Finding My Guide on the Side

            I’m a few days off my target but this is a learning year for me. Rome wasn’t built in one day and I guess I cannot expect that I will be able to gut and reform how I teach my students in one week. I’m still feeling “under the gun” even though the stress is of my own creation.

            I have finally shared with all my students what the data is telling me about them and what my solutions are. I have gathered my supporting materials, posted the “remedies” online and have started assigning supplemental class assignments to be completed in and out of class. What makes me most enthusiastic about this endeavor is the feedback I am receiving from my students.

            They like the change. The students who scored” basic” and “below basic” are hopeful about improving their scores and believe in me because I believe in them. Not many of my students are what I would categorize as “excited” about the change but they are receptive. That’s good enough for me--- have you talked to a 13 or 14 year old lately. Seeing them “excited” about doing anything that resembles “work” is unusual. I can deal with receptive.

            Next step: reconfiguring my room into an autonomous, student-centered environment. That means I need to give responsibilities back to my students: supply maintenance, class routines, etc. That’s not that hard--- every kid will have a job and will be expected to be responsible for executing that job.

• ·         Supply wizard  - responsible for retrieving and putting back supplies needed for the learning activity
• ·         Scribe  - responsible for composing and submitting written material for the group when group assessments and assignments are given
• ·         Spokesperson - will present information the group worked to create or find and share back formally with the rest of the class.
• ·         Accountant - keeps records for the group to submit to the teacher daily—who finished their task? Who did not?
• ·         Time Guardian – watches the clock and  keeps the group working toward the their task with five minute interval warnings
• ·         Editor – checks group submissions for grammar, spelling, and word usage errors before submitting group work for the teacher. All members are responsible for reviewing their work and looking for editing errors but the final responsibility belongs to the editor.

My goal is that, by Halloween, students will have adjusted to my expectations and that visitors will see a room run by the students, managed by the teacher, and that learning is occurring with or without the teacher leading them. I want to be a clinician and facilitator of learning this year. These are just some steps along the way.