Time flies, and the magic of teaching

As the year has gotten up to speed, I've obviously had a bit more trouble getting in here on a regular basis. It is hard to fathom that we are at the halfway point of the first quarter and I am frantically grading as quickly as possible in order to produce mid-term progress reports. We have a new online grading program this year, and dinosaur that I am, it's a bit of an overwhelming adjustment. Just my two cents, but it seems that with each year I spend more and more time reporting grades and less and less creating interesting lessons and developing new materials. I think that is a sad change in my career. Today I asked my colleagues a question: Is all this grading, reporting, assessing, testing, etc., making us better off than we were in the past? I think we all know the answer to that, and it is no. Yes, I realize some will counter that the pressure to get into college is greater than before, and if a young person is not some sort of uber wunderkind they don't stand a snowball's chance. Therefore, every assignment, every point, must be micromanaged and fought for. It just seems we've become obsessed with the grade, not the learning. Yes, grades and assessments are important, and yes, times have changed, but not necessarily for the better. There is only so much time to go around each day, and spending increasing amounts of it at the computer, typing in grades, instead of creating lessons and having time to think about what I'm doing and consider how I might be doing it better seems a bit...sad. I fear that within ten to fifteen years, we won't have any teachers left who remember what it was like to really teach, to have freedom and flexibility in what they do. You see, teaching is not about being in lockstep with everyone else, on the same page, at the same time, assessing with the same test. It's about the magic that occurs, and that magic is different in every classroom setting, or at least it used to be. The true magic of education is allowing creative professionals to be their best, which means bringing their own personalities and strengths, their insights, their passion about the subject, and imparting that passion to their students. That's the magic. I recall being told, probably during student teaching (and I won't confess how many decades ago that was), to never teach a piece of literature you did not love, because the students would know. But if you always taught what you loved, they would love it, too. My career has validated that over and over again, and yet I now find myself limited in what I teach and how I teach it. And who suffers for this? Students, who need to experience the love and passion a teacher can have for a subject. I do my best to at least like and appreciate what I'm required to do, and keep a positive front, but it's not the same as the love and passion I used to have when I had freedom of choice. What does any of this have to do with grammar tips? Absolutely nothing. But my book is written out of love and passion for the subject. That's right. I love and have a passion for grammar, especially making it accessible for students and presenting it in a way they can understand and apply, now and in their futures. I'll try to stay off my soapbox, though I would imagine at some time I will address popular "bandwagons" onto which some school districts jump, and the acronyms by which they are known. However, I will try to stay focused on the purpose of this blog. Right now, on my desk, I have a list of topics that have come up during class. I'll do my best to bring the list home tomorrow and start addressing what is on it.

Story Graph/Plot Development, Protagonist/Antagonist

We started graphing our first short story today, and as I went over the terminology, I asked if anyone could explain what each term meant. One student gave an amazing analogy for plot development, from rising action, to climax, to resolution. I realize a previous teacher very likely taught it this way, and kudos to them for their insight, because it's a great way to help students remember. It was such a great description, I wanted to share. "Rising action is like music that gets louder and louder. Then it reaches its loudest [climax], and then gets quieter [resolution]." I loved it! I truly appreciate when teachers put things in terms kids can understand and recall. On the flip side, some memory tricks can lead to a bit of a misunderstanding later on. We have not yet begun to discuss protagonist and antagonist, and though I fully understand why a teacher might explain it this way to very young children (sometimes I think we are pushing concepts down too far to students who are not yet developmentally ready to understand them), saying that the protagonist is the "good guy" and the antagonist is "the bad guy" will lead to issues later on when there is not good guy or bad guy, or there is a person vs. self internal conflict, or a person vs. nature external conflict. Sometimes students have the good/bad guy idea so firmly in their minds they have difficulty understanding types of conflict other than person vs person. In fact, for many the mere term "conflict" is confusing because they hear it and think "fight" or "disagreement," which simply is not always the case.

Have you ever wondered how students develop certain habits?

I have a standard writing guide I have used for years and it includes specific examples of what I do and don't want to see. I make small revisions as necessary, but in the last year or two, I find myself needing to add quite a few more reminders of what not to do. What's really interesting is I see the same error repeatedly, despite the fact that students come from many feeder schools. A couple of years ago I had to start asking, when doing any type of narrative writing, for students to please not use convenient devices such as "suddenly," "out of nowhere," or "all of a sudden," and to please not begin with "One day," or end with "It was all a dream," or "Then I woke up." Last year I was taken aback by what I now term "the dreaded also comma." The number of fragments created by using also as the first word of a sentence, followed by a comma, was (and is again this year) amazing. I have already seen the continuation of several other trends: infront of (I don't know why students are putting in and front together as a single word -- gosh, why not include of and run the entire multi-word preposition together?), starting sentences with and or but (which I always thought was fairly verboten), and the widespread inability to spell tries, tried, or trying. Again, this isn't a matter of young writers making mistakes, which is to be expected; it's how certain ones crop up, in large numbers, errors that in the past were not frequent enough to be on my radar screen. One excellent source for bringing common writing errors to the attention of students is a book from the Cottonwood Press about English Teachers' Pet Peeves. It has one or two I haven't seen as a prevalent issue, and it lacks one or two I would have included, but overall it's an excellent source, and like most Cottonwood Press publications, a lot of fun with a sense of humor young writers appreciate.

Patterns, tricks, precision, and the influence of testing

So often in my classroom I wish I had a little hand-held device to record my language arts tips because they come into my mind as a lesson progresses and I rarely have the opportunity to write them down. There are strong patterns in grammar; when one understands the pattern, finding the correct answer becomes much easier. Additionally, there is often a trick to help one remember what to do and how to approach grammar. The students who can continue to see the pattern and apply the trick will find classwork easier in the future. I also make a point about the precision of grammar. Just as math is precise, there is a process to follow, and only one correct answer, the same holds true for grammar. For some reason, students seem to think that grammar is negotiable. I tell them that a poem or piece of literature may be open to interpretation, but the structure of a sentence and grammatical correctness usually are not. I also address how the emphasis on standardized testing (at least in my region of the country) has made for what I view as some wrong thinking in regard to the amount of time spent on grammar. The "logic" seems to be that if there are not a lot of questions about grammar then very little teaching time should be spent on it. While it's true that older students may not frequently be asked questions in regard to a specific part of speech, they are tested extensively about correctness, but what many powers that be fail to realize is that a student will not be able to recognize correctness if he or she doesn't understand the grammatical foundation which leads to the answer. Grammar is essential. Not teaching it is counterproductive. The same applies to spelling. My goodness, I know of some school districts which don't teach spelling at all, and stop by middle school, because of the logic that few test questions trump the importance in a child's future. As painful as it is for some to admit, judgements are formed about an individual's level of education, intelligence, etc., if he or she speaks and/or writes poorly. I would like to encourage all language arts teachers to do their best to prepare our students for their futures. I know we experience various levels of control and limitations on what and how we teach, but I also acknowledge that every caring educator in our schools does his or her very best for students to the best of his or her ability. Whether you've started already, will tomorrow, or begin after the Labor Day holiday, I wish the very best of luck to my colleagues across this great nation as we embark on the 2012-2013 school year.

The end of the first week

Yesterday we finished taking notes on my five foundation skills for understanding grammar, and today we put the first four into action. What seemed like an overwhelming amount of information yesterday, no doubt sounding like a foreign language, started to make sense today, and I was super happy to see students start to see my way of thinking and that there is a method to my madness. Students quickly began to realize that my steps really would lead them to correct answers and fewer mistakes. They got a chuckle out my example of rule number five and the letter to the editor I used to illustrate my point (the dreaded who/whom conundrum). Another key issue that I addressed this week was what I call the language of language arts, in other words, the importance of knowing the terminology and being able to not only articulate what a term means (instead of the more simple giving of an example), recognizing it in action, and being able to differentiate between them. We have started writing and completed our first rough drafts last night. Today I checked them. I know it's intimidating for students to have me look at rough drafts on a one-on-one basis, but I feel it is truly one of the best ways to improve students writing. All students don't have the same problems, so I am able, over the course of the year, to guide each one to his or her best. I was a little disappointed at handwriting. Again, the errors with capitals and lower case letters, incorrect formation and placement, and spacing, simply are not going to be acceptable at the secondary level. I'm afraid a few will end up with some not so fun extra practice if they don't step up. I don't say that to be harsh; rather, I do it to help students reach their full potential. Illegible writing will not serve them well in their future. All in all, an excellent and productive first week.

Day 2, and the importance of a simple question

The last thing I did Friday in preparation for the start of a new school year was to add a question to the bottom of an information page I have students fill out on the first day: "Is there anything else you'd like me to know about you?" I gave a few examples of the types of information they might include, but was surprised at some of the answers. Though I alphabetized the papers yesterday and gave them a cursory read, I knew I needed to look at them in more depth today. A noticeable number told me of a need for glasses, or another physical need of which I should be aware. Some mentioned events in their personal lives, not so much to tell me specifically what happened, but instead, I believe, to give me an opportunity to read between the lines: "I am a little vulnerable right now; please be kind to me." Some put a smile on my face, and there are one or two more I need to follow up on. I am humbled that new students trusted me, and I will fulfill that trust as best I can. I would like to encourage all educators to give students a chance to let you know some of their needs. It pains me to think of how many never get mentioned, and therefore no help is given, or assistance is delayed. Over the summer I watched a movie on television, The Blind Side. At first I thought it might be too difficult to watch (I am a marshmallow inside) but I persevered and thought it was wonderful. But I also noticed how precarious the protagonist's life was, how much effort it took to turn it around, and I cried thinking of how many of our students need enormous help. At times our calling to educate is daunting, but we can make a difference for the better in the lives of children. We didn't get to my notes on foundation skills today. That will be tomorrow. I have a fantastic letter to the editor from our local newspaper which illustrates the need for my foundation skills. Perhaps tomorrow I can talk about students' reactions to a real life example. We took notes on simile, metaphor, extended/sustained metaphor, and symbolism. Our first homework is about avoiding fragments. I have to start early and keep pressing for writing improvement. As I start again, I also reflect on the past. I had an incredible opportunity this past summer to visit a former student who is now an English professor at an Ivy League university. Not only was that experience, the day of that visit, one of the most meaningful of my life and career, it validated my career and what I have tried to do for young people. And, now, on the back wall of my classroom where I can see it every day, I have a photo of the two of us in front of his office door. This shall serve as my inspiration, especially when things get a little challenging or exhausting. I would like to encourage all teachers to put a little something uplifting, just for your own benefit, on a back wall where you can see it as you go about your job. I think you'll find it inspiring, too.

First day of school 2012-2013

Let's see if I can attain my goal this year and start posting about my school year from Day 1. I discussed what we would be covering this year in language arts, including the importance of grammar. We wrote, and I followed through on my decision last year to strongly discourage illegible handwriting and put some teeth into that concept. I don't require cursive. Sadly, I let that go years ago. It wasn't worth the battle. I'm talking about basic printing. It has to be legible, the letters have to be formed and placed properly, and the improper use of capitals and lower case letters will result in having to correct the errors. In addition to handwriting, I emphasized margins all the way around and the proper way to indent. Each year I am surprised at how few students understand a "floating" right margin and think it's acceptable to write to the edge of the paper, as well to the very bottom of the page. As part of the discussion about the righthand margin I included hyphenating a word to move some of it to the next line if necessary. Virtually no one had any idea what the guidelines are, which is why I see attempts to hyphenate one-syllable words, random breaks at places other than a syllable, and a single letter followed a hyphen rather than moving the entire word to the next line. I am also surprised at the diverse methods students use to determine indentation, and that many young people believe "tab" on the keyboard is all they need to know. Of course, they have no idea what tab represents. I explained that indentation, or tab, represents five spaces, or perhaps easier for them to remember, a five-letter word. My goodness, it makes me feel like a dinosaur when I recall taking typing in high school and learning how to set tabs and what they represented. I also remember how happy we were that we had electric typewriters! The very cutting edge of technology! How times have changed. I am very tired, but happy about a good first day. I look forward to tomorrow when I establish what our five foundation skills are for understanding grammar.

Modifiers, Writing, Poetry

We are near the end of the modifiers unit, and it's no surprise how much more of a challenge it is to teach about adverbs than adjectives. However, as I try to be more aware of ways in which my five foundation skills apply to what we are learning, it was obvious that those who could apply them had an easier time with adverbs. Looking ahead to the last few lessons of this unit, I can already see more application of them looming on the horizon, especially with the need to recognize the difference between action and linking verbs in order to not make mistakes when choosing between tricky pairs such as bad and badly.

The state writing test, which required a great deal of exhausting preparation, is now behind us. It's always interesting to see how I have to alter my list of issues I have to make a point of with students. We've had quite a time of it with tense, and there were two things in particular I had to drive home. First, to not start sentences with "also." Had to add that to my list of ways to probably not start a sentence in order to avoid fragments. The second had to do with a repeated error in referring to something in the plural and then using singular pronouns afterward. Example: "The photographs in the book were helpful. It explained what the author was talking about." I can't tell you how many times I encountered this, and I don't believe I've even been aware of the problem, so I don't think it really existed for my students prior to this.

The study of our first poem is completed. I love teaching poetry. It may sound odd, but it's very fulfilling, and makes me feel like a real teacher instead of somewhat stifled (as I frequently feel in these days of high-stakes testing and pacing guides) and that I'm putting my education to use. What I especially love is that students can begin to appreciate poetry on a new level and have insights they haven't had before. The analysis just seems to "work" for a lot of them, and that's a good feeling

GG