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.

12. The Campfire in the Hall

12. The Campfire in the hall

This we believe (NMSA, 2010).

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

It happened quite by accident. One of our teachers had to leave school fifteen minutes early so we put the children in the hallway to work on homework or read. What we found was that they peacefully gathered, sat down, and were compliant. (It was not a full moon.)

Last week, at the end of class we had ten minutes so I asked my students to step out into the hall, and leave their devices and books in the class. My classroom is at the end of a hallway. We sat in a semi-circle with the open end of the circle facing the open hallway.

One of my students said, “This is like a campfire.  Can we play the secret game?” The secret game is when one person shares a sentence and whispers it to the person next to them, the secret is shared around the circle, and the last person shares what they hear. We did, and this provided the beginning of “campfire.”

Yesterday, we had two guests in our classroom: one was teaching students about circuits and conductivity using Makey-Makey© technology. The other was an observer who is considering teaching as a second career. At the end of class, I invited the class into the hall to demonstrate Campfire to our observer. We sat in a circle. I invited the students to share their advice for someone wanting to go into teaching.

“Don’t be too mean; but don’t be too nice either. Students will run all over you.”

“Be like Mr. Gardin, our social studies teacher, he is a lot of fun.’

“Don’t give too much work.”

“We do like to talk.”

Their comments and caring spirit provided sincere information. They listened to one another as well. Once they gave advice, I let them talk while I played a guitar. I then introduced them to an old Girl Scout song, ‘Peace I ask of thee oh river.’ Our campfire lasted ten minutes and allowed students to reflect and communicate ideas, and relax. In our current state of academic rigor, taking a few minutes to decompress is a good idea.

Advice

1)   I believe we have to help our students disconnect. The Campfire doesn’t last long, but students have a chance to communicate with one another. It is a chance to unwind. (Note: We do not have Campfire every day. It happens about once a week.)

2)   Find ways to listen to your students. We have talked about high school lately. There are two middle schools in our district, so these students will be meeting lots of new people next year. Topics we will cover include: what will you miss most about middle school?  What do you look forward to?

3)   This happens to be a small class. It also happens to be a very respectful, kind group of students. I did not start the year with Campfire, but believe, if you begin the year with it, spend time teaching students how to communicate in a circle format… be kind, listen, address the statement, not the person, contribute to other’s thoughts…

4)   Once your community is established, this format can be used for academic purposes as well as social/emotional development. We find it very peaceful.

12. Joys and disappointments.

12. Joys and disappointments.

This we believe (NMSA, 2010).

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

Last week, students who applied to 'Early College' were told whether they had been selected. (Early College is a magnet school that focuses on academics.) Two students in our advisory group were selected. The first came into my room and shared the news with joy and exuberance. She had come into the class to get her computer for her elective class and literally danced with joy. In the second hour, a small group of girls came in to work on their 'Earth Day' quilt piece. She did not tell me. Her friend shared the news that she had gotten into the program. While working on the piece they talked about going to her house that weekend to practice dancing for her 'fifteen' party. I have no doubt that both girls are elated to have been selected.

Later in the day, two other students shared they were not selected. One boy was loud and feisty. 'I didn't get in," he boomed to the class.  Another girl told me at the end of the day, privately, timidly.  Both have friends in other classes who were selected. Both are good students, both participate in activities and events, and both make good grades. I have no doubt that these two students are extremely disappointed.

As teachers, part of our job is to listen to words and actions. Disappointments are part of life. So are joys. It is often in middle school when disappointments begin. Students are very aware of those who have things and those who do not. It is clear, or perceived, who is popular, who is smart, who is pretty, who is accepted, who has talented, gifted, skilled, and who struggles. In a culture where 'everybody wins,' middle school is often where disparity of talents, skills, and opportunities are revealed.

On Monday, those who had been accepted were more subdued. Those who were not accepted, for the most part, were quieter.  Today is Tuesday. The environment is tense. In addition to Early College, some students were cut from the track team yesterday, and Color Guard tryouts, at the high school, ended with some 'making the team.' All of these students are part of my advisory.

While 'checking in,' students seem to be handling their joys and disappointments. This is where a 'mindful' campus and sensitivity toward students is needed.

I wrote the following on the board, '"May your successes be viewed as opportunities, and may your failures be viewed as beginnings."  I started class with time to reflect on these words.  At the beginning of the year I had students rate themselves using the character lab  growth card. Today we will reexamine those cards and set some goals for high school.

Advice

1.Check in with your students. Find out how they are feeling. Listen to them.
2. As a team, consider using the information, resources, and assessment tools, from characterlab.org. This website provides resources and information to help students develop personal characteristics related to: grit, social/emotional intelligence, curiosity, growth mindset, optimism, gratitude, purpose, self-control, and zest.
2. Communicate your observations with your teammates, counselors, and parents. As teachers, we are not trained to be counselors; thus, if students voice concerns, ask for help or send them to a counselor or administrator.
3. Remember that we all have disappointments; children, parents, teachers, and administrators. As educators we must be more than content specialists. We need to take care of one another and ourselves.

12. More on Advisory

More on Advisory

This we believe (NMSA, 2010).

*An adult advocate guides every student’s academic and personal development. Adult Advocate

This we believe (NMSA, 2010) provides sixteen characteristics of exemplary middle schools. This is the twelfth characteristic and falls under the category of Culture and Community.

When I was first teaching, in a middle school, we had an advisory program. I had no resources and had no idea what I was doing. I understood the need for my students to socialize and that they had needs beyond academics, but I was unsure how to establish an advisory. During a team meeting, I asked for help with advisory. One of my teammate’s shared, “You have a masters in middle level education; you should know how to do it.” That was my support. It was an uncomfortable moment for me; I have never forgotten the insensitivity of that comment.

One of our challenges is to find a way to support teachers as they take on advisory. Often it is a different mind-set: Middle school teachers must be more than masters of academia.

The purpose of advisory is to provide a group of students with an adult advocate. Those of us who work with young adolescents agree that this is an obvious need. Children have multiple characteristics: social, emotional, intellectual, physical, and moral. These needs shift during adolescence. No doubt, most of us can think back to our childhood and remember witnessing and experiencing this transition.

Research says, middle school bodies change at an alarming rate as we jettison into and through puberty.  A middle school must embrace a place to nurture and prepare young adolescents to be successful: Academics alone will not make it happen. But asking teachers to have a dual role: advocate and teacher, without any training, can be a challenge. At my school, we are starting the conversation.

I believe the biggest mistake we make as educators is to ask teachers to be advisors with little to no support or training. (I too made this mistake when I worked to create middle schools in the south. We had a definition of what an advisor is, but had no plan for implementing anything.) It was very uncomfortable for some teachers and others embraced the opportunity.

What I have found is that a collaborative approach, whole school and/or whole team, is necessary to supporting the social and emotional needs of young adolescents and that when the social and emotional needs are considered, there is enhanced student academic performance. Teachers need to work together to make it happen, and they must be guided and supported as they take on this new role. Becoming an advisory is not always a natural skill.

When I was talking to teachers yesterday, the majority were open to hearing about advisory, hearing about its purpose, and listening to how we could begin to work together to make Spartan Time more than an academic study hall and tutoring session. And while our students need extra time to do work, it is possible that we could be doing more to develop the social and emotional needs of our students.

One focus of advisory is to allow students time to be social. Several suggestions include: intramurals, clubs, project based learning (PBL), and career exploration. The most widely spread conversation was on initiating “clubs”. Some teachers had conducted clubs in previous settings, and our sister school is piloting clubs and intramurals this year.

Teachers shared clubs they had sponsored, and discussed how club time could allow our students who ride the bus to participate in traditional after-school programs such as Battle of the Books, and Science Olympiad. One teacher suggested having a partner on another team to share in the planning of a club. In some instances teachers were willing to use their Spartan Time to attempt club time several times in the next semester.

My colleague, John Niska, is a master in training teachers to be advisors. He shares that a year of preparation, should include a “design team,” whose responsibility is to help initiate the program. He agrees, it is necessary to prepare teachers and administrators; and important to have everyone’s buy-in. In his most recent work, he found that when advisors were mentored, they were much more likely to engage in student conversations, and felt much more comfortable conducting advisory sessions and activities.

So, we are beginning to move intentionally toward developing the whole child at our middle school. I believe clubs will allow teachers to address their own interests and while teaching personal interests, there is the chance to begin to develop students’ relationships and interests outside of academia. I was pleased with our conversations. Creating an exemplary middle school is challenging. My hope is that we will continue to embrace the challenge.

Advice

1)   Teachers must be willing to learn how to use advisory for the benefit of students. While we are starting slowly, we realize our district has a high drop out rate. We realize we must begin to look at other activities, and to explore different strategies for helping students stay in school.

2)   Teachers could pair up across teams to develop activities and share responsibilities.

3)   Grade level teams who embrace the experience and who collaborate provide much support for their students and work to meet their needs.

4)   Clubs are not a replacement to advisory; but it is a place to start, and I believe it is a good place to start.

CASEL (2005).Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. [website]. http://www.casel.org/

Powell, S. (2015). Introduction to middle school. (3ed.) Pearson: Boston, MA

12. Advisory: Starting Over

Advisory: Starting Over

This we believe (NMSA, 2010).

*An adult advocate guides every student’s academic and personal development. Adult Advocate

This we believe (NMSA, 2010) identifies sixteen characteristics that exist in exemplary middle schools. This blog addresses the twelfth characteristic, and is part of the section that addresses culture and community.

Advisory is an element of middle schools that provides every student with someone who knows them. It is usually a classroom teacher, but in some schools, other faculty including media specialists, counselors, elective teachers, and administrators can be used to reduce the advisor to advisee ratio. The faculty member serves as the advocate for a group of students. Often, he or she is the point of contact for parents, and serves to communicate with individual students on their performance and their behaviors in school. The purpose of advisory is to engage students in experiences and activities that enhance their social and emotional development. Powell (2010) shares, “Advisory is an attitude more than a program. It is an attitude that leads us to commit to know our students well, to advocate for them when possible, and to wear our advisor hats all day, every day” (p. 156).

I have been asked to talk to our faculty about advisory. Our school is in their second year as a middle school. We have teams, we have PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports) celebrations each nine-weeks, and last year faculty were directed to have an advisory program. We have a thirty-minute block of time set aside, called “Spartan Time.” Last year, teachers were given a book of activities. The program failed, and currently the thirty-minutes is used for academic purposes. Teachers use it as a study hall and/or an extension of their class work. 

I had a conversation with a group of teachers this past week. Some teachers are reluctant to embrace an advisory program. Some see it as more work, and share they are not comfortable with the experiences they had. So my first idea is to find out what is working during Spartan-Time, besides study hall and class extensions.

Very often when we try to make change, we skip the step of “fact-finding.” Teachers need a voice; need to be honest with their concerns. The point will be to look at the opportunity, as an opportunity to have impact into what is needed, and or what is possible to advocate for students. It is my view that if there is a mandate to implement advisory, a step in making it happen, is to ask teachers for input in how to make it happen. I believe our teachers are aware of the challenges our children face outside the classroom, and that we all see our students need to be social.

I believe advisory is one of the most difficult components of middle schools to implement. And I believe the biggest problem is that teachers are not prepared emotionally or physically to be an advisor. I have been in three other settings where advisory has struggled, and my first thought on this is that the term advisory suggests intimacy and guidance more than advocacy. Teachers are not prepared. I often hear, “I am not a guidance counselor,” and “I don’t do touchy-feely.”  

Research is clear; the social and emotional needs of students’ impact their academic performance (CASEL, 2005). So my second task will be to have a conversation about our students and their lives.

There are multiple ways to support students’ social and emotional development that do not involve intimate, touchy-feely activities. It is my intent to explore possibilities teachers are willing to consider such as: intramurals, goal-setting, college and career readiness, service learning, and clubs as a start. We shall see….

If we can have the conversation about our students, and agree that there are needs, we can then begin to address a third challenge:  to find a “design team” willing to work together to create experiences and opportunities that allow our students to develop academically, socially, and emotionally. We have the support of the administration and the school counselors. My hope is to open the conversation to possibilities of starting over! (:

Advice

1)   Consider what you believe about the social and emotional needs of young adolescents. If you are unaware of the research on these areas, you can find resources through amle.org.  at: http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/AdvisoryAdvocacy/tabid/90/Default.aspx.

2)   When teams of teachers are aware of the needs of students, it is possible to collaborate on creating experiences that support the social and emotional development of young adolescents. If you are on a team, consider asking how your team serves the students’ needs.

3)   If you are in a school that does not have an advisory program, consider what you can do in your own classroom to support the needs of young adolescents. There are lots of programs and resources. The CASEL.org website gives research-based resources to use.

4)   Parents and school counselors are resources and advocates of young adolescents who must be included in your or in your team’s conversations and plans.

CASEL (2005).Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. [website]. http://www.casel.org/

Powell, S. (2010). Introduction to middle school. Pearson: Boston, MA