Please click on the following links below and write your reflections and AHAs (Ideas that made you think of say AHA). Please also respond to one AHA from another student.
Click on comments to leave your response.
http://www.resiliency.com/htm/turnaround.htm
http://www.resiliency.com/htm/build.htm
http://www.resiliency.com/htm/turnaround.htm
http://www.resiliency.com/htm/build.htm
The statistic, 'at least 50% and usually 70% of 'high risk' children grow up to not only successful..confident, competent and caring persons' given in "How to be a Turnaround Teacher" was a little surprising. That number was relevant in 1992 but I wonder if it still applies. I would like to know what they measured those attributes with also.
ReplyDeleteI do buy into providing connections, competence and contribution. Sometimes at the middles school level we don't get to see the outcomes-that span of time in the students' lives is wrought with uncertainty, flux and an evolution of their selves.
One statement that caught my eye was having high expectations and conveying that to the students. I have always been a firm believer in this. It is so hard to show the child what is out there as far as possibilities go when their world is small and confined. Many of my students come with a resignation that school and what they do in school does not matter. We do all we can to show them differently. In this matter it is at times difficult for the educator to keep the positive outlook when there are so many negatives we see in our students' lives-things that are beyond our control.
The article “How to Be a Turnaround Teacher/Mentor” just seems to make sense to me. The school day lasts around 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. That is plenty of time to create lasting relationships with students. I agree with Mary that in the middle school we might not always see the results of our efforts, but I do believe we make a huge difference in the lives of our students. Turnaround teachers clearly make connections, build competence, and create opportunities for student contributions.
ReplyDeleteI learned in one of my grad classes about a technique called the “2 x 10.” The idea is to target a student and make a connection with them for 2 minutes a day for 10 straight days. The student is not to be told that you are doing this, you are just to seek them out at some point in the day and talk to them. In the beginning you do most of the seeking and talking, but as the days go on the student will begin to seek you out and talk more and more. I have used this technique on several students over the last 3 years. It is absolutely amazing! This year the other teachers have dubbed my room “Boys Town” because I always have several boys in my room after school, between classes, and any time they can find an excuse to visit with me. I make an effort to connect with them within the school and during extra-curricular activities (including traveling to outside schools to watch events). I ask about brothers, sisters, outside interests, whatever I can think of to get them to talk.
As a result of the connections I make, the students are learning to have higher expectations for themselves. Never say never in my classroom. Everyone can learn the concepts; it just takes different methods and time frames to get it to happen. Patience is the key and a love of who you are teaching. These students mean the world to me. I never give up on them and they know it.
Student contribution can have amazing outcomes. Given a say in some of the things in the classroom gives the students power and in return you get cooperation. I know that when I ask if the students would like to extend a lesson and in return they will not be assigned homework you would think I had given them a party for the day. When I give them choices on homework assignments they are happy. It doesn’t take much to get a positive response.