Almost nothing can drive me over the edge like cell phone use during my class or having to constantly tell students in the hall to “Put it away.” But am I wrong in this? Is the use of cell phones just something I should accept or should I continue to fight an increasingly losing battle against an undefeatable foe…the egocentric teenager who is more technologically advance and tuned in than I could ever be. How much emotional and physical energy have I wasted dealing with students and their phone usage? The answer is too much, especially when I’m secretly checking my texts during the day! In a world where first graders have cell phones and Twitter brings us up to date news before the 24 hour news cycle even knows something has happened maybe it’s time for us to accept defeat, wave the white flag and figure out a way to incorporate this technology into our curriculum.
This change of heart happened after reading an article posted on “Dangerously Irrelevant” a blog by Dr. Scott McLeod. The good Dr. opens up this discussion by posting an article from the Des Moines Register about a school district and its current battle with technology. The article is nothing new or shocking, but what is interesting is the tread of responses generated by educators. These bloggers offered up a plethora of solutions ranging from the draconian to the cuddly, the impractical to the necessary. Until reading this discussion thread I was dead set against the use of cell phone technology in class. I saw the negatives, and there are many including the ability to cheat, organize fights or drug deals, and even sexting – yes I said sexting, google it if you have the stomach. But some pretty creative and brave educators have found ways to work with the technology. One of my favorites involved a simulation of the floor at the NYSE. As educators we state our main goal is to prepare our charges for the work force, well the work force includes cell phone technology. So what does this mean for my classroom? Will I be more accepting of cell phones and maybe even figure out a way to use “Twitter” (seriously I’m interested to see if I can bring this into my curriculum) or will seeing that blue glow emitting from a girls purse still enrage me? Can and should I stop saying "put it away."
What do you think, any good ideas for working with this technology or is it still too new and wild west for our classrooms?
http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2009/08/school-mobile-phone-jammers-and-shoe-organizers.html
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Parental Bullying
I want to discuss two issues that I've become increasingly concerned with over my short tenure as a teacher. They are interrelated and one is often the precursor for the other. These issues are Helicopter Parents and how their behaviors can not only affect their children, but how in an effort to protect their children parents can become bullies.
The internet is full of articles on how to protect children from bullies and there are a few articles discussing bullying in the work force, but very little attention is placed on another type of bullying that occurs in schools and that is the bullying of teachers by parents. In fact in searching the web only two articles come to light and neither is from the US (Australia is actually conducting research into the phenomenon.)
So how does this happen, why does this happen and what can we do about this? From personal experience I have had parents so involved in their students lives and so driven to ensure their child's academic success that their actions have bordered on harassment. Constant e-mails questioning every grade, demanding special privileges, even trying to cover for a child who was caught cheating, and overt threats of legal action are all experiences I've witnessed and unfortunately dealt with at some level. Many of my peers have had it far worse. In a effort to protect their children these helicopter parents have taken extreme measures to ensure their success plowing down any obstacle in their child’s way - even if that obstacle is another parent, child, or teacher. And all of this amounts to Bullying and– let’s call it what it is!
I am not saying that being involved in your child’s school work is a bad thing. Quite the opposite a family who takes an active and engaged part of their children's lives helps to create strong learners, but what I am saying is that there is a line and too often it can be crossed when parents go from being involved to hovering and micromanaging every aspect of their children's lives. Instead of letting children learn from mistakes and develop necessary problem solving skills they threaten, bully and connive to ensure their children do not know disappointment. In an article by CNN (linked to below) the author suggests that this creates an attitude of entitlement amongst school children. Interestingly enough the article goes on to say that if these children witness their parent's tendency to bully others as a means to an end they will develop the same skill denying these children the necessary negotiating skills that will assist them in their adult lives. Unfortunately the wakeup call for many of these parents and their children will arrive when they go to college or the workforce - but is this too late to teach children to become self sufficient?
And what of the effect this behavior has on the teachers who are forced to deal with helicopter parents? The time, attention and emotional stress of managing a micromanager can be exhausting. The retention rate of teachers new to the profession is embarrassingly low, how much of this is caused by helicopter parents and their impossible demands?
So how do we stop this or at least mitigate the damage? I don't have a good answer; sometimes working with parents’ requests only causes the propellers to accelerate and the demands to become more impossible. Remaining consistent, firm and open has seemed to help, as has ensuring administrators and guidance counselors are up to speed with the situation. Also documentation of events and contacts can be a great safety net in case things get truly nasty.
A recent Washington Post article discusses how certain schools have banned parents from the building and administrators refuse to meet with those parents who have been deemed too difficult to work with. I would be interested to know where these schools are and how the administrators have managed this. I applaud those who have been able to take a hard line against this harassment - and that is exactly what it is, harassment. If anyone has any great ideas or success stories please let me know! This is an overdue conversation and developing coping strategies and a plan of attack is essential to the profession unless we want to see parents coming to school with their students to protect them from every little bump in the hallway or difficulty in the classroom!
"How to Ground a Helicopter Parent" - CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/08/13/helicopter.parents/index.html
"In Defense of Helicopter Parents" - NT Times
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/in-defense-of-helicopter-parents/
"Putting Parents in their Place: Outside Class" - Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/20/AR2006032001167.html
The internet is full of articles on how to protect children from bullies and there are a few articles discussing bullying in the work force, but very little attention is placed on another type of bullying that occurs in schools and that is the bullying of teachers by parents. In fact in searching the web only two articles come to light and neither is from the US (Australia is actually conducting research into the phenomenon.)
So how does this happen, why does this happen and what can we do about this? From personal experience I have had parents so involved in their students lives and so driven to ensure their child's academic success that their actions have bordered on harassment. Constant e-mails questioning every grade, demanding special privileges, even trying to cover for a child who was caught cheating, and overt threats of legal action are all experiences I've witnessed and unfortunately dealt with at some level. Many of my peers have had it far worse. In a effort to protect their children these helicopter parents have taken extreme measures to ensure their success plowing down any obstacle in their child’s way - even if that obstacle is another parent, child, or teacher. And all of this amounts to Bullying and– let’s call it what it is!
I am not saying that being involved in your child’s school work is a bad thing. Quite the opposite a family who takes an active and engaged part of their children's lives helps to create strong learners, but what I am saying is that there is a line and too often it can be crossed when parents go from being involved to hovering and micromanaging every aspect of their children's lives. Instead of letting children learn from mistakes and develop necessary problem solving skills they threaten, bully and connive to ensure their children do not know disappointment. In an article by CNN (linked to below) the author suggests that this creates an attitude of entitlement amongst school children. Interestingly enough the article goes on to say that if these children witness their parent's tendency to bully others as a means to an end they will develop the same skill denying these children the necessary negotiating skills that will assist them in their adult lives. Unfortunately the wakeup call for many of these parents and their children will arrive when they go to college or the workforce - but is this too late to teach children to become self sufficient?
And what of the effect this behavior has on the teachers who are forced to deal with helicopter parents? The time, attention and emotional stress of managing a micromanager can be exhausting. The retention rate of teachers new to the profession is embarrassingly low, how much of this is caused by helicopter parents and their impossible demands?
So how do we stop this or at least mitigate the damage? I don't have a good answer; sometimes working with parents’ requests only causes the propellers to accelerate and the demands to become more impossible. Remaining consistent, firm and open has seemed to help, as has ensuring administrators and guidance counselors are up to speed with the situation. Also documentation of events and contacts can be a great safety net in case things get truly nasty.
A recent Washington Post article discusses how certain schools have banned parents from the building and administrators refuse to meet with those parents who have been deemed too difficult to work with. I would be interested to know where these schools are and how the administrators have managed this. I applaud those who have been able to take a hard line against this harassment - and that is exactly what it is, harassment. If anyone has any great ideas or success stories please let me know! This is an overdue conversation and developing coping strategies and a plan of attack is essential to the profession unless we want to see parents coming to school with their students to protect them from every little bump in the hallway or difficulty in the classroom!
"How to Ground a Helicopter Parent" - CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/08/13/helicopter.parents/index.html
"In Defense of Helicopter Parents" - NT Times
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/in-defense-of-helicopter-parents/
"Putting Parents in their Place: Outside Class" - Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/20/AR2006032001167.html
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Teacher Fail
Teacher - FAIL
No matter how much time or energy I put into a lesson, there are just some ideas that are not conveyed to my students. What's important is to learn from our mistakes. It's better to try and bring innovative and engaging lessons to students and have them completely blow up in your face than to sit back and continue with the traditional "chalk and talk" many of us grew up with. Learning from failure is often the most valuable lesson. Below are a few of my top failures and the lessons learned!
1. With the help of colleagues I had students research and create photo stories on different social movements of the 1960's and 1970's. Many of these were wonderful and creative, but the most shocking photo story was on the counter culture. The girls assigned this topic really applied their creative skills to design and produce one of the most entertaining and informational photo stories of the whole class. However, the very last slide depicted two elderly hippies with the man only wearing a tie-dyed tank top and NO PANTS! This image was projected onto a very large screen for the whole class to see. Fortunately shadows and the resolution of the picture prevented my class from morphing from a History class into a health class. The video is attached for your viewing pleasure.
Moral of the story: Always preview student photo stories or videos.
2. I'm pretty daring in the content I show students. It keeps their attention and can open the class up for discussion. I am careful to edit language and "indecent" images However, I have made the mistake of showing videos I had not previously viewed. During an extended period due to PSSA testing I decided to have students investigate the Watergate scandal and planned to show "All the President's Men." I had seen the movie on television and thought this would be a great way for my class to see the corruption and conflict that led to Nixon's resignation. I was careful to check the rating and it was PG, well within the viewing regulations of my school. The problem was that this movie was made before the advent of PG-13. Within the first 10 minutes at least 3 F Bombs had been dropped and I was scrambling for an alternate lesson plan!
Moral of the story: Always preview ANY video you plan to show.
3. Two of my loudest wake up calls have come from my American Government classes. My students' lack of understanding and my failure as a teacher were very apparent when I read the following lines.
"The First Amendment protects our rights of Religion, Speech and Sex" Hmmm what was he thinking?
"Checks and balances is when we put checks into the bank and the government matches that money to balance the budget." If only it was that easy!
Moral of the story: Just because you've covered the material does not mean all students understand. Check for understanding regularly and often!
There are many more, but I would like to hear about other lessons learned from other teachers!
No matter how much time or energy I put into a lesson, there are just some ideas that are not conveyed to my students. What's important is to learn from our mistakes. It's better to try and bring innovative and engaging lessons to students and have them completely blow up in your face than to sit back and continue with the traditional "chalk and talk" many of us grew up with. Learning from failure is often the most valuable lesson. Below are a few of my top failures and the lessons learned!
1. With the help of colleagues I had students research and create photo stories on different social movements of the 1960's and 1970's. Many of these were wonderful and creative, but the most shocking photo story was on the counter culture. The girls assigned this topic really applied their creative skills to design and produce one of the most entertaining and informational photo stories of the whole class. However, the very last slide depicted two elderly hippies with the man only wearing a tie-dyed tank top and NO PANTS! This image was projected onto a very large screen for the whole class to see. Fortunately shadows and the resolution of the picture prevented my class from morphing from a History class into a health class. The video is attached for your viewing pleasure.
Moral of the story: Always preview student photo stories or videos.
2. I'm pretty daring in the content I show students. It keeps their attention and can open the class up for discussion. I am careful to edit language and "indecent" images However, I have made the mistake of showing videos I had not previously viewed. During an extended period due to PSSA testing I decided to have students investigate the Watergate scandal and planned to show "All the President's Men." I had seen the movie on television and thought this would be a great way for my class to see the corruption and conflict that led to Nixon's resignation. I was careful to check the rating and it was PG, well within the viewing regulations of my school. The problem was that this movie was made before the advent of PG-13. Within the first 10 minutes at least 3 F Bombs had been dropped and I was scrambling for an alternate lesson plan!
Moral of the story: Always preview ANY video you plan to show.
3. Two of my loudest wake up calls have come from my American Government classes. My students' lack of understanding and my failure as a teacher were very apparent when I read the following lines.
"The First Amendment protects our rights of Religion, Speech and Sex" Hmmm what was he thinking?
"Checks and balances is when we put checks into the bank and the government matches that money to balance the budget." If only it was that easy!
Moral of the story: Just because you've covered the material does not mean all students understand. Check for understanding regularly and often!
There are many more, but I would like to hear about other lessons learned from other teachers!
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