Meeting #3
Meeting Date: Wednesday, November 30
Meeting Time: 4:00-6:30 pm
Meeting Location: FMI Library
Assignment: Please read chapters 7, 8, and 9 in Help for Billy prior to the meeting and respond on this blog to the following questions:
1. What resonated with you?
2. What are the implications for the district/buildings?
3. What questions remain?
Comments to other participants are encouraged, but not required. Participants are expected to spend a minimum of 30 minutes outside of class preparing for the meeting through posts and comments. This blog uses a Google Analytics tool to track user activity.
Meeting Time: 4:00-6:30 pm
Meeting Location: FMI Library
Assignment: Please read chapters 7, 8, and 9 in Help for Billy prior to the meeting and respond on this blog to the following questions:
1. What resonated with you?
2. What are the implications for the district/buildings?
3. What questions remain?
Comments to other participants are encouraged, but not required. Participants are expected to spend a minimum of 30 minutes outside of class preparing for the meeting through posts and comments. This blog uses a Google Analytics tool to track user activity.
What resonated with me? A relationship based classroom management plan is the best behavior management system. As teachers, we need to work on forging relationships constantly, including teacher to student and student to student. These relationships help create an emotionally safe classroom. Therefore, if a student is dysregulated, the class activities need to pause to support the student, and the entire class works to help this student feel safe. This not only builds a strong ‘family’ environment in the classroom fostering trust, but also teaches empathy and tolerance for others.
ReplyDeleteWe need to help students regulate themselves through movement/exercise, food, and breathing. I already allow movement and provide food, but teaching the students to breathe is something I haven’t done. As the author suggests; I need to incorporate this not only in students’ daily routine, but also my own, and remember to breathe when I’m stressed or feeling overwhelmed.
Transitions are hard for students in general, but for Billy they can be a potential trigger for challenging behavior. The author gives several strategies that can help with transitions with the emphasis on ‘prepare and assist’. As a staff, we should work together to identify students who need individual support, not just students with IEPS. Once students with transition needs are identified, we could implement individualized reminders before the transition or use some form of a visual schedule. A very easy and effective strategy to help with transitions that resonated with me was to greet students every time they enter the classroom. Doing this creates the safe "home base”.
What are the implications for the building and district? We can’t beat ourselves up, or be so focused on test scores, or achievement. We must take time to build a strong classroom and school community in order for us to see “academic highest potential for all students.” Love, support, and guidance; not punishment is more effective in dealing with challenging behavior.
Challenging behaviors are more likely to occur when there are transitions. How can we support students through the critical transition periods? We need to continually look at transitions for students from; activity-to-activity, class-to-class, structured to unstructured time/activities, and building-to-building movement. We already have some good things in place: alternative recess, library accessible during recess, and having several teachers on lunchroom duty. In addition, we allow for 4th grade students to visit Vernon at the end of the year and have middle school students come to talk to 4th graders about VMS. Second graders also visit FMI and have a spring fling to get them acquainted with our school. We need to ask ourselves, “What else can we do?”
It is vital that we take care of ourselves (physically and emotionally). Taking time to manage our stress is essential in order to teach effectively and to help students with their stress related to learning. If we are stressed, it creates an unhealthy learning environment.
Questions: Should water bottles be available in the classroom, office, or nurse’s office? Where could we strategically place adults during transitions (for example, having one teacher stand at the door to engage children in an activity as they line up during unstructured times)? Recess coaches? Should we bring back classroom pets? How about a therapy dog? How can we support each other to help manage stress?
Connie, I love your mention of teachers not beating themselves up or focusing on test scores. All to often we blame ourselves when something goes wrong. We need to remember we are doing the best we can each and everyday!
DeletePardon all my posts. I was having difficulty posting from my computer at home. ; (
ReplyDeleteOops--Love, support, and guidance (not punishment) are more effective in dealing with challenging behavior
DeleteSeveral things resonated with me in chapters 7-9. First of all, it is very important to remember that children, especially the Billys, need to be supported and guided within an environment that is conducive to feeling developmentally safe, with strong relationships and mutual respect. It's time to move away from the traditional view of bribery and threats. We need to make more time to build communities within our classroom and continue to reinforce those relationships. I also think allowing time for students to regulate is important. The things suggested in the book would be easy and require very little time/effort. They are very "do-able". I've used many of them: breaks, lighting, sound, food/water. Personally, I love the idea of using animals in the classroom. With allergies, however, I know there has been some concern in the past, but I'd love to revisit this idea.
ReplyDeleteChapter 8 was an important reminder of how difficult change can be for students, especially the Billys. I liked all of the suggestions this chapter offered to help alleviate anxiety in students when change is imminent. I do make a point to greet my students in the hall at the beginning of every school day. I feel it sets a positive tone to start the day. We've also done a nice job with the second grade tours and the fourth grade visit to Vernon in the Spring.
When reading chapter 9, I was reminded of just how important the teacher-student relationship is and how important it is in regards to academic achievement. I found the part regarding regulation for teachers very beneficial. Seeking support, validating myself, taking care of myself at school and at home are things I know I need to do, but aren't always easy to do. This profession is very demanding, both physically and emotionally, and we are quick to blame ourselves when student behavior escalates. We are also quick to take care of others, but not always ourselves.
Here are some implications/questions I've considered:
Should we do more as a building/district to support our staff and build morale? We used to have a climate committee that did fun, little things for staff........
What can we do to support teachers who are feeling like more and more demands are placed on them?
Should we take time each week for community building activities in our classroom? Do we need to make thing more of a priority?
I too am wondering what we can do as a staff to build morale. We used to do a great job of doing things outside of the school day together but feel lately we are just too tired!
DeleteI think meeting once a month for community building activities is an excellent idea. When our school took part in the Character Counts program, I know students looked forward to meeting in groups, participating in activities with common themes, and having meaningful discussions. The program appeared to help build positive student relationships.
DeleteI also mentioned creating time for community building.
DeleteI think mental health for staff is a very real issue. We have so much on our plates in addition to the requirements of our jobs. Family, second jobs, health concerns ... it is a lot to balance. Finding ways to support each other - throughout the entire building - can have huge benefits for morale and for our students' well-being.
I agree with you Melanie in that our staff community has somehow taken a hit with how stressed and tired people are. Going out on a Friday after school or after conferences seems like such a stress when you just want to be home after a long week. How do we get that back?
DeleteWhat resonated with me?
ReplyDeleteI feel like I highlighted more than I didn't through these three chapters!
Chapter 7 started with addressing what motivates our students. It spoke of children's natural curiosity about the world and an "unbridled" love for learning. This is the mindset that I believe so many of us in education approach learning. Afterall, school was a relatively positive experience for us or we wouldn't have continued our education and found our way back to a classroom as a profession!
Realizing that trauma can rob a student of this curiosity is powerful. And while, somewhat different, it reminds me of the adults I've met over the years that have shared with me that they used to love singing, but "back in ___ grade, my music teacher told me to mouth the words." They have never sung since. The trauma of being devalued as a student can also play a factor in our students' desire to learn.
The arousal theory in motivation was also interesting. Looking at the role of external rewards was also interesting. The stress of earning the reward defeats the Billys before they can even begin to feel success.
Creating a safe classroom community for all students is imperative. I find as a specialist that classrooms who have taken some time to create community in their classrooms carry over that community into my classroom. I see them praise each other. I see students volunteer to help a struggling student. I see patience exhibited for a student who is having a difficult day. I see students who feel safe to be vulnerable and try new skills even though they are difficult.
Transitions continue to be an issue for so many of our students. Small transitions - walking to specials - can be a big deal. I start each of my classes with a transition activity. It varies from day-to-day, but is from a menu of activities that are familiar to the students. This allows me to get a read for how focused the group will be and/or to help them find some grounding within the music room for the learning that will occur. It's a tossback to the "anticipatory set" we learned about years ago in lesson plan design. I struggle with movement in the classroom. While I know that some students are moving as a regulatory issue, I really struggle when it's happening because once one student begins to move, it seems I have a whole room that suddenly needs to move. I try to incorporate movement activities into each lesson.
The relationship entrainment section was interesting. Helping staff take care of their emotional needs so that they can process their own emotions in a safe place plays a critical role in being able to be emotionally available and a positive force upon the students in our charge.
Implications for school / disitrict?
The environment of my room is something that is difficult. The lighting in my room is so dim that it's difficult to see. The space is so large and the room is noisy. Students who are sensitive to sound begin to cringe as they approach my room. Carpeting the floor and dropping the ceiling would decrease the noisiness, but I'm not sure there's a budget for that.
There is a fair amount of attention given to the use of seclusion rooms. The survey response on page 97 reminded me of a few of our students, though I believe they were allowed to change clothes. It made me shudder.
"If you want to increase academic achievement, increase relationships." How do we embrace this as a school / district?
Questions:
1. How can we foster community building in each classroom or as a school?
2. Could advisory groups be implemented into our school that meet once a month? During advisory for 1 hour we could do a mini-course or a community building activity. You could incorporate specialists so that the groups could be smaller.
I have always wondered if the time spent in my classroom trying to build a family shows through in the specials. Hopefully, you are seeing it as my kids come to you. Glad you brought this point up in your post.
DeleteThis article appeared in "The Des Moines Register." It is timely and I think could warrant a bit of discussion time on Wednesday if time allows.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2016/11/26/des-moines-school-discipline-reform-stirs-backlash/91745014/
I will see if we can get some hard copies of this article and spend time reading and discussing it!
DeleteWhat resonated with me?
ReplyDeleteWe continue to hear, students need to develop a safe and trusting relationship with their teacher. Our interactions with students at all times, make such a lasting impact on them. Before we can expect students to work hard when asked, a mutual respect needs to be in place so that students want to work hard for their teacher.
Some ideas to keep in mind that can be implemented within the classroom seemed like very simple reminders. I liked the rocking idea for students. Having a rocking chair would be an easy addition to a classroom! Having students make phone calls home is one way of helping students. I love that greeting each student was mentioned in the book. This is such an important part of the day, whether it be in the morning or anytime students are coming into the classroom. Preparing students for transitions is always a good thing to do in order to reduce stress of students who have a hard time with transitions. When we look for the time to develop relationships with students, can we have them help with classroom jobs in order to spend more time with them? The difficult students can be given the jobs to create a sense of purpose within the classroom community. "The class is a family". I think it is powerful to have students step in as supporters of one another rather than assume it always has to be the role of the teacher. Peers can be effective when helping students emotionally in the classroom as well.
I found it very interesting when the self care of teachers was mentioned. I do think that with more demands put in front of us, we are more critical of ourselves. I find myself in this position. When a difficult student is in our classroom it is very important that we do not take it personally, which is something I find myself doing.
Questions?
How/what do I implement into my day in order to make sure I am taking care of my own well being?
Are there effective relationship building activities that can be resources for us to use within our classrooms? The Tribes curriculum comes to mind.
Kelly, I find myself taking it personally as well when one of my students need to take a break. I wonder what I did wrong that they need to leave my room and it really bothers me. I know that from reading this book, it is not my fault but I am still very critical of myself each and everyday!
DeleteI agree, Kelly! I think it would be easy to put a rocking chair in the room - great idea! I also liked the idea of letting kids call and talk to parents if needed. It totally makes sense to me, although I've never thought of doing it before.
DeleteThe comment that as adults we often check in with our significant other made me realize just how important that connection time is between a child and parent. I wish I had read this book last year. I feel like there are so many things in these few chapters, especially, that could have greatly helped E have a better year at his school.
DeleteKelly, I found myself re-reading that section called personal and cultural beliefs. It especially rang true with "throughout the day, the teacher is under pressure at every turn to create the perception that she is a good teacher."
DeleteTo that I will add, even if it means getting out of bed at 2 in the morning to try to retrieve treats because she cares so much about making a big mistake.
Ugh! :-( One of my friends, who is not a teacher said, "So what would have happened if you got there and they were gone?" What's strange is that for some outside of the profession, they see what we put on ourselves is oftentimes unrealistic!
I have so many thoughts with this reading so I am going to reflect by chapter.
ReplyDeleteChapter 7-Motivation-The biggest idea for me in this section was that children do not need to be bribed or threatened to learn. Instead they need to be supported, guided, and scaffolded up within an environment that is conducive to learning. This is done by making everyone feel emotionally safe through a strong and loving relationship with the teacher and other adults in the school. I also found the idea of using parents to help students very interesting. The book mentioned that married couples have a hard time not communicating with each other throughout the day so children may have a hard time not communicating with their parents.
Chapter 8-Transitions
This section really struck me as interesting and had me think deeply about how I handle transitions in my own classroom. I found it interesting that using attention grabbers (such as clapping) doesn't work for all students because it causes some student's nervous systems to go on overload. Time warnings also are not effective due to some students having no concept of time.
I love the idea of the classroom being a family and all students helping each other. Since my "new" student has come into the classroom, I really feel like this is what our class is doing to help her be successful. I love the idea of greeting all students by name and do this every morning as they come in for the day. I will try and do this more often as well.
Chapter 9-Teachers
Teachers bring more than valuable curriculum to their students. They bring relationship and connection. Too often, this aspect of being a teacher is undervalued and overlooked. For students like Billy, this truly is the most important part of having a teacher in his life.
With this understanding comes the requirement that teachers have to maintain a strong sense of regulation within themselves. They have to stay in the heart and connected to their own emotions. Teaching students liken Billy can be draining, exhausting,and triggering.
Billy has the ability to bring the strongest teacher to their knees. To be successful with students like Billy, it takes being willing to continue loving him through these tough times,learning to respond instead of react, and staying committed to one's own self-healing process.
Questions:
What is the best way for teachers to take care of themselves as many times our profession is stressful and emotionally draining?
What is the most effective way to build relationships with in our classrooms amongst both the students and teacher?
Melissa-I love what you stated "teachers bring more than valuable curriculum to their students. They bring relationship and connection". Yes! the impact we make on our students is remembered for a llfetime!!
DeleteTeacher emotional health is a huge issue. I hope we can have some time to discuss this further in person.
DeleteAfter Rebecca passed away, I told Tom that it really made me reconsider the amount of running I do in a given day to get everything done. And if I'm feeling stressed, aren't the kids? It goes along with that chart on page 135, by the way. My focus, honestly, should be about connections I make. My students will remember those moments I take with them LONG past the curriculum I've covered!
DeleteChapters 7 and 8 reminded me of strategies that I need to continually practice and implement. It feels like finding the motivational supports that are effective will be an ongoing experiment.
ReplyDeleteBut chapter 9 spoke directly to me about so many of the conflicts I feel while teaching. Especially pages 134 and 135- cultural and personal beliefs. I am torn by what I feel I should do in my classroom versus what I perceive is expected of me as a classroom teacher.
I have some students that are so very needy. I truly believe their emotional needs far outweigh their academic needs, but I also feel so much pressure to meet their academic needs. Chapter 9 spoke directly to this conflict.
As a school/district, do we really recognize the needs of "Billy"? And even if we recognize the needs, do we (the teachers, adults) really have permission to do what is necessary to meet those needs? Or is the push to improve scores?
I couldn't agree with your post more. Great points throughout. I feel like this everyday, especially since my new student has come back into the classroom. Her needs are far greater than any I have ever had before and I feel that with a lot of time and effort, she and I are forming a wonderful relationship. This study group has helped me to understand her needs better than I would have and has helped to give me ideas to form the relationship I need with her to make her successful!
DeleteThe article http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2016/11/26/des-moines-school-discipline-reform-stirs-backlash/91745014/ was a GREAT find! It ties in so nicely with what we are reading about in our study group. I really like what Principal Hoffman had to say, "We teach reading, we teach math and writing, and more and more we are charged with teaching kids how to act." This is so very true. Classrooms have changed so much in my 17 years of teaching and a lot of it has to do with the way children respect others both adults and other students. Parents are trying the very best that they can at home (I truly believe) and it is up to us as teachers to help with their well being.
ReplyDeleteI love the point the article mentioned about Yoga. I know that Virginia does this for her IEP students and have seen great results with the way the students come into the classroom ready to learn. Is this something we should try and fit in with our morning routine? Jeni do you see good results from doing stretching with your class in the hallway?
I also wonder about students being hungry and if we should allow snacks at school. I understand the allergy issue but maybe we should allow students to bring snacks for the morning or afternoon. I know that one of my students has a snack or two everyday and it really seems to help them with their learning.
E has been allowed a snack every day since kindergarten. If there is an allergy concern, we are told what food cannot be a part of the snack. Students bring their own snack. I really think it can be a powerful way to be proactive in regulation. Think of when you're hungry - it's hard to not think about finding something to eat...not exactly where we want these minds to be when we're trying so hard to help them learn.
DeleteAt the beginning of the year, I told parents that if their child wasn't hungry in the morning or they were too rushed, that I would allow "working snacks" within the classroom. It's an easy fix---but I also think about the kids who can't afford to bring those granola bars, etc... Would it be a good idea for us to have Troops or some other place (Quaker? ) provide a little snack cupboard for some of our kids we know are hungry?
DeleteThe article about the Des Moines school discipline reform was very interesting. While I agree that there are better, more appropriate methods of discipline than expulsion and suspensions, I do feel like there are times when these methods are warranted. We have to take the safety and learning of all students in account.
ReplyDeleteThe discrepancy among racial lines was alarming, however. It was concerning to see that the African-American students had the highest percentage of disciplinary referrals even though they didn't make up the majority of the population of students.
I'm glad the Des Moines district took time to evaluate this data and implement some changes. I think adding yoga, changing the lunch schedule, offering snacks, offering a quiet space for students to work, etc. are all good ideas. I completely agree with the statement that behavior is a form of communication. It's crucial to get to the root of the behavior,so that changes can be put into place. Kids need to know that we're working WITH them and care.
This is something that was brought up at CRSD in 2014.
Deletehttp://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/school-district/cedar-rapids-schools/cedar-rapids-school-district-being-investigated-over-race-based-discipline-20140905
I thought the article was interesting, and I was somewhat shocked by the disproportionate rates of office referrals for African-American students. I do believe schools have considerable power in greatly preventing and/or reducing the number of children from acting out. However, since teachers are now "charged with teaching kids how to act," I think it is time to take a closer look at college teacher education programs. I truly believe teachers are not trained in dealing with challenging behaviors and therefore, that presents a problem within itself. I even need more training.
ReplyDeleteI do see the value of using yoga with children as a tool to help with stress, behaviors, and concentration. The beauty of yoga is that it benefits all students, and students can use it outside of school to help them relax and manage stress.
I felt that the article pointed out an interesting fact that just because office referrals / suspensions, etc. were down, the problem behaviors hadn't necessarily been diminished. They just were being handled differently.
ReplyDeleteWe do need to address how we approach discipline. We also need to make sure that students are safe. If a student repeatedly becomes physical or violent in a classroom, that voids that space of being a safe space for the rest of the class to learn.
My friend originally shared this article on facebook. She's a pediatrician in Des Moines. Her post when she shared said something to the fact that teachers need to be adequately trained in trauma-informed discipline so that they are best equipped to help all students. I found her statement to be quite respectful of both the students and the teachers who are charged with helping in the classroom. In order for change to be effective, I do believe that it must be systematic and that all teachers need to have "buy in."
Looking at the way we handle students who are disrupting learning for other students needs to be closely monitored. A year ago, I was told by a mom that when her son was sent home, he viewed that as winning because he "hated school anyway". I told her I didn't buy that. My student, when he was here, loved the attention he got from adults and enjoyed the relationships he had with his friends. I feel like every day here at school is so important. Out of school suspensions are like bandaids in a way. I'm not sure they are of a great benefit other than a temporary break from a disruption.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay---last week I wasn't feeling well and I realize I didn't post for the chapters! Here I've been just commenting away on everyone's posts!
ReplyDeleteHere goes:
What resonated with me?
One was the transition chapter. I see so many issues with transitioning that I wonder if we could somehow rein this in for all student's to be successful. I am so glad we took the beginning of the year to not just jump into the schedule. It was so important to try to establish that community in our classroom with procedures and getting to know you activities. We had time to practice and talk about classroom and school expectations. Do we need to take time for that again mid year? The hallways at the beginning of the year are great---but they get more and more wild as the school year progresses, whether it's kids running in the halls or the yell talking that goes on while kids are coming in or going out to recess. Our kids who are sensitive to this sort of wild stuff seem to not know how to navigate through the masses. And I wonder if we're getting the best bang for our buck with MTSS time following lunch which follows recess. Would going back to the classroom to unwind and start the next period---such as math in the student's own homeroom be better with MTSS built into the schedule later in the day? And again, it has me thinking about our 4th graders going to Vernon. :-( Sigh.
The other chapter I read and wholeheartedly brought into was about teachers. The heart generating more electrical amplitude than the brain basically tells us about the vibes we send out to kids when we are positive, well rested, feel self affirmed, and healthy. Our emotional state ties into this job and kid success, so how do we get there? Our building has such a strong reputation in terms of the environment we set for our students and the positive interactions we have with kids and parents. But it's like that bucket book? How do you fill your bucket? What do we need to let go of to bring back that sense of community among our staff? How do we involve everyone in the process?
Implications for our building?
Again, it's a scheduling issue, but I see two things that we need. One, student community time in the classroom, not just at the beginning of the year, but at minimum, some weekly time to just catch up with the needs our kids have. Just time to share, talk, reflect.... And our staff needs that too.
What resonated with me from Chapters 7-9?
ReplyDeleteThe main point the book continues to make is building good positive teacher-student relationships is the key for student success. I feel I do a good job in doing this with my students. A teacher needs to be in-tune to the individual needs of each student. A teacher needs to know when to push and when to pull back and by knowing his or her students this comes by instinct for the teacher. Each student is different and what might be a motivator for one may not be for another. If a teacher has built a good relationship with their students they will know what motivates each child and can help them succeed. By being flexible, relaxed, and having patience with some problematic behaviors other more serious behaviors can be averted. You need to know why students are acting the way they are and have patience to let them regulate. I don't mind if a child needs to move around some in the classroom as long as they are doing it quietly and not disrupting others. Every teacher has a different tolerance level I guess. Teachers that build a strong sense of community in their classrooms will also be able to motivate students because they will feel like they belong to something that is safe and secure. Students need attention, they need to be heard, need to be respected, and need to be cared about. When this is done learning can take place.
As a building- I feel that at FMI, teachers do a great job motivating all students to learn and succeed. Teachers care about their students and make them feel wanted. Helping a child feel a sense of belonging and that school is a safe place for them to come to every day goes a long way to improving their outlook on learning.
Questions: How do we as teachers keep a good balance with addressing the needs of all of our students and taking care of ourselves? Teaching is a demanding job, people who aren't teachers think they can relate to our jobs. Only teachers truly understand and appreciate the jobs we do.
I try very hard to build a relationship with all of my students at the beginning of the school year. With rushing to start teaching and not taking time to get to know the students it makes hard to build a relationship with all of the students in the classroom, especially those that are quiet and shy. Those that are needy of attention or the out going students are ones you get to know quickly but not always well. We need to take that extra time to build a good relationship and really. Sometimes I still feel that some kids take advantage of that relationship.
ReplyDeleteI try to have the kids move throughout the day, but some take that movement time to goof off and become very social. I am trying to figure out how to make it a quiet movement, so it doesn't take so long to bring them back to learning. I use to have snacks (cereal) available to students to snack on, but it got too expensive on my pocket book. I asked parents to help, but I got very little. Now I allow students to bring a healthy snack for morning and afternoon. Problem with that is the ones you know need the snack they are not bringing the snack. If I supply for that child, many more expect me to supply for them.
As a building, I feel the majority does a great job. I feel the majority makes their students feel cared about, accepted, safe, and that they belong. By making the students feel that they are cared for, safe, and accepted, not only physically but emotionally and mentally, is very important for students success. They need to feel that they can make mistakes without being made fun off or picked on. They need to be positively motivated to work hard and improve in every way.
How can teachers take care of themselves, physically, emotionally, and mentally without feeling bad about it? I am one who I feel awful for taking time off, even when I am really really sick, all I can think about is getting back because of the kids and all the things I need to do. Mental and emotional health is so important, but I feel in this profession that part of our health that is over looked. How can we help each other and ourselves to not burn out or break down? With life and the stress of our job, it is a hard balance. I for one struggle all the time trying to lessen my stress and build up my emotional and mental well-being.