5. Testing one, two, three

Testing one, two.

This we believe (NMSA, 2010).

* Varied and ongoing assessments advance learning as well as measure it. Varied Assessments

We are testing. Our students have been drilled and skilled on the board, illustrating concepts on whiteboards, using Google Forms, creating study guides individually, in pairs, and in groups. Throughout the year I have shared, “It is all about the question!” I ask myself, “Are they ready?” So much depends on extraneous variables; but will they meet growth? I honestly do not know. But yesterday, as good as gold, they began the testing week.

We are not allowed to discuss any part of the test with them. Some students will take as many as six academic exams. All students have three more days of testing next week, and students taking Earth Science and Algebra will take the End of Course exams two days the following week. (I am feeling an element of fatigue that is beginning to surface.)

But, enough about the test; there are things a teacher must be prepared to do before, during, and after testing. First, students need to be comfortable in the classroom. I have placed my students in alphabetical order in the past and when given a test they had to sit in this format. This year I had them choose a place they were comfortable, and had them sit there for each test. Second, any evidence that can help students on the test must be removed or covered in the classroom. Third, for online tests, every laptop has to be initiated by the homeroom teacher. (I had to log in and activate each student’s computer. This took about 30 minutes.) One of our biggest concerns is that the computers will have a glitch. (I only had one yesterday and was able to log the student back in successfully.) Fourth, all testing materials (paper, pencils, headsets...) are placed in a central location and must be picked up and signed for prior to the test. Fifth, during the test, a Testing Do Not Disturb sign is posted on the classroom door. Sixth, students are monitored by a teacher and a proctor/monitor during the test. Finally, after the test, all materials are returned to the testing coordinator. We all breathed a sigh of relief when all materials were safely returned to the locked area.

I cannot explain the stress we feel as teachers, as administrators, as students; but it is real. Whew! One down, five to go!!

Advice

1)   Be sure and talk to a teammate to be sure you have all the passwords and procedures clear. In North Carolina, you are electronically connected to your school. Put your passwords in a safe place. Have a mentor who will remind you of everything! (:

2)   Schools have test preparation training and manuals provide scripted instructions. Use a highlighter to ensure you give exact directions to children.

3)   Work with your team to decide what type of activities, schedules, stress-relievers will take place after the test is complete. Testing is stressful. Consider engaging activities. (Yesterday students who had finished their “foldable” played Kahoot (an electronic competition) to review statistics and geometry. We will work on examining colleges and tuition costs, and paint next week.)

4)   Get to school early on each day of testing. My carpool buddy said, “We need to be at school at 6:30.” (We are usually at school by 7:24.) "What?" I thought. Wow! I was so glad we did. We were both ready when the children arrived. 

5)   Be patient with everyone, including yourself. (:

12. Men of Honor: Thirty minutes a week can change the life of a child

Thirty minutes a week can change a child’s life

This we believe (NMSA, 2010)

*Every student’s academic and personal development is guided by an adult advocate. Adult Advocate

Men of Honor is the brain-child of one of our teachers, Michael Caparaso, who heard about a similar club at the American Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The two men met with our principal who supports and encourages faculty and staff to explore their creativity in support of children. They then asked teachers for their input. He shared with us the following:

Coach Ramsey and I thought it would be a good idea to start a similar club here at West called "Men of Honor".  We want to be able to reach out to young men who need a positive male role model.  We will meet once a week to teach these young men life skills that will help them in their daily lives.  We will be following a book I received when I attended an AFCA convention titled "Playbook for Manhood: A Game Plan for Being a REAL Man".  (See full email at the bottom of this blog, dated March 7, 2016.)

The response from our faculty was very positive.

“Wow!!!!!   I think this is such a great idea!  Kudos to you all!  I will be glad to help with anything I can do!”

“Awesome idea! This is one of the many reasons why I love this school!”

“This is amazing!  Thanks to both of you for your vision and dedication!”

Each team identified young men who could benefit from having male role models. A total of 30 young men were selected, five from each team. The club has been going on for two months. As a teacher of five of these young men, I can tell you they are thriving.

One activity the students engage in is to dress up one day a week. When the leaders started this they asked faculty to share shirts, ties, pants, shoes. Every one of these young men is dressed for success one day a week. In addition, the school bought them t-shirts with their mantra on the back:

“(what is on the back?) (:

Last night at our annual celebration of West, held at the School Board meeting, three of them shared their insights. It was magical, to see the confidence and appreciation these young men displayed and shared.

I asked Michael if he could share insights into the experience.

I would love to, thanks!

Benefits to the kids: The goal of the Men of Honor Club is to benefit its twenty-eight members by providing them with life skills that will help them succeed as they grow into young adults.  We work on how to greet and communicate with adults, and how to be more respectful to others.  We provide the students with weekly challenges after our meetings to implement what we have discussed.  

An example of a challenge we have issued would be to shake the hand of at least three out of their six teachers and thank them after class.  These young men are using their weekly lessons to grow as honorable young men.  The dress for success aspect of our club has also benefited our members.  Some of our students have never been complimented on their appearance before dressing up on meeting days.  It helps the students feel like someone cares about them which often times results in a better performance in the classroom.

Benefits to the teachers:  The Men of Honor has had an impact on teachers as well.  Teachers are seeing some change in these club members such as turning in assignments, being more respectful in class and having a better overall attitude towards school.  We understand not everyone has made a positive change, but the majority of students have shown growth in these areas.  Teachers also got their cars washed by these students; that is always a plus!

Benefits to the school:  We feel like our club has had a positive impact on West McDowell Middle School by limiting the disciplinary reports by our members.  These students are working harder to think before they take action in all aspects of their school day.  Our members have worked hard to become more respectful, honorable young men in our school.  Teachers, administrators, and community members have all commented on how much of a positive impact this club is having on these young men.

Benefits to the leaders: The leaders of Men of Honor have paid close attention to their daily actions as well.  We teach these young men that their actions will have an impact on them and others.  We are living by the same code and are working harder ourselves to become better men of honor as positive male role models to our students and members of the community.

Advice

1.  Teamwork.  The club leaders sat down and wrote the original contract together.  We wanted to make sure we reached the students that need this club the most. We combined three teachers' perspectives and bounced ideas off one another until we agreed on the items contained in the contract that the young men signed. We also relied on clothing donations to provide our members with items they needed to dress for success.  We were fortunate to have monetary donations from community members as well.  

2. Patience.  It took some time from our initial idea to start the club and to inviting our club members to the first meeting.  It was hard to stay patient in this phase because we were so excited about the potential of this club.  During this phase, we discussed what our lessons would be for the young men, as well as potential field trip ideas to provide these young men with positive experiences.

3. Learn from your students. Whether the students know it or not, we, the leaders, continue to learn a lot from our members.  We learn things about these students that normally would go unnoticed and may help us connect with them on a deeper level.  This information enables us to reach students who may be similar to these young men.  We are very fortunate to learn from them.  

Let me know if I can do anything else!

Thanks,  let us know how we can share/check out your blog!

Michael Caparaso

Special Education Teacher

Head Football Coach

West McDowell Middle School

First letter sent to faculty:

Some of you may have seen the story about Memminger Elementary School in Charleston, SC and their recently created "Gentlemen's Club".  Coach Ramsey and I thought it would be a good idea to start a similar club here at West called "Men of Honor".  We want to be able to reach out to young men who need a positive male role model.  We will meet once a week to teach these young men life skills that will help them in their daily lives.  We will be following a book I received when I attended an AFCA convention titled "Playbook for Manhood: A Game Plan for Being a REAL Man".  This book is intended for a football setting but is easily adaptable to pertain to a school setting.  Hopefully, this book, our lessons, and our guidance will assist these students in becoming mature, respectful young teenagers and adults.

Like the school in Charleston, we thought it would be nice to have a dress for success aspect of the club.  We want the students to dress up on meeting days and have that feeling of looking good, feeling good, and doing good. We will be asking for local donations of ties, button down shirts, polos, slacks, and shoes.  We want the students to know that someone cares about them because a lot of the time that is what they need to be more successful in the classroom.  We also would like to include community service in the club and have our students volunteer at various places throughout the rest of the school year.  Any suggestions for places to volunteer are welcome. 

We are asking each of you for recommendations of young men to be in the "Men of Honor".  We encourage you to think of students that you truly believe could benefit from the extra support and guidance.  A few suggestions on the type of young men that we would like to target:

·       Someone that seems to be ambitious but reluctant to participate in the classroom setting. 

·       Someone that does not take pride in their appearance

·       Someone that may be lacking confidence

·       Someone with poor manners

Right now, we are thinking of having 10 students per grade level for a total of 30 students in the club.  Depending on popularity and amount of donations, that number could change but that is where we want to start. After your recommendations, we will meet with those students and gauge their interest in our club and proceed accordingly. Club members will meet during their grade level Spartan Time.   

If you have any suggestions for the "Men of Honor" Club, we would love to hear them.  Please contact me or Coach Ramsey with any questions you may have.  Thank you for your time.

5. That was fun. (EOC Practice for three hours.) May we have a party?

5. That was fun! May we have a party now?  EOC Prep

This we believe (NMSA, 2010).

Varied and ongoing assessments advance learning as well as measure it. Varied Assessments

We arrived at school this morning at 8:30. A small group of algebra students met at school to take an EOC (End of Course) practice exam. I used a Google Form and Google Classroom to allow students to practice questions. The first set included twenty questions. When completed, I was able to let them know what they missed. On the board, students could read an explanation of each question missed. Students then took a 15 question, round two, which also was scored and they were able to see the problems they missed.

I now have data that gives me insight into what their challenges are. This assessment also provides them with an opportunity to dig deeper into our content and celebrate their efforts!

At 11:35 a.m., the students were finished. One piped up, “Mrs. Ruppert, since everyone is finished may we have a party?”

“A party?” I asked, “Like, now?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Well, okay.” (Perhaps you can sense my hesitation.)

“What shall we do?” I asked them.

“I don’t know.” They were standing around, ready to play.

“Do you want to play a game?” I asked

“Yes,” and they willingly found a space on the board to write.

We played “24,” a game I found in my math book. Students worked on the board. I dealt four cards and students, using all four cards, must use any operations to compute the answer 24. (We added an activity that addressed the slope of a line where the first two cards make up the (x,y )coordinates of one ordered pair, and the second two cards make up the second (x,y) coordinates of the second ordered pair.) A further extension could be that they must determine the equation of the line… oh yes, we will do that Tuesday.

After the game, I said, “We should have been doing this all year.” These students were having fun working math problems on a Saturday. They were having fun with one another working math problems. Today reminded me of how much our students need constructive, creative, opportunities to deepen their knowledge of math, of science and of other content.

Advice

1)   We had a movie night a few weeks ago. Families came out to the ball field to view a movie projected on a giant outdoor screen that was donated by a local elementary school. About ten students from our team came to hang out with one another. That evening reminded me of how little young adolescents have to do on Friday nights and weekends. They do not drive; they do not have jobs. I wonder if promoting Friday night events for young adolescents would be a good fundraiser for schools?

2)   Whatever your subject, consider what competitions exist in your state. I know there are organizations for social studies, science, math, reading, brain competitions… Consider how to get one started. If you are interested in sponsoring an after school club, be sure someone will sponsor it with you.

3)   Young adolescents, when challenged, thrive. They also want to celebrate. Our next EOC practice will be June 4. We have decided we will have a picnic afterward.

10. The Fatigue Factor

10. The Fatigue Factor

This we believe (NMSA, 2010).

* Organizational structures foster purposeful learning and meaningful relationships. Organizational Structures

There are four weeks of school left, 1/9 of a school year, .1111111. This week seemed particularly long. (Haha- repeating.) I noticed a few students slipping. By slipping, I mean they were less attentive, more restless. I have bumped up the structure and routine of class, using the “bell-to-bell” philosophy. (Bell-to-bell is a philosophy that there is no down time.)  I wonder if we as teachers are slipping to. At the same time, I am trying to be intentional about listening to my students and enjoying them. This week they have been telling knock-knock jokes. They laugh at corny jokes. I enjoy their interest in humor. It makes me smile.

“Two guys go to a counter. One asks for H20, the other says, I’ll have that 2. He dies” (shared by a student). I have now heard that joke five times from my students. Every time they tell it, I smile. “Okay, back to work,” I say.

This morning, while listening to the birds of spring, appreciating the cool, quiet morning, I reflected on the notion of fatigue and weariness. I believe there are four kinds of fatigue. The first is physical fatigue. At this point in the school year, it appears that people, including me, are not as intentional about taking care of themselves. I have been surprised at the physical demands of teaching.  And I hear my students talk about a video game they play at night. Colleagues with young children and with high school students are running, running, running from early morning to late at night. It is as if we are on auto-pilot with no maintenance, and sometimes no meaningful fuel.

The second fatigue is emotional. In every class there are up to thirty students, with thirty different parents, thirty different needs, thirty emotional concerns of their own. People don’t always make the best decisions, and the consequences play out in how they treat one another. We, as teachers, are on the frontline of the emotions of students, parents, and colleagues. Very often throughout the school year, when a student reacts, responds, or displays behaviors that are of a concern, I often wonder, ‘what is going on in their world.’ The same can be said for colleagues. Our children are hurting. But it is not just children; teachers, administrators, staff, and parents are also navigating emotional stress.

A third fatigue, I will call is cumulative. There is this sense that we are all running toward the June 10 fence, trying to give our students enough academic support prior to the assessment week. Parents have watched their babies grow up. These young people look like adults; they sometimes act like adults, and too often they must become adults before they are ready to finish being a child. Ending the school year, going to a new school, can be stressful for children and their families.

The final fatigue, I call media fatigue. I do not own a television, and am more likely to listen to jazz or spiritual music on the radio. I have eleven Facebook friends, and am trying to improve my own social networking skills. But the impact of social media, sensational media, campaign slamming, distrust, and anger that flood our airways is stressful. Our students talk about the upcoming election, candidates, and what is surrounding them on the airways. Our children have so much information at their fingertips, and have so much access to dangerous material, and so many opportunities to interact inappropriately, that we must help them be aware of dangers and we must help them be responsible digital citizens. I worry about our children. 

Advice

1)   Eating right, exercising, getting enough rest are simple tools for healthy living. It would be a good idea to check in with yourself on how you are doing. Remember that you must take care of yourself first.

2)   The art and science of mindfulness is a philosophy of taking time to stop, to take in and accept our world, to consider others and to seek peace within our own world. I highly recommend you consider researching mindfulness.

3)   Realize the end of the year not only has academic stress, but there are lots of other things that could be going on in your students’ and in your colleagues’ lives. Try to be more patient, especially with your students.

4)   Be mindful that there are events going on around the child, the home, the school, the community, the state and the world that influence how we interact and react to one another. Be intentional about sharing the importance of taking care of one another.

5)   As you create lessons and prepare students for testing, always be mindful of the need to maintain a positive, caring community. Remember to take a deep breath and help your students do the same.

6)   Finally, there is a sense that ‘I could have done more,’ that causes our own stress. It is the best time, as a teacher, to reflect on what could be done differently, better, deeper…. (Stay tuned!! J).

3. & 8. It was the tip of the iceberg: Celebrating our students

3. & 8. It was the tip of the iceberg: Celebrating our students…

This we believe (NMSA, 2010).

* Curriculum is challenging, exploratory, integrative, and relevant. Challenging Curriculum

* Leaders demonstrate courage and collaboration. Courageous & Collaborative Leaders

Last night our school was highlighted at the monthly school board meeting. The room was packed with students, parents and teachers from West McDowell Middle School. Dr. Gardner, our principal, opened the evening sharing our mission and vision:

The mission of West McDowell Middle School is to offer relevant learning experiences that include communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity which are student centered, developing the whole child through teacher guidance, parent partnership, and global exploration.

In a span of forty minutes our students shared the benefits of clubs including: Men of Honor, the Newspaper “Spartan News”, Science Olympiad, Battle of the Books, and I-2-I “(Inspire 2 Innovate.) Faculty/staff initiated programs such as: Band Leaders Project, and the Student Tutors Program were highlighted. Curriculum innovations including the impact of using Gizmos, The Chromebook 1:1 Initiative, an Interdisciplinary/Cross-Grade Level unit on the Holocaust, and a breaking down bullying were discussed by students. Student Council activities, and a summary of our PTA fundraisers were shared. In addition, school-wide efforts to plan, organize, and conduct out of state field trips at each grade level including Atlanta, Williamsburg, and Space Camp in Alabama were shared by the students. Other events that were shared were the celebration of our men and women who serve and have served our country, and highlights from our PBIS programs. At the end of the presentations Dr. Gardner shared, “And this is just the tip of the iceberg!”

I have never worked in a school system where each school had the opportunity to share the good things happening with School Board members. This presentation highlighted our students and their opportunities to explore, innovate, and create learning experiences. What I found most enlightening is that many of these programs have started this year. It is our principal who holds the vision and inspires us to explore our own passions and insights into what our students need.

Advice

1)   If you have an idea that could benefit students or teachers, do not be hesitant in promoting your ideas. Our students need support from many different opportunities. Always check with your principal first.

2)   Do not ever try to do something by yourself. It can happen, but too often there is so much to do and having someone to bounce ideas off can be very helpful; plus it is more fun to collaborate with someone. (:

3)   Keep documentation of the experience. Whatever you create, consider how it impacts students’ behavior and academics. If/when it is effective, share it at a conference or write an article about it.