First Day Reflections

I have been meaning to do this for about a month (or two). It is hardly refined, but at least it is written out now. As more reflections come my way, I will try to refine this.


BAD
1. I discussed that "at times, I won't be ready to go right at the bell (which is true for all teachers), thus I define tardy by when I close the classroom door." --The students took that as permission to be out of their seats until I closed the door. My "opener" activities were not enough to prompt students to be working when the bell rings. Only now have I been able to get the students on track with "Tardy is when you are not in your seat working when the bell rings." This process still needs revision. I need to be sure my opener is ready to go right away, so the students are silently working at time start.

2. I did not press how strongly I believe students need to be in their seats until the bell rings at the end of class. I am still figuring out how to get them to remain seated until the end of class. (Any tips would be appreciated)

3. I described my "paper passing procedure" --This was a total waste of time, as I rearranged my desks two weeks after school started.

4. I took too long to assign seats. --On the flip side, the two/three weeks of "student chosen seats" was pretty informative for me.

5. I gave the students a worksheet to fill out... Stuff like favorite food, movie, sports team, etc. I borrowed this from Dan Meyer. --In retrospect, I should wait a little longer in the year before handing this out. The students were still shy and reserved. They couldn't open up to me on a personal level yet, so the information from this worksheet is minimal at best.





GOOD

1. I labeled each desk with a "blue tape" sticker. When I called the student name, they responded with the label. I wrote this down (B2, A7, C4, etc.) next to their name. That night, I made a seating chart from the information they provided. It used no class time (beyond ordinary role call). I then put each students name/picture on a notecard. Next to their name, I put their seating position code (B2, A7, etc.). For the next two weeks, I used the notecards to call on the students. The notecards cued me to where to look in the room. It helped me memorize names faster (and the students did not know that I was still memorizing).

2. I gave a presentation on me, to show who I was as a person to the students. This was a good idea, but was done to early in the year. I will probably do this 6 or 7 days in next year.


My overall reflection. Less "sappy" stuff to start off with. Straight to content and procedures. More modeling activities that happen through out the year. Don't hand out the syllabus on the first day. Don't make/print seating charts until after the first week, but definitely before the third week.

I can go on... and should. But I have papers to grade.

Failure Leads to Success

I have three tabs open in my browser right now. I have had them open for some time, because I wanted to get to them and read them. Finally, six weeks into my first year of school, I have had the opportunity to look at them in greater depth. I am posting the links here, because I wanted to share them with my limited audience. One link at a time.


 "Why kids need to fail to succeed in school" by MARGARET WENTE
Article

I enjoyed reading this interview article, which is rather long (in a world of 500 word blog posts), but brushes on issues I would like to explore further: Persistence, Perseverance, and the Pursuit of Perfection.

Margaret Wente interviews Paul Tough:

Mr. Tough’s new book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character, combines compelling findings in brain research with his own first-hand observations on the front lines of school reform. He argues that the qualities that matter most to children’s success have more to do with character – and that parents and schools can play a powerful role in nurturing the character traits that foster success. His book is an inspiration. It has made me less of a determinist, and more of an optimist.

 
The discussion of "grit" as a semi-accurate predictor of success made me think of The Marshmallow Test. This, however, is a whole different discussion. Wente and Tough go on to discuss how important failure is to developing "grit" and perseverance.

There are several videos, podcasts, and articles which discuss the The Marshmallow Test, so I will leave it to you to find, but here is a cute video

For the most part, I wanted to share the Article , so please enjoy.