Last Day at HA

Today was our last day in class at Higher Achievement, our summer school program.

It's kind of amazing how emotional the day was today. We have only known these kids for five weeks, but it was still really hard to know that after tomorrow, they will be out in the world on their own. I will likely never see them again after tomorrow.

Today, the kids presented their science fair projects, which we have been working on for the past two weeks straight. Every single group finished, and covered topics ranging from tornadoes and gravity to black holes and the asteroid belt. There were some really cool models (examples here and here) and it was great to see everyone get up and present in front of the entire program. Not going to lie, their presentation skills need some work, but you have to start somewhere!

The coolest part of the day came in between our 2nd and 3rd period presentations. Every day, at this time, we have a "Community Meeting" or CM for short. At CM, the site director stands in the middle and leads various "brain break" activities including games like Four Corners, Big Wind Blows or 123 Clap. Today, however, our site director (whose name is Corinthian) decided that the kids would participate in a special shout-out session. Kids normally give "shout-outs" at the end of each day, in which they shout out each other or the staff for exceptional behavior. However, because today was the last day in the classroom, Corinthian decided that the kids would do their shout outs at CM, and more importantly, all shout outs would be directed at their teachers from UTC. During shout outs, kids are not required to speak if they would not like, but today, about one of every three kids stood up and wanted to say something.

Today gave me the feeling that I pursue every day in education. Kids were throwing shout outs everywhere, and it was so cool to see them expressing how they really felt about all their teachers. It was at this CM that you could see who really made a difference. Some of the things the scholars were saying was truly unbelievable -- talking about how they will always remember a specific lesson that they did, such as a mock trial in their social studies class, for example, or how they will remember us when they are in college or successful in life. These statements were especially powerful considering the circumstances that many of them are placed in every day when they leave school, and the odds that are stacked against them simply because of the area they are growing up in. As the kids went around the circle, I got a pretty good amount of shout outs. I was not the most shouted out teacher (that belonged to the 7th/8th math teachers) but I definitely got a ton of love from the kids, and a lot of it was specific praise, recalling help I gave on projects during the year, sometimes going back to the first couple of weeks. It was so awesome to hear this and know that I truly left an impact on the kids. It's really hard to remember that you're doing this some (read: a lot) of days, but today reiterated the belief in my mind that what we're doing out here is really special.

Tomorrow is our "Olympics of the Mind," in which kids compete in games and show off what they have learned all summer. However, we have a little surprise for the kids at the beginning of the day tomorrow. I won't give too much away, but I will give a couple pieces of foreshadowing:

-this music video

-this picture

Will DEFINITELY be posting about it this weekend. Turn up!!!

BD

Placement Day

On Friday, UTC had its Placement Day. On Placement Day, all the residents find out which city they're going to be living in, and if you're lucky, you get a school placement. Twenty percent of the cohort ended up not having a school placement, which sucks, but fortunately was not a problem for me. I was assigned to live in Washington D.C. for the next four years, and will be starting out at a school called Achievement Preparatory Academy (Achievement Prep, for short).

I initially put Washington D.C. down as my city preference blindly in March, having never visited the city before but hearing great things about it from everyone who has visited here. I also knew a few people out here, so it seemed like a relatively smooth transition from college. When I was assigned D.C. on Placement Day, though, I was definitely a little let down. I really warmed up to Baltimore while I was out here. The city gives off a great vibe, it's MUCH cheaper than D.C. and most of the people in my cohort that I spent a lot of time with are going to be staying in Baltimore. However, any pessimistic feelings I had about getting out of Baltimore were alleviated when I found out more about Achievement Prep.

Right now, Achievement Prep seems to be the perfect situation for me. It provides me with an opportunity to work in the worst area of DC, while also providing incredible structure. Achievement Prep is what people in education like to call a "90/90/90" school, meaning that more than 90% of students are eligible for free and reduced lunch (indicating low-income in a student's family), more than 90% of students are from ethnic minorities, and more than 90% of students met or achieved high academic standards according to state standards.

Achievement Prep is located in the worst part of DC, Ward 8, which is in the Southeastern corner. Ward 8 is home to one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, as about one of every three people in this part of the city are without a job. Poverty rates in Ward 8 consistently hover around 35%, and the average family income is about $44,000, which doesn't sound completely terrible until you consider the fact that DC holds the second highest standard of living in the country behind Manhattan, and the average household income for the city is about $115,000 for a family.

Still, Achievement Prep perseveres. Test scores are among the highest in the state, with 77% of "scholars" (what students are referred to at A. Prep) scoring proficient or advanced in reading, and 80% scoring proficient or advanced in math. The school  currently holds a "Tier 1" ranking, which is the highest honor a school can get in the state. In short, this school is constantly proving that all students can achieve high standards in the classroom regardless of race, Socio-economic status or school location. Kids come into Achievement Prep from the worst parts of DC, but leave with an incredible education.

I can't wait to get in there. In the first year, I will most likely be co-teaching math for either 6th, 7th or 8th graders (the school is 4-8 and I am looking to obtain a 6-12 degree). Judging by their website, Achievement Prep's main focus seems to be on college preparation. Team names in classes are not named after sports teams or celebrities, but instead, prestigious universities such as Howard University or University of Virginia. Quiz grades are returned with marks for a bachelor's degree (80%+), Master's (90%+) or PhD (100%). However, in addition to college-readiness, Achievement Prep puts a ton of emphasis on fun and community. Achievement Prep is also not only willing, but anxious to go the extra mile,  having an extended school day and Saturday Academy to help provide as much structure to their students as possible.

I tried my hardest to describe Achievement Prep, but I think this video will do a much better job of doing it than I ever could.

Finishing up summer school and classes this week/early into next week. I'm trying to come up with a witty joke to finish this thing off but it's late and I'm tired, so this is all I've got.

BD

Good Vibes Only!

Today, I tried something new in class.

Every day, the kids are instructed to come in and do a "Do Now." Every teacher at our summer school implements the Do Now, which is a 5 minute short activity that the students are supposed to complete every day coming into the classroom. The Do Now is used for review of a previous lesson or to prepare the students for the lesson that particular day. For example, if the lesson for that day concerned the carbon cycle, the Do Now would read something along the lines of: What do you know about cycles? (More info on Do Now's can be seen here.)

Today, I tried something different. This was for the benefit of both the kids, myself and my co-teachers. I felt that the kids needed a "brain break" -- they had gone through two or three periods straight of work prior to entering my class (science) and over the past four weeks, had been used to direct instruction from their teachers at the beginning of every class. While this is important for structure, it can also be a bit suffocating. I also felt that my teaching tendencies had become too up tight recently, and wanted to find a way for both the kids and myself to unwind and just have a little fun for five minutes before they got into their lesson of the day, which was researching science fair projects.

For all these reasons, the "Do Now" for science today was to simply get up and dance, sing, or laugh at my bad dance moves. For kids that didn't want to dance, they were told to write about what they liked about Higher Achievement (the name of the school) or anything else that made them happy. During this five minute stretch, I played a clean version of "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco. The idea behind this Do Now was written next to it on the board: GOOD VIBES ONLY! I wanted the kids to get into a good, positive mental state before getting into their work, even if it didn't have to do anything with science. My board, as the kids saw it, is posted below:

It could have went better, especially initially. I tried the Good Vibes Do Now in two classes. In the first, the kids got up and immediately started playing tag, roughing each other up, etc. This was my fault, as I didn't put any real rules for their free time on the board and just told them to have at it. Following this, many were off task and seemed distracted. In the second class, I made revisions, posting comments such as "hands and feet to yourselves," "no running," etc. I think that after this activity, I had the best class of the summer for this particular group of kids. Everyone was smiling after the Do Now, but then got a ton of work done for their science fair projects which are due next week. Some even came up to me and talked about how much fun class was today. Because this was my last class of the day, I came away thinking that today was a good day.

I obviously need to tinker with this approach, but I think there's a solid base here. Sometimes, I think teachers forget what they were like when they were kids, and do not provide time for the kids to be themselves, even if it's only for a couple minutes. There obviously has to be more structure than there was today, and I could have probably incorporated more science into the Do Now, but at the end of the day, kids were smiling and got significant work done (especially in the second class). There's something to be said for that.

By popular request, here's an albino pug. (Hi Beth!)

BD

Daily Rap

Hey y'all,

It's been a while since I posted. I know that every single one of you has been checking the site every day for new updates about my life out here, only to be disappointed with the same 25 page math article that I posted about last Sunday. I'm sure some of you have spent sleepless nights staring at the ceiling wondering why this is the case, and for that, I'd like to apologize. However, to make you feel a little better, I'm going to write for a really long time right now.

Not much has changed out here, but I mean that in the least boring way possible. After going through the last week, I'd say I'm averaging about four hours of sleep per night. Typical day: summer school, lunch in the car on the way back to campus, 5 hours of classes, dinner, 3-5 hours of homework, try to fit a workout/something resembling a social life in there, sleep --> repeat. We're really getting into the meat of the summer program now, with a lot of our final projects coming up. The first of those is on Thursday, and includes a 7 minute lesson in front of all our fellow cohorts in our section (mine is secondary math -- 19 people), our hardass classroom management professor and some of the higher ups from the UTC program. No pressure.

Apart from all the routine (for lack of a better word) things that are going on out here, one of the coolest things we have done throughout the course of the program took place last Monday. On Monday, we participated in something called "Daily Rap." Daily Rap is a way to build a community within schools in a creative way. If anyone has ever seen "If You Really Knew Me..." on MTV, it's really similar to that. If you haven't, this is what it is:

In Daily Rap, everyone present sits in a circle with no barriers in the middle. This can include teachers, administrators, students, etc. -- anyone who wants to talk, can, and everyone is treated as equals. School staff transforms from authority figures and directors to more of a guide or supporter. The is one of the main keys to daily rap -- creating a vibe that is seen as "safe," building relationships and trust with one another. One member of the staff takes on the role of leader of the group, who starts the conversation with something simple, such as, "What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?" Everyone goes around the circle, says their favorite flavor (or whatever the question is) until the leader answers for him/herself. However, as members of the group gain comfort with each other, topics increase in intensity. Topics such as current events, concerns, achievements and other important things in students' lives are brought up, and depending on how the session goes, a much deeper level can be reached. For example, in our daily rap, we got to the question of, "What was the best day you ever had?" This got really deep, and really intense. I loved it.

The key to Daily Rap is to keep it consistent. It is likely that in the first session, people will not be willing to divulge all their personal secrets. They told us to expect that the conversation might even feel awkward, clumsy or uncomfortable for the first couple of sessions. The hope is that over time, Daily Rap will serve as a way for students to talk and get off anything that's on their chest. For that reason, the ideal Daily Rap "setup" would be to start it at the beginning of the year and set a time/day/location for every week when it would be held. The other really cool thing about Daily Rap is you can say however much you want -- you could say a one word answer or tell a five minute story. Whatever you would like to share is absolutely up to you.

I have no idea when and how I'm going to implement Daily Rap into my classroom yet, but I know that I definitely want to. Schools that have implemented Daily Rap have consistently shown gains in academic achievement and reductions in behavioral problems at the school. For anyone that would be interested in implementing this at their schools, or even for using it at work or a nice, old-fashioned bullshitting session among friends, I'd be more than happy to pass along some of the questions they gave us in the pamphlet. There's a ton, but if you want the questions, just let me know.

Because you made it this far, here's a picture of an albino zebra. Have a great night.

BD

One of the most interesting articles I've ever read.

We were instructed to read "A Mathematician's Lament" by Paul Lockhart for my math immersion class today. Honestly, this article was mind-blowing for me. It is long (25 pages) but is extremely thought provoking. I would recommend anyone that is interested in mathematics instruction, or why they hated it growing up, to read it, if you have time. To steal a review from the Mathematical Association of America, "It is, quite frankly, one of the best critiques of current K-12 Mathematics instruction I have ever seen."

In short, this article expresses why our current system of mathematics is a nightmare, and goes on to explain why. The article accomplishes this by providing analogies to other art forms in the world, and how they operate in comparison to mathematics. It also provides examples of what math really is, not what we are trained to believe it is in schools. Brilliant stuff.

"A Mathematician's Lament"

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Another Sunday, another chance to procrastinate all day on hours of homework. Biggest difference I've seen between undergrad and grad school: in college, when you were assigned reading for homework, the response was something along the lines of "Awesome, no homework tonight!" Now, if/when we are assigned reading for homework, the reaction is something along the lines of "Stock up on the energy drinks, I'm going to be up all night."

This weekend we had our last day of Saturday classes! This Saturday, we had an adolescent development class from 9-noon. Although it sucked to wake up for class on a Saturday, it had nothing on our two previous Saturdays, in which we had to wake up at nine and stay through the afternoon to do math. That's right, 6-8 hours of math in a row...on Saturdays. I physically had headaches walking out of those. However, now that Saturday classes are a thing of the past, my reaction is something along the lines of this. (NSFW - language)

Last post, I talked about a rant one of my professors had against us in which we were called out. In our next session, we had a 25 minute group discussion about the speech, which is something I really never thought would happen. I have to give my professor credit for doing that, and even though I was still a bit irked at what he said, I think our class has collectively put it in the past. Can't linger on the small stuff too much - not enough time.

Another busy week ahead. A couple two-hour panels on Tuesday/Thursday, meaning we will be out of the dorms from 7 AM-9 PM each of those days, with homework to do afterwards. Really getting into the heart of this summer program now.

BD

Grindin'

Fourth of July was awesome - shared some drinks with the residents and then went to fireworks on the Chesapeake Bay. Honestly, I'm not even that much of a fan of fireworks but even I thought this was amazing. We were on a huge man-made hill, right on the corner, where we could simultaneously see fireworks over the water on our left and another fireworks show on the right. Combined with all that were multiple (6ish) shows that were going on in the suburbs of Baltimore, far away from where we were. Still, we probably saw about eight fireworks shows total last night for the time it would spend to see one. I wasn't mad about it.

Back to work today. I was evaluated at my school doing a lesson on the composition of Earth's atmosphere, relating both to its chemical composition and the different layers that make up our atmosphere. I had the kids do a "popcorn" reading of an article related to it, then we spent time drawing models (pie graphs, pictures, etc.) that demonstrated their knowledge of the subject. I thought I did pretty well, but rumor is the UTC rubric is a pretty strict one, because they really want to push us. With that being said, I'm not expecting the most glowing review ever, but I figure I probably shouldn't be getting one after only a few lessons in the classroom. Teaching is so much of an experienced-based profession that this is just how it is sometimes.

We also had class afterwards. I won't say much about it besides in one of our classes, one of our professors called out the whole class for not caring enough because we were not showing enough energy for him, sitting in an 85 degree classroom (no AC) after going through a morning of teaching at our schools. Needless to say, some of us were not to pleased about it. I suppose someone has to push us even when it would be easy to make excuses, but we all thought he could have done a better job of phrasing his rant. Alas....

Reading, reading, reading tonight. Placement and two classes tomorrow. Another day, another (lack of a) dollar.

BD