THAT Student...

Couldn't have said it better myself... (the following is from here although originally from here but so good I am reporting in full!)

Dear Parent,

I know. You're worried. Every day, your child comes home with a story about THAT kid. The one who is always hitting/shoving/pinching/scratching/maybe even biting other children. The one who always has to hold my hand in the hallway. The one who has a special spot at the carpet, and sometimes sits on a chair rather than the floor. The one who had to leave the block center because blocks are not for throwing. The one who climbed over the playground fence right exactly as I was telling her to stop. The one who poured his neighbor's milk onto the floor in a fit of anger. On purpose. While I was watching. And then, when I asked him to clean it up, emptied the ENTIRE paper towel dispenser. On purpose. While I was watching. The one who dropped the REAL ACTUAL F-word in gym class.

You're worried that THAT child is detracting from your child's learning experience. You're worried that he takes up too much of my time and energy, and that your child won't get his fair share. You're worried that she is really going to hurt someone someday. You're worried that "someone" might be your child. You're worried that your child is going to start using aggression to get what she wants. You're worried your child is going to fall behind academically because I might not notice that he is struggling to hold a pencil. I know.

Your child, this year, in this classroom, at this age, is not THAT child. Your child is not perfect, but she generally follows rules. He is able to share toys peaceably. She does not throw furniture. He raises his hand to speak. She works when it is time to work, and plays when it is time to play. He can be trusted to go straight to the bathroom and straight back again with no shenanigans. She thinks that the S-word is "stupid" and the C-word is "crap." I know.

I know, and I am worried, too.

You see, I worry all the time. About ALL of them. I worry about your child's pencil grip, and another child's letter sounds, and that little tiny one's shyness, and that other one's chronically empty lunch box. I worry that Gavin's coat is not warm enough, and that Talitha's dad yells at her for printing the letter "B" backwards. Most of my car rides and showers are consumed with the worrying.

But I know, you want to talk about THAT child. Because Talitha's backward "B"s are not going to give your child a black eye.

I want to talk about THAT child, too, but there are so many things I can't tell you.

I can't tell you that she was adopted from an orphanage at 18 months.

I can't tell you that he is on an elimination diet for possible food allergies, and that he is therefore hungry ALL. THE. TIME.

I can't tell you that her parents are in the middle of a horrendous divorce, and she has been staying with her grandma.

I can't tell you that I'm starting to worry that grandma drinks...

I can't tell you that his asthma medication makes him agitated.

I can't tell you that her mom is a single parent, and so she (the child) is at school from the moment before-care opens, until the moment after-care closes, and then the drive between home and school takes 40 minutes, and so she (the child) is getting less sleep than most adults.

I can't tell you that he has been a witness to domestic violence.

That's OK, you say. You understand I can't share personal or family information. You just want to know what I am DOING about That Child's behavior.

I would love to tell you. But I can't.

I can't tell you that she receives speech-language services, that an assessment showed a severe language delay, and that the therapist feels the aggression is linked to frustration about being unable to communicate.

I can't tell you that I meet with his parents EVERY week, and that both of them usually cry at those meetings.

I can't tell you that the child and I have a secret hand signal to tell me when she needs to sit by herself for a while.

I can't tell you that he spends rest time curled in my lap because "it makes me feel better to hear your heart, Teacher."

I can't tell you that I have been meticulously tracking her aggressive incidents for three months, and that she has dropped from five incidents a day, to five incidents a week.

I can't tell you that the school secretary has agreed that I can send him to the office to "help" when I can tell he needs a change of scenery.

I can't tell you that I have stood up in a staff meeting and, with tears in my eyes, BEGGED my colleagues to keep an extra close eye on her, to be kind to her even when they are frustrated that she just punched someone AGAIN, and this time, RIGHT IN FRONT OF A TEACHER.

The thing is, there are SO MANY THINGS I can't tell you about That Child. I can't even tell you the good stuff.

I can't tell you that his classroom job is to water the plants, and that he cried with heartbreak when one of the plants died over winter break.

I can't tell you that she kisses her baby sister goodbye every morning, and whispers "You are my sunshine" before mom pushes the stroller away.

I can't tell you that he knows more about thunderstorms than most meteorologists.

I can't tell you that she often asks to help sharpen the pencils during playtime.

I can't tell you that she strokes her best friend's hair at rest time.

I can't tell you that when a classmate is crying, he rushes over with his favorite stuffy from the story corner.

The thing is, dear parent, that I can only talk to you about YOUR child. So, what I can tell you is this:

If ever, at any point, YOUR child, or any of your children, becomes THAT child...

I will not share your personal family business with other parents in the classroom.

I will communicate with you frequently, clearly, and kindly.

I will make sure there are tissues nearby at all our meetings, and if you let me, I will hold your hand when you cry.

I will advocate for your child and family to receive the highest quality of specialist services, and I will cooperate with those professionals to the fullest possible extent.

I will make sure your child gets extra love and affection when she needs it most.

I will be a voice for your child in our school community.

I will, no matter what happens, continue to look for, and to find, the good, amazing, special, and wonderful things about your child.

I will remind him and YOU of those good, amazing, special, wonderful things, over and over again.

And when another parent comes to me, with concerns about YOUR child...

I will tell them all of this, all over again.

With so much love,
Teacher

P.S. From Shine - You may not have actually heard so much about THAT child as the year has progressed because they have worked hard to make positive changes as they begin to value themselves as I value them. I have even noticed them begin to acknowledge their successes and use strategies independently to deal with their unique challenges.

I am proud of the efforts they have made (and sometimes they let themselves feel that too) and I want you to know that their courage in the face of their own adversity has had positive impact on the academic and social life of all students in our learning environment.

It's Official! We Rock at READING!

I have spent many hours researching and comparing resources form various schools I have found online over the last two years to come up with a VERY comprehensive (but National Standard wise - unconfirmed/verified) list of approximations for who all the different reading level measurement systems fit together.
This has been frustrating.
There was never a clear answer as to if a student reading a PM fiction book with excellent comprehension (including inference) and fluency/expression at level 30 meant they were above a Year 4 or 5 or 6 level.

However...having finally got a definitive word on the match up between PM reading levels, National Standard reading levels, Reading Age year levels (etc etc) - and the official word that our running record source is our official one -  it turns out that my learning environment (which started out with many below and at risk readers) officially has NO BELOWS anymore for reading!

We have a number of ATs many ABOVES (including a few of the previous BELOWS) and a number of ABOVE ABOVES!

This is something I have been raving in celebration about in our room!
At this school the majority of our learners carry baggage that is not their own regarding their skills and abilities as learners and readers in particular. This is very frustrating as it impacts not only their current self perception but the aspirations they then neglect to envision for themselves.

Many will tell me they don't like reading - and I always respond with comments to clarify their thinking - when they are questioned it turns out it is not actually reading they don't like but the idea of being forced to read something they don't like (which means they had no input, choice or connection). Sometimes this is the situation created at home when they are tired, they have an instructional level book that they haven't connected with and reading has an aurora of chore rather than a positive-cuddle-sharing-fun-success time with caregivers.


Interestingly, this year many an attitude has changed as their awareness of what reading is has changed in their mind.
I often mention gaming as a powerful literacy environment - if your poppet is into Minecraft you can bet they have used their reading skills to sift through a ton of you tube video search results to find out how to make a certain thing or read an instruction text!

Please acknowledge these moments for what they are - the real world use of a valuable skill!

Nathan Mikaere-Wallis

I feel I cannot even begin to explain the impact this educator has had on my pedagogy, learning environment, attitude, personal philosophy and peace of mind this year.

I reference him a lot - in conversations with colleagues, parents, students and, most importantly, myself! (in this blog, most recently, here btw).

Attended part two of his lecture series here in Nelson tonight and am still overwhelmed with ... hmm, what is the word... validation probably is the closest one I can think of.

Tonight we recapped brain stages 1 and 2 and then completed with info on stage 3 and 4.
Not many weeks left of term for me to work on 4 - Executive Brain function but I will do my best!

He specifically referenced Lumosity for reinforcing and exercising executive brain function. I used to have a free account and really liked it until it asked me to pay. Now that he has mentioned it I am happy to pay a year subscription!
I'll let you know how it goes!

I wonder if there is a special school subscription! Gotta be better than study ladder!!

Stepping Up

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time - we are the ones we have been waiting for and we are the change we seek.

Thanks for that Obama!

Gamification vs Intrinsic motivation

I began to watch this and realised I am a bit of a intrinsic motivation snob!

But then I kept watching.

Need a follow up now on Mark's ideas for putting this into practise. 

I'll look for some case studies.

Conversation for Professional Learning

Part of a question sheet our Principal asked to be filled in this week and part of a bigger conversation on Pedogogy I have been having with myself this year - especially in this latter half where I have been part of some astounding progress that has occurred outside of the traditional school environment/timeframe with some of the most at risk young people I am directly responsible for this year. 

While writing it I was constantly drawn (guilted?) into viewing my response through the 'academic' lens I mention at the start - "Doesn't this sound like I am making excuses for a lack of academic achievement in my students?"

 But actually there is progress, of course, and pressuring myself and my students to conform to the ideas of where they should be created by a government with a traditional view of education as something that produces a rich elite chained to a routine of gaining vast amounts of material possessions and mass producing minions to cater to the needs and whims of that elite.... wait.. I am monologuing (not to mention in danger of digressing!)... you probably get my point.

I am not dodging the question of progress. There is progress (and in many cases big progress and undoubtedly unacknowledged progress) PLUS I truly believe in my heart that the following is the greatest asset to pass on to my fellow learners...

1. Consider the overall progress in learning so far this year. How do you think things are going? 

Learning is a holistic dynamic and learning success, therefore, cannot be fully appreciated through a purely “academic” lens.

 I can see that all Nile Room students’ readiness for learning has increased; they have an ever-increasing awareness of their needs and the importance of being open to learning and putting in effort/work to attain goals.

Their ability to access the curriculum has improved as well as their awareness of themselves and relationship to others. They have a vastly different set of needs (from each other) and have such a tolerance for where each other are at with their own goals.

 All have made important progress in their greatest areas of need. For some this is purely academic and for others it is in learning to overcome (and better understand) their own academic progress barriers and actually allow themselves to progress and enjoy having academic success. 

In the forefront of my mind is preparing them to be happy and successful in the world after school. Writing legibly, reading fluently, knowing three different mental strategies to problem solve and understanding the concept of fair testing are important and certainly things worth knowing – however, I believe, the skill that will inevitably prove most useful to them (and keep them connected to the positive world of learning those important things and striving in their lives) is the ability to manage themselves through adversity, whatever life will throw up, with confidence and self assurance. 

The life experience that forms the foundation for this needs to start here... and now.

Hoping to work on a more expanded form for this blog this weekend (although, like most of my blog posts lately {and hence professional learning} it falls at the end of the never-ending list of squeaky wheel tasks linked directly to National Standards and reporting...).

And just for my own benefit, so that I don't forget later (which probably quite often happens but I forget so obviously don't notice it much...), another key component in my line of thought here is the  lack of resilience/persistence that students are teaching themselves by repeatedly copping out or taking the easy path. Ironic really because if they knew that they actually were employing the very skill they need to make academic progress to actively not make academic progress, they would create the very  life experience they need for their foundation of confidence and self assurance.

Hmm, I need to create a name for that little cycle of irony and start a lecture circuit!

What 3 to 7 Year Olds Need to Learn?

Nathan Mikaere-Wallis is always handy for a complex and important message that is easily assessable to all!
What 3 to 7 Year Olds Need to Learn?

A clip from Radio New Zealand about children forming concepts as a learner, letting children be children and the value of enjoying listening to your children tell you what they "know" about their world.

He spends some time responding to some common questions from listeners.


The big message: play, Play.... PLAY!  (YAH!)

A Wrap Around Literacy Environment....

Finally! I am starting to find education articles saying what I said from the start!
Minecraft, and video games in general, are a motivational tool for struggling readers!

How Videogames Like Minecraft Actually Help Kids Learn to Read

How does it do this? The secret lies not inside the game itself but in the players' activities outside of it. Minecraft is surrounded by a culture of literacy. The game comes with minimal instructions or tutorials, so new players immediately set about hunting for info on how it works. That means watching YouTube videos of experts at play, of course, but it also means poring over how-to texts at Minecraftwikis and “walk-through” sites, written by gamers for gamers. Or digging into printed manuals like The Ultimate Player's Guide to Minecraft or the official Minecraft Redstone Handbook, some of which are now best sellers.

 Wanna know more?
Check it out  @  http://minecraftedu.com    - it's all set up and ready to go!

Challenges in Math

Having a Y4/5/6 class is a great challenge as a teacher as I am constantly looking for open tasks that challenge all my students wherever they are.

Have been having a bit of a focus on maths lately and a few sites have been helpful but generally there is a HUGE lack of rich math tasks online. I found this really surprising! I am used to finding whatever I need/want online.

Anyway.... check these out.

http://nrich.maths.org

http://mathpickle.com/K-12/Videos.html

Am also adding

https://www.khanacademy.org - lots of how to videos that poppets understand better than me. Account easy to make, especially if you want to sign in with gmail or Facebook.

http://www.dragonboxapp.com

(I haven't used dragon box myself yet but highly recommended by some alternative educators I know. Will be setting up one of my year 6 boys with an account as he wants to learn algebra! The other year 6 boys is going to do Khan Academy.)

Advise all teachers to have a Khan account too! It's good for you!

Pepeha, Acknowledgement and Humbleness

I am humbled and valued today!
Our Maori language expert was in today.
He sat with me after his session to share with me that he was very impressed with the  pronunciation, commitment and ability of our learners (including me!) in picking up this complex mihi he has provided us with!

A week or two ago he arrived to teach us a graphic way of remembering the components, only to find, we had already employed the exact strategy he wanted to show us - and to great success!

We have been utilising visual cues (from The Writing Book) in our writing and we had the idea to use  them to remember each line of our mihi.

So we all have a coloured strip of paper with circled stick figure images that trigger us to remember the part we are up to.

We are ingenious apparently!

He also made a point of acknowledging my part in the improvements in attitude, behaviour and engagement of some of the more infamous members of our learning environment.
That is just the pep one needs every now and then!

#feelingblessed

Big Screens, Sharing and Padlet

Today our new 60 inch screen was up and running.
Mundane tasks took on a whole new meaning  - teaching and learning moments all round. I didn't have to say one thing during roll call - they all knew who I was about to say because they could see!

The very first thing I noticed... lots of reading was happening (WOOT!).
We used the screen for a timer for maths rotations - worked better than I thought as the placement of the tv is not optimal for the whole room to see it.

The sharing has been rewarding - during music we used Garageband and people were saving to the student drive and getting down on time so they could share with Airplay. People showing how they did a certain thing, people asking "How'd you do that!". Perfection.

I was minimally concerned about their ability to jump onto the screen in any of our classrooms at anytime - we had a short talk about etiquette and it never became an issue - something to keep an eye on though. They also the ability to bump the current sharer off the big screen f they are on one of the silver laptops ( most of the laptops are older white ones which don't have the airplay function). I can manage this by being elective about who uses the silvers.

Later in the day I threw up a padlet with a topic related question - and they had a few mins to go away and throw an answer up then come back and share someone else's. They were mostly all occupied watching the big screen as more and more answers went up - most people put more than one contribution (YAH!).

Big disappointment at the end of the day (for me) - I had planned for them to use clipping magic.com to isolate themselves away from a background so they could then paste themselves onto an olden days image (to them write/blog about). I got it going and got them to have a turn with the group on the screen - then we went to save the image and suddenly my awesome free resource is a pay per use!
Grrrrrr - so looking for alternatives now (will mention this after I have checked it out...).

After school I popped around to the other classes for a "Big Screen Debrief" - attempted some problem solving and went back to my room to experiment with the interactive pen aspect of the tv... that is ongoing! I am interested in how we will introduce that to our younger poppets - drawing on school TVs and not TVs at home!
Maybe that is only something we think they will have trouble with.

So.. in short ---> reading up, engagement up,  peer teaching up, teacher talk down, social yap down, complaining down.

WOOT!


P.S: More on using padlet in your rooms

The Gap Between Them and Us

Children are about as amazing as technology!

Writing Prompts...

Found this on a Pintrest reconnaissance mission for useful teaching tidbits this evening (yes, it is Saturday, hmm!).

I shall print it up big and in colour and we shall do a large amount of language scaffolding about it and see what happens!

P.S. I made the photo a link to the site I got it from...this is also another one called IF that I will also use.

PPS: There will be an edit here when I have!

Math PD #2

Second part of Math PD today (it's amazing what exhausted teachers can do after the poppets go home!).


They really pack it into these courses but without fail you come away wanting a new piece of maths equipment that you now know how to use in a deeper way - this time - laminated 40 by 30 arrays.

We even did a reading - well a page of a reading.

Jenny Young-Loveridge and Judith Mills (Chapter 3) Multiplicative Thinking: Representing Multidigit Multiplication problems using arrays

Main thing from this page was that building student's conceptual understanding takes time and effort and that teaching an algorithm  as a method for student's to fall back on is folly.
There is now research evidence to show that an emphasis on procedural knowledge and rules undermines conceptual understanding ( and hence the deeper application of knowledge to solve increasingly complex problems). My interpretation is that this also would apply to the rote learning of tables.

We again filled out the sheet naming the numeracy stages and their corresponding levels and definitions of content at each. This is ALWAYS enlightening and as much as I think I know I still struggle (although I did notice much improvement!).  Many people still shocked to note that stages 1 - 4 are all level one.

Problem of the night
Annie has 9 boxes of apples. Each box holds 59 apples. How many apples are there altogether?

MY first strategy was multistage...
9 X 59 = 9 x 60 - 9
((60 x 10) - 60) - 9
600 - 60 - 9
540 - 9 = 531

By the end of the session I solved this with a drawn array...much more efficiently!





Here is my summing up to course doodle...

Sign Language Week (in review)

Our Sign Language guru was incredible and for a number of the poppets - 'inspiring'!

They were so attentive and responsive.
Was surprised to see SH visibly out of her comfort zone - she got used it to with about ten mins to go though :)

Cathy Gutshlag was our guru's name. She rocked!
It was in insight to see how much they participated and learnt in one hour long session.
They want her to come back!

Nile Class has a habit of making me proud when it really counts. They were polite and engaged.

More of these interactions please!

We learnt to introduce ourselves with a sign for my and name and then fingerspelling our names.
We learnt some animals and some colours and the importance of faces in sign - the sign for like and don't like are the same but the facial expression makes the difference. They all seemed to crisp this concept with little effort.

I have been incorporating sign into the week whenever I can - even if it meant introducing myself as a smelly fish!
(Drew taught us a new song about jellyfish which, quite co-incidentally) involved signs and exaggerated body movements!
Loved the silent hands sign language applause for Jason at assembly when he got a Special People's Award!

Assessment Moderation

Today I attended a cluster for moderation.
The session was at St Jo's and I got to sit in one of my previous students desks (it was quite lovely for me!).
The gathering was for my colleagues teaching the same level as me so we could, as a group, try to gain some consistency between our various schools in assessing writing.

It was fun! We all provided samples for the group to score based on the current asTTle marking guide.

Interestingly for our first meeting we were mostly all very close in our marking with the non-majority scoring the mark below or above the majority.

A great result!

I must say I do like the new marking rubric - I think it is practical, has diverse application and provides a more accurate rating of students work.
it is also not to hard to adapt for student consumption.

On a side note - it is stressful for us to attend these things during school time as it means we are all out of our class because we are such a small staff!

Sign Language Week!

This week is NZSL Week!

We have a special guest in class on Tuesday morning, first thing.
Our sign language guru!

I have sprung it on the class rather suddenly, even though I have organised this a long time ago.
I did tell them on Friday, but they sometimes need a few tellings!

I put up a display over the weekend and prompted them to learn to finger spell their names.
One of them found my NZSL book which is old now (! from when I did the course at university!) and has blackened white photos (LOTS) which show a large number and variety of signs.

I have told them she is likely profoundly deaf.
D and Q think they know who it will be - someone they saw at Birchwood. They mentioned high heels and seemed less than positive - but mostly that is just their protective reaction to anything new.

I am looking forward to being a confident role model in this new and unknown (to them) situation!

Places for Mihi!

Useful places name resource  - I am thinking for mihi.

It includes pronunciation and translation.
Need to get this on the blog so students can use it for their mini this term.

The Treaty

Underlying our work this term on developing our learning environment and expectations is the concept of a classroom treaty.
I have attempted to educate about our NZ Treaty in subtle ways as well as direct teaching.

We have the treaty up on the wall (a facsimile) and our classroom treaty relates to this and will be compared to it.

On the list of activities are a few readings and a station activity.

EDIT: We had an excellent impromptu discussion about Wairau that led into discussion about The Treaty and language interpretation and unfairness.

Inanimate Alice

Have had a brief look at this resource which looks to be exciting - especially to engage reluctant readers.

I think only the first "chapters" are freely available. Then resources start costing.

Teach Teachers How to Create Magic...

Te Whāriki- because learning happens everywhere and all the time...

Have been having a quick re-look at Te Whāriki which came up as part of our change team work last year (to do with reviewing our use of assessment). The literal translation of Te Whāriki is 'The Woven Mat' - a holistic metaphor for what we do, indeed!
Te Whāriki is based on the aspirations that children grow up:

• as competent and confident learners and communicators
• healthy in mind, body and spirit
• secure in their sense of belonging
• secure in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society.

I initially was attracted to it in terms of integrating discovery learning into St V's classroom programme.
It is a surprising wee gem of a document - well done Early Childhood - thank goodness the government isn't interfering with this side of their professionalism ... yet (knock on wood!!!).

Te Whāriki principles are;

• Empowerment
• Holistic Development
• Family and Community 
• Relationships

What an amazing foundation for our youngsters - it would be great if this could transition more into our primary curriculum ( not to mention our secondary!). These things are important to us all!!

Notes I made this time around

Empowerment - Feedback to students on their learning must enhance their sense of themselves to nurture esteem in their capability and competence

Holistic Development - assessing needs to take place in context - transparently meaningful/purposeful activities

Family and Community

The necessity and usefulness of having family integrated into  assessment and evaluation of the curriculum AND student's learning and development.

Also I note the positives and negatives we deal with as educators in the reality of parental influence on learning (transferences of parents educational baggage to their children).

Relationships - adults as learners - life long learners whether they know it or not! Self awareness of this is key.

Five learning strands

 Te Whāriki’s four principles are interwoven with these learning areas:

• Mana atua wellbeing
• Mana tangata contribution
• Mana whenua belonging
• Mana reo communication
• Mana aotūroa exploration.

Thoughts on these another time...

Nile in the Cloud

I just signed Nile Room up for some SOLE...  (as previously mentioned by me here)

Here we go team!!

World Science U

I'm keen!


Find out more here!!

What Kids Want...

If they only knew they wanted it...?

I have been thinking since last year what I can do to rebuild a learning culture with a group of students that have had a tough year with a different teacher. I want to create an environment that nurtures self directed collaborative learners. The link below offers me a route...

What do you think matters most to our children?

For 20 years I have been posing this question to my students. At the beginning of every school year, I would ask my students to give me advice on how to be their best teacher. I asked them to think about the times they felt most successful and to consider what the adults in their lives did to make this success possible.

EDIT: The author of this article went on to note that his students wrote furiously for many minutes  - unfortunately we differ here - my students looked dumbfounded and what followed was a mixture of things they think I wanted them to say and answers they admitted were "inappropriate".

With our lot it is like we are fighting a battle to get them to know they want anything!

We spent a few sessions on this - next time I need to find some supporting resources from other classes and students.

Next step: Our learning environment should be...

And discussion on how we can create that...

And eventually class rules.

Behind....

I have such a huge backlog of professional readings to blog about from last year - change team and Maths PD in particular.

This is not helped by the large amount of internet bookmarked articles I have that I have ye tot return to!

I need to make a set time to blog and make sure it is respected!

Save Someone's Love of Learning...

How to Save Someone's Love of Learning

If you give children complete control over SOME PART of their learning, they will not only rise to the occasion and attack their interests with gusto, but they will turn around and approach all of their required learning with a newfound sense of self-confidence and self-determination. They will look for a way to learn that fits their new sense of themselves as people with interests, abilities, and important ideas.

Do you want your children or students to love learning? Don’t say “Here, we know what’s best for you — sit down, be quiet, and listen.” But also don’t just say “Go, do whatever you want.” Do better than that. Support their interests and their self-chosen work fully — with your attention, your time, your space, and your cold hard cash. Invest in their interests. Invest in their talents. Instead of letting them ride in the back seat while you take them on a wonderful adventure, show them how to drive the car. Mentor them to be self-directed learners.

 I am following these ideas closely this year - Term 1 with disengaged learners is tough but I won't give up! Bonding with them is key and with children who have trust issues time is my friend.

Working on a network of resources/support. Finding suitable people to work with students when I have more than a handful is tough.

Why Everything We Know About Discipline is Wrong...

Why Everything We Know About Discipline Is Wrong

In my work as a clinical psychologist, the greatest concern expressed by parents is not knowing how to effectively discipline their children.

No surprise here.

They are often frustrated and burnt out because they have tried every technique and strategy out there to no avail. Their child's behavior hasn't changed and more specifically, they are on the verge of breaking point themselves.

To help parents understand why their disciplinary strategies do not work, I often do an exercise with them.

I ask them to use the word "discipline" in a sentence.

Invariably, they say something like, "How can I discipline my child?" or if they are addressing their child, they say, "I am going to think of a way to discipline you."

I first point out how the word "discipline" is used as a verb: Something you do onto another.

I then ask them to analyze the subtext of their sentences -- what do they really mean when they use the term "discipline"?

If they are really honest, they say something to the effect of, "I want a way to control them" or "I am pissed off at my kids and they are going to pay for it,"or "I am so frustrated because I cannot change how they behave."

And this, I reveal to them, is the reason why disciplinary strategies with our children backfire. We say we want to teach our children proper behavior and help them develop self-discipline. Yet instead, we have adopted strategies that are the direct opposite of teaching and instead are just clever guises of manipulation and control.

Brings up some issues I started on here.
I fully agree with the following quote.

If I'm to set myself up as my child's teacher, I must first have learned how to be self-disciplined. I must have addressed, and continue to address, my own emotional immaturity. I do this by becoming an authentic person, true to myself. In this way, my child learns from me to also be true to themselves -- true to their heart's deepest desires.

Turning things back into positive comments and putting focus somewhere else is an important tool when there is every inclination to hyper focus on the unhelpful behaviours that are occurring. My experience over the years has shown me that for some children any attention is a reinforcer whether is it positive OR negative. For these children hyper focusing on their unhelpful behaviours reinforces them and ensures they will actually reoccur.

I have found it also leads to negative energies perpetuating for the teacher as well. Resulting in more stress and the creation of a vicious cycle.

Look for whatever positive you can - even if it is just the way the child is breathing!
Reassess your goals for the session - not all students will achieve the same thing at the same time.
Resist the desire for conformity!

Team Building Term 1

As part of our team building programme to start term one I have included a few wacky ideas to promote creativity and positive social interactions.

People Bingo A version of bingo that promotes social interactions and fun. Questions include... Find someone that * knows their ten times tables backwards. * went to the beach in the summer * travelled over seas * saw three movies at the cinema
They find the person and get them to sign the box that relates to them. No repeat sigs!

Sticky Notes I decided to utilise the novelty of Sticky Notes to get some Blue Hat thinking going about our learning environment and how it works, how we would like to see it work and how we might make/keep it that way. I think that stickies will not pressure those less enthusiastic writers in my room and dishearten/disinterest them from sharing their ideals in writing (a number of our boys have a pre-existing negative attachment to writing I have noticed). Inspiration was similar to the link below. http://confessionsofateachingjunkie.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/the-best-first-day-ever.html
Topics include : What is Learning? / Why is learning important? Our Classroom should be...... School is important because... Wonderful learners.....

'Time capsule' Interview
Each child is charged with interviewing another student about their first few days at school. We’ll take some photos of our visual mihis and ‘bury’ the time capsule until the last day of school.
Stacker Challenge Rubber bands with four pieces of string attached to make a four person tool. The tool is used to stack plastic cups.

We need to leave plenty of time (patience) for reflecting on these activities What went well? Why? What was challenging? Why? Lots of 'talk to your neighbour'. Hoping to create a safe sharing environment through this so use it heavily this term!

Inactive Brains...

A number of studies have shown that exercise can remodel the brain by prompting the creation of new brain cells and inducing other changes. Now it appears that inactivity, too, can remodel the brain, according to a notable new report.

The study, which was conducted in rats but likely has implications for people too, the researchers say, found that being sedentary changes the shape of certain neurons in ways that significantly affect not just the brain but the heart as well. The findings may help to explain, in part, why a sedentary lifestyle is so bad for us.

Inactivity and the Brain...

Supporting my preference (and as yet unfilled desire) to have some standing tables in our classrooms.

Lots of boys in our learning environment - also lots of people who like to sit about and yet  are fidgety.

We do have a variety of learning spaces but they all encourage various forms of sitting.

Love this bit..

But in the years since, neurological studies have established that the brain retains plasticity, or the capacity to be reshaped, throughout our lifetimes. Exercise appears to be particularly adept at remodeling the brain, studies showed.

There is yet hope for brains for adults who have been trapped in the cycle of a sedentary work environment for most of their life!

Getting some SOLE into my Teaching

SOLE toolkit

Welcome to the Self-Organized Learning Environment (SOLE) Toolkit, an online resource designed to help educators and parents support kids (8-12 years old) as they tap into their innate sense of wonder and engage in child-driven learning.

I have already included this in my Welcome to Nile Room pre-Term1 newsletter. I am super excited.
Sugata is one of my educational heroes and I am absolutely itching to put his research into practise in my learning environment.

Looking forward to inspiring and developing our student's self monitoring, motivation and curiosity - as well as giving them the tools to feel empowered with their learning and giving them input into the direction it takes.

Change

The 9 Best Books for Meaningful Change

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

Yes, its that time again: New Year's is almost upon us. Regardless of where you stand on New Year's resolutions, the new calendar can serve as a helpful reminder about the only true constant in all of our lives: change.

Like it or not, we are all always changing and adapting to circumstances as time rolls on. The positive thing about change is that with some effort we can help direct some (though not all) of the change in our lives as opposed to being victimized by it.

This is not just a sound bite. As a psychologist, I can tell you that real change ultimately comes from within. It is a choice. A decision -- a commitment -- filled with fury, if not sound, signifying everything.

Change is good for your brain and happens to our students in ways we don't often even perceive. It also happens to us both personally and professionally.
I have found the majority of these books useful to cope with change in its many forms over the last two decades in particular. Number 2 is one of my personal bibles and number 3 is my most recent purchase. I haven't read number one but Sir Ken Robinson is extraordinary (and referenced on this blog a few times!).

Even if you don't think you are experiencing change - you are.
Check these out (that will also be good for your brain!)