It's All About Communication - Communicating with Parents About At Risk Students

Hello again,
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I had an interesting situation occur. Today I collected projects from one of my groups, and what I do is call each student using my grade book, and I ask to see their project. I want to see that they did it, so I don't find out they didn't after I've finished grading, which for projects may take a while.

I got to this one student, called his name, and asked him to show me his project. He told me with almost a smirk, "I didn't do it." I assumed that he was like a few others who started late, and didn't have it ready today, but would bring it in tomorrow. So I asked him, "So I'll see it tomorrow?" He shook his head, no. I asked him again, and again he told me no. "You don't have anything?" I asked. I was a little surprised, because it didn't seem to me that he cared that he didn't have his project to turn in. "So you're going to fail my class?" I asked him. I was a bit taken aback by his response. He shrugged, as if to say, "I guess I will."

I moved on to the next student, but I made up my mind to call mom or dad after school.

So after school, I found his phone number, and called the house. Nobody was home, so I left a message. Then I found that a cell phone number was also listed in the computer, so I called that number. The father answered.

Right away I realized why the student didn't seem to be concerned that he didn't turn in his project. When the father spoke, he spoke in very broken English. This is what I've found often in my years of teaching. Many times, because the parents can't speak English, the teachers are hesitant to call home, because they know don't how to communicate with the parents. Likewise, because the parents can't speak the language of the teachers, they also are afraid or embarrassed to contact the teachers about their child, and because of this, the student can do whatever he/she wants to do, knowing that there is nothing that will happen. He/She will just tell the parents that everything is OK, and because the parents can't verify anything, by the time the report card gets home, it's too late.

In this case, however, the student miscalculated.

As soon as I recognized that the father was having difficulty with English, I asked, ¿Es mejor si hablamos en Español?" (Is it better that we speak in Spanish?)

You could almost see the relief in the fathers voice.

So we spent the next half hour discussing his child's progress - or lack of progress - in Spanish.

I've found that almost all parents want their child to succeed. They just need to find a way to work with the teachers in that effort.

I've even found that non-English speaking parents have an even greater desire for their child to succeed in school, because they themselves are experiencing the hardships that come with not knowing English. Their hope is that their children will be able to live a better life, a more successful life, and they know that only with a good education will they achieve that life. Unfortunately, because there is so little communication between the parents and the school, the child often falls through the cracks, and the cycle of poverty continues.

I've always believed that every school needs to have at least one administrator who speaks the language of the main subculture of the school. There has to be some kind of respected liaison between that community and the school. Too many times, the parents have to go through the secretary or the custodian to communicate with the teacher or administrator. That's not right. It's not fair.

I spent a few weeks as a substitute administrator at my school, and at another school just recently, and I found that every day, I was using my Spanish to communicate with a parent about his/her child. I would ask myself, what happens on a normal day, when Spanish-speaking parents need to find out about their child? It's a little disheartening.

Luckily for my student, (or unluckily for him), dad and I will be talking a lot, and I know that this year will be a successful one for him. It's all about communication.

That leads us to

Today's  Tip For New Teachers - Letter to the Parents. Create a generic letter that lets the parents know that you are concerned about the student's progress. Make a list of about 6 basic concerns such as: not doing homework, not studying for tests, not focused in class, talking too much, not bring supplies, etc. You have to think about the most pressing concerns that you have in your class. Create this document, but leave the name blank. Start it with: To the Parents of _________________. Then write a short paragraph saying something like, I am concerned with the progress of your child. The reason why is:
Then have the reasons in a column down the page with a small empty box next to each of the concerns. End it with a closing paragraph like: I hope that you can work with your child to improve in these areas. Please feel free to contact me....ect. Include a parent signature line. Now you can fill one of these out for any child that is not doing well, check the appropriate boxes and send it with the child. The child will then be required to give it to mom or dad to read, sign and return to you. If you don't get it back, then you'll have to call, but if you do get it back, it saves you a call home. The parents have been notified. The signature confirms it. Before you send it out, however, get someone at your school to do you the favor of translating it into the language of the dominant subculture at your school. Print it with English on one side, and the other language of the back. Make it as exact as you can, so even if you don't know the language, you know that box number three on one side is the same on the other. It's all about communication.

Thanks again,
Sam
SuccessInTheClassroom.com

Group Work

Hello everyone,

Today was group work day. We did something that I call Tic Tac KNOW. I divide the students into groups, and they create a poster using the Tic Tac Toe grid, displaying graphically images of what they have learned during the week. It's a test prep activity.

Now there are a few cool tips to get this done quickly and efficiently. I've noticed that when my student teachers have tried to do group work, they make a lot of rookie mistakes that take up a lot of class time, and by the time the students start their work, most of the period is over. Here is how I put the groups together:

1. I have their names on index cards already.
2. I tell them, "When I call your name, remember your number."
3. I shuffle the cards.
4. I begin pulling the cards out one at a time, calling the students' names, and giving them a number."Steven, you're number one. Jimmy, you're two. Jazmine, you're three," etc.
5. I write the number on the card somewhere. Someone always forgets what their number is.
6. Keep going until you reach the number of groups you want.
7. Once all the cards are numbered, then give the instructions on the assignment. If you do it before, then you'll have to repeat it after the groups are made. Kids don't remember things for too long.
8. Once all the instructions are given out, then I point to the areas of the room where the groups will gather. I'll say, "Group one is over there. Group two is here." etc.
9. Then I say, "Go."

Some teachers learn about grouping students based on ability level or different skills. That takes too much time, and I've found that in each randomly created group, there will always be a mix of learning levels. It just happens. There are those times, however, when you'll find a group that just can't be together. That's when you move kids around. The kids may complain, but who cares? You're the teacher. You do what you have to do to make things work. Group work is nice, because it gives you as a teacher a break, while still allowing students to learn. Since it's test prep, you don't have to grade it. Once they are done with the posters, they'll present it to the class, again giving students another review of what they need to know for the test.

Today's Tip For New Teachers: The Day After - I always schedule a group work day after a big project is due. Finding time to grade projects is always going to be tough. You have to spend more time on big projects since it's such a large part of their grade. Before, I would spend hours after school or during my prep grading those monsters projects. Now  what I do is grade during the time the students are working in groups. I can still monitor and help, but for the most part, I can use that time to grade. Creative use of time is a skill that every teacher needs to learn. If they don't they will burn out fast.

That's all for now.

Here's to lots of success in the classroom!

Sam
SuccessInTheClassroom.com

New Site for Teachers / TNT - Project Collection

Hello all,
I wanted to share a new site for teachers that I recently started. It's called ExtraIncomeForTeachers.com. I created this site to teach teachers how to combine their experience and expertise with the power of the Internet to make some extra income. I give step-by-step instructions on how teachers can create a website and then begin making some money. Don't get the wrong impression. It's not going to make you rich. It's just "extra" income. We all could use extra income, especially since the state is cutting back so much in education. Check it out. I think every teacher should have a website. I'll show you how to create one, then how to make some extra income with it.

Today's Tip for New Teachers: Project Collection - Today I collected one of the big projects from my students. This project is a large part of their grade, so I want to know who did it and who didn't. If I don't check, then I won't know until after I grade all the projects, and by that time it may be too late to get on the kids for not having their project in. It's an easy way for a student to fall through the cracks. So what I do is tell the kids to get their project on their desk. Then I call their names using my grade book. I ask them to show me their project. The students will show me their poster or flash drive (where their PowerPoint is stored) or whatever their project is. I write down in the grade book exactly what they have - a poster, a PowerPoint, a gameboard, a scrapbook, whatever they chose to do for the project. It give me a chance to scold the ones who don't have anything, and it protects me from a student coming and saying that they turned it in, but I lost it. (Yes, it happens.)

Thanks again,
Here's to lots of success in the classroom.
Sam
SuccessInTheClassroom.com

Transferring Student

Hello again everybody,

I wanted to share about a meeting our team had today. We were called in to what we call a "transition" meeting for a student who was moving from one track to another. According to the father, his son was "beat down" by the school system. The son no longer enjoyed coming to school, and was not feeling happy or successful, so the father thought that a change of track might help. At our school, we have 4 tracks. Each track has two sets of teachers - one for 7th and one for 8th. This father thought that moving his son to a new set of friends and a new set of teachers might be helpful. The student also has been diagnosed with ADHD, and the father blamed this condition for his son's discipline problems on the other track. We spent a good 15 minutes just listening to the father "warning" us about his son's behavior, and asking us to be patient with him.

Finally, I was asked by the resource teacher to explain to the father my classroom procedure and expectations. I was a little unprepared for that question. I began trying to give a description of my class rules and behavior guidelines, when I stopped and told the father, "We've been doing this (teaching middle school) for a long time. We've seen it all. Your son is going to be fine." The other teachers quickly chimed in their agreement. The behavior the father was describing is nothing new to me or my team. We've seen so much worse.

The father was seriously worried for his son, and wanted us to tell him that he was going to be OK. I saw this in the way he was almost pleading with us to be patient with his son.

The last think I told the father as we were leaving the room was, "Your son is going to be fine. In fact, this is going to be his best year ever."

The other teachers called it the Rangel Guarantee.

And I meant it. I'm proud that my team concentrates on the student first, and then on the other labels like ADHD.

I'll let you know how the change in track goes for this student.

Today's Tip For New Teachers: Be the Light. You are going to find yourself in many meetings where everyone will be talking about how bad a student is doing or how poorly the school system works or how ineffective the administration is. Don't fall into the darkness of the cynical (cool term). Be the positive voice in the crowd. They may call you naive or unaware, but who cares? I've seen too many young teachers lose their love of teaching, because they hang around the complaining teacher or the pessimistic teacher. New teachers bring that Save-The-World attitude to the school. I like hanging around with them, because it's contagious, and sometimes I need to be reminded of why I became a teacher. Be the light!

That's all for now,
Here's to lots of Success in the Classroom!

Sam

Personal Declaration of Independence

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share with you one of my new lessons that had a greater impact than I expected. I called it the Personal Declaration of Independence.

We have been studying the events leading up to the American Revolution, and we arrived at the part where the students learned about the document that announced that the colonies were going to become independent - The Declaration of Independence.  I was wanting to create a new lesson this year that connected the students to this important moment in history, so as I was thinking about it, I remembered something that one of my former student teachers had told me before she left my class to start her teaching fellowship at another school. She had planned on teaching the Declaration of Independence to my students in July, but she never got to it. She had mentioned to me that she was going to ask the students to write their own personal Declaration of Independence as one of the assignments. We never got to talk about any details of the lesson, but I do remember her mentioning it to me, and that short discussion came back to me when I was thinking of a lesson to present to my kids.

What I did was create a short worksheet that the kids had to fill out. Then they were to take that worksheet and create a final draft Declaration of Independence. I told the students that the American Colonies had big plans for the future, but that their connection with England was keeping them from fulfilling those plans. Then I connected it to their lives. I told them that we all have goals in life. Some of us have a goal of getting straight A's or a goal of meeting more friends or a goal of becoming a better soccer player. "Sometimes," I said, " we have big plans or goals in life that we never reach because of some kind of obstacle that gets in the way. Sometimes it's  fear of failing or it's laziness or it's peer pressure." That's when I passed out the worksheet. I told them that it's time to declare our independence from whatever it is that is keeping us from our goal. The worksheet asked them to answer basic questions like 1. What is your current goal in life? 2.What is keeping you from that goal? 3. What is an obvious truth about you? 4.What is a talent or gift that you have? 5. What does that talent or gift allow you to do?

I gave them about 15 minutes to fill this out, and I assigned a final draft of the declaration for homework. Today, they came back with their declarations. I offered extra credit to those who wanted to present their declaration in front of the class. Many presented.

There were many great declarations, but I want to mention two of them.  One was written by a boy who obviously does not like school. He hardly turns in any work. He's failing all his classes, but I've made promise to myself that this will be his best year ever - even if it kills me. Here is his Personal Declaration of Independence:

Today I declare my independence from not doing my work. It is self-evident that I'm smart enough to do homework. I have been endowed with the gift of a good brain. This gift gives me the ability to do homework, and to do smart things, and to impress my family. In the past, not doing my homework has kept me from reaching my goal of getting better grades, but today I declare my independence.

What's more amazing is that he presented his declaration in front of the class. It was probably his first time ever.

Another student who presented today that had me shaking my head in amazement was a girl who has a physical disability. Here is her Personal Declaration of  Independence:

Today I declare my independence from worrying about my own needs and health. It is self-evident that I'm an inspiration to others. I have been endowed with the gift of making others feel special. This gift gives me the ability to understand and advise kids and to love them. In the past, worrying about my own needs and health has kept me from reaching my goal of helping other handicapped kids, but today I declare my independence!!

These are the days I love being a teacher.

To my former student teacher, Kim, thanks for the inspiration. You're going to be an amazing teacher.

Today's Tip for New Teacher - Using Peer Pressure in the Classroom.  Use competition between classes to increase your volunteer participation. Today, I had allocated a certain amount of time for presentations. I found, however, that I wasn't getting enough volunteers to present. I started thinking that I may have too much time left over, and with 8th graders, that is asking for trouble. I began counting out loud how many students had volunteered. I told them that the other class might have more volunteers, but I also told them that it wasn't a competition. They didn't believe me. All of a sudden, students began to pressure other students to raise their hand to present. I ended up having too many presenters, and I had to cut one of the activities from the agenda. Sometimes peer pressure can be a teacher's friend.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter, so I can let you know when I'm posting a new blog or a  podcast.

Oh, and join our forum. It's getting a little lonely in there. : )

Sam
SuccessInTheClassroom.com

Eighth Grade Freedom

Today I wanted to talk about a parent meeting I had today. I received an email letting me know that there was a meeting scheduled for our team today, because the progress reports had arrived in the mail. We are required to notify parents by mail within the first few weeks of a trimester if their child is in danger of failing, and these parents had received such a letter.

I arrived at the meeting along with the other members of the team, and basically, the child was not turning in his homework, so the parents wanted to know what could be done to help the child get back on track.

We talked about normal strategies – check the website, which has the homework updated daily, have the child write down the homework in the agenda, and have it signed by the teachers, and for the parents to email the teachers any time they had a concern about a homework assignment.

Then the parents said something that we had heard so often in the past, and unfortunately, it’s probably one of the biggest mistakes that parents of 8^th grade students make. They told us that, now that their child was in 8^th grade, they wanted to give him some liberties when it came to school. They wanted to let  the child take responsibility for his education, to the point that the parents weren’t even going to ask about homework or upcoming assignments like they did all through 7^th grade.

We all cringed.

Over 20 years of experience with 8^th graders has taught us many lessons about the 8^th grade child. Probably the most important lesson is that 8^th graders cannot be given such liberties or responsibility. Students at this age have so many distractions that their education is not that high on their list of priorities. They are too busy thinking about girls or boys or what they are wearing or what people are saying about them, Facebook, Myspace, the new song by the hot band… you know what I mean. Turning in homework is not what they have on their mind. There are exceptions, of course. There are those student who so very responsible at this age, that they are ready to run their own company. The rule, however, is that 8^th graders need to be watched and held accountable by parents. The child won’t like it at all. They’ll complain and make a big fuss about lack of freedom and wanting their independence, but parents cannot let up. Someday, the child will thank them.

Some day the moment will come when they will realize the importance of their education, and they’ll re-prioritize what’s in their life, and their education will reach the top of the list. That will happen probably in 10^th or 11^th grade, but until then, I always tell the parents of my students to stay on them. Keep checking their homework. Look into their binders. Verify that they are doing their class work. Get to know their friends. It will pay off in the end.

Today’s Tip for New Teachers – Include your hobbies or passion into your lessons. If you are into horses or sewing or hot rod cars, try and incorporate that into your lessons.  For example, I have always liked writing poems. I can also play the piano and guitar, so what I’ve done is write little silly songs about my content – history. I just finished writing a rap about the events leading up to the American Revolution. It was a little hokey and undignified, but the kids loved it. It made the lesson stand out in their minds. What happens is that the passion you feel about a hobby shows in your lesson, and that excitement is contagious. The kids will get excited about the lesson. Plus, you will enjoy it a lot more as well.

Don’t forget to stop by the site – SuccessInTheClassroom.com. Find more tips and practical strategies to have more success in the classroom.

By the way, if you’re interested in seeing my rap video – Go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g54kspj5KiE

Until next time, this is Sam. Here’s to lots more Success in the Classroom!

How To Let Parents Know What's For Homework On A Daily Basis

Hello again.

I've been working on adding video to my site, and I was wanting to make my first video about something that has really made an impact on the success of my students, and I decided to talk about the way I have found to let parents know what the homework is every night. Parents are often in the dark when it comes to what the homework is for their child. The student may come home and tell the parent that there is no homework, when in fact there is. Parents often times have no other option but to believe the student. Wouldn't it be great if the parent could go online and see if their child is telling the truth? The problem is that for many teachers, daily updating the homework page is impossible. Here is a nice and easy strategy to make everybody happy - except of course, the student.

I have always had problems with parents telling us that they never know if their child has homework or not. Students aren't always forthcoming about what assignments they have to do that night. I knew that most of the parents of my students had access to the Internet, so I thought of creating a web page that had the homework listed on it. I found, however, that I could never find the time to update it on a daily basis. With all the other tasks that had to be done in the class or after school, it just wasn't getting done. That's when I stumbled upon the perfect way of notifying parents what homework their child was expected to complete each day. Here it is:


1. Create a Blog. There are many sites that offer free blogs. I use Blogger.com of course. If you're not tech savvy, then have a student create it. It's easy. Trust me.

2. After creating an account, select TWO responsible students to be in charge of it. These students should have good spelling and grammar skills. We all have those awesome students who write like they're in college. Select two of these students. You will need two, so that in case one is absent, the other can handle the job. Very rarely do I have a day when both students are absent.
3. Once you have selected you two students, give them the username and password to the blog. I would use a password that is different from the password you have for your personal email account. It should be something that is easy to remember, such as the name of the school, the name of the mascot, etc.


4. Select a specific time of the day when these students will update the blog. I use a time just before lunch. If you tell them to update it "whenever," you're going to find that "whenever" never shows up on some days. Make sure it's a specific time every day. These students will then sit at your computer and update the blog. At my school, we work in teams, so my students will go to each teacher on the team to get their homework, and then they will add it to the blog post. After the first week, I have the students take turns updating the blog. It doesn't take two students to do this job.

5. Finally, I give the web address of the blog to the parents, so they can confirm that their child is not lying to them when they say that they have no homework. Yeah right.


It's worked great for me and my team. Parent love it. Teachers love it. Students are not that crazy about it, but it is a great communication tool that we use to keep the students on track, and the best part of it is that I don't have to do any work after the initial set up.
I have a YouTube video that explains this visually.Here it is:



Here's to your Success in the Classroom!


Sam Rangel
SuccessInTheClassroom.com