Map it out! First Theory in Practice of the Year

Has it really only been 6 weeks since this new adventure began? I feel like I have lived entire lifetimes in these few weeks, and watched an entire civilization form and crumble and form again before my eyes. There's a lot of newness to these weeks. New students, new co-teacher, new layout for grad school, new role as a lead teacher. It's been wonderful and terrifying all at once, a sensation of drowning mixed with the elation of learning to doggy paddle. I think I'm going to make it.

I think ones of my major growth points came from acknowledging that my expectations and plans were not necessarily going to be matched by reality. As I carefully laid out all the parts of my classroom, including a sensory box and a "quiet space" complete with beanbags and ottomans and star lights, I envisioned kids who would be eager to comply with the expectations of respecting these materials and spaces. Instead I came out of week one frazzled by policing beanbag usage (please don't pull them between each other, please don't jump on them, please don't bury yourself in them) and proper respect of the "quiet space." I had to go back to the drawing board and be more intentional with how I presented these privileges, and involve the community of kids in these decisions. Similarly when I had a science exploration time including wires and motors with the fun challenge "see if you can get this motor to start." I almost pulled my hair out when I came back to the station to find wires jammed into unimaginable places of the motors and wrappers being peeled off of batteries. I had to take a deep breath and remind myself that I can't assume what kids do and do not know. I learned to be more specific about my expectations of how I wanted materials treated. Two motors in the trash, but a wealth of experience gained!

I also had to deal with the new pressure of parents who on week two were already wringing their hands and wondering when homework was going to pick up. It's a little frustrating to get this type of feedback when I feel like I've climbed mount everest in our interpersonal and social structures in the span of 2 weeks, but again I learned the importance of communicating with families about what we are doing and why. I feel only slightly panicked that I'm only in about week 4 of my curriculum design plans, because the actual human kids I am working with differed from the fantasy in my head. I have rolled with it, made adjustments, and am finding what we create together to be even more exciting because of their involvement.

Part of my design was focused on incorporating the students' cultures by studying ourselves through mapping and observing. I thought this would be a meaningful way to engage these kids in social studies skills while also getting them acquainted with each other and the concept of their classroom community. I also wanted to create several points of access to these concepts by making them concrete and visual, so that kids with all sorts of strengths could participate in the thinking and observing.

I  have had such a great time teaching social studies, even though it hasn't unfolded in the exact way I had planned. It has been exciting to put sources directly into the hands of students and to guide them in dialoguing about their inferences. I wanted to frame them as critical thinkers and historians, and “To read and think like historians, kids react and respond to photographs, pictures, journals, diaries, and other documents” (Harvey and Goudvis, 2007, p. 210). I was surprised at how challenging it was for many of them to master the distinction between observations and inferences, but I have worked to consistently use the language through multiple contents such as science, reading, and social studies to help drive the point home. When Dr. Lynch visited as my coach, she gave me a lot of helpful feedback on how to support some of my students in developing this concept. One thing she suggested that has done a lot of good is pointing out to the student when he or she is inferring or observing during conversations, and making things concrete and bounded as much as possible. I gave them their first project based homework on a specific Native American culture region and can't wait to see the projects this week!

My lows are somewhat reminiscent of what they were in past journal entires. They include various examples of losing my cool when dealing with challenging behaviors and personalities. As many of you know, I serve kids with lots of cognitive differences including Autism spectrum and severe ADHD. This year, at least 4 out of my 10 students are working with these cognitive differences, and it can sometimes make our community feel rocky or chaotic in dealing with these different needs. Re-reading Becky Bailey has been helpful, and I have shared with my co-teacher some bits of wisdom to get us through challenging moments, such as “composure is a choice we can make, regardless of how crazy the outside world appears to be” (Bailey, 2000, p.25). And in our class, there are moments when the outside world seems really, REALLY, crazy. Certain personalities clash with one another, there is intentional button pushing, and emotional explosions occur. We have dealt with these challenges by carefully grouping our students and utilizing the excellent backup resources my school offers. More than once this year, my principal has come in to talk with the students about issues facing our community, such as violent or inappropriate topics in conversations and playground play. Watching her work is amazing, and I have picked up so many tips on how to use language to be direct and clear with expectations, and to be firm.

Sometimes I oscillate between the two extremes of management style between overly permissive and child-pleasing, and then overly domineering and kurt to try to elicit more cooperation. I have found Jane Bluestein's Powering Approach to be SO helpful in unpacking these behaviors of mine, and have used this language with the kids as well. The idea is that all of us have needs, kids, adults, and the community, and none of us has the right to put our needs above another's. Bluestein helps me think about establishing a cooperative environment where the kids take care of each other and themselves, the way I had envisioned a democratic classroom in my summer plans. Keeping in mind the importance of composure and cooperation, I think I am arriving more closely to my goal. I encourage you to check out Bluestein's powering model here.  It could transform your community!

While we are still certainly a work in progress, I feel very positively about the direction our community is moving, and about my growth these past 6 weeks in my new role as a lead teacher. We may be only in week 3 of my plans, but the groundwork we have done on our community will make all the difference in the world in establishing the kind of environment where we can learn, be safe, ask questions, think critically, and enjoy each other. I may have had one path carved out on my map, but I look forward to seeing the less-traveled roads my learners are pulling me out on.