teaching

It takes time to build relationships

Posted on by Mark Isero

 When I was in high school, there wasn’t the expectation that teachers and students would build relationships. As a student, I went to class, did my work, and got my grade. It was the teacher’s job to teach.

That’s not the case anymore, particularly at my school.

Sure, some students do well in their classes regardless of their teacher. But for many of my students, the teacher in the room matters more than anything else.

Like and respect the teacher = I will work hard and will succeed.
Don’t like or don’t respect the teacher = I won’t work hard and won’t succeed.

My experience is that it’s my job, not the student’s, to initiate and build the teacher-student relationship. This is likely because I’m a white teacher working with all students of color. At a school that purports to challenge social inequity, I represent the unjust dominant paradigm.

While I understand this dynamic, I’m not an extrovert, so establishing and deepening a relationship with my students does not come easily. It’s clear that I care about my students, but my students need to feel that care. Sometimes, that takes a long time.

The problem is, When there are only a few more months until the AP English exam, we can’t exactly waste any time. That’s why it’s imperative that I deliberately work on a daily basis to connect with my students’ heads and hearts.

I’m making good progress, but there is much to do. 

technology

Teachers, stay in touch with students with SmashText

Posted on by Mark Isero

 I don’t review apps and services as much as I used to, but if you’re a teacher, you must absolutely check out SmashText by Despain Computing.

SmashText lets you send texts to groups of people in your Gmail contacts.

For me, that means my students. If I want to text just a few of them, I use Google Voice. But if I need to text an entire class, SmashText is the answer.

My students report they find my texts helpful. I always tell them that they can opt out, but none of them have. It’s clear that texting is by far the best way to communicate with students: They all have cell phones, and they check their phone much more often than they check their computer.

SmashText is what’s making my “Your Homework is Due Tonight” project happen. Students who don’t turn in their homework by the 11 p.m. deadline get a text to finish it before class the next day or to meet with me before school. SmashText makes this process easy.

Matthew Despain, the owner of SmashText, is also extremely helpful. When I’ve had trouble with the application, I’ve sent emails to him for support and have received responses very quickly, sometimes in minutes.

I love SmashText. It costs $10.58, and it’s worth it. It helps me communicate with my students much more effectively than an email message, a Facebook post, or a telephone call. If you’re interested in SmashText but are worried about spending the money (no, I’m not making money from this), let me know.

Update: Please see the comments. Mr. Despain is no longer developing SmashText, which is too bad for me and other teachers. (Kevin, thanks for writing in to confirm.) 

reading

The struggle for Sustained Silent Reading

Posted on by Mark Isero

 One of the best things about my school is that we have a period of Sustained Silent Reading three times a week in our Advisory class.

Unfortunately, we don’t do SSR very well. Here are some of the problems:

  • We don’t spend enough time reading. Twenty minutes, three times a week. That’s only an hour of reading if the students are reading.
  • We don’t have enough good books. Our school library barely exists, despite the hard work of a teacher volunteer, and even though we have books, very few are high-interest and at the students’ reading level.
  • Most of us aren’t experienced in matching students with books. We might not read enough for our own pleasure. If that’s the case, we certainly don’t have a good understanding of young adult literature.
  • We cave. When our students complain about SSR, we don’t stand firm. Instead, we let them do homework or read a book assigned for their English class.

Those are some problems, but I think the main problem is this: We say we care about reading but we really don’t put in the investment to show we do.

If we did, we’d see students reading in the hallways at lunch. We’d see more newspapers and magazines on campus. There would be discussions about the presidential race or the Penn State scandal or the Occupy movement. More students would be doing Kelly Gallagher’s Article of the Week. More teachers would be participating in book clubs.

If we truly cared about reading, students would be reading, and there would be so much more to talk about, so many more opportunities to connect students to bigger things out there in the world. 

teaching

Why “Your homework is due tonight” is working

Posted on by Mark Isero

HW Teaching 101 says to check students’ homework during the first five minutes of class.

I think this is wrong for a few reasons:

  • It’s too late. Students who haven’t done their homework are behind. They might be frustrated, lost, confused, or disengaged. They’re in my class, but they’re not really in my class.
  • It takes too long. Instead of helping students with a warm-up, I’m checking whether they’ve done their homework.

  • It often leads to conflict and negativity. If I’m checking homework first, and the student hasn’t done it, class gets started on a bad foot.

That’s why I’m excited about something new I’m doing this year. It’s called “Your homework is due tonight.”

Instead of turning in their homework the next day in class, students turn in their homework online at 11 p.m. the night it’s assigned. Then, at 11:01 p.m., I send texts to the students who haven’t turned in their homework.

It’s working. On Tuesday night, five students didn’t do their homework. First thing Wednesday morning, when class began, everyone had completed it. Via text, one student apologized; another thanked me for the reminder; still another kept me posted about her progress.

Most important, class went really well. Students were ready for our discussion because all students had completed the homework. Then, when they peer edited each other’s essays, there was 100 percent engagement because there was 100 percent preparedness.

There’s no time to waste. Especially with what my students and I are trying to do this year, we can’t wait around. The results have to happen now.

That’s why I’m happy with “Your homework is due tonight.” Sure, I’d like the deadline to be 10 p.m. instead of 11 p.m., but for right now, I love going to sleep knowing that we’ll be forging ahead the next day instead of meandering. 

teaching

It’s Grammar Week in AP English

Posted on by Mark Isero

 Sometimes I feel like AP English should be renamed AP Grammar.

My students’ reading, writing, and thinking have grown over the past two months, but unfortunately, their grammar remains horrific.

Therefore, instead of writing a new essay this week, I’m having students select an old essay to perfect. Their goal: Eliminate all errors.

This means errors of grammar, mechanics, usage, and conventions.

It’s a tall order: Right now, the average number of errors (in a typical two-page essay) is 25. (And that’s after revision!)

Having 25 errors in just one essay is going to prevent my students from passing the AP test in May. The graders will say, “Nice ideas. Too bad the errors distract me so much.” That’s why it’s crucial that I take class time to address this issue.

According to my students, there are three parts to the problem:

  • My students don’t take time to proofread. When their essay’s done, it’s done.
  • My students don’t know how to proofread. Even though I’ve given them tips, they don’t yet use those tips consistently. They see errors in others’ writing but not in their own.
  • My students’ sense of grammar is spotty. They may know the rules, but they have trouble applying them.

How do I fix this? I’m not sure. I’m trying a number of things: grammar lessons once a week, grammar tutors, writing mentors, peer reviewers, and Grammar Camp. It’s still not enough.

Do you have ideas? If so, please share!