14 posts from October 2007

The Last Shot

Oct 26, 2007
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In the spring of 1993, my senior year of high school, I interned for Senator Kennedy, taking the train everyday from Baltimore to DC and back again.

Ted

One evening, I picked up Harper's Magazine from the Union Station magazine stand
(Hudson News), intrigued by a cover story on basketball. It was a long article about a high school team from Coney Island that included a young Stephon Marbury. The author, Darcy Frey, later turned this article into an acclaimed book: The Last Shot.

The Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dreams

Darcy Frey

I've often wondered what happened to the three high school seniors who were the focus of the book (Marbury is a freshman sidekick to the three seniors). Here is the answer. Key quote:

"Each year, 500,000 or so young men play high-school basketball in this country. Each year, less than 1 percent of them get a Division I scholarship."

Classic Football Interview...

Oct 25, 2007
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Chad Johnson and Keyshawn Johnson

As Bill Simmons says, "Keyshawn and Chad re-enact the Lincoln-Douglas Debates."

More Management...

Oct 24, 2007
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Here is a great quote from one of the first-years on Classroom Management:

"The students know how class is going to run, how to behave, and frequently self-regulate. They can expect the same consequences every time I catch them, or suspect them: Warning, writing assignment, referral. I throw in a hall conference or parent phone call as necessary, and I've eased up where I don't care enough to defend ground. With one class, the smallest one I have, they have taken advantage of my thawing over the past few days. They are a good example of why I need control and clear boundaries in the classroom in order for it to work, and why giving an inch to appease the class will end up costing ten-fold; I can't judge grey areas at the speed at which we need to operate to keep the machine running."

Key line is, "giving an inch to appease the class will end up costing ten-fold." Truer words have never been written.

Furthermore, she identifies one of the key components of effective rules. They have to be clear. Otherwise, a teacher will end up spending too much time deciding if a rule has been broken. One of my classroom rules was "Raise your hand (and be acknowledged by the teacher) before speaking." It is simple to tell when this rule has been broken. I do not have to make a judgment call. It is or it isn't.

Conversely, this is why I don't like the popular "Be respectful" rule. How do you judge when this rule is broken? A teacher's day is filled with decisions. Why add more?

This is a dangerous time of the year for classroom management because one of two things can happen:

1) Classroom management has been going well and the natural inclination is to ease up.

2) Classroom management has not been going well and you decide that it is too late to change.

Good classroom management takes courage. Courage to confront behavior that you do not want. Behavior that prevents your students from learning. Have the courage to address behavior. Have the courage to enforce your rules. Have the courage to enforce your rules consistently.

The old adage is "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." It is easy to enforce rules on Monday morning, or during the MTC Summer School, or on the second day of school. It is a challenge to do so on a Thursday afternoon in mid-November, when you are exhausted, and enforcing a rule is the last thing you want to do. It is so easy to let it slide. But remember, "giving an inch to appease the class will end up costing ten-fold."

Have courage.

Rules, Consequences, and Classroom Management...

Oct 23, 2007
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The first-years will be up on Saturday so I plan to talk about consequences a little bit at that point, but I think it is a subject worthy of a blog post.

I have visited several of the first-years in their classroom; I have talked with many of the first-years on the phone about classroom management; all of the first-years have been blogging about classroom management as an assignment for Ann Monroe's class. One recurring topic for many of the first-years is having an effective in-class consequence after the "Warning" stage.

Before I get to that, let me address one of the biggest mistakes I have seen several first-year teachers make: using a one-on-one conference in the hallway with a student as a consequence. I believe that one or two of the MTC trainers may have mentioned the hallway conference as effective tactic during the summer training, but they either explained it poorly or the first-years misunderstood it. A hallway consequence is an effective tool to have in your teacher toolbox and to use on occasion. It is a terrible consequence. Let me repeat that, a hallway conference is a terrible conference. A hallway consequence is simply a glorified warning, it is not an actual consequence.

Several teachers I have observed and talked to have some variation of this set of rules and consequences:

1) Warning

2) Hallway Conference

3) Phone Call Home

4) Write-Up

Can you spot the error in this? The error is there is no consequence until 4, the write-up. And the write-up simply means that the administration doles out the consequence. So the teacher is effectively ceding all power to someone else. To be effective with classroom management a teacher must have an in-class consequence that is an actual deterrent to behavior. Warning, hallway conference, and phone call home, are not effective deterrents. Let me go through each one:

Warning:

A warning is, of course, by its very definition, not a consequence. It is a notification that a consequence will be administered if the current behavior continues.

Hallway conference:

This is simply a glorified warning. There is no actual punishment to the student. In fact, for many students, getting to stand up, walk in front of their peers to the hallway, and then stand in the hallway, unsupervised, is a reward.

Phone Call Home:

There are several problems with a phone call home as the next step. One, it doesn't happen until, at the earliest, the end of the school day. Kids don't think in the future. If it is not now, than it is not relevant. Two, the phone call home assumes that you can actually reach someone. In general, the less behaved a kid is, the less likely you will be able to reach that kid's parent or guardian. Three, you are assuming that, once you do reach the parent or guardian, that person will actually implement a consequence to his or her child. Four, if you have a lot of phone calls to make, it can be tiring and time consuming after a long day at school. So, there are way too many variables in the phone call home to be consistently effective. The phone call home is like the hallway conference, it is an effective tool but not an effective consequence.

So, what does work? Writing. Someone breaks a rule, they have to write a one-page essay. They break another rule, another page. If they don't turn the essay in the next day, then it is a second consequence. This can be detention, it can be a zero on the daily grade, or it an be a write-up. But now you have a consequence that is easily applied, is immediate, and is a deterrent. How much of a deterrent? Most kids, if given the choice, will choose a lick before an essay, the paddle before the pen.

Here is what my Rules and Consequences looked like:

1) Visual Warning (name on board).

2) One page essay (the topic is, "Why is important to have class rules?").

3) Additional pages (as long as there is not a serious breach of rules the number of pages can increase indefinitely. This allows me to handle most problems in class).

4) Double essay (if the essay is not turned in the next day then the pages are doubled).

5) Zero (if the double essay is not turned in, then a zero for the day).

6) Continuos zeros (this can go on indefinitely, for as many days as the essay is not turned in. At this point I would probably contact the parent as well).

7) Write-Up (now I've got a ton of documentation to send to the principal or assistant principal. Ask the principal or assistant principal to make sure the kid still has to write the essay in addition to any other punishment that is given).

The beauty of this system is that it allows me to handle virtually all problems in my classroom. I have a consequence that I can administer, that I can back up if the student doesn't do it, and that is an effective deterrent.

I'll explain this more on Saturday, but I did want to lay it out the basics on the "internets." Also, if you are struggling with classroom management or want more ideas, I strongly recommend consulting "First Days of School" or "Delta Autumn."

Pizza

Oct 23, 2007
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I've been eating these pizzas every day for lunch. They are fantastic...

Long Walk Home

Oct 22, 2007
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Bruce's latest video:

Long Walk Home

Here are the lyrics:

Last night I stood at your doorstep
Trying to figure out what went wrong
You just slipped somethin' into my palm
Then you were gone
I could smell the same deep green of summer
Above me the same night sky was glowin'
In the distance I could see the town where I was born

It's gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty Darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
A long walk home

In town I passed Sal's grocery
The barbershop on South Street
I looked into their faces
They were all rank strangers to me
The veterans' hall high up on the hill
Stood silent and alone
The diner was shuttered and boarded
With a sign that just said "gone"

It's gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty Darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
Hey pretty Darling, don't wait up for me
Gonna be a long walk home
It's gonna be a long walk home

Here everybody has a neighbor
Everybody has a friend
Everybody has a reason to begin again

My father said "Son, we're lucky in this town
It's a beautiful place to be born
It just wraps its arms around you
Nobody crowds you, nobody goes it alone.
That you know flag flying over the courthouse
Means certain things are set in stone
Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't."

Plumpynut...

Oct 21, 2007
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Wow. Watched this story on 60 Minutes tonight about Niger and a life saving food given out by Doctors Without Borders: Plumpynut. Inspiring and heart-breaking at the same time. It takes me back to my time in Namibia...

I'm On Fire...

Oct 19, 2007
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Here's my favorite Bruce video, directed by John Sayles...

I'm On Fire

Turn Your Lights Down Low

Oct 19, 2007
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Here is my favorite Lauryn video. You know that feeling you have waiting for that first date? That anticipation?

Turn Your Lights Down Low

My Favorite Albums...

Oct 18, 2007
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This list is in order, from number four to number one...

Let's start with Prince. Is this cheating? Probably. Every song a "greatest hit." My favorite? "Raspberry Beret." Prince says, "She walked in through the out door."

The Hits/The B-Sides

Prince

Bruce was hard to pick. He's my favorite artist, but I like many songs from many albums rather than one album in particular. However, forced to choose, I go with his response to 9/11, "The Rising." Favorite song: "You're Missing." The song starts out with silence, and then a melancholy piano. Violins fade in. Get's me every time.

The Rising

Bruce Springsteen

Stevie is hard for the opposite reason. There are so many classic albums. However, it is easy to pick his best. Of all the classic albums, one stands above all the rest, "Songs in the Key of Life." Favorite Song is the first one, "Love's in Need of Love Today." All you need is that chorus...

Songs in the Key of Life

Stevie Wonder

And my favorite album of all-time. Miseducation of Ms. Hill. Only studio album she ever did (her live double-album is so-so); every song pitch perfect. Greatest rapper. Greatest singer. For one album, for one year (1998), there's no comparison. Favorite Song: "Ex-Factor" and "Tell Him" are great, but my fav is "Nothing Even Matters." You want poetry: These buildings could drift out to sea/Some natural catastrophe/Still there's no place I'd rather be/Cause nothing even matters to me...