The Process of Change

I have a meditation instructor who was once asked by his mother "What do you do when you practice meditation?" He answered, "We look at the nature of mind." She responded, after a thoughtful pause, "Is that safe?"

Her insight is to the point - when humans go outside their comfort zone they have the ability to grow, but they also risk loosing what they already have. The irony is that the degree we grow is often limited by how closely we attach ourselves to our current state of understanding. If we know everything, and cannot open ourselves up to the possibility of knowing something else, then we are unable to grow out of that perspective. When we have enough strength to know that what we do know may be incorrect or could be modified, only then can grow occur.

As we develop as educators, we must be open to change. However, in doing so, we open ourselves up to a degree of risk; risk of being wrong, risk of loosening our student’s interests and possible achievements, and the risk of looking foolish. These are significant risks and often we find educators unable to change as a result of these (and other) fears. I am so pleased to see that Antioch designs their curriculum to include the domain of developing as a professional educator. On-going assessment and intention to grow over time is that habit of all great teachers. All of us know that any success we have had was based, in part, in our willingness to let go of one mindset and accept another set of assumptions, conditions and conclusions. And we also know that it takes some strength of character to achieve any significant change.

Reading books is one such risk I am willing to take. Some of the most important changes that have occurred in my life have been the result of a book I have read. I rejoice (and fear) that I have stumbled onto another book that will produce a great deal of change this week when I started reading Lemov's book, Teach Like a Champion. This book is a collection of practical actions that many great teachers do in their classroom. They are simple behaviors that can lead to profound changes in our student’s success.

As I prepare for my two-week takeover, I found myself thinking about one of the actions that Lemov describes, which he claims many effective teachers do. He says that creating a classroom that provides access to all students and facilitates the circulation ability for the teacher producing a room where the teacher has more control of, and access to, the students they are teaching. This seems like logical action, however, I am amazed by the amount of fear I have over rearranging the room I will be teaching in. Can I actually take an idea I read in a book and change my entire room? What if I am wrong? Would Antioch approve this? Would the students rebel and refused to do any work? Would they scream in protest?

Would it be safe? Illogical thoughts dance in my mind and threaten to take over!

In the end, it is not the answer here that is important. What is paramount is the discussion (with myself and others) and the process that we, as educators, engage in when we are attempting to facilitate the best outcomes for our students. I have the strength to know that I don't have all that answers AND I have the strength to know that I have some of them. As I reflect over my growth as a professional educator [lets assume I will get paid at some point!] I see the progression of knowing nothing about education to knowing slightly more that nothing. (This is not to undermine the amount of work, effort and achievement that I have enjoyed in the past; I simply wish to appropriately acknowledge the amount truly gained.)

My goal is to be an insanely great teacher. Ten years from now I hope that I will have taken a powerful step in that direction. I know that if that does happen - and I can recall my apprehension with rearranging the room during my student takeover - I will laugh at how little I knew then and how far I have come. I also hope to simultaneously understand how insignificant the actual behavior or choice was, and powerfully important the process of examination and willingness to changes IS, as I developed as an educator. Until then, I know that any growth I do have will be the results of engaging in risky behavior like looking at the nature of mind, reading books and being open to the coaching of my peers and students.

Classrom Design

The classroom that I have been working in for the past three months is a young school, with a strong tradition in meeting the special needs of all learners.  This is a school filled with caring teachers, who understand (and remember) what it's like to be a student teacher.  As a result, this has been a great place to become introduced to the teacher profession.  I have been teaching second and third grade, under the tutelage of a veteran teacher of 16 years.   Both the school and my cooperating teacher have a strong emphasis in understanding the conditions that best foster learning.  Topics like social justice, equality and individual learning plans are common discussion threads at this school.  The students in my classroom are between six and nine years old. 

The Classroom Redesign Assignment is a challenge to write about because, for the most part, there is very little I would change in my current classroom.  The materials are all available and accessible to students.  The room is open and children are not assigned a specific desk, which encourages creativity and a fresh atmosphere.  The schedule is clearly mapped out and discussed consistently.  I notice that the students come in and the schedule board is the one of the first places they check.  This consistency provides the student with an element of safety and their awareness to the schedule changes hint at the importance it holds to them. 

Although the room is designed beautifully, there are a few changes I would make.  The first is a welcome board.  The kid’s respond so clearly to the schedule board, I would take advantage of this and offer a question, or graph or diagram that invites the students into a self-directed activity.  There are many ways to take advantage of the opportunity to engage students through the use of questions.  Throughout my take over, I welcomed the students with a quote or invitation or offered them a question to write in their journals.  For example, "Welcome to Tuesday!  Please take out your journal and tell me three things that make you happy that you ALREADY have in your life".  Another day I constructed a Venn diagram and asked the students about their weekend activity.  The following week, I heard more than one student inquire about the message and questions, and if we could do them again.  The next day, one of the students, arriving early, made a Venn diagram by himself, asking the kids if they liked video games, hiking, both or neither.  After the students filled in their response, we had a great discussion about how we could verify if everyone in our class participated.  We then restated our data in a different format to understand the groupings in a different way.  From that format, we had a great discussion about fractions and percentages.  Finally, we constructed a pie graph showing our results and percentages.  (Anytime you find these win-win situations in your classroom, they should be recognized and continued!)

Another changed made during my takeover was the notification for using the bathroom.  These students are responsible enough to use the bathroom by themselves and I wanted to encourage this autonomy.  Writing their name on the board, in the 'bathroom' box, was introduced to them as a way they could manage the use of the facilities by themselves, while still maintaining a safe environment.  Upon their return, they clear their name and someone else would know that option is then available.  This empowers the student and encourages responsibility, while reducing the demands on the teacher.  This is another change that has been continued past my takeover.

The last change I made that the students continue to respond to is the use of a small bell that students can ring to gently remind other students that the noise level has exceeded acceptable limits.  Anyone can ring the bell.  Students have used the bell responsibly to successfully reduce the noise level while increasing the focus for their classmates. 

These are all minor design changes that have benefited the room, the student’s growth, and the teacher’s happiness.  However, there is one major design change that I would put into effect, if this were my classroom.  The use of technology in this room is limited and I would change that.  The use of a document camera and a centralized computer with a solid sound system would increase the capacity of entertainment and information available to the students.  It would also reduce the amount of paper being used in the room. 

We are living during a time of great change where students will graduate from high school with a relationship to information much different from their graduating counterparts twenty years ago.  Because any piece of information is now readily available via the internet, the focus of education must respond by asking students to understand the implications of the information.  Perhaps one simplified expression could be that the educational focus up until recently has been on acquiring knowledge, whereas now, we are asking our students to comprehend, process and apply that knowledge in the most responsible way.  Being able to synthesize, correlate, extrapolate and reduce complex data sets into meaningful and relevant topics will be a skill set that successful high school graduates will possess.  I am not putting forth the idea that all second graders should have a laptop and all lessons should be streamed onto their personal IPOD’s, which they can remotely access from any place on the playground.  However, I am suggesting that teachers should re-orientate themselves by integrating tools now available, to help facilitate and encourage these skills that our graduates will some day need to possess. 

During my take over, I took advantage of the use of BrainPOP.  This on-line animated video site, featuring light-hearted characters, provides educators with a plethora of topics to help inform and entertain.  They are a great way to introduce, reinforce and provide an access point for those students with a visual intelligent focus.  Personally, I have learned a great deal from these video lessons.  Most of the videos are less than eight minutes in length, but still provide powerful information, with a social justice focus.  For example, who knew that an unhappy slave-owner hit Harriet Tubman so hard with a brick, that for the rest of her life she would spontaneously collapse and fall into a deep sleep for extended periods?

I am also a big fan of the document camera.  The link to the internet, and its abundance of learning tools, combined with the document camera’s ability to illustrate and highlight any text with your entire audience, provide teachers with a great tool kit from which they can communicate from to (and with) their students.  Due to the inclusion of a document camera, projector and laptop, I have noticed a physical change in many classrooms in the last ten years.  In various forms, educators can help connect students with the powerful combination of access and inclusion by utilizing these tools.

An ideal set up for a classroom, in my humble opinion (and hypothetically unending flow of financial support) would include a ceiling mounted projector that is able to connect to at least one student-accessible computer, in addition to the teacher’s laptop.  This will enable students to find resources they can share with the class.  Research and presentation skills are part of the California Standards, and this opportunity would provide a natural way to help promote these skills. 

Also, since sound often dictates more than half of our experience when watching a video, I would make sure that proper sound was available and easily adjustable.  The use of a mobile microphone dramatically changes the experience of a read-aloud.  Having students use a microphone to amplify their voice encourages them and others to hear the words they are reading, which reinforces their reading ability and comprehension.  Not only is using the microphone fun, but it can be used to focus a team.  The use of sound can also be used to play music, which can enhance the environment during work time or transitions. 

Finally, I love the idea of accessibility in a classroom.  Teachers who are able to quickly reference materials produce a classroom that is flexible, engaging and fun.  Once I witnessed a teacher search and find a great interactive tool that kept track of the migration of turtles from northern Canada to the Caribbean based on an informal conversation the teacher was having with his students about migratory patterns and the speed of turtles.  Students where able to form teams, pick a turtle and spend the week “racing” along with their team’s turtles.  The students personal connection, and therefore the level of learning, was dramatically higher because of this experience and only materialize as a result of this teachers classroom design.  This kind of symmetry and synchronicity are only possible in a classroom that is prepared for it. 

One of the great aspects of the current room I work in is the skill the teacher has at providing choices for her students during work periods.  This is a skill that I wish to develop and include as a professional teacher.  Being able to have a focus and then a series of options, help clarify what is expected of the students, while giving them an element of choice.  They know when the main task is complete they will have the choice to do something different.  I believe this promotes autonomy and the chance for students to feel empowered about their learning.  Having almost two hours for language arts would be a drag, if it were not broken into parts that help the student focus and engage in learning.  Having these options built into the design of the classroom is something I will continue. 

The last change I would make (again, in the most ideal scenario) would be the inclusion of stations students can use at any time.  Taking from the wisdom of Montessori, I would develop stations where students could play in self-directed learning areas, any time they have the option to explore.  Good teaching is the result of meaningful interaction.  Meaningful interaction is different for each child.  Therefore, no matter how great a lesson plan is, there will always be students who struggle, and others who find little challenge with the lesson.  With the intention of maximizing the opportunities for differentiated learning, I would design a series of stations that both GATE and emerging students could benefit from.  GATE students could find activities to further their investigation and emerging students might find an activity that could be used to scaffold themselves to a higher level.  All students start at a different point, and it would be my hope, through the use of powerfully designed learning centers, to level the playing field by providing an access point for every child.

In conclusion, I feel confident that given a great deal of money, enough time and staffing, combined with a powerful paradigm shift that integrates our worlds changing methodology of communication and inter-relatedness, with the wisdom of great educational thinkers and activists, one could easily produce the perfect classroom!

Caring Learning Community Plan

As the class returns from their weeklong holiday break, I am expecting there to be some re-adjustment back into the classroom on Monday morning.  All children crave consistency and disrupting their schedule by offering them a time to celebrate Thanksgiving is sure to produce some emotional disturbance.  What they will be asking for upon their return is for clear boundaries to be set.  I will honor their request to define their boundaries and to reassure them that they are in a safe place by starting the day off with the well-know and loved "brain breakfast”.  This will give all of us fifteen minutes of a known, non-stressful activity that will start our day off on the right foot.  The second adjustment is that I will be the only teacher in the room.  This is another change to their schedule that I am sensitive to.  Because of these factors, I plan on taking the next 25 minutes to sit down with them and explain the schedule of the week with them.  During this time, I will facilitate a conversation with them where we will start to produce an agreed-upon set of rules, which our class can utilize throughout my take over. 

I have a strong belief that all students respond in the best light when they know exactly what is expected of them and they have the possibility of success.  In some ways, having a student teacher take over the room from their permanent teacher has the potential of being in conflict with this ideal.  Different teachers have different goals, objectives and expectations.  I believe taking time on the first and second day to share what they want from their classroom and what agreements they want to make with each other and their teacher will set the common connection that we will utilize throughout the week.  I want them to know that each student plays a critical role in the development of their classmates’ education.  I want them to articulate their wishes for what they think makes the best learning environment and agree to those shared values by signing they names to the agreement.  Each day I plan to review these agreements with them.

Instructional groups and how they are used and formed:

I have incorporated groups into many of my lessons, as it is my intention to teach social skills along with academic skills.  "Getting alone with others" is by far the most important skill a person can develop and I want to explicitly coach them on what makes a good classmate, friend, coworker and playmate throughout my week-long take over.   During my math lessons, the groups I use will reflect a careful matching of academic and social skills.  There are some good dynamics between particular pairings, and I wish to take advantage of the results made by developing and nurturing these connections between our students.  Paring and grouping is a fine art.  It is my intention to continue my constant observations, in an effort to utilize these pairings, while making any necessary adjustments, as needed. 

How students get water, materials, bathroom break.

I am a big fan of water!  Many studies have documented that most Americans are chronically dehydrated.  Other publications point out the beneficial effects of drinking water, especially as it related to brain activity.  Drinking water helps you think, as well as develop cognitively, so it is my intention to encourage water drinking more than other teachers may.  Because of this, my classroom might have more requests for bathroom breaks.  This is acceptable and provides another opportunity for discussion about social skills and managing personal needs. For example, when my kids come in from recess I will encourage them to visit the bathroom before my math class starts.  As I excuse them to recess I will encourage them to drink water before they exercise.  As a rule I will not let more than one student out of the room at a time, unless they are desperate. 

I will explain to the students that they are becoming more mature and gaining more opportunities for responsibility.  One way I can show my trust in their capacity is to honor the ability to take care of their personal needs.  From this intention, if they need to use the bathroom, I will let them sign out of the room by placing their name on the board in a designated area, and the time they left the room.  I will inform them that only one person at a time is permitted to leave the room. 

I will continue to use the system we currently have in place for dismissals.  Every day one child is responsible for dismissing, as well as taking the attendance chart to the office in the morning. 

Transitions into and out of the classroom.

We have a pattern of rotating students that act as 'class helper' for the day.  One responsibility they have is to dismiss students.  I will continue this tradition.  I will also continue to encourage them to use hand gel.  When students arrive in the morning, I greet every one of them by name and expect that they say hello, while looking at me.  This is another social skill that is easy to practice.  When students arrive back from recess I often have them meet as a group before we enter the room for a minute of stretching and breathing.  This ability of checking in with ones body and mind can mean the difference between a good math session and a great one.

Another technique I have been developing with the class is the idea of making silence. 

The students’ day is cluttered with business and taking a moment to relax and regroup can have great benefits.  Even taking just one minute out of our day to sit in silence is enough to ground oneself and lay the groundwork for positive cognitive and social development.  I see school as a place where people learn strategies.  Some of the strategies are mathematical, where we learn that knowing multiplication is a more efficient way to count groups.  Other strategies are social, such as knowing how to take a different perspective on the problem, or simply to take a deep breath and restructure the problem. This can be the difference between failure and success.  I believe we owe our students every opportunity to develop strategies, both academic and social that will help them develop a life that is both successful and enjoyable.

Getting students attention

I plan to bring in a chime to play when the room gets too noisy.  I will allow any student to ring the bell when they hear the room is too loud.  I have heard many times from the students of this class that they learn best when the room is peaceful.  I plan to provide such an environment by allowing them to signify when it has moved from quiet to noisy. 

I also plan to employ non-verbal clues such as holding a finger up, asking them non-verbally to follow my lead.  This has worked somewhat effectively and I hope to come to an agreement with the kids on the first day to address what I can do to recapture their attention.

During clean up times, I will play music as a way to signal that we are all cleaning up together.

How students are expected to respond and get help. 

I will hand out 'calling cards' to students.  This card enables the students to get my attention and non-verbally communicate to me that they need help.  I will be initiating this procedure before my takeover in attempt to maximize its potential and to create a routine.  Each student will receive a card with his or her name on it.  When they are in need of assistance from myself, they will hand me the card without any verbal conversation.  This will ensure that the student I am working with not experience the frustration of being interrupted (sometimes multiple times).  This will also honor the requests made from the student asking for assistance.  They will feel secure knowing, that together, we have created an equitable way for me to know whom I am responsible to help next. 

I will make an agreement with the student that when I am done working with the other student I will visit them.  Each student has the right to learn uninterrupted.  Learning is jeopardized when you are interrupted (for both the teacher or student) and this limits the effectiveness of the interaction.  I will therefore ask my students to manage their calling cards and use them when they are in need.  I will also encourage them to work with their classmates to solve their problems.  I will ask my class to make the assumption that we are all on the same team and that many times there is another student who can answer their question without the assistance of the teacher.  I often say, "ask your teammate for help".  My students are used to me using this term and it is my hope that they adopt this philosophy and develop a commitment to helping their classmates when appropriate. 

Dealing with interruptions.

Working with interruptions is a challenge.  There are several methods to meet this challenge ranging from authoritarian and threatening to cajoling and begging.  I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle of these extremes.  It is my intention to develop a management style where the students and the teacher work together to form a copasetic relationship where educational, emotional and even spiritual development is possible.  One key element in meeting this lofty goal is developing trust between all parties involved.  Developing this trust takes time and experience and for this reason I put a lot of emphasis on laying the groundwork before I engage in teaching.  My experience with the students before my takeover is being used, in part, to lay that mutual foundation and to build trust.  The students who have the most potential for disrupting my class have had three months to work with me almost every day and already we share a great deal of common understanding.  It is my hope to build on that understanding and common ground on the first day, as we lay out our shared agreements.

During this school year, I have participated in practice fire and earthquake drills at the school.  The procedures and appropriate actions are clear to me in the event of similar drills or actual emergency event.  In the event that a student is late for class they will be required to obtain a ‘late slip’, which tells me they have signed in with the office to register their tardiness.  If a child needs to go to the office due to illness, I will fill out a notification telling the office about the students needs. 

The day I learned to read

It's a funny thing to think that there was one day when I became a reader.  However, this is the task I was given last week.  This is is what I came up with.

A sense of humor, properly developed, is superior to any religion so far devised.

 -Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume.

It makes me smile remembering Maggie Mackin telling me, "Oh, man, ya gotta read this.  This guy has written a bunch of great books, but Jitterbug Perfume is the best!"  I was in my second year at college and Maggie had just arrived on campus from a year abroad.  Maggie was an artist, cute, funny, and a world traveler.  I thought if I read the book and could talk to her about it, I might sound really impressive.  Sadly enough, this reflected my sole motivation to read the book.

In turns out I loved the book! I mean I really loved it.  Not just the story, but the characters, the voice I could hear from the author, the feeling that I could write like that someday (oh the naiveté!), the passion, the way the author wove multiple segments of a plot together in the end - that was both obvious and terribly clever at the same time.  This book started my reading career and when I was offered the opportunity to reflect on the time when I became a reader, this is the memory that instantly sprang forth. 

Jitterbug Perfume provided me, for the first time in my life, the passion and craving to know more, and understand that books could be used to satisfy my desire.  Slightly embarrassed from starting so late, I was able to develop a sense of urgency to explore the world of written expression since then.  This passion has only increased over the years.  I cannot image my life without the hundreds of books I have read.  When I meet people, I always want to hear about the books they have read. I read over 2000 books to my son - before he entered kindergarten.  My wife laughs at me because I keep a list of all the books I have read.

Robbins taught me the incredible freedom that fiction provides. Barbara Kingsolver has made me smile, laugh, cry, rage and marvel at what can be learned and expressed in a book.  Noam Chomsky has opened my eyes to the power of documentation and that critical research-based analysis that can diminish the affects of the powerful propaganda machine that surrounds us. Thich Nhat Han has written words on a page so simple in form and so profound in meaning.  And to read Jack Kornfield makes me think it is possible to gain enlightenment and finish my laundry all in the same day.  Joe Simpson and Shackleton propelled my idea of what adventure could mean.  Anne Rice convinced me that she has been a vampire!  The Lovins, from the Rocky Mountain Institute, taught me that we already have the technology we need to save our planet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama taught me that doing so might be a good place to start.

These words have opened up new worlds to me and I know my life is profoundly richer because of the efforts of others to inform, create, entertain and provide a medium for connecting all of us to them, and them to us.  Part of my joy of reading (and writing) comes from the fact that neither has come easy for me.  I suspect that I would have benefited from support that recognized that I have a minor form of dyslexia.  This challenged manifests if I am tired or if I lack concentration when I am reading.  Spelling has also provided me a great opportunity to learn and grow.  Until I took ownership of my reading and writing, my relationship with books, reading and written expression reflected the challenges and failures that I experienced throughout my elementary and secondary education. 

As an educator, I hope that others can better themselves and create more love in their life from their relationship with reading and writing.  Having had the challenges of reading and writing provides me a valuable perspective to address all beginner students and finding the joy within reading and writing allows me to give voice to the motivation that others can benefit from.

Weekly Reflection : My week as a student teacher

The highlight of this week was feeling more comfortable at school with the kids.  I feel a bond forming that seems to be the result of the time spent working with the kids.  They are starting to trust me.  I can see how important building trust is when working with people, at any age.  In the future, I will spent time with my kids at the beginning of each year constructing a plan with them in an effort to clarify expectations and to start building trust with my students.


This week I spend more time during Writers Workshop working with students as they developed their individual stories.  During one of these conversations I asked the student if they knew what the purpose of a paragraph was.  After a long pause he said, "I don't know".  I said, "Good answer, thank you".  After he had time to process this idea, he interrupted me and said, "It was good that I didn't no know the answer?"  I explained to him that his answer was the most appropriate and honest and therefore the best answer.  His smile reflected both the cleverness of the statement and reviled the positive affective conditions created for both the teacher and student.  It was just a moment, but creating this positive atmosphere will impact his future relationship with my class and his ability to learn.  When people (kids included) feel safe in being wrong, they will try to learn.  Scared people will do the opposite.    
 
This week I visited a classroom in Santa Ynez where I watched a fifth grade teacher seemingly perform magic.  What some could consider an illusion, mature educators would recognize as trust and respect between this teacher and his students.  I spent the whole day with this teacher and he never raised his voice.  Any corrections he made was either inaudible to other students or said with such firm kindness that any ill affects seem to be non-existent.  Yet, his students remained engaged and joyful the entire day.  When he said good morning to the kids their happy replay was "good morning Mr. teacher!"  At one point during a transition he said calmly “ok, ill choose the quietest group to start”.  Within three seconds (I counted) the room was near silent and almost all twenty kids had their fingers in the air.

When ask how this alleged magic can take place, this seasoned teacher talked about the importance of building trust and bond is with each student.  He starts his year building that base of trust and consistently delivers what he promises to the kids, expecting the same from them.  Clearly, they seem to respond accordingly. The pledges they created together are listed on the bottom of this sheet.

In my classroom this week I ran a simply lesson on synonyms and antonyms.  It was my first chance to work with a formal plan working in language arts. All students could easily grasps the concept and give good examples of both, meeting all the assessments I set for this lesson.  I did learn the importance of having good handouts to work from and how visuals learners may suffer from poor ones. 

I made two observations during this lesson. The first was that kids who are below average at reading and writing excelled at finding a different word that shared the same meaning.  I believe the reason for this is that kids who struggle with words have to develop a different strategy with forming and understanding words.  Fore example, if one is unable to spell “somersault”, one might substitute the word “roll” in it place.  The result of this process would be an increased understanding of vocabulary.

Another note I made was with my student who is studying English as a second language.  She had had, by far, the fastest answers to the synonyms and antonyms questions.  She exhibited the most flexible understanding of what word could mean than any of her peers.  For example, many students had a hard time producing the synonym and antonym for the word “play”.  (Perhaps this is because work and play are still so linked for kids at their age.)  This student however, quickly found alternatives her peers were unable to find.  I am assuming this skill is a result of her understanding of language, in which she has twice (or more) references of words than her peers.  She has developed a deeper level of ambiguity in her understanding of language that allows her to see other possible connections to words. 

We also finished the math section and finalized our assessments for them.  It is such a powerful tool in math to ask the students how they arrived their answers.  Knowing what processed they used reveals so much about their level of understanding, that in some ways, seems as important as the correct answer. 

On Wednesday we enjoyed a class field trip to the Sea Center, which went swimmingly (not literally). 

When students teach

.

Forgive me for not seeing the genius in you.

Forgive me when I made you stop touching all the books

            slumped over, daydreaming, wasting time.

Forgive me for wishing your handwriting to looked better.

How frivolous that must seem to someone who is

            decoding literature

                        producing prose that mesmerize.

Forgive me for thinking it was important for you to match colors

            on your self –portrait.

Your eyes now stare back at me and I know how busy you must be. 

how silly of me to think

            I knew better.

Your eyes stare back at me and I now see what reality must be like;

            so perfectly present and distorted by clarity.

Patterns must stand out to you

            that others cannot see.

            Vibrant, off-color and begging for attention.

They must scream for recognition and yet

                        I do not hear them.

Forgive me for interrupting.
.
.

Conflict Resolution in Schools

If you understood everything I said, 

you’d be me.    

                                                  – Miles Davis

           

The practical methods that I will employ as a teacher include conflict resolution techniques, Councils and class meetings, I-Statements practice, developing a feelings’ board and finally, creating a peace corner. In addition, I will integrate the practice of stretching (to calm the body) and meditation (to calm and focus the mind). The goal of all of these methods will be empower the children to become independent problem-solvers and to help develop their self-awareness and communication skills.

As a teacher, I make an assumption that all people want to be happy and that all of us have an intrinsic ability to find happiness, assuming the right influences and environment. If all have a divine-like perfection that exists within us why then do so many of us fail to find happiness? One component to finding happiness may be that there are some specific techniques or skills that need be developed in order to reveal the qualities that help us find happiness. Since we are social beings it makes sense that getting along with others is one characteristic that happy people seem to master over time. This quality of playing nicely with others is a skill that takes time, good teachers and practice to develop. Helping students develop and perfect this skill is one motivation I have as a teacher and I plan to implement the use of I-messages, talk-it-out strategies, a Peace corner, and short writes about issues of social justice, equality and self-awareness to meet this intention.



Attitude plays another critical role for people when developing happiness and learning to work as a team member. One tool I will use to help others develop a great attitude is to help them understand that how they “listen” will have a great impact on what others have to offer them. Elbert Hubbard once said: “We awaken in others the same attitude of mind we hold toward them”. What he meant by that is that people respond to what others expect of them. There is data that shows clearly that the perception a teacher has for his students produced results that mirror that expectation. For example, if a teacher is told that a group of students has learning challenges the teacher will treat them like they do and the results are will be lower than average measurements. The opposite result will manifest if a different teacher is told that the same group of students has exceptional skills. Somehow, in obvious and subtle ways, we humans affect each other based on the judgments we have for each other.

As teachers, I believe we have a responsibility to help students clarify what judgments they have and how those judgments affect their personal interactions and helps to shape the world around them. Consequently, helping students develop a powerful way to interact with others will be another intention within my teaching. One measurable way to help students with this is to have them become aware of what they are thinking or feeling. As students develop clarity about their feelings, teachers are able to engage them in conversations via Council meetings that help examine the cause and affect of certain behaviors. For example, in a conversation about the affects of bullying, we can come to understand that the people who are the victims are not enjoying it, the people who are the bystanders are not enjoying it and even the people who are doing it fail to develop a long term beneficial reaction from it, especially when they can see the harmful results of their action.

A third tool that is available to teachers is helping students articulate their intentions. Involving students in developing class rules or agreements help to empower the students. This exercise can teach them that they are capable of defining a safe and equitable environment. It also holds them to a different level of accountability when upholding these agreements, since they are the people who have created them. Another example of empowering students and helping them understand their intentions is to facilitate common ground during a Talk-it-Out session. This method of resolving conflict has the participants first agree on some shared intentions or common ground the two party’s share. For example, if two kids on a playground want the same ball, when both parties can acknowledge their predefined goal of sharing, they then have the option to resolve the conflict. In this case, one resolution they my brainstorm and both agree to might be “When I am done you can use it” or “Let me play with it for ten minutes and then you can play with it after that.”

As we help our students listen for others in ways that help illuminate the shared values of their classmate and encourage them to identify their own needs, we are able to provide for them a framework to create the optimal classroom (and the happiest of students). However, powerful listening and self-awareness alone is not enough to produce all qualities we should expect from our students and our classrooms. We must offer our students a platform through wish to communicate via class meetings, regular input when developing class rules and the use of Councils. We must also give them skills so that they may develop into independent solvers of conflicts.

One exercise that can help understand feelings is to have students brainstorm what feelings are. Starting with a feeling like “happy” students can expand the definition to further understand the complex components within the feeling of happy. While the teacher writes on a board, students can call out words that describe what it means to be happy. Words like “content”, “joyful”, “silly” are all words that can help students understand that happy can mean a variety of different feelings. These words can help to identify, understand and provide reference during the practice of using I-statements in the future.

Another great technique that I will offer my students is the use and practice of I-statements. Informal and impromptu practice of the use of I-statements using random situations (perhaps created by the kids or pulled out of a 'conflict hat') will help to solidify the process of use using I-statements during calmer times. As conflicts arise and the intensity of the situation increases, students are then able to utilize the tool of social justice by using their I-statements to resolve a conflict.

I will also incorporate the Talk-it-Out method to resolve conflict. Good instruction of this method plays an important role in the results students will have with them, as will practice and the environment in which to practice. As important as these elements are in producing good results, I think it critical to emphasize that the awareness (and motivation) the students bring to these exercises plays a significant role in determining the results of the experience. Other environmental factors can also influence the quality of interaction between students. If the child cannot sit because he hasn’t had proper opportunity for exercise or if she hasn’t had proper nutrition during the day, neither student will be able to properly asses their own feelings or work with others to resolve conflict. Similarly, if students have little understanding of their own needs or emotional state, than how can we expect them to control them? Offering children time to reflect when needed by extending to them access to a peace corner, the use of written reflections in a shared or private journal, giving them simple secular mediation skills and time to simply be will result in a child who is much more self-aware and available to work well with others.

How can we know if these methods are being effective? Ask the older teachers! You can also ask the kids: “What have been the affects of these practices? Do they think they are better able to achieve academic success after developing these skills and practicing these methods? We can develop formal testing techniques and spend millions of dollars but a simpler way is simply asking the parents, the kids, and the teachers: “Is this helpful?” Our world is so filled with access to information and technology that can measure mind-boggling amounts of data that sometimes I believe we forget that we have an amazing computer and the access to transformative wisdom right between our own two ears. As educators we use every appropriate means to understand what is effective in our classrooms. Proper training, constant personal and professional growth and a desire to benefit the kids should be a requirement for all teachers. Additionally, teachers should never loose sight of the wisdom and understanding that already exist within each of their students.

I think that the biggest challenge all teachers face is how to incorporate all the beneficial ideas, knowledge, wisdom, methods and techniques that we think all children should have into the time we have with our students. The demands are vast and the time is limited for teachers, therefore, we must make concessions and practice flexibility. In addition to the physical constraints, there are the emotional demands of constantly being the focus of attention and the burden that can come with being responsible for the emotional, intellectual and physical well being of your students. As a result of these demands, teacher must employ a strategy to remaining calm, centered and available to their students. One proven method that is available for education to meet these demands is the tool of meditation. Given the amazing expectations placed on teachers, combined by the job requirements, teachers must employ some method of self-reflection, relaxation, and a mechanism to enhance and develop one’s focus and mental acuity.

If educators are interested in providing a solution to the many demands placed on them through meditations, as well as provide the practice to their students it will behoove them to take into account our society’s general understanding of what meditation is, and its negative associations with religion. As we engage others or as we develop programs that encourage change in our schools, I would encourage those wishing to affect change to concentrate on scientific data and concrete evidence that illustrate the positive affects of meditation, especially as it relates to academic achievement in schools. Using different language such as “deep and daily reflection” or “relaxation and stress-reducing techniques” can help others understand their relationship with meditation in a different way, which will help to facilitate change in our schools, and our students.

The personal growth I have made in the last two months incorporate many of the techniques I have discussed here. Knowing that there are teachers and administrators out there practicing these techniques and methods gives me both the courage to practice them, as well as the confidence knowing that these methods are effective. I realize that the acceptance (and perhaps the understanding behind them) is not the norm in every school. However, reading about people who have incorporated them in the curriculum and to learn of their success gives me the inspiration to do what they have done - offer people the opportunity to learn skills that will help them develop their happiness and ability to work with others.