The tightrope walker needs to maintain a strong sense of balance when walking high up in the sky.  When leaning a little too far to the left, he must push his body to the right.  His push and the pull of gravity are diametrically opposed and related. 

It is this way with many things in life.  This is that equal and opposite reaction.  One of the paired extremes we see in classrooms is the sense of student independence and teacher control.  It's important to reflect on the balancing act between these two powerful forces in our classroom, so that we can make the right choices in our own classrooms, so that kids' view of school and learning can remain positive through their whole lives.

If we think about the earlier post on this site about choice and voice in teaching and learning, choice is critical for kids to feel the continued sense of exploration in their education...leading to a lifelong excitement and enthusiasm for new learning in their lives.

In order to look at where we stand on in this balancing act, there are some areas that we can reflect on in our classrooms to decide what we can do to keep ourselves giving ample levels of independence for our kids.

1. Classroom Management.  What levels of independence do we allow our students to have in managing themselves and the classroom.  Are they allowed out of their seats?  Do they need permission to sharpen pencils, to get tissues, to speak? 

It's important for teachers to engage in something called value-added discourse.  This means that the speaking we do should be something a teacher is needed for.  The more percentage of the time we speak that is devoted to something instructional, the more effective we are. 

If we can relinquish some of the control over classroom management onto our students, it leaves more of a percentage of our talk to value-added discourse.  It trains our students to really listen in when the teacher is saying something, because it must be important.  This is every teacher's decision and there are extenuating circumstances, but as a rule of thumb, the more power we give students over their own movement, the more power we have as instructors.

2. Instructional choices.  There are times when the teacher must decide the work that a student must do.  However, when teaching writing, choice is an important factor.  The single greatest factor that improves student writing is being given lots of time to write to create great volume of writing.  We can provide the time, but we can't provide the engagement to write a lot.  Chris Lehman says, "Engagement isn't just a thing.  It's the only thing!"  Kids will naturally want to write more if they are able to write about what interests them.  If we have smart conferences with them about the large volume of writing that's created through their choice, they're able to grow as writers.  We do set parameters about genre and structure within a unit, but the topic of each piece of writing should be chosen by each student.  We can teach skills to write narrative, informational, or opinion pieces no matter what the content, as long as the structure fits.  The same is true in reading.  Students should be allowed to independently choose their books within a genre and a level so that we boost engagement, so that we boost volume. 

This idea of instructional choice also means that we have to ensure that Tuesday's minilesson isn't Tuesday's assignment.  We can actually hold students to a much higher level of accountability if we teach them to decide when to use new strategies.  Also, if Tuesday's minilesson is Tuesday's assignment, but a student really needs to use Monday's strategy, because it fits better with where she is in her writing that day, then Tuesday's assignment is really in the way!  The opposite is sometimes true, too.  Tuesday's minilesson may not fit Tuesday's work in an independent book or piece of writing.  Why make a child do something that just doesn't make sense?  Independence in instructional choice is key here!

3. Writing about reading.  Writing about reading is an important task, as writing can be a critical tool in comprehension.  However, we need to ensure that students have independence in how it is used.  Yes, we need to teach them the contexts for which a Venn Diagram, a T-chart, a two-part post-it, character cards, or change arrows can be used, but when we make the writing about reading into a teacher-driven assignment, these contexts are no longer real, as different kids are on different parts within their reading. 

For example, having students write long about a prediction might not make sense for a student who has already predicted, or is near the end of a book.  Assigning a Venn Diagram needs the context of comparison and contrasting, but if a student is in the midst of theory development or tracking change across time, this context isn't really there, and the assignment can actually get the student off track!

If we insist upon this type of assignment, it can give the wrong message...one that says the writing is done for the teacher, not for the student and the reading and the thinking.  It's another thing that makes reading into an artificial experience that students won't want to replicate on their own in life.  It will also give students the message that they need the teacher to make decisions in their reading for them, enabling them to be dependent on the teacher.  Shouldn't good teaching do just the opposite?  Shouldn't it enable students to be independent so that they can always read, even when the shots aren't being called by the teacher?

There are many other ways that illustrate the balancing act between student independence and teacher control.  You can use the document found above to reflect on your own if you'd like.  It's a Likert scale that ranks some of the other ways in which you find the right balance in your life as a teacher.  But a great way to see how you're doing with this is to ask questions like, "Are my instructions helping students learn, or just getting in the way of what they could do on their own?" or "If I didn't tell them to do this, what would they be doing?" or "How much of this work today could be done without me?"

Independence should always be a goal for our students.  If you're not fostering independence, you might actually be masking a need to control too much of what your students are doing, which actually will hold them back in the long run!

It's April.  It seems obligatory to write about poetry. 

But that's not why I'm doing it.

(Notice my use of white space there!)

I'd like to share my own personal list of do's and don'ts about the teaching of poetry.

DO integrate poetry into your teaching regularly.  It is a great tool to teach with during times like shared reading and read aloud.  You can use it to teach things like word attack, fluency, and some easy interpretation.  Also, many smart people in the world of teaching reading and writing agree that when kids are exposed to examples of really good poetry, their own writing in general improves.  Talk to people like Kathy Doyle, who raised some of the best writers anywhere, and you'll find great consensus on this.

DON'T assign a topic.  Why would you?  You don't really do that in any other area of writing if you teach in a writer's workshop.  It violates what we know about choice, and since poetry is a place where kids should have more choice than anywhere in their writing, you should let them write from their hearts, about topics that matter to them.

DO use poetry all the time.  Kids have the right to read and write poetry all the time, not just in April or when some contest comes along.  Poetry should be all around them.  You should integrate it into your nonfiction studies as a way to extend what they might be learning about.  You should integrate it into science and social studies as a way of adding to their learning in whatever unit you're studying.  You should have close reading of it to extract more knowledge about whatever they're learning.

DON'T lift the structure of a famous poet and make all your kids write in that structure.  Maybe it's a good thing to let them practice on one poem of their own to try on Emily Dickinson or Robert Frost's technique, but get them right into writing their own poem with its own content and structure.  We don't need 20-30 kids redoing the work of a famous poet who already did that work.  Yes, they'll have great writing, but no, it won't be theirs.  Teach them how to adapt the structure to their own ideas and maybe change the structure so it matches what they say.  You may read, "Honey, I Love," but don't have them all make "Honey, I ___" poems.  Make it broader than that.  It will help make your students more independent choices on their own when you're not looking.  Isn't that the goal?  Isn't that a teacher's happiest dreams.

DO encourage kids to write free verse about topics that were other forms like narrative, informational, or essay.  Let them pick apart former entries in their writer's notebook, subtracting the syntax and turning it into something, well, freer than that.  It will help keep the heart in their writing.

DON'T encourage rhyming poetry, unless the rhyme is added in as a revision in support of meaning.  Otherwise, most kids will write things just to make them rhyme. 

Sorry.  Pet peeve of mine.

(Nice white space again!)

That's my list of short do's and don'ts about teaching poetry.  Common Core may make poetry seem to take a back seat to other forms, but if you read the standards up close, there are still great ways to integrate poetry into the lives of kids. 

                                                                            And that's where it needs to be!

Take a look at what Jane Hsu, principal of PS 116 in Manhattan and some of her teacher leaders have posted on their website.  Most of our job is teaching, but part of our job is advocacy for what is right for kids and for our schools!  Get our students ready by teaching

April 8, 2014      

Dear P.S. 116 Families,

As you know, our 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students just completed their New York State Department of Education CCLS ELA exams. Our students were well prepared, did their best, and they have much to be proud of.

We are writing to you today to express our concerns about the exams that were administered. Unfortunately, educators are banned from discussing the specific content of these exams as they are embargoed by the state.  We are not banned however, from speaking about our personal feelings about these exams. Those of us with nearly 20 years in education found the passages extremely challenging for our students — some far beyond the reading levels that are appropriate for 3rd, 4th, or 5th graders. In addition, many questions were confusing and not matched to grade-specific Common Core Learning Standards. The tests were also extremely long and several students were unable to finish.  

We have always believed that the results of any standardized exam cannot represent an accurate measure of what students have learned or what they are able to do.  If anything, last week’s exams further reinforced this belief and have left us extremely disheartened.  However, although we will not consider any data presented from these exams as reliable or effective, unfortunately, we cannot say the same for the New York State Education Department (NYSED). Results from these exams, written by Pearson, and paid for with millions of tax dollars, will be used to determine the future of our hardest working, most dedicated educators...our teachers. And, although legislators recently agreed that test scores cannot be used for promotion in New York City, 4th grade data from these exams may still be used for middle and high school placements.

Administrators, teachers, families and students across the state have been speaking out all week against these tests and yet the NYSED has dismissed legitimate, informed feedback as “minimal” and “not representative.”  

PLEASE JOIN US IN PROTEST AND DEMONSTRATION TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE NYSED THAT THE FEEDBACK THEY ARE RECEIVING IS NOT MINIMAL, BUT IN FACT, A MUCH MORE REPRESENTATIVE SENTIMENT. 











P.S. 116 School Yard
Friday, April 11th at 8:00am  


Schools all over District 2 will be doing the same. We have included a letter, co-written by District 2 principals. Together, hopefully, our voices will be heard.

Coaching. It's one of those terms that gets thrown around a lot. How do we actually do it? What are the moves that good coaches make to help their students improve their techniques?

These four coaching moves aren't quite rocket science.  The only research I did in finding these is in watching good teachers and coaches, trying out some of their moves, and thinking to situations in which I've been coached myself.  These moves will work with both students and teachers that you coach.  I hope they're helpful.

1. Ease the context.  When we teach a new skill, sometimes the skill itself only seems difficult, because the context is difficult.  For example, when you have a really tough word problem in math (yes, we do math, too!), change the numbers to smaller ones, and that often helps kids feel like it's easier, and they can solve it.  Then put the big numbers back in, and let the magic happen! 

This also happens in reading when we teach into a new skill that seems difficult.  Let's take theorizing.  When introducing the idea of theorizing in a certain way in a book, this can be challenging for a student, especially if the text is complex.  You can take away some of the heavy lifting caused by the complexity of the text if you try the skill out in an easier text.  Things can seem so much clearer when the context is easy.  The secret is then going right back into the more difficult (actually, just right) text and trying out the new work while it's fresh in their minds. 

It's for this reason in writing that we make distinctions between the content and the structure.  We teach personal narrative before teaching more complex kinds of narrative writing including fiction and fairy tales.  We want kids to become better at narrative structure in a familiar context (themselves) before having them invent a whole new reality.  We want kids to write essays about a familiar topic before introducing an essay that is research-based.  We (well, I) needed to learn to drive automatic before delving into a stick shift. (I'll let you know when I get there!)

2. Break it down.  This one just makes sense.  When kids have trouble with a strategy, break down the steps into more manageable ones.  My friend Mike once gave me some lessons in golf, and he was so good at this.  He'd watch me take a swing and then compliment the parts I did well, and give me very concrete advice on what I needed to change.  For example, he said things like, "Hold your right hand lower," "Pull the club up higher," or "Push your feet closer together."  These are very manageable, concrete steps for someone who can't do the whole swing and all its little parts.

We do this with our kids, too.  However, so much of the work they need to do when they read and write is invisible.  We have to work to somehow make it visible by naming the mental act of what they do.  The easier the task seems to us, the more difficult it is to break it down, because we can do these things with automaticity.  For example, in writing, we might feel tempted to say something like, "add dialogue."  That's an assignment, because we didn't effectively teach them how to do that.  We just told them to do it.  We have to break it down more, especially if kids are struggling with it.  "Picture your character and think about what he's feeling.  Think of what he wants his friend to know.  Say the words that would make him get his point across.  Now say them again with the feeling he's having."  This is much more precise coaching that breaks the steps down to exactly how to write the dialogue in a stronger way than the student could have done on his or her own.

3. Share the load.  When a skill is new, we want to share some of the heavy lifting with students, modeling it and then sharing the lifting in a gradual release of control.  This explains some of the nuances to instruction in components of workshop teaching.

In minilessons, we start by teaching (usually through demonstration...all the teacher), then go to active involvement (kids, often with partners in a controlled context), and then allow kids to try the work on their own (in independent practice).  We provide some of the heavy lifting in reading by teaching certain skills first in read aloud, shared reading, or guided reading.  We provide some of the heavy lifting in writing by teaching skills in interactive writing.  In coaching types of conferences, we actually go back and forth with students as they try something out together with us.  It's the art of gradual release of control that makes kids more successful without becoming too dependent on their partners or their teachers.

4. Create a metaphor.  Great teachers and coaches do this all the time.  When voice instructors want their students to project their voices, they say to use imagery.  "Pretend there is a tree coming out of the top of your head.  Visualize a rainbow stretching out of your mouth."  Baseball coaches might say to a pitcher, "Throw it like a rocket and see the flames flying out behind the ball as you throw it."  One of the ancient secrets of teaching is to compare something unknown to something known.  It makes it seem that much more real.

Sometimes the metaphor can be a slogan.  In order to get students to write with greater focus we say things like, "Write like a mitten and not like a glove. When you write like a glove, you say a little bit about this and this and this (pointing to each finger). When you write like a mitten, you talk a lot about one thing (pointing to the palm and fingers all together)."  We talk about watermelon and seed ideas.  We use physical representations about the invisible aspects of learning all the time.

Sometimes the metaphor is a mnemonic device that helps you remember the steps of a multi-step strategy.  Does McDonald's sell cheeseburgers (long division).  All good boys deserve fudge (musical notes). 

Sometimes the metaphor is an object that reminds students of how to do something.  A good story can go a long way with these metaphors.  You might tell a story about running out of gas one day, and then relate it to strengthening your stamina in reading, writing, talking, or doing anything for sustained periods of time.  This gas tank or car can be there as a permanent reminder of strategies you've taught related to it.

The greatest kinds of images are usually out-of-context ones.  Relating something that isn't school-related to something we learn in school helps kids remember it more vividly.

So there you have it.  Whether you coach students, teachers, or athletes, these are some good coaching moves that can help you help them reach success.  If you've done a really good job, they'll make it without you one day, too!

Read this story and think about if it's ever happened to you...

My wife and I were at a party a while back, and I heard this guy ranting about how everything that's wrong with this country is the fault of the teachers!  Kids can't read.  The economy is tanking.  It's all the teachers' fault. 

I decided to compose myself and not say anything.  Then the woman he was talking to said, "Maybe you should talk to Tom. He's a teacher."  And then, just like in the movies, the room got silent and everyone turned to look at me.  This guy said with a tone of disgust in his voice, "You a teacher?" (Notice the great grammar?) 

I knew this was my one opportunity to either fall apart or slam this guy.  Figuring, I had a captive audience whether I liked it or not.  So, I went for the slam.

"Yeah, you know how it is," I started.  "I was young in my 20's.  I was stupid.  I didn't listen to my parents.  I went off to become a teacher.  Just because they respect teachers in so many other countries, I thought maybe people might here, too.  I've come to regret it, though.  It seems like everyone around here who's ever been to school thinks they know how school should go, and that we're overpaid."  He listened closely. 

"I mean it's not their fault, entirely.  The government and the media has made us out to be the bad guy.  I mean, you're a dentist.  You must know a lot about education.  You must really be aware of things like multiple intelligences, differentiating instruction, miscue analysis, the qualities of good writing, and the stages kids go through when they learn to spell.  It takes a lot to be a good teacher," I said.  "But you know that."

"But you know when you tell your patients how to take care of their teeth.  I'm sure that some come back with cavities and other problems."  He continued to listen.  "They don't all do it, do they?  I think dentists are overpaid, because they never really cure their patients, do they?  But when I teach a child to read, he loves it and continues it forever!"

Roll the credits.  The scene ended.  The dentist didn't say anything.  Everyone started talking to their friends again. 

There are lots of changes today.  It can be a tough time to be a teacher.  Common Core, new evaluations, and changes in testing can make someone think twice before entering this field.  Teaching is not for the faint of heart, especially these days.  Everyone out there has an opinion about things ought to be.  There are too many things we feel we don't have control of!  We don't have control over what kids do when they go home, or what others think about this profession that is our calling. 

However, there are plenty of things we do have control of!  We have control of choices we make each day when we work with kids.  We have a lot of professional knowledge based on the work of giants like Marie Clay, Richard Allington, Michael Fullan, Roland Barth, Madeline Hunter, Lee Cantor, Andrew Hargreaves, Donald Graves, Donald Murray, Howard Gardner, Marilyn Burns, Lucy Calkins, Sandra Wilde, Ralph Fletcher, Randy and Katherine Bomer, Mary Ehrenworth, Yetta Goodman, Jim Knight, and countless others, whose work we have read. 

We stand on their shoulders like Isaac Newton tells us to.  They sit on our shoulders and whisper to us about the good choices we have to make when confronted with the daily work of teaching and leading schools.  We have our colleagues across the hall and across the country with whom we share ideas in the staff room and in national professional organizations like NCTE, NCTM, ASCD, and IRA.  We have our own local institutes, coaching cohorts and principals' networks.

It's a tough time to be a teacher, but it's also a great time to be a teacher!  Professional development is at an all time high in importance, and we are able to turn this age in education into one that made a positive difference in the lives of our kids. 

Like my friend Bob Price of the Northern Valley Curriculum Center in Demarest, New Jersey says, we have to be unafraid of Common Core, but in control of it through good teaching.  We have to be unafraid of new testing, but in control of it through good teaching.  We have to be unafraid of teacher and principal evaluation, but in control of it through good teaching.  Take a sad song and make it better through good teaching!