In the news.

Shelby Middle School 4th graders are in the news. Nothing but positive publicity here.

Thursday culminated in an ultimate evening of personal participation with the community. First, the JV football team delivered a 14-0 defeat to neighboring Shaw, then the fourth grade teaching team conspired for a fun filled evening of stargazing with students and parents, and lastly a rendezvous at ‘the club’ with five co-workers for a birthday celebration. Three of the ladies had birthdays within a week of each other and I was feeling celebratory for the decent turnout of fourth graders at the park. Forty out of fifty-six students arrived, guardians in tote, to the SMS baseball field to gaze into the deep expanse of Delta Sky. A week of grueling work had lead to an overall successful event of collaboration and community involvement. I have never seen so many parents in one place at a Delta event.

Last year, at the school wide Parent Jamboree (student pop. 260) you could have counted the parent turn out on your fingers and maybe, just maybe you would have had to use a toe or two. Next week is this year's 'Parent Jamboree'. In fear of another wretched turnout, the fourth grade teacher's are working towards a 4th grade specific parent teacher night. We are planning an evening comprised of two separate sessions to accommodate parent time schedules in which the parents will have the opportunity to rotate through the classes in the same fashion as their students. I think it will be very challenging to generate a turnout equivalent to the stargazing event. Wish us luck.

Teaching's twisted thougts.

Ahhh! Friday. There is a hysteria to this job. It is like a rollercoaster assembled by the deft hands of Chuck Jones. Winding spirals throwing gravity on its head as the cartoon existence explodes off the page only to reappear completely assembled at the exit ramp. I love teaching…I think. Maybe what I love is the chaos. Or maybe it is the organization on the brink of destruction that holds my interest.

I watch the kids on the monkey bars. You know, the one where you have to swing about 50 feet across a sand pit. The sand rests only about 2 feet below the feet of the children but for all they know a fall could impale them on the jagged rocks below. They swing and they strive to cross the great expanse of the playground. Some succeed with sweat dripping down their cheeks, exhaustion in their wrinkled brows and a tired smile on their face that breathes the meaning of accomplishment. Others get halfway through the challenge and dangle. For these children it is not a bead of sweat slipping down their greasy cheeks but a tear, the tear of a failed attempt, as they realize their demise is quickly approaching. They will fall into the gap that so many others have landed in before. This is a gap of forgotten children whose imaginations have created a graveyard of failed attempts that endlessly accumulate below the monkey bars. I love the chaos of school. Some days I soar and I am the child who has made the excruciating journey across the bars and am tired and relieved. Other days I rest above the stagnant death of failed attempts. I however do not let go of the monkey bars and am trying to convince my kids that they must do the same. We must always persevere, use our failures as moments to learn, and then strive again to reach our goals.

The line of children trying to cross the crocodile filled waters of the playground is endless. In my neck of the woods many land in the hole, this so called achievement gap, and it is huge, repulsively so. You can see the bodies piled on top of each other squirming, suffocating, and squealing for help. Maybe I can dangle above, grab a handful and bring them across to safety.

I am only one teacher, but I work with my colleagues for the benefit of the children. We can build bridges across the perils of the schoolyard and save more children. Collaboration, care, and concern will yield success. The children can see it. They know when we are working together. They are little people with feelings and sensations. They are smart. They can sense disorder as well as thoughtfully laid plans. When their leaders are united in a common goal of improving their prospects they will follow us otherwise they often end up in the turmoil stirring below the monkey bars. Teaching is fun. Sometimes it is fun in the sadistic way that some people laugh when someone stumbles on a banana peal, but it is also fun in the idea of the Adidas commercial that reads, "Impossible is nothing.”

Much love
Mr. C

I bought a laser pointer.

Friday was my 25th birthday. I am a quarter century old. I spend my days with people less than half my age convincing them the benefits of sharing their feelings, working hard, and the relevance of math.

I have learned to deliver about 10 statements of praise in less than a 10 second period. I purchased a laser pointer to increase my mobility around the room. Now I can stand anywhere and point to the relevant propaganda on the walls that the student should be referencing.

What does it mean to 'Expect the Best'? --- little red dot gets shot at the wall, students eyes follow dot, light bulb goes off, answer gets delivered --- We need to always work our hardest and act right.

Bingo! That is correct.

Mr. C: Why? (laser point goes towards the success cycle)

Student: Because when we work our hardest we do a good job, we feel good, and want to work more.

Mr. C: Excellent answer!

My room is now littered with these statements. My vocabulary is on repeat. Students are starting to use the words I use. We are creating a state of inclusion through the repetitive use of positioning our rules in a positive manner, actively listening, inviting statements of appreciation and reflecting on the importance of what we have been doing. While extrinsic reward systems can be helpful, I hate them. I hate the burden they create and I hate remembering them. The goal is that students will come to understand that the extrinsic reward is a secondary benefit subordinate to that of the feeling we recieve from a job well done. That's the dream.

This is not 'Nam. There are rules.

A quote from The Big Lebowski, a film watched endlessly by college students, has John Goodman holding a pistol to a fellow bowlers head for stepping over the line and not marking the score zero. He tells him "This is not 'Nam. It's bowling. There are rules."

This is often how school feels. People are yelling about how it should be quiet and how you should act while brandishing a thick wooded board built for 'whacking'. However, at the SKC we are trying to reconstruct the concept of rules. Rules are not obstacles to be avoided or in place so we can figure out how to break them. They are empowering ideas, which will propel us to achievement. I found the gaff in the my lesson plans last week when we had a week long concluding exercise and many of the students responded, "When we break a rule we move our clip down". Arrrggggh. No! When you break a rule you are losing learning time and impeding your chances for success or in the case of the Big Lebowski, the success of others. This underlying concept that the rules will bring you to a higher plateau of self worth must be delivered to the children. Thankfully we are not that far off. On Monday we will be talking about BIG GOALS and how the rules will be helping to propel us towards these goals. The kids will buy it. I am almost positive that building intrinsic motivation will happen.

Spiders and Mosquitoes

I know that there are a lot of bugs out here on the farm. I mean really, it’s a farm and its in Mississippi. I was walking around in the carport and noticed the phenomenal number of spider webs attached to every joint of the structure. Corners, ceiling meeting wall, and around the door were all covered with webs. Not just webs, but webs that had caught an uncountable number of mosquitoes. I decided to do some housecleaning and took the broom and tore down all the of the spider webs.

The next day I noticed that the swarming mosquito count in the carport had gone through the roof. Then I recalled how a few weeks back there were a ton of mosquitoes and few spider webs. When the spiders put the webs back, I am just going to let them hang out until mosquito season ends, at which point I suppose spider season will be ending as well.

What an interesting way to look at the seasons. We teach the kids that cold equals winter and hot means summer. Since I have been cooking for myself I have been thinking about seasons more in terms of when fruits and vegetables are available. Now I am thinking about the seasons in terms of what type and the count of bugs are out here.

In the midst

I spent Sunday writing first week plans, then I wrote them again, then I went for a run to clear the jumble of thoughts swirling around in my head, then I scribbled some notes on a tablet and decided that I would take this week day by day.

And that's where I am...in the midst of the onslaught of teaching. I can think of it in no other terms. Maybe we can call it the "The Teacher Hole". Welcome to endless hours of planning, managing, running around, creating, constructing, and delivering. The past two days have been good. My friends called and asked how the first day was. It was good. I don't feel like it was anything spectacular, everything went according to plan. I guess in terms of teaching that is spectacular, but I had a sharp realization, that if I don't make this job entertaining for me as well as the children it will promise not to be fun. I am drained by the end of the day like a soapbox politician from spewing the same lesson three times a day. The biggest difference between this year and last year is that I know I am the boss. I am no longer pretending to know how to lead a classroom. I stand in front of the children and I am in charge. I throw around teacher looks that cause children to quiver, and they revert to being absolutely correct. My face reads, "You will rapidly resolve your problem or you will be destroyed by this look on my face alone."

After my first day, I was having some serious doubts about teaching. Things went well but I was not happy. I was not excited. I didn’t get the feeling I was going to be making big strides from last year. I couldn't believe I was going to have to perform this roll for another 179 days. I spoke with my friend G... and after a long conversation we came back to the point that you just need to take care of your own grass. You know, the grass is always greener on the other side, but it's really just because you are slacking on your own lawn maintenance.

So, I whipped up some second day lesson plans and went to work. The day was successful; all went according to plan. But beyond this, I think a step forward was made. I have been preaching about community to everyone. We need to invest students and create a classroom of cooperative learners. Today we went to the carpet, a special place in the classroom. It was nice. The students were silent. They listened to each other. We shared things we liked, then we made statements of appreciation (the students were told to remember something from some of their classmates) and the students connected their statements to those of others. "I really liked what T... said about the color blue because I like the color blue too and it reminds of pretty skies." We reflected and had a meaningful discussion about why it is difficult to share when we are in a big group. Another teacher walked in during this community meeting, and had the look of "What the fudge is Mr. C doing on the floor with these children.” but it was nice and enjoyable and I think everyone felt good. I guess taking care of that grass can mean stepping out of our comfort zone and annexing new lands. This way I can stay busy taking care of a little more grass.

Open for Business

After a week of hard work, tearing down permanent fixtures that are not suppose to be torn down, building tables, painting in purple, covering the walls in bright colors, scrubbing, sweeping, and polishing, the SKC is ready to open for business.

"Come on in, let's have a look around."

















There are four functional computers, a carpet for community meetings and wall based activities, and a table for group project work."
















"Ahhh, the front of the room, where direct instruction takes place. Look at these beautiful desks, they create gorgeous flat tables when put into groups. To the left is a shelf to hold work for a station based activity and the purple place to the right surrounded by the blue boarder is where a cabinet used to be affixed. Thanks to a hammer and crow bar that cabinet is no longer there and now I have a gateway to a world of endless possibilities."

"Here you can see my wonderfully housed computers sitting on the purple shelf I built, YES! The other purple space in the back, is set for kids to work inside the cabinet. When I was a kid I loved bright colors and crawling into spaces. I think this is going to work out quite well".

"Big Goals. Got to have them. Ours is "Get Gold". It is very student accessible. The Goal is to win the SKC Olympics which entails beating 10 events and getting an 80 or better on each test. You do this, you Get Gold, and I get significant gains."










LET"S DO THIS!
Mr. C

School Scheduling is Fun

Today was my first day of required school attendance. We had a good long district wide meeting with refreshments provided. Then we split up to go to our schools for focused faculty meetings. I can recall this time last year sitting in the meeting. It was a surreal experience. There were three of us new TFA teachers, and the only white folks at the school. However, I quickly came to learn that I am not white, but Italian, which seems to have worked to my advantage.

This time around there are three more new TFA teachers and while the introduction to the Delta can be a severe culture shock we now at least have a presence at the school to help make the transition easier. I love my school and my co-workers and am more or less comfortable speaking out and making suggestions.

I had talked with my principal about scheduling about a week ago. We discussed setting up the school wide schedule and I pitched that we should block together Science and Social studies into a single 100-minute period to mirror Math and English. The idea was to cut down grade level teachers from 4 to 3, create easier planning teams, and provide a larger block of instructional time. Other school wide scheduling priorities were: include a recess, ensure all periods are the same length, and do not have lunches in the in the middle of a block. I took the time to create a prototype schedule matching the listed priorities and submitted it to Mrs. M... for perusal. Today we received the outline of our new schedule.

Science and social studies have been blocked together. Excellent. However, and I find this to be truly amazing, the periods of the day are varying lengths. My three math classes for the day have three totally different times: 105min, 120min, and 110min. My planning period is 55min compared with 45min for other teachers. Recess has been scrapped. We have 30 minutes for lunch and are allowed to take the students outside if we can squeeze it into this time allotment. And as for blocks not being broken, lunch sits squarely in the middle of a block for everybody but the fourth grade.

Oh wait, the icing on the cake. Students trickle in from 7AM to 7:45AM. Last year they ate breakfast and then sat in the auditorium until the start of the day. This caused a commotion because the students became restless and did not have a productive outlet for their enthusiasm. This year students are to go directly to their classrooms after breakfast. And here's the kicker...students will be arriving from 7AM on. Teachers do not need to be at school until 7:40. As soon as we arrive at school, no matter the time we are to take our students to the classroom. This means ZERO planning time in the morning to get ready for the day. This is a huge disincentive for teachers to get to school early. Why would I go to school at 7AM and have to manage students when I could stay at home and work until 7:40? What happens with the students if the teacher does not show up early? They sit in the auditorium. I don't know about you but it sounds as if we just told the teachers to come in at the last possible moment and that we will keep the children in the auditorium under minimal supervision just like last year. My guess --- this system is doomed to failure, but what do I know. Part of this job is being flexible so I am just going to roll with the punches and see who or what hits the mat first.

Cadillacs and Aeroplanes

The other day I came home to see a burnt orange 1976 drop top El Dorado Cadillac on the lawn outside my house. There are at least 11 cars on the property, all but two are American, and I can think of 5 Cadillacs off the top of my head. I saw this broke down looking monster stretched out across the lawn and thought, "There is no way this thing runs."

Well, I was hard at work when I heard this deep growl rumbling by my window. To my utter disbelief it was none other than the good Doctor arriving in his newly acquired convertible Cadillac pimp mobile with one hand on the wheel and the other slung over the side of the door. He was defining cool. I was waiting for my front lawn to erupt into a hip hop video with a slew of Cadillacs bouncing on hydraulics, scantily clad woman, large beverages and the Doctor mc-ing the show.

I ran outside to complement him on his new purchase and he told me that he just can't pass up the opportunity to buy these things when they turn up. Then his phone rang. His brother was flying over on a joyride from Cleveland (Mississippi that is, about 20 minutes by car from Shelby) and wanted to know if he wanted to take a ride. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Dr. M...asked if I would like to take a quick flight to get a birds eye view of the fields. Absolutely!

We took a 20 minute flight over the patchwork of greens, browns, and golds that sew together the landscape of the Delta during the growing season. If I didn't know better, the enormous concentric circles created by an artillery of irrigation arms could have been crop circles left by extra terrestrials. I could see the grid work of endless fields punctuated by small towns. Eight miles off on the horizon was the great river continuously fueling the history of this region. The layout of the Delta is not complicated and I have a firm grasp of how everything is oriented, but to fly at 1200 feet over the fields and towns that I call home and to experience the images of Google Earth in real time was breathtaking.