Looking to embed social comprehension in your classroom? Book Rec: Being the Change

By Kim Miklusak

This year and last I have been helping to facilitate formal and informal conversations between teachers, with students--and LED by students--about how we can work to embed social comprehension in our classrooms.  That wasn't what we called it at the time, but we discussed how in the classroom teachers and students can...

• honor people's identities
• respect and/or discuss differences of belief and experiences
• have difficult conversations in the classroom
• build community in the classroom and broader school

I just finished reading Being the Change by Sara K. Ahmed, and I wish I had had this resource earlier!  I highly recommend it for anyone looking to embed socio-emotional/affective processing in their classroom in addition to doing any identity and community mindset and practices.

Each chapter covers topics such as "Placing Ourselves in the World," "Listening with Love," "Seeing Our Bias," and "Moving Beyond Our Initial Thinking" among others.  Ahmed sets the context for the book in the preface and at the start of each chapter.  She discusses her own personal experiences but then also makes connections to the broader world and current events.

Inside each chapter she provides clear steps--including a script if one were interested in it!  She provides a list of links and resources to partner texts to help push students' thinking.  Additionally, she provides images of models of work from her class as well as conversations with students and their experiences.

Ideally, each one of these chapters and lessons build on the previous.  However, it is possible to gain insight through individual chapters.  For example, if you've done identity map work in your class before, she speaks in the book (and if you get a chance to see her at a conference!) about how to layer this activity into your lessons all year in order to enhance learning for individuals and the class as a whole instead of having stand-alone activities.

Reflections On "How Things Used To Be"

By Kim Miklusak

As the school year comes to an end and we start planning for next year, I have been hearing people reflect online and in person that students in general are coming in "lower" than previous years on state standardized tests and in reading ability and that this "wasn't how it used to be."  I'm not saying I've never said this before, and I'm not saying we don't have new challenges in areas of testing, technology, etc., but I'm struck by a few thoughts on this and reflected more after following some threads on Twitter.  One in particular by @triciaebarvia pointed out that this Declinism is a bias as well as is deficit thinking about our students--both elements to consider as we plan our curriculum, content, instruction, mindset, etc...

So this led me to reflect on my own beliefs:

• What do we mean when we say "kids are coming in lower and lower" on standardized tests?  In reading?  In writing?  What does that mean as a value judgment on another person?
• Do we believe all students can succeed if we view them as "lower than" someone who came in the past?  Do we hold implicit biases about students or groups?  Further, do students internalize this in their beliefs about themselves?
• Did students actually come in "stronger" before?  How is that determined by our metrics, our assessments, and how they are used?  (i.e. do we believe students used to all read the whole book we assigned outside of class before? has the testing changed? is the testing accurate?)
• Have societal expectations changed?  Are our students, for example, taking on more responsibilities?  Are they working more hours?  Are they taking on more AP classes?  More sports and activities?
• Would we want our own children--if we have children--to be viewed as the "low kid" or one of "those kids?"  And if the answer to that question is, "My child wouldn't be the 'low kid,'" what does that mean for how we view our students?

What if we instead celebrated our students' strengths, as @triciaebarvia says in her tweet--and others have pointed out?  How can we combat deficit thinking about our students: defining them by a perceived what they are not rather than who they are and who they want to be?

As we prepare our curriculum, we set goals of wanting our students to have agency and take ownership and embrace their learning.  Let's reflect on our own beliefs and be sure our mindsets are framed in such a way to create and support those conditions in our classroom!  Another way to do this is to be sure to follow people on Twitter and read resources by others who have been explaining their experiences on this for some time.

Related: I'm currently reading Being the Change by Sara K. Ahmed and will have more to share in another post next week!

Restorative Justice Practices in the Classroom

By Steve Lesniak

Restorative justice is a relatively new term being used in school settings across the country.  Call it what you want, but simply put, it is good practice.  Before I touch on how I use restorative justice in my classroom, it is important to understand how it connects to Senate Bill 100, passed by the Illinois General Assembly in 2015 and put into place for the 2016-17 school year.  SB 100 essentially prevents schools from issuing discipline to students without documentation of interventions along the way.  While this may not be much of a change for many school districts, there is another component of SB 100 that has had a more visible impact on schools.  Unless students put themselves or others in harms way, it is extremely difficult to issue an out-of-school suspension to a student.  As I take time to reflect on SB 100, I see how restorative justice complements its goals very well.  Ultimately, if a student is cutting class, the idea is not to issue an out-of-school suspension.  The logic just doesn’t make sense.  “You’ve been cutting class, so we are going to punish you by not allowing you to go to class.”  Doesn’t this just give the student what they want anyway?  Restorative justice forces that student to stay in school and make up the work he or she missed in class.  More importantly, if utilized correctly, restorative justice will change student behavior.  

In my classroom, like many classrooms, there are students who are lacking motivation or can be a distraction to themselves and their peers.  In the past, many teachers, including myself, would have simply dismissed the student and sent them to the dean.  While this might seem like a quick fix, it really creates more headaches for teachers.  Now, that student has missed the lesson for the day and certainly won’t master any objectives set forth.  How can we utilize restorative justice in the classroom?  First, it is important to build a relationship with students.  Many students who act out have often been met with scolding and ridicule by adults.  While it is sometimes necessary to discipline students, it is also imperative that students know that teachers care about them.  Many of our most troubled students have been beaten down by the education system, and they might have bigger issues going on at home.  Establishing a relationship and showing students that they are in a safe and caring environment will help them to trust that we have their best intentions at heart.   Once that relationship is established, I like to redirect students’ disruptive behavior to questions pertaining to our lesson.  When a student acts out in my World History class, I immediately ask that student, or the entire class, how the people living during the time period we are studying would have handled the situation.  For example, right now we are discussing Absolutism and the Divine Right of Kings.  A student in my class was talking while we were going over a quiz.  I asked the class to share how an absolute ruler might handle the situation of a student showing flagrant disrespect.  It sparked great discussion and was a great segue into our discussion on the Enlightenment.  

While many classes do not have a way to relate their content to disruptive behavior, there are still ways to talk to students and have them assess their own behavior.  Kicking students out of class without following up shows them that we don’t care about their education.  Problem solving and taking time to talk with students is a better way to establish that positive relationship. Equally as important, it teaches students how to improve their behavior and performance in school.  Some may call this restorative justice, while others may just call it good practice.  

So just now I was thinking... are my Habits of Work grades helpful, harmful, or a waste of time?

by jessica maciejewski

If you're thinking, "Habits of Work seems like a shady, character-based rando category," it's one that my department had in place and that I at first wasn't that into either. However! I've already been doing character work for the last two years based on the KIPP character traits and the amazing book How Children Succeed: grit, curiosity, and the hidden 
power of character by Paul "my last name is awesomely ironic" Tough, and since I believe in mastery teaching, it all comes together. As long as kids have turned in a draft or whatever on time, they can redo or retake the assessment later. But this makes some kids feel like, "Hey! I can turn all of this in the week before midterms!" which is not cool and also not fair to me. So first drafts are due, class time encourages completion, and Habits of Work means no A unless you're doing stuff on time and being a generally good participant and respectful person.

Why would I include those "soft skills"? Because they're what most of us are required to do for our jobs. A lot of our graduates are hitting college heartbreak hard when they find out that no, their professor will not take late work whatsoever, and no, there is no "retake center." I want to do right by them, and that means this is a piece of the pie. Check out three of KIPP's adorable and useful character posters, with description and the rest of the 7 here: KIPP character traits


                                                        

In talking about this with colleagues, one idea was a progressive late work policy over their four years, from no penalty (just noted) to not being accepted. While some college professors may accept late work, many (most?) do not... and most work places aren't cool with you doing things when you feel like it, either. Okay, so what does this look like for me? Along with those posters & minilessons (which are still works in progress, ideas welcome!), here's the weekly goal sheet and then Quarter 1 reflection I had students do:

Want to know more about this so-called character work? Check out my posts on character and grading.