SOLSC 2015 #28: Why is it called the art of teaching?

Each day during March, I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC). All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers. Check out the Two Writing Teachers  website for lots more reflections on teaching. Thanks especially to Stacey, Tara, Anna, Beth, Dana, and Betsy for hosting this writing challenge. 

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Since September,

trying to help a child...

You see the growth that is needed,

how to ensure that it does?

Observe,

write things down

reflect,

speak with the child,

speak with the family,

identify what needs to be changed,

set a specific goal,

work on it directly,

intentionally change certain things, 

seek insight from colleagues,

let others observe,

tweak the environment so that success is inevitable, 

build a stronger relationship with the child,

foster trust,

build your relationship with the family,

help your team to see what you are seeing,

ask for input and suggestions,

hear feedback,

make a new plan,

reflect,

eliminate the obvious mis-steps, 

apologize when necessary,

wonder about the child,

build on strengths - the child's, yours, the teaching team, the family's

modify routines,

plan interactions with peers,

write up new plans,

increase communication,

soften your approach,

back off,

be patient,

try a little less of this,

try a little more of that,

do background research, 

find out more about it,

seek experts' advice and insight,

reflect,

work to make progress inevitable,

give the goal lots of attention,

ignore the goal,

seek the harmony of the middle,

all the while staying focused on the goal,

note the small successes, 

the incremental steps forward

repeat what works well,

keep faith in the child.

When you find yourself a little sad from the seeming lack of progress, remember those adages - 

This is why it is called the art of teaching

When the student is ready the teacher is there.

Never believe you are the last one to teach a child something.

Know that the child has her own timeline, 

the child decides,

you set up the environment,

you create her world,

making success more likely,

however,

ultimately,

the child decides.

Make peace with the possibility that you may not see growth this year.

Magically, yesterday, a huge step forward.

Progress.

It just happened.

I worked very hard to make it seem ordinary, to take it in stride.

My Teaching Assistant looked at me and said, 

"You didn't imagine it. It happened. I saw it, too. Awesome."

Ah, but we do ourselves a big disservice when we call it 'magic.'

or to say, simply,

'we were waiting for this.'

There were many, many, many small and important efforts that went into this, 

and must continue,

if this single step becomes the way forward for this child.

"So many things are done easily the moment you can do them at all.  But till then, simply impossible, like learning to swim.  There are months during which no efforts will keep you up; then comes the day and hour and minute after which, and ever after, it becomes impossible to sink.
"

C. S. Lewis 

SOLS January days

It is Tuesday and this is a "Slice of Life" (SOLS) for Two Writing Teachers.  Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

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Due primarily to the fickle January weather, the Big Cats have been spending a lot longer time in centers and going on shorter walks. It is a great time of year to have longer centers. Since winter break, the children are beginning to truly play together, and this emerging cooperative play needs much time, space, and guidance. Centers are just the structure!

During centers, children work in small groups on a variety of activities, playing alongside one another. Often, the task needs to be done "together" - requiring children to talk, share, and work together.

For me, the main purpose of centers is for fostering healthy, friendly social-emotional interactions. Oh sure, I can name the specifics of math, literacy, science, engineering, or other learning that is happening in my classroom; I can even cite the particular learning standard that is being worked on in any given center. But, what excites me and drives me is helping children work with one another.  Since winter break, and the children's renewed and accelerated interest in being together, I've been on overdrive....

The children are in constant motion, moving readily from one interest to the next...learning to share, learning to take turns, learning to be aware of others, learning to have fun together. I'm their "guide on the side," noticing...

[   ] looks sad - is there a way that she can play, too? Have you asked her if she would like to play? 

Is that a safe way to use that?

Does [  ] have enough materials? Look at how much he has and how much you have - which is more? 

I see you really want to play with this, but [ ] had it first. Ask her if you can use it when she is through.

You bumped into [ ] - have you checked in with him, to see if he is okay?

How might you two play this together and have fun?

Slow your engine down. You are moving very fast! 


Did you build that? Remember our classroom rule - you build it, you may knock it down. You should help her rebuild that. Next time, ask if you can knock that block structure down.

Tell him you didn't like it when he did that. 

In board games, we take turns with the dice. Have you finished your turn? Who is next? Hand the dice to [ ].

I saw you cover your ears; was his voice too loud? Tell him that his voice is hurting your ears.  

You want to play with a toy cell phone, too? Let's ask if [ ] if you can play with one of the two he has. 

Do you want to use that next? 

Ooops. [ ] is hurting. Let's go together to get ice.

Even the children seem to know that social-emotional learning is the most important work in the room.
Example, many preschoolers were exploring ice and salt; I asked one student,
"What happens when you add salt to the ice?"
and she immediately responded,
"[  ] bumps my arm."
My laugh for the day!

Today, we had one real sign that it was a rainy day and we were trapped inside - an impromptu game of ball began in the classroom, using a very lightweight, soft, fuzzy ball [we had used this same ball to throw to one another at Gathering, to say good morning to each other].  I'm not sure if the children were playing soccer or basketball...it was a spontaneous, fast-paced, motion-filled game played by Micaela, Evan, Zuren, Alyja, Ada, and Hughie – but only briefly. Jasmine, dressed in an apron and tutu, and playing "family" was surprised and disturbed by this impulsive game and yelled in her most authoritative voice, “Boys! I am angry! Don’t play basketball in the house!” [Of course, the list of players assures you that this was not a boys' game!] Before I could even respond - to either the game or her upset - the ball went soaring through the air and became trapped in the ductwork of our classroom ceiling, some 12 feet above us. Silence came over the room.

We now have an on-going inquiry – How to get the ball down? Today’s suggestions: A tow hook (Hughie); a ladder (Zuren); I’ll fly up there and get it (Seymour); a lasso (Shaan).

January days, January learning, January fun.
Rich and varied moments together.

Tuesday SOL There are varied paths

Tuesday Slice of Life with Two Writing Teachers

I am determined to submit a blog post for the Tuesday "slice of life" - in the midst of a very hectic time in my life...

Juxtaposition:

My classroom, empty, clean, organized, waiting for the onslaught of preschoolers.

My basement, stockpiling, waiting for the departure of my youngest son for college. [Sorry, no photo!!]

Yes, my baby heads to college this weekend.

We've had a summer full of teenagers and young adults,
passionate about so many different things.

Consider, these pursuits -

- studying criminology with an emphasis in forensics, wanting to solve crimes using technology and science;
- playing polo;
- entering the Marine Corps;
- fluent in several foreign languages and interested in international studies;
- a baritone singer, passionate about opera;
- love of engineering;
- working on a master's to become a history teacher;
- still another, headed for a Phd in biochemistry;
- kinesiology, working with lacrosse team, helping them to excel;
- studying law, particularly interested in public law and becoming a judge;
- singer and songwriter, playing guitar;
- tinkering with computers to create electronic dance music;
- studying psychology and neurology;
- helping battered women;
- marketing and business - particularly interested in starting a small business;
- majoring in speech pathology, interested in helping adults with special needs;
- creating documentary films;
- gender studies;
- working with the homeless;
- art, especially computer-assisted design;
- theology, wanting to become a minister;
- dance and exercise;
- writing comedy, particularly for websites;
- directing theater performances.

I know there are more...others I have left out...but, when I reflect on all these varied interests, passions, pursuits, I get very excited about the future.

This is the goal of education -
to cultivate passion about learning in our students, and
to provide the means for them to pursue their individual goals and interests.

Here's to another great year of learning -
whether you are three years old or college-bound!

SOLSC #2 Just a game

Two Writing Teachers' Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC)

In recent weeks, I've been "nudging" the children to understand the concept of alliteration.  For me, this literary concept is one more way of getting them to notice the details of words – how words “work.”

I created a simple set of picture cards with animal pictures, each animal's name having the same first letter as a student in the class.  I created a set of cards to "match" with these that have the students names themselves.  So - there is "Cheetah" and "Charlie," "Elephant" and "Ebony," "Rabbit" and "Reia," on and on.

At Gathering, I put these animal cards on their seat mats and created a whole new way for them to sit in a circle.  (It was a strategy for behavior management as well, as I purposefully placed certain first letter animals well away from others. )  The children walked around and around, trying to find the animal who matched their name, searching for their seat.  To be sure, some preschoolers were not understanding it entirely, and chose their favorite animal picture rather than one that matched.  We worked together to identify the "proper" pairing, animal and child.

Now we are playing "Concentration" with these picture cards during centers time.  This is "just a game" - and the children are delighted to play it with me - but I am learning so much about what the children know and how they think, how they approach learning.

I play with four children, using about a dozen cards – their four names and the four animals that are their alliteration match, with a couple extra cards added in for good measure. I lay the cards out face up, first, and we study them together.  Whose name is this? [Mine!] What is the first letter of this name? Holding up the name card,  I ask, Which animal is a first letter match with this name? When I am confident that the children know the basic gist of this game – every name has a matching first letter, then, I turn them over and mix them all around.

It  amazes me how much I learn from this very simple game.

Although not all the children can name the letters, all the children are reading their own names.  Most are reading the names of some or all of their classmates - wow!

There are so many different learning styles and learning approaches.  I watched them develop strategies "on the spot" to find the matches.  For example, one child, although unable to name the letter, has an extraordinary ability to visually match the shape of the letter to its twin - every single time!  Other children studied the turned over cards intensely, looking through the card at the marker that was bleeding through, to decipher the first letter of the word below. Still others showed keen spatial intelligence - remembering precisely the location of matching cards.

There is a whole lot of "juggling" when you play games with children, needing to be alert to their many different temperaments.  One child became totally frustrated when she couldn't find her own name.  She became even more frustrated when she got a match of another classmate and an animal, and she completely shut down - folding her arms across her chest and turning her back to us in disgust.  I made the decision, in the moment, to move on with the game with the other children, all the while patting her back gently, encouraging her to rejoin us.  Hmmm.  I will find time for personal conversations with her, at a time apart from the game itself.  Yes, we will try again.

I have considerable insight about their attention spans - some want to play the game over and over, others wander away when it is no longer their turn.  Children are learning to take turns, to wait for their turn, to be patient. I loved how the children helped one another...showing true generosity, sharing their recall of where the card was positioned, and helping their classmates find the matching card.

Yes, it is "just a game" - but what a lot of learning!


----

alliteration [əˌlɪtəˈreɪʃən]

n

(Literary & Literary Critical Terms) the use of the same consonant (consonantal alliteration) or of a vowel, not necessarily the same vowel (vocalic alliteration), at the beginning of each word or each stressed syllable in a line of verse, as in around the rock the ragged rascal ran

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

Culling my way down memory lane

One of the beautiful things about summer is having time to sift through things and get rid of the unnecessary, the outgrown, the irrelevant.

Well, my most recent foray has been our piles of papers in the back room.  How did we accumulate so many?  This is borderline hoarding.  Time for action.

Lo and behold, I come across this "growth chart" for my then preschooler Keith (now 23 years old!):

Not entirely sure why I kept this, because, from the looks of it, I didn't use it very long!  He has stickers only through the third column.  Did each column represent days? Weeks?

I read through the goals of the chart and I am transported down memory lane....

Handles his anger successfully, Respects/loves Wade (his infant brother at this time) -

Keith is 2 1/2 years older than his brother, Wade...I remember how surprised I was at the effect of Wade on Keith...much happiness, much joy, yes; but, unexpected meanness, too, a jealousy, coming from out of nowhere, seemingly. It was no longer little Keith alone with Mommy. There was a daily sharing of Mommy.  

I saw real frustration in the little guy when he was three and four years of age.

I remember had so many questions, so many concerns! He was my first, my entryway into how to raise a child.  I wanted to parent him differently than I had been. My own childhood was in a home of "eggshell walking" - with a mother who had severe mental health issues, we treaded carefully and quietly around the house, not disturbing, not upsetting, not rattling her.  I didn't want a child who swallowed his emotions, like me.  I knew how essential it was to raise my child differently, more healthfully. But how to teach him?

We both had so much to learn about how to express anger and frustration.

I am aware of the enormous role my sons' preschool and Pre-K teachers had in the life of my young family.  I am so thankful for these wonderful women, who helped me understand my three boys as individuals.  They modeled ways to talk to, play with, and discipline my children, provided books, articles, and websites as resources, helped me find answers to my questions.  Their guidance helped me to be a better parent.  

Dresses without argument

Keith's preschool years were my first introduction to "sensory issues" - again, thank you preschool teachers!

How we struggled over what he would wear.   He would get so angry! Oh my.
"That feels swishy, Mommy."
The seams in his socks, if not "just so" on his feet, would drive him wild.

I remember his wonderful Pre-K teacher, Mary Landsman, explained how sometimes the tightness or texture of clothing is like a fingernail on a chalkboard to a young child - like so much loud noise in their ears - rendering them incapable of thinking about anything else, stuck and angry.  She helped me to see how important it was to not hold my child to some aberrant, adult-driven rule,
"Wear these or else" or
"You can't wear those because you wore them yesterday,"
but to have him help to choose the clothing, to let go of fashion, to allow him to wear the same thing day in or day out.  That year, he wore the same pair of green sweatpants to school everyday.  (Thank goodness for laundry machines and the freedom to use them overnight.)

Gives Mom and Dad privacy, Stays quiet in bed, Eats without argument,

I am aware of how important it is for parents of young children to see and understand how they are creating the rituals and traditions,
the expectations,
the norms,
for how children should interact with one another and with adults.  Parents of young children are shaping a family.  It doesn't happen in an instant, but many, many opportunities over time.

In these early years, we took awkward first steps at setting family expectations for staying in one's bed, eating as a family (and appreciating the chef!), and giving one another space.  It wasn't automatic. I remember tearful dinners and exhausting good night routines.  But we were making steady progress.  Over time, we created family traditions, our family "way."

These imperfect days led to a home where
we don't yell at one another,
we get frustrated and take a deep breath and figure out how to talk about it,
we are allowed to question things and to do things differently from one another,
we enjoy our family meals and evenings together, and
our time apart.

It helps to have a supportive, loving partner in this parenting, as I have had (thank you, Tony!).  And fantastic preschool teachers along the way - thank you Irene, Mary, Cindy, Janise, and Mindy!

Yes,
I'm not entirely sure why I kept this chart.

With hindsight, the list of "goals" seems like a lot at once for a young child; if I had a do-over, I'd isolate one of the goals and work on that only.  (Often success in one area has positive effects elsewhere.)

Truly, I'm not sure where I stand on behavior charts like these for preschoolers.  I definitely don't like them in a classroom as a public display, where children might be pitted against one another, leading to a sense of isolation and defeat for those who do not achieve.

However, perhaps they are useful for a parent or teacher to have with a child, one on one?  I wonder if some young children might benefit from having a visual aid that isolates specific small issues/goals to work on?  Charts allow you to voice the issue in a non-emotional way - helping the child to work towards specific goals.  

Certainly, charts like this are great for reflection, twenty years later....
It has served its purpose.  Time to throw it out! ;-)

How to learn something new?

How to stretch a kid? 

How to get them out of their "stuck" position and move them into learning?

     On my mind, actively, this spring break, is my son who is a junior in high school.  A year from now, we hope he is opening up college acceptances....  We know he is interested in college, but in a very passive, third child, calm way.  He is an easy-going, happy kid.  Not particularly charged about any one topic – likes building and creating (engineering?), enjoys his high school law and forensic science classes (criminology?)  He is young, a late June birth, meaning he has always been one of the youngest in his class...truly I wonder if he just needs a year off, a “gap”  year...he is uncertain. He watched and listened to the "buzz" around the his older brothers going to college, going to law school; my new job; Dad’s new job; and he just slips away, to play games, use the computer, hang with friends.  He is happy being in the background, perfectly content to let his family dig deep into their pursuits.

How to introduce some forward thinking?  

How to take him further is his pursuits, in his interests?

     On my mind, passively, this spring break, are my preschool "race car drivers."  I have several students who race cars every day, every day, every day.  They are easy-going, happy kids.  Sure, with their classmates, they read great books, create exciting engineering projects, explore puppets, nature, math, on and on.  But, every day, as soon as they can, they slip away and return to cars - talking about them, building garages and roads for them, and racing them.  They are happy being in the background, perfectly content to let their classmates get deep into other topics. For them, it's all about cars.

How to introduce some literacy, some math, some critical thinking into their play? 

How to take them further in their pursuits, in their interests?

     Here we are, on a spring break college tour with our junior ... we are “putting out a carrot,” trying to whet his appetite, increase his desire, draw him in.   He hasn’t sought to know more about college; as of yet, he’s not owning this pursuit.  We challenged him to name four colleges about 2- 3 hours away, perhaps places we didn’t visit with his older brothers, "let's make it a mini-vacation."   We turned the spotlight on him.  In the end, we chose the four colleges, colleges that we have heard positive things about, and we planned a get-away for spring break, scooping him up, immersing him in the topic of going to college - seeing, doing, hearing.  He visited Admissions Offices, walked campuses, sat in quads, soaked up the college atmosphere.  Saturation, immersion, cultivation.

     And here I am planning a new dramatic play center for my "peripheral" learners – the ones who engage briefly in our projects and then take off to race cars.  Let’s turn the spotlight on them. I’m thinking “Auto Repair,” a center where I might have lots and lots of old, broken toy cars for painting and detailing (every car will need a race number!).  Maybe we could have a car washing area, with rags for scrubbing or waxing? Perhaps we could build a “race course” – a place to test out our repaired cars?  (Maybe one of the older elementary students could help us.)  We could have small writing pads for writing up repair bills.  We could have mechanics tools.  It would be fun to decorate the area with old license plates, maybe a hub cap or two? Could we create one large cardboard box car, for children to go in and out of? Perhaps we could create a ramp for cars (not balls) and do timed runs?  Measure distances?  

     Our family keeps talking about college. We built a trip to cultivate interest in college.

      I think the college trip has made our junior feel very special.  More importantly, it has made college more "real" for him.  He sees that his parents are interested.  He is excited about possibilities.  He is making comments, asking questions: 

I’m not sure I want to be at some place so small.

This place is cool – the downtown is fun, the campus – I like it.

Mom, did you hear that they have a major that combines Engineering with Liberal Arts – you can get two B.A.s in the 5 year plan?

Where is the main part of this campus?  It is so big.

I wonder how diverse this campus is?

     His process of discernment begins.  If, over time, it is becomes apparent that he isn’t interested in - or ready for - college right now, we’ll regroup, refine, re-plan.

     The preschoolers keep talking about cars.  Let's build a dramatic play corner to cultivate this topic.

     I think this dramatic play corner will make these preschoolers feel very special.  Using their own interests as a starting point, they will be working on literacy and math.  If it turns out that the children aren’t really interested in the new "auto repair" area, we’ll know it soon – when we see them spend time elsewhere.  And we’ll refine, regroup, re-plan.

     This is "emergent" learning...the topic is "of" them; our role as teachers (parents) is to nurture and encourage the topic; the children must participate for the subject to grow...and it may all fizzle out and we'll move on to something else.

With children of all ages, 

we simply:

need to provoke,

need to stimulate,

catch them thinking,
get ‘em thinking!

It can seem light, cursory, even extravagant.

Why put a child’s interests above your own?

Why?
To see where it leads,

see if there is a spark.

How do you learn more about something?

How do you learn something new?

SOLSC #30 Practice makes perfect

Little guy arrives at school with his Dad.
He sees the children's sign-in log.
He asks Dad to write his name in highlighter first.
I softly entreat,
"Oh, let's see how much you can do without the highlighter."
Little guy bursts into tears,
He hides his head in his father's lap,
"Oh my, what did I say that makes you cry?" I ask.
He looks at me, tears pouring down his cheeks, and stammers,
"I ...I ...I..I..can't...I..can't"
I say, as cheerfully as possible, "oh, hon, this is hard, this is what you are learning...you try, you struggle, you try again, it's how we learn."
But he is convulsed with sobs.
and I add,
"but, you don't have to try so hard today...here, here is the highlighter."
He waves it away, and cries into his father's lap. He is mortified that he can't print his first name.
I see that his desolation is aggravated by my knowing.
I move away, beckoning my Resident to put in a sweet word with the little guy, to get his day's start back to a better place.

The crying stops; things smooth out; the day goes on.

The next day,
little guy comes over to me, mid-morning;
sidles up to where I am sitting and sits on my lap.
Unexpectedly affectionate.
He whispers,
"I cried yesterday.  I couldn't write my name."
Gently, I said,
"Oh, yes, I remember.  You were sad."
He adds,
"I can't write my sister's name either.  I want to."
I say,
"I remember, a long time ago, I couldn't write my name.  I couldn't print the letters.  Oh, how I wanted to! I had to keep practicing, keep trying.  And now, I write everything.  I write all the time.  I love writing."
He responds,
"Yes, yes, I have to keep trying.  I'm going to keep trying."

How magical and precious was this moment!  How precious this child.



That sign-in book is meant to be a happy ritual, for children and their parents to do together...it is not an edict...many three and four year olds aren't ready physically to hold a pencil, many aren't ready mentally - and these are the children who breeze into the classroom and begin other activities, ignoring the sign-in book.  For those who do stop to write their name, I am interested in well they are doing it, and, as with any learning, seek to stretch them a bit, to challenge them to new heights.  Thus, this week, I stopped printing their name in highlighter for them to trace, just to see what they would do.

This little guy, at not quite four years of age, has very high expectations for himself.  He challenges himself to do so many things and he expects to do them well.  He shows me how important it is to have opportunities for failure in the classroom, how important it is to converse about "struggle", "practice", "process", "trying", "trying again"...

How nice to receive in yesterday's mail my NAEYC Teaching Young Children  and see an article entitled "Encouraging Growth Mindsets in Preschoolers" (by Shelby Pawline and Christie Stanford).... I've got some reading to do!