Mrvaudrey

Tag: guestpost

  • Teacher Report Card – Mr. James’ Class

    It’s June. The end of the school year is a great time to take a risk and try something new.B

    On Twitter, several teachers have committed to letting their students grade them (more on that later), and Jesse agreed to write about his experience and let me share it here.

    (I’ve bugged several more to blog about it, and if they do, I’ll link them at the bottom.)

     

    I knew I liked the idea as soon as I saw Matt Vaudreybs tweet about a Teacher Report Card. Just as the tweet said, I knew Ibd be taking a risk, showing some vulnerability, but also knew that my students would definitely give me the feedback I was asking forbafter all, I do teach middle schoolers.

    Earlier in the school year I had some impromptu feedback sessions (digitally as well as face-to-face) when things didnbt seem to be going so well, both in my classroom and amongst the team of teachers I work with. Both were insightful and gave my students a much-needed voice to air grievances as well as positives about the year.

    When my students saw bTEACHER REPORT CARDb written on the daily agenda in all caps, I heard their whispered questions and confusion. For a couple of days, scheduling and last-minute assemblies (and lessons that went into overtime) delayed my introduction of their chance to bgradeb me. But finally the day came for me to explain to them what the Teacher Report Card was all about.

    I told them, bJust as you receive a report card at the end of the year and just like you have received feedback from me during the year, this time you will be the ones in charge of the grades and feedback.b I witnessed a few devious smiles as my eyes scanned the crowd. They liked the idea of this teacher feedback thing way too much.

    What had I gotten myself into?

    I explained that I wanted them to take their time to think about our year together and take their time in grading my classroom, lessons, and b ultimately b me. While there were a few who rushed through the feedback (there always are, but in that, maybe therebs some feedback, too) most of my students were thoughtful and reflective of their sixth grade year in Mr. Jamesb ELA class.

    Reading through the responses I was floored at what some of them had to say. As much as being vulnerable can sway in a positive or negative direction, being vulnerable ultimately makes me a better teacher. Andb&isnbt that the important thing?

    My students were honest in their responses and b at times b their responses touched my heart in the most positive way possible.

    bI feel like I have improved as a reader throughout the school year, and I have thought more about reading than I ever have. :)b

    bI just want to say thank you for being my teacher because since you are my first teacher of the day you help me get through the rest of the day. I also like the way you teach and I think youbre an amazing teacher. Keep it up!b

    bIf we do something wrong he lets us explain ourselves.b

    bI am really glad I ended up with you to start off my journey through HJM. I donbt know how much worse the transition would have been without you, so thanks for staying sane. Mostly.b

    Most of the feedback was very positive and will help me continue doing the things that I do well.

    But then, there were other responses that were tough to read.

    Tough responses that reminded me that this whole vulnerability thing wasnbt as easy as I thought it might be.
    Tough responses that I knew were about a moment that negatively affected a student in my classroom.
    Tough responses that ultimately will make me a much better teacher, but in the moment I was reading them just made me feel like I could have done better b could have done more b and thatbs the part that hurts.

    “Sometimes I hate it when the teacher asks me questions I don’t even know the answer to and when I don’t say anything he will just ask me until I answer.b

    bSometimes, the teacher doesnbt let us finish our sentences.b

    bDonbt yell at people for no reason.b

    bSometimes, the teacher gets on my nerves because i’ll say something and he’ll just look at me like I’m stupid and then maybe answer my question after he calls on another student.b

    While all these tough responses will make a difference, that last response is the response that will make the biggest difference.
    The response that will have the most profound impact on the rest of my teacher career.
    The response that makes this vulnerability a good thing even when it hurts. Because the insecurity and the guilt and the apologetic thoughts that are running through my head as I read that (and as I write this) are what will make me better.

    I encourage all teachers to be reflective in their practice, but to also allow your students to be reflective about their year with you. Allow their voices to be heard and allow them to give you honest feedback through a teacher report card or some other form of feedback.

    Prepare yourself to feel great after reading those incredibly thoughtful heartwarming comments, but also prepare yourself to rack your brain for the moment in the classroom that you may have made a child feel anything less than great.

    Thanks for reading.

    ~Jesse James

  • Teaching is Mistakes

    One of my favorite teachers is Alicia Saldana. She teaches some of the most needy students in the school and requestsB to have them every year. She sometimes shares brain-dumps with me, and it’s my privilege to learn from her.
    This is what she sent me recently.

     

    Today, I let my best self be overshadowed by my lack-of-patience self. My self that has been state testing for 3 weeks and has a 4-month-old that decided during this, the most stressful and exhausting time of year, to sleep only 2 hours at a time. My self that is human (and totally imperfect) snapped at a kid when he tried to explain to me why he was bullying another student.

    Now snapping isn’t something I normally do, ever, but it was a perfect storm. It went something like this.

    bHaha! You got [student] in your group!b

    bExcuse me, this is a safe space. We don’t talk like that.b

    bMrs. Saldana, I said it because –b

    bThere is no excuse!b I interrupted. bYou can’t talk that way.b

    His head hung. He walked back to his seat and refused to work.

    Luckily for me, I work with a special education teacher who told me, bYou gotta let him tell you.b

    She was right. This wasn’t any kid making an excuse for bad behavior. It was a student who lives in a group home who rarely gets heard out and needs love, not a teacher snapping at him. In fact, his circumstances don’t matter. Any kid trying to explain behavior is an opportunity for me as a teacher to teach, not snap.

    Yes, he was wrong. Yes, he was being a bully. But there was no excuse for me not to hear him out.

    I approached him, knelt down at his desk, and apologized.

    bI’m sorry I snapped at you. I absolutely shouldn’t have done that.b

    No answer.

    bI want to know why you said what you said.b

    No answer. I waited. I wasn’t going to get frustrated. We were both going to learn from our mistakes.

    bI just said it because [other student] was saying that he wasn’t doing any work and she didn’t want to be in his group.b

    bBut was what you said helping or hurting?b I asked.

    bHurting,b he answered with finality.

    bAnd what should you have done instead?b

    bIgnored her.b

    bIt’s okay. We all make mistakes. We can both try harder tomorrow. I am really sorry I snapped at you. Webre okay?b

    bWebre okay.b He said

    I held out my pinky finger for him to promise that we were okay. We both walked away better people.

    Teaching is mistakes. It’s learning. The best way to teach kids that we can learn from our mistakes is to model that behavior.

    Yes. State testing has got me down. Yes. I’ve had a rough end to the year. No, this won’t be the last time I have to apologize to a student. It won’t be the last time I snap.

    But every time I do, I hope I’m always a brave enough, strong enough teacher to apologize and learn.

    ~Alicia Saldana