Tim Fredrick's ELA Teaching Blog

Since when did I teach swimming?

Last Thursday morning, when I came into the classroom I stepped in puddles ... of water ... inside my classroom.  There was a leak in the ceiling and the rain from the previous night had found its way in.  It wasn't horrible, but there were a lot of puddles and some of my posters got ruined.

As I sit here now, with it raining outside, water is literally POURING down the walls and DRIPPING all over the place.  (How ironic that the latest appeal in the CFE case has been underway!)  There was a quick response to figure it out (one of the guys asked me if I had had the window open - apparently not seeing the streams of water coming down the walls!).

I don't want to do the usual thing and complain about how it is horrible that we have such destroyed schools in this city (and about the two holes in the floor).  What I do want to say is that I can still teach.  With drips and water and all.  And my students will still learn.

They just now informed me that they are going to have to shut power off in the room because there is water in the light fixtures.  I'll take pictures tomorrow morning!

A teacher meme from Nancy

1. I am a good teacher because . . . I don't give up on my students, even when they want me to.
   
   
2. If I weren’t a teacher, I would be . . . a well-rested, but unfulfilled person.
   
   
3. My teaching style is . . . serious, laid-back, and involved.
   
   
4. My classroom is . . . a place I hope my students don't hate coming to.
   
   
5. My lesson plans are . . . aimed at meeting every student where they are skill-wise and helping them move forward.
   
   
6. One of my teaching goals is . . . to help students love to read and write.
   
   
7. The toughest part of teaching is . . . the physical, emotional, and intellectual exhaustion one faces at the end of the day.  This is due in part to the fact that you are always 'on' -- you have to teach those kids even if you are in a bad mood, don't feel like it, have a headache, or have a cold.
   
   
8. The thing I love most about teaching is . . .  the challenges I face on a daily basis.
   
   
9. A common misconception about teaching is . . . anyone can do it.  I think there is a lot of people out there who think that teaching is an easy job and something to be done for a couple years after you graduate, or when you are bored with your career, or when you retire.  Teaching is a calling and a profession.  People should not enter it lightly.
   
   
10. The most important thing I’ve learned since I started teaching is . . . I have a lot of patience, but not enough.

Visit Nancy at http://upthedownstaircase.typepad.com

Seal isn't just a singer

A method for peer review and revision

I've always struggled with having peer review in my class and then having students meaningfully revise their work.  With peer review, they would tell each other "good job" and correct (or sometimes make worse) spelling.  I would do minilesson after minilesson on giving constructive feedback.  That resulted in "Good job on your writing, but be careful of your spelling".  Not really what I was looking for.

Revision simply means to them that they copy the work over neatly (and correct some spelling).  Even when I suggest changes, they don't show up in the next draft.

In our weekly planning meeting, the other ELA teacher in my school and I were talking about this problem.  We came up with a system that we are going to try out to hopefully help students with this peer review - revision conundrum.

The cycle of lessons is going to start off with a minilesson on a writing topic we feel they need to work on.  This week, I'm doing adding details to your writing.  We are going to look at why authors use details in writing and what they do for us as readers - they add interesting language, clarify/specify statements, give information, and/or give examples.  The next lesson is going to have students exchange drafts of their papers - they will underline where the writer has used good details and star those places they want to have more details and explain why they (the readers) want more details.  The writer will get his paper back and use the reader's comments to come up with details to add to the paper.

As I write this, I guess it is not that revolutionary.  It kind of is to me, though.  I think I've been trying to model the peer reviews - revision process in my classroom after fiction writing workshops I've taken.  In those situations, the students have a lot more leeway in what they comment on.  Giving that kind of leeway to my students is a nightmare.  Even when I asked more pointed questions, it didn't always translate.

Revision is one of the hardest things to teach.  Students often approach writing as if they have written something in stone.  It was so much work for them that they can't fathom having to go back and change it.  Or, you have those students who, for whatever reason, say "My paper is perfect.  I don't want to change anything."

Perhaps this method of very specific reviews and revisions will help students get over the hump with these very important skills.

When does reflection become navel-gazing

I've noticed that my need to post to this blog has really declined in the past month or so.  I'm pretty sure this has a lot to do with my new school.  Reflection is a key component at this school - I meet with three different teachers formally for planning and reflection.  I meet with the High School Director every other week for formal reflection time.  As a staff, we formally meet about three times a week.

This doesn't count all the informal reflecting that is going on - passing in the halls, lunch, waiting outside our room in between classes ...

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not complaining at all.  Having this kind of interaction with my colleagues was what I was sorely missing at my old school and the whole reason why I wanted to transfer to this school.  I can tell that in the past month I've learned so much through this conversations that this transfer was a very good thing for me.

But, what about my blogging?  In the first year of this blog, I typically blogged during two times - when I had free time at school and when I got home from school.  My free time at this new school is now productive time - meeting with other teachers, etc.  The other time I have, I'm busy trying to plan lessons.  When I get home from school, it is usually later in the evening and the last thing I want to do is to extend the amount of time school has taken up in my life (I am more than a teacher, I keep having to remind myself).

Even without the time constraints, I just don't feel the need to blog.  I used it as a space for reflection and to get some feedback on my teaching.  I have that now as a part of my job.  In reading others' blogs, those who post the most seem to be in schools where reflection with peers is not commonplace.  At this point, I feel like blogging at the same frequency as last year would be an exercise in navel-gazing for me.  I spend the whole day thinking about my practice, and then I'm going to come home and do the same?  It's personally too much for me.

That's not to say that I don't plan on continuing posting on this blog.  But, I think it is a useful examination of the whole edublogging practice - especially those blogs run by and for teachers discussing classroom practice.  When the productive, reflective conversations are happening in the school, is there a need for the teacher to blog for a wider audience?