it. You can literally fool your emotions by recasting your thoughts to the bright side. It won’t be perfect but it would be a step in the right direction. 

No one gains from negative thoughts - try to find the silver lining in what has you unhappy or upset. 

The past is the past and it’s over. Time to look to the future. 

For me, new space = new opportunities. 

Welcome to the 2021-2022 School Year!

Well, let’s hope this year is less weird than last year was - it kinda has to be. 

After a very difficult year, I’m hopeful we can have a fantastic, productive and fun year doing science tougher. 

Here are some positive developments to build on:

• We’re back in school together,

• Many of us have vaccinated against Covid-19,

• We all have chrome books or computers to do our work on,

• We have a bright, sunny new room (with an air conditioner!) to work in.

I write this blog for you and I try to post each week - usually on Sundays.

This is where I write about school, teaching, you folks and lots of other related subject. I encourage you to read my posts. Sometimes they’’ll be funny, sometimes serious and sometimes in between.  Sometimes, I will assign you a blog post to read. 

Let's work together to make this the best year ever for you. We’ll focus on all the great things and try to minimize the not-so-great things. 

The Secret Sauce of Grades

I’m gonna spill the beans, let the cat out of the bag, clue you in on a big secret about how grades work. 

We’ve ending the third quarter for this school year and panic has begun to set in for some students. I’ve been getting frantic emails and messages:

“Am I passing this class?”

“What’s my grade?”

“What can I do to bring my grade up?”

I’m faced with a group, a disappointingly large group, of students who are just realizing that they have somehow missed the boat when it comes to grades. They have not figured out how academic success works and now they are in a state of apoplexy.

You’re not going to like this. It’s going to seem boring and routine, but here’s the secret to academic success: Do your work. Ask your questions. Come to office hours for help. Talk to your teachers if you’re confused, lost or over-whelmed.

We can help. It’s literally our job to help you succeed.

But, if you’ve basically taken the first 120 days of school off, doing little to no work, don’t expect an extra credit assignment to wash that all away. It can’t, you’ve skipped too much work. 

The best thing you can do is hit the ground running on Monday for the 4th quarter. Do the work - all the work. Get help when you need it. Ask your questions. Come to office hours.

It’s not exciting and it’s not easy.  It’s not the quick fix some kids are looking for, but doing the work - day after day is the secret to academic success.

Do the work and success will be yours, that’s the secret.

Everything’s New, Again

 A couple of weeks ago I did something I have not done for over a year; I taught a class from my classroom at the Bartlett. It was just me, alone with my laptop and two classes of 8th graders Zoom, but it was a big step. We’re comin’ back and things will return to some version of “normal” soon, and even closer to what we’re used to in August.

It's a dichotomy. For many who will return to in-person school, it's going to be different in a lot of ways from what we’ve done so far this year. For those who are remaining remote, it’s going to be pretty much more of the same. 

We’re going to have to learn how to get to school, how to come into the building, how to be in a room with X-number of other students and teachers. We’re going to do pool testing, learn how and when we can leave our seats, go to the bathroom or how Allied Arts will be done. There is a LOT of new stuff coming our way. 

But, at least in my class, the academic work is going to look the same.  We’ll be still be on Zoom. I’ll still be doing short presentations to start the class to provide you new information and to direct your work. We’ll still be doing small chunks of the curriculum at a time with short daily assignments due in a day or two. The biggest difference in my class is that now I’ll be sitting in a room with X-number of other people instead of alone in my home office. 

There is so much to figure out and plan, the adults at the Bartlett are all super-stressed. Not knowing is hard and there is a lot we don’t know yet. But, we will figure it out. 

I’m sure things on your end are going to be difficult as well - whether you are coming to school or staying remote. At this moment, I can’t mentally put myself into your shoes, but I’m sure you will all face challenges in the coming weeks.

Let’s just all agree to be open to change, to be flexible and not to freak out when things don’t seem to make sense.

We have 46 days of school left this year, let’s make the most of them!

Background Pictures - Again

A couple of students asked if they could give me pictures to use as my virtual background.

Naturally, I said yes and used the pictures they sent me. I made a point of telling all my students what the background was and who took the picture. 

I occurred to me the other day, that these two might have been brave enough to ask, and there may be others who are a little too shy to ask. 

So, I’m saying this to everyone: If you are into photography - if you enjoy taking pictures - and have a particular favorite that you’d like me to use as a virtual background, send it to me!

I’d love to display your work for all to see.

I took a fine arts photography class in college, taught by Bart Parker, and it inspired me to take all the photography classes my college offered and sparked a life-long love of photography. 

Go forth and shoot….I’d love to display your work.

My Speech Impediment

I don’t know if you can hear it anymore, but when I was a kid, I had trouble saying my R’s. They kinda came out with an L sound. So “roll the log” would sound a little like “loll the log.”

I remember in the first grade and after, being taken out of class and brought to a tiny room - a repurposed closet perhaps - and practicing my R’s.

I guess the good news is, I got over it, I learned how to shape and place my tongue and mouth so my Rs sound like Rs now. But, I do still wonder if I slip up sometimes. It’s hard to hear yourself as others do - and for most of us, it’s unpleasant too. 

Both my boys had issues with speech as well. My oldest, spoke with what sounded like a serious Brooklyn accent. We used to kid around that when said the names of two Boston sport stars of his childhood - Oil Can Boyd and Larry Bird, they sound like they had the same last name. It came out like Larry Boyd. He never went to speech therapy and now speaks with a wicked Boston accent. Go figure.

My youngest, did go to speech therapy. His L’s sounded like W’s. His second grade teacher asked to meet with us because, when he got frustrated in his work, he would often mutter under his breath, “I hate my wife.” The teacher was concerned that he was mimicking me and there might be serious issues at home. She calmly explained her concerns in the most empathetic and sympathetic way - gently inquiring if everything was okay at home. There was a moment of silence as my wife and I stared at her, then each other, then back at her. You should have seen the look on her face we burst out laughing!  Of course, he was really saying in his L-sounds-like-W way; “I hate my life.” Which is a whole different thing.

He did end up getting speech services and now his L’s and W’s sound just the way they should.

It kind of reminds me of President Biden. He grew up with a stutter and still reaches out to young people who stutter and talks to them about his experience and how he learned techniques to reduce its occurrence.

I guess my point is; you never really know what’s going on with someone or what they’ve been through. You can never go wrong being kind and giving people the benefit of the doubt. And if they occasionally mutter “I hate my wife,” gently ask them if there is any way you can help.