Permission to Slow Down

I, too, appreciated our group discussion in the library last Friday. I am always so impressed when people are willing to share their fears, concerns, and inadequacies in a public forum. After listening to several eloquent speakers, I breathed a sigh of relief and gave myself permission to slow down. You see, I have been feeling guilty because I’m not coming up with creative strategies for using the technology I now have at my fingertips. I’m always copying someone else’s idea and I feel like a sponge. I’ve only used Blogs a few times with two of my classes—and I liked the results—but I keep feeling I need to create an impressive lesson plan that others can adapt to their lessons. Consequently, I spend all of my time thinking about what I might try, but fear posting my ideas because they might not work well. “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I” (Hamlet). Meanwhile, I’m behind on my grading and not even implementing my old lesson plans in a particularly effective manner. So, it’s good to hear I’m not alone, and I think I need to spend some time in Joan’s basement to rejuvenate!

Another aspect of last Friday’s class I really appreciated was time to read personal and class Blogs in the computer lab. I really find it difficult to stare at a computer screen late at night. We spend so much time in front of our computers during the day—and my eyes begin to blur (perhaps it’s my age). So thank you for being flexible about adjusting our schedule and still giving us time to see the strategies others are using! Most of all, thank you for listening to us, encouraging us, and making us feel valued.

Does Constructivist Teaching Prepare Students for CSAP?

I must admit—I’m cheating. After reading the article, “Honoring the Learning Process,” assigned for today’s homework, I’m ready to share some thoughts about it now rather than waiting for our discussion later today. And my initial reaction to the article is one of complacency—I already think most teachers at AHS practice constructivist teaching, at least in the English Department. In fact, I’m intimidated by the number of cooperative learning activities, questioning prompts, technology-based strategies, and blogging assignments designed by our teachers that require students to think. I started my teaching career 31 years ago, and the group of teachers I work with today are the most talented and passionate group of constructivists I have ever known. My students know how to ask higher-level thinking questions, how to lead student-centered discussions, and how to create meaning out of their learning, thanks to my gifted colleagues.

But my question is this: Does constructivist teaching prepare students for CSAP tests? The article emphasizes the importance of learning over performance and suggests, “Students educated in a setting that stresses performance learn that technique, rules, and memory matter more than context, authenticity, and wholeness.” But CSAP tests require students to recall grammatical rules, definitions of literary terms, and proper essay techniques. The test requires students to work alone, choose the “correct” answer, listen to teacher instructions, and concentrate on a single task for one hour at a time. Are we preparing our students for this type of test?

Now you may feel as many of our students do: CSAP tests are worthless. But in The World is Flat, Friedman says, “The crisis in our schools has its roots in American homes increasingly devoid of books and printed material where children turn exclusively to television, computers, and electronic games for entertainment—and see the adults around them doing the same. Instant-gratification technology has, for many students, replaced the task—and the thrill—of reading. One cannot develop solid writing skills without first being a decent reader; underdevelopment of these skills translates to low scores in standardized testing.” Friedman also talks about how too many American students have a poor work ethic—an ethic that requires learning the basic skills and, in some cases, rote memorization.

So—as constructivist teachers, how do we prepare students for CSAP?

Frenetic. . . Fragmented. . . Frazzled. . .

It’s Friday afternoon, 3:30 p.m., and I’m running behind schedule. In fact, I’m about a week behind the lesson plans I created in August, and I’m trying to figure out what’s slowing me down. I’m proud of myself for trying new teaching strategies such as blogging, but I haven’t quite figured out how to “replace” old ones. My students have been such good sports, supporting my efforts to discuss online and make our discussions more student-centered; but I’m feeling out of sync and fragmented.

Wordsworth’s poem, “The World is Too Much With Us” keeps running through my head, and I want to be “a pagan suckled in a creed outworn” so I can look forward to a weekend for a change rather than dreading the piles of papers, laundry, letters of recommendation, and emails that need my immediate attention. It’s so tempting to keep teaching the way I’ve always taught because it takes so much time to try new strategies. I wish our district would switch to a four-day work week, and then I might feel I have time to rejuvenate. I’d like to blame my age—at 53 I just don’t have the energy I used to—but I probably need a personality transplant. I’m too “Type A,” too much of a perfectionist, and too passionate. How can Terry Sale be 54 (sorry, Terry, for publishing your age) and so laid-back, so organized, and so innovative? Well, at this point I’m going to adopt Scarlet O’Hara’s persona, because “after all, tomorrow is another day.”

Success!

I am delighted with the results of my first class-blogging experience. I asked my AP students some questions about the novel they just finished reading, and overall, I found their responses insightful, eloquent, and authentic. Instead of responding to each of their comments (How do you find the time for so many comments, Karl?), I created a quick PowerPoint to show them samples of excellent and mediocre responses. Then I told them I would simply post a grade for each response based on the standards I emphasized with the PowerPoint presentation. A positive by-product of this lesson that I had not anticipated was the opportunity to insert some mini-grammar lessons as we read their posts. Usually I begin first semester by lifting sentences from their first in-class essays—this is a tedious process as I hand-write sentences I want to xerox. If I use blogging with all of my classes, I’ll never have to copy sentences again! Voila!

I also enjoyed the strong voice I discovered in their responses. Is it magic, or does some special force direct their hands when they type on a computer rather than write on paper? They seem to feel more liberated when writing in cyberspace—perhaps they sense a grander stage and feel more passionate their responses. I liked that. And I was not at all offended when one of my students posted a comment about our first class discussion that critiqued my teaching style:
Mrs. Ferrill, please take no offense, however, something I appreciated was that last year Ms. Kakos would hardly talk and let us initiate the entire discussion. Occasionally, she would chime in, but for the most part, she would not say much at all and if it was silent and no one was talking, she would just wait until someone did.
I really do need to extinguish that “sage on the stage” and look for the “guide on the side.” My problem is I love to perform, and I love seeing students’ faces light up when I ignite passion toward a specific author or piece of literature. Right before the beginning of the first final exam I gave last year, each student in the class stood up and recited a quotation I had taught them during the year—and they thanked me for sharing these masterpieces of the English language. I suppose that’s why I’m so selfish in hogging the stage—I have so many magical pieces to share. But I’m really going to try to zip my mouth more often. Hard to believe, isn’t it?

Taking the Plunge

I finally set up two class blogging sites last night and gave my students the option to respond to my post. When I polled my classes today to see how many students already were registered to blog, most of them raised their hands--so I'm convinced they are ready and eager for the blogging to begin. However, I'm still nervous. One of my students in 5th hour asked me a question about editing her personal blog address, and I couldn't answer it. I hate feeling unprepared, but I know these questions are part of my learning curve. However, when one of my students from first hour stayed after class to ask me what a blog was, I felt quite enlightened in being able to tell her. She's a new student from Highlands Ranch, and her question reminded me just how technologically advanced AHS is compared to other schools (thank you, Karl).

Otherwise, I'm still worried about the amount of time blogging might take once my students begin responding on a regular basis. I've noticed that several teachers are now sitting at their computers during lunch trying to read blogs. I'm often too much of a perfectionist, and I'm afraid I'm going to feel compelled to read every word they write and respond to each comment. I still battle writing too many comments on their essays.

But I'm convinced blogging is a direction I must go. One of my students from last year told me today that she had posted some questions she had about a novel she was reading for an AP independent study. She said another student who had read the same novel responded with several helpful insights, and she really appreciated the opportunity to bounce ideas off other students, not just her teachers. So--the temperature is still a little cold, but I'm keeping my head above water.