So is this what it has come to? I’m a weekend blogger? Sigh. Hey, no one told me this teaching gig was gonna be hard. I got into this because of the incredible money and laid back, easy-going atmosphere. I should sue someone. Anyone want to be sued?
Okay, so let me take you on a photo tour of my classroom. You’ll notice a couple of things: 1) I don’t make great posters. I do my best but they’re not great. I recognize that. No need for extra commentary on this front. Got it? And besides, my 4th graders think they’re pretty awesome. So take that. 2) Some of the legit posters you might see hanging up, say, in my library, are hand-me-downs from others so no making fun of how out of touch they look. Hey, retro is in, right? Okay, here goes.
The first thing you’ll notice when you come in my classroom – besides 35 antsy kids who are about to burst at the seams if I don’t let them wiggle a bit or say a few words every now and then – are my posters on BIG GOALS. One of the things you learn in Teach For America is that if you don’t have a clear vision of where you want the academic year to end then you won’t know where you’re going. This is a pretty straight-forward business model and it revolves around data. Lots of data. And specifically, TFA teaches that BIG GOALS should revolve primarily around reading and math. If those two things are in place for kids, the rest will follow. And so TFA challenges its corp members to think big. Most of the kids we teach are behind and will only continue to fall behind if something isn’t done. We can’t afford to grow the kids just one academic year. We have to do more for them. They need to do more. And so, in my class, I’ve challenged my students to grow 2 years in their reading levels. If a kid comes to me reading at a 3rd grade level, I want that kid reading at a 5th grade level by the time the year ends. Remember this statistic regarding kids who grow up in low-income neighborhoods?
By the time they’re in fourth grade, children growing up in low-income communities are already three grade levels behind their peers in high-income communities.
In math, I’m challenging my class to average 80% mastery on all tests. Why 80%? Because that number signifies that the student really got the material; understood the material. The foundation is laid to move on to the next objective. So here are the posters that you’ll see upon entering my classroom:
Moving on.
I do a lot of cheerleading. I’m assuming there aren’t many outside my classroom who are continually cheering on my kids so alongside my other job requirements, I see cheerleading as imperative. Therefore, I’ve named my kids my Super Stars. They love it. We even have our own cheer that can be heard at random moments throughout the day. In front of the classroom is this giant poster – that Laura made – and under the poster are pictures of each and every kid – my Super Stars.
We have rules. And those rules are non-negotiable. If a rule is broken, a consequence is administered. It’s pretty straight-forward. Say Little Johnny breaks a rule. I simply stop what I’m doing and say, “Johnny, pull a card. And while you’re at it, tell me what rule you broke.” Johnny gets up to pull a card and he tells me what he did. It’s amazingly effective. So here are the rules, consequences and each individual’s cards.
I need help in the classroom and so I’ve got a job chart. The kids love the job chart. But be forewarned, you can be fired from your job.
And then there’s my word wall. It’s pretty self-explanatory:
And finally, there’s my library. I love my library. I got this retro looking, plastic couch at a garage sale that the kids love. I’m building my library of books slowly but surely and someday, I’ll get a rug.
So there it is. My classroom. This next week, the students who are exceptional will get to have lunch with me on Thursday and Friday. We’ll also make our first iMovie together. The kids are pumped. I’ll post it this next weekend.
Recent Comments