High Schoolers Tutoring Elementary Students

As I was reviewing pictures and videos from my school iPad, I found a video of a project I worked on with students from my at-risk English class in preparation for the state test last year. Knowing that students would retain better something that they've taught to someone else, I made contact with the principal and then a teacher at the elementary school down the road and set up one day each month during the spring when my 10th graders could come and work her 3rd graders, who were also facing a major state test that spring.

The teacher and I worked together to identify appropriate stories and nonfiction articles for her students to read, and she shared with me some of the major standards and reading strategies she was working on. I would then do the readings and go over the skills to be taught with my students, and it just so happened that doing so was extraordinarily useful for their own reading development, too! But since they were learning for the sake of their 3rd graders instead of themselves, they took to it more willingly and with greater interest than I think they would've otherwise.

Once we'd been bussed over there, we'd spread out in the library or her classroom and go to work. It was awesome watching my teens with some really tough lives be so tender toward and interested in the squirrely 3rd graders. During the get-to-know-you visit, they asked each other some fun starter questions and most groups then delved into an excited conversation about each others' hobbies. When it came time to work, my students did a great job of teaching the skills, negotiating how they would alternate reading, and generally keeping the students on track.

On the bus ride home, it was rewarding to hear my students talk so excitedly with each other about their students, and it was hilarious to hear them regale each other with stories of how hard it was to get their student to "get it" - they sounded like veteran teachers!

Some of my students chose to opt out of the visits, but others took to it like it was the most engaging thing they'd ever done at school. It's something I definitely need to figure out how to do again.

Preparing for the State Tests

Coming right out of our dream project in English class, it's been an abrupt shift to now start preparing students for the upcoming state tests. I tried to frame it as, "Now that you've just explored your dreams, I hope you've found a 'why' for you to do your best on the state test. Passing it will help you have more access to classes and programs that will help you pursue your dreams." I think some of them see that.

This year, my experience with the state tests is a bit different from previous years. As usual, my English students need to take it. However, I'm also co-teaching in two Algebra classes during the EL (English Learner) part of my day. We have a number of struggling students of Hispanic descent in those classes, and we've been working hard to get them caught up on all the necessary Algebra skills in addition to all the skills they should've developed before Algebra. Finally, in my role as an interim department head for the EL department, I've proctored a number of tests for retakers last fall and will be doing several different subject area tests this spring. I've had the chance to talk with seniors who are taking these tests for the umpteenth time and seen some of their resignation, desperation, and concern.

All of these experiences preparing students for and administering various state tests and talking with students about them has me thinking about them in new ways. And not just state tests but regular class tests, too. Recently, I've found myself slipping back into a common teaching mode that I did a good job avoiding during the dream project. It's a pretty common model in most classes I've visited: The teacher does most of talking and drives most of what happens during class, and the students are expected to comply and produce whatever the teacher designs and assigns.

I'm not a big fan of that model. I prefer having opportunities to come alongside students and help them as they pursue topics and products of their choosing.

So now, I'm trying to figure out for next year how to work alongside students in that way, not just during specially designated dream projects but during all parts of the year and curriculum. Any thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations for what to do or who to emulate would be great.

Thanks,
Phil

One Student's Struggle with the Dream Exhibition

"I'm done."

That's the refrain I heard almost daily as other students went to work in preparation for the dream exhibition but one "Sam" drug his feet.

"Well, why don't you pull out your project and let's see what we can add," I'd say.

"But I'm done," he'd respond as he'd slouch over to the counter to pick up his poster about the top Major League Baseball teams.

He'd started off the project staring blankly at the brainstorm sheet until I came to help nudge him along in the direction of his baseball dreams. Then, he'd spent two days finding pictures and printing them... very slowly.

"Ok - here's your poster. What else could you add?"

"I've added everything you said. I'm done."

"I just suggested those things to get you started. The point of this project isn't to do the bare minimum and check off boxes; the point is to see what you can imagine and how much you can make happen in relation to your dream."

"But I don't know what to do!"

"Well, I got you started, so now it's up to you. You have to figure out something you can do to make it better - make it more awesome."

"Ok."

I'd had my doubts as to whether he'd actually do something, but it turned out that by the end of the period, he actually had done something, small though it was: He'd used colored markers to write the team name and city above the team logos he'd printed since, he said, not everyone might know that information just from looking at the logo.

It was a small addition, but I was excited and proud of him that he'd actually thought of and done something on his own!

On the bummer side, his general lack of interest and initiative, even in a project that he chose to be centered around something he loved, makes me wonder what in the world we're doing to kids in school to influence the loss of drive and passion that I see in spades in my pre-K son.

How can we better help kids maintain the exuberance they have before they enter school as they go through each grade?

The Dream Exhibition

Well, we had it this week - the Dream Exhibition! It was interesting to watch students as the day drew closer. Some who had worked hard all along were calmly putting on finishing touches; those who had procrastinated were frantically trying to finish; and some who had neglected to ever really dive into the project were making excuses. It was a relief that only a few students came to me saying, "Mr. Call, I won't be ready by Thursday!" And it was empowering to be able to tell them, "Well, that's when we're scheduled to present, and I can't change the date now." Having an authentic audience really forced a lot of the students to have some skin in the game and put in some effort.

On the day of the presentation, we had a handful of visitors each period, and it was neat to watch most of the students put on their A-game presentation faces and share what they did. Here's a bit of a sampling of their projects:

Students...

• Interviewed a counselor and a probation officer over the phone,
• Made a full suit of cardboard armor,
• Researched what it would take to climb Mt. Everest,
• Job shadowed a mechanic and helped fix some cars,
• Compared cosmetology products to find the best and worst,
• Designed objects in a computer program that could be 3D printed,
• Created a magazine layout,
• Spent an evening with a photographer and helped with several photo shoots,
• Researched careers and colleges,
• Mapped out the prevalence of AIDS and the reasons for its spread,
• Recorded music and made a website to post it on here,  
• Did a ride along and interview with a police officer and saw someone get arrested,
• Built a section of roof to show all the layers that go into shingling,
• And more.

Along with all the awesome projects, there were still some students who meandered through the project, complaining it was dumb and bragging that they hardly did anything for it on any given day. I'll definitely share some of those stories in the future, but overall I thought it was a success and am glad it helped a number of students step closer to their dreams, whether it was a job or just an interest.

Here are a few photos of the event:

Dream Projects in Progress

This last week, students had several days to work on their dream projects. I snapped a few photos of examples below, but one that really stands out to me is Megan's. She took the bull by the horns and called up an auto shop to see if she could job shadow for a day. They were happy to have her come, and when she came back to school the next day, she was so excited about everything she'd seen, learned, and worked on. She anxiously showed me the pictures she took and explained her experiences and the differences between automatic and manual transmissions.

Unfortunately, to balance out Megan's awesome experience and the examples below, there are a handful of students who are choosing to be disengaged from the project. They are meandering through the steps of finding information they're kind of interested in and making a basic poster or PowerPoint. It just seems like another box to check for them, and it makes me wonder what I did wrong about my presentation or design of the project. Perhaps these are students who would've struggled regardless of what kind of project we did last week, but I wish I could've reached them better. Hopefully, I can engage a few more next year.

Researching Aids/HIV in Africa.

Designing 3-D models of everyday objects.

Building his 3rd model to demonstrate design principles.

Making a suit of cardboard armor.

Dream Symposium Project

To match the new-found physical freedom and choice we've provided to students in our classroom's furniture and arrangement, we started a new project this week that has students pursuing one of their dreams and sharing it with others.

We spent several days explaining the project and having students fill out their proposal for the it on this sheet. Essentially, we're trying to leave the gate wide open in an attempt to get them to roam more. They'll have several days to complete an activity of their choosing, then a day to reflect on that activity, and then some time to work on a visual representation of their activity and dream to use when they set up a small booth for the symposium we're having at the end. This final day will be a time when students will stand by what they've done and explain it to parents, administrators, students, and others, all of whom will be receiving a form to give feedback to the presentations they see.

Some students have elected to get permission to take a day off of school and job shadow someone. Other students are building models, welding things, writing and recording songs, constructing magazines, creating computer programs, and doing sundry other things that I couldn't begin to engage in competently at this point. Of course, there are some students who are dragging their feet, saying "this is dumb," and otherwise being unengaged. We're working on that.

I'm excited to see how it all goes!

New Classroom Setup

Before spring break, the teacher I share my classroom with and I gave a survey to students to see what changes they would like to make to the classroom. Our goal was to give them more control and voice over the physical space of the classroom to mirror the increased degree of control and voice we're working to give them over the curriculum at the end of the school year.

Overall, students wanted to have more comfortable seating (we have a couch and more options for seating), softer lighting (we have several lamps), and background noise (we have a small water feature). For our part, we wanted to make the space more student friendly by getting rid of our special (and very cluttered) teacher corner and making the teacher computer more of a kiosk for anyone to use.

Also, one of the most requested changes was... a pet. So, we will now add two hermit crabs to our class.

I'm not sure how this whole experiment with the classroom setup will go, but I'm excited to find out!