Shhh. Don't tell anyone, but check out the Calendar (below). Next week looks all quiet, uncomplicated, and, well, normal.
What's that like?
Dunno. But let's hope it stays that way.
"Oh man! He's totally blowing you off!"
I was doing my thing at bus duty during dismissal the other afternoon, surrounded by a million migrating children and the din of their collective voices, when I heard this mom behind me bellow, quite loudly, "Oh, man! He's totally blowing you off!"
I turned around immediately to find myself face-to-face with a mom I've come to know pretty well over the course of the last year or so, who, along with her boyfriend and son, a challenging student in our primary grades, were all glaring at me.
"I'm sorry," I said. "Did you guys want to talk to me? I'm afraid I get a little distracted this time of the day. Lots going on."
I hadn't even seen her kid in the mass of folks going out the door. But mom, standing in place mid-current as the crowd formed a distinct wake around her, informed me, with more than the hint of a sneering tone in her voice, "Billy* has something to say to you."
"Oh? Okay," I said as I bent down to talk with Billy at his level. "What's up, man?"
"I'm going to be president someday," he told me matter-of-factly.
"Alright," I replied. "If that's what you choose to do someday, then I hope it's true."
After this, I'm happy to report, they all walked out the front doors together, smiling and holding hands.
*not his real name, natch.
I was reminded of this passing interaction after watching this fun TED Talk last weekend:
It's tough in our line of work to pay attention to all that we should. But we all know, we're tasked with not only trying to remain engaged and attentive as teachers ourselves, but to work toward maintaining and encouraging all of our students to do so as well.
This can be hard. I know. Especially if, like me, you find yourself inclined to teach toward those students who are with you, and to let those who wish to silently and without disruption, just sort of quietly drop out to do so. I used to refer to these kids in my own classroom as "the invisible ones." Too often they were precisely that, invisible, because I was way too good at ignoring the mandate to engage those kids who had disengaged from my teaching just as long as they weren't making a ruckus or causing some sort of a stir in the process.
I was great at calling out the jerks and keeping them in line. But slump down in your chair, shut your mind and your mouth, and I was equally good at letting that sort of thing slide.
Bad practice. I admit it. And, toward the end of my teaching career, I was working hard to change this about myself. But I never really perfected it. My "talent" at ignoring the disengaged was something I was never able to fully overcome.
Just like the dude in video, we're never going to be able to catch everything, or recognize every clue, but it's important for us to grow ever more meta-cognitive about our myriad tendencies to miss important details... especially when it comes to our students and what they're doing. Or not doing.
Are they sincerely engaged with what we're teaching? They have to be.
If they aren't, don't miss it! And don't miss the chance to refocus and reengage them. It's not hard.
But to do it, we've got to pay attention.
RTI Tier 3
We'll begin working with about 18 students in grades two and three on Tuesday, 24 Sept. from 8:35-9:05 in Tier 3 RTI Intervention time. This means that some of you will have students who will not arrive in your classroom until shortly after 9:05 in the morning.
Please continue to implement Morning Math during this time. Likewise, it would be advisable for our second and third grade teachers to wait to do attendance and lunch counts until after this time each day.
Calendar
Week A
- Tuesday, 24 Sept.
- Safety & Crisis Committee in Coe's office, 7:45
- Friday, 27 Sept.
- Fire Drill, 9:30
