I am chosing not to mention writing in this post, because the directions don't specify to talk about writing--and just to be candid, I rarely have students write in my class.
a) I believe that holding students to high expectations is the number one reason I have achieved success in my classroom. I work at a charter school, where we expect 100% from our students at all times. We have a "no excuses" policy that is executed well. We also reiterate our theme of college everyday. Our students wear college t-shirts on Friday, and they are constantly reminded of what it takes to get to college. I believe these strategies is the difference between the performance of SOME charter schools versus SOME traditional public schools. (Please don't misunderstand, I know there are terrible charter schools and great traditional public schools!)
The biggest difference -- I have witnessed -- between a charter school and a traditional public school is the everyday behavior of the students. I have been told from teacher at other schools that they are amazed how well engaged my students are. Other visitors have admired how well behaved my students are. The academic results are noticeable as well. I have had students jump two to four grade levels in just one year. These results are going to get our kids to college.
b) I teach 6th grade Math Problem Solving. Students often come in 3 or 4 grade levels behind. (We've had students who were behind 5 grade levels.) Trying to get these kids on grade level by the end of they year cannot be done unless a "no excuses" policy is implemented. In my class, students must sit up at all times. They must follow along with a pencil while we are reading problems outloud. They must participate by raising their hand--bluring out is not tolerated. They must write down all notes that I put on the overhead. They must be silent at all times unless told otherwise. They must track whomever is speaking--to give that person their full attention. If they don't follow these rules, then they lose paycheck dollars (a system used schoolwide at my school). If a student loses too many paycheck dollars he/she must go to detention. Students who earn enough paycheck dollars get speicla priveledges. Students have homework every night (including Fridays, Spring Break, Winter Break, etc.), and if they don't turn in their homework they go to success lab. These procedures are just a few implemented in my classroom everyday to ensure that students are maximizing their learning.
c) I have a "no excuses" policy in my classroom to better ensure my students will have the opportunity to go to a four year college after graduation from high school.
d) I have learned what results you can get by holding students to a high expectations. I have also been reassured that poor preformance from (SOME) public schools has little to do with the students as much more to do with how learning is executed in the classrooms.
e) Where do my students go from here? Hopefully my students will go to college 6 years! Where do I go from here? I will continue to implement a "no excuses" policy in my classroom and hold ALL of my students to a high expectation. Although --being candid again-- I do struggle. Problems arise, but I will continue to put my students' learning first and foremost.
I enjoyed reading about the practices that you use in your classroom that help students become more responsible and accountable. They definitely could use frequent lessons in those two areas. I particularly like the "no excuse" policy. If I had just a PENNY every time a student came to class without paper, pencil or the will the learn, I would be FILTHY rich I heard so many excuses as to why they were not active in the learning process until I began to question why they even came to school that day -- its quite troubling to me.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, you may want to check the directions on the class blog for blog posting #2. It does mention writing -- perhaps you would still keep this blog seeing as you rarely use writing in your class. However, I thought I would at least bring that to your attention.
Whitney,
ReplyDeleteWe enjoyed reading your post about what has worked in your classroom. I really like the idea of wearing college t-shirts on Fridays to encourage students to think about college and what it takes to get into college. It takes doing well right now, which is sometimes hard for adolescents to grasp.
You also may want to look at Paula Blue's blog. She gave an example of how she integrated writing into her classroom, and she is also a Math teacher. She had several good ideas!
Becky, Gretchen, and Sarah Lawrence