Stump the Teacher

A blog I found that I am enjoying reading is Stump the Teacher (http://stumpteacher.blogspot.com/) by John Stumpenhorst, a 6th grade language arts and social studies teacher in a suburb of Chicago, and Illinois’ 2012 Teacher of the Year.  I went back to the beginning of December and read all the posts since then in order.  What I like most about this blog is that he writes reflections of his experiences, not summaries of what he’s doing in his classroom.  I won’t be teaching middle school, nor will I be teaching his subjects, but what he has to say is completely relevant to my development as a teacher. 

One post that stuck out for me is I’m Going Streaking (12/31/11) were he says that instead of making resolutions, he is going to go streaking.  He discusses his plans for attempting two daily streaks during 2012 -- running and taking a photograph.  The blog ends with the following:

“…I am brainstorming how to bring this idea to my classroom.  How can I incorporate streaks with my students?  What streaks can I start with them?  How can I help them create yearly challenges and support them?”

I thought about some of the ideas we are discussing in EDUC 2252 and how this would be a good tool to individually challenge students and help them set goals.

Another post I liked is Be There (1/3/12).  In this post he describes being at his son’s  swimming lesson engrossed is his Words with Friends game when he looks over at his son who says “Daddy, did you see that?” to which he lied and said he did.  What struck me first was how his reflections as a parent impact his role as a teacher.  He asked himself how many times has a student needed validation and he wasn’t there for them.  He made a goal to return to work and spend less time when students are present sneaking away for quick managerial work, saying “I want to watch them work and be there to encourage them, support them, and give them the thumbs up when they look at me.”  It made me think of that saying “A teacher on her feet is worth two in her seat” but I think that two is a quite conservative number.

Something fun from his blog, December 23, 2011:

Twas the Night Before Testing…

Twas the day before testing, when all through the school

Not a student was learning, not even the fool.

The pencils were sharpened and laid out with care,

In hopes that learning soon would be shown there.

The children were crowded all cramped in their seats,

While visions of bubbled answers danced on the sheets.

And teacher in their desk, and student their chair,

Both settled their brains for a long blank stare.

When out in the hall arose such a noise,

Students sprang from desks, the girls and the boys.

Away to the door they flew in a flash,

Tore down the testing sign and left in a crash.

The hallway lit with the glimmer of neon light,

And students called back to seats with fright.

When, what to their wondering eyes should appear,

But endless questions and answers to fear.

With children back in their seats,

They settled for testing feats.

More quickly than lightning, directions were read,

As teachers spewed and spit words of dread.

“Now fill in the bubbles with pencil number two!

Use your time wisely for the minutes will be few.

Do your best and show what you got,

There may be pressure but perform on the spot."

Kids said not a word but tried their best,

And worked continuously without rest.

Some were finished and some were not,

Regardless all were done when clock hit the spot.

Kids sprang to the door and down the halls,

Answering their texts and taking their calls.

Teachers collected the tests in a nice neat pile,

Brought them to the office, heels clicking on the tile.

As all tests were collected and locked up so neat,

Teachers and students both happy it complete.

A day without these tests both are yearning,

They wish to say, “it’s about the learning.”

Happy Testing to All and To All a Good Score!

Another Kohn Article

I found Kohn’s article interesting and it lead me to read another, “From Degrading to De-Grading” (Kohn, 1999).  In this, Kohn begins by discussing the three main effects of grading:

1.      Grades tend to reduce students’ interest in learning itself.

2.      Grades tend to reduce students’ preference for challenging tasks.

3.      Grades tend to reduce the quality of students' thinking.

Point #2 is the one that really stood out for me for a couple of reasons. 

I am dealing with my daughter right now who doesn’t want to take any more honors/AP classes because she sees her friends getting higher (I’ve had to work really hard when talking to her to say “higher” and not “better”) grades in the regular sections.  It's been a challenge to keep reinforcing to her that she is a good student because she has learned that her grades tell her whether or not she is a good student.  As a high school freshman, she is now also learning about class ranking.  She recently found out that she is #124.  I think that’s pretty good but she doesn’t see it that way.  And then, to put the icing on this cake, she came home with her PSAT scores yesterday and she was not happy at all with them even though they were not bad scores.  (These issues combine with Kohn's point #9: Grades spoil students' relationships with each other.)

I had a college professor who did something really interesting.  On the first day of class we got to decide what our grade would be.  We were handed a matrix that showed all the possible grades and what you would have to do to earn that grade.  The higher you wanted your grade to be, the more challenging the assignments were that needed to be done to earn that grade.  We had to select our grade and sign a contract stating which assignments we were going to do and that is what we were held accountable for that semester.  All of our assignments were passed back to us without a grade, only comments, and part of each subsequent assignment included that we would show growth by improving on areas noted in the previous assignments.

I had another college professor who told us that we learn the most when we are pushed beyond our comfort level.  It is a hard thing for all of us to do, so given the choice it is easy to understand that students will choose tasks that are within their comfort level but it is our jobs to push them further.

Kohn continues in the article with many other reasons against grading.  If you found Kohn’s article that we read for class interesting, I recommend you read this one too.  http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/fdtd-g.htm