As a third grade teacher, I am stressed. But, I still say that the biggest victims of this are the children. When I started off this academic year, I put in front of my students their first reading passage and series of questions, and staring back at me were 25 frightened faces who, in that moment, were very afraid of what third grade was going to be like. From that point on, I knew that I had to prop each one of them up and double up my efforts (that had already been tripled) to teach them how to handle this year with the right attitude.
Let's face it. It is unfair. Eight and nine year-old should not have "their entire future" based on one test. My particular class of students is more than just a classroom, it is a family. These kids are CLOSE! I, as their teacher, think over and over daily, who among them could be missing from this group as they move on to fourth grade next year with a reason for that, that they did not meet the cut score of the reading guarantee. That evil thought lights a fire in me to make sure that does not happen. These kids are CLOSE! Not one of them will be left behind...even if it takes me until August to make sure of it.
I have seen my students' anguish on their faces. I have seen my students cripple under stress as they rub their brow, bury their heads, moan, wring their hands, and bluntly refuse to create goals. I have held my students and rubbed their backs when they cry. So, what is a teacher to do with all of this madness?
For one thing, I lead by example.
I am asking them daily to answer questions with evidence. I want text specific evidence on reading comprehension questions. I want "work" shown and written explanations on math problems. I show them the EVIDENCE of why they should believe in themselves. I keep tons of data and I make sure I am up to date on my information. I show them where they are and where they need to be so that they can see proof of how good they are becoming and how much they have grown.
Secondly, I help them to lay a good foundation. We focus on P.R.I.D.E. in room 177. We need to show that we are proud students by doing our best and neat work on all assignments. We show that we are responsible students by coming to school prepared with all supplies and homework complete. We are independent learners in that we attempt to use our strategies to solve problems before asking for help. We are dedicated students in that we remain on task and do not disrupt others learning. And, with all of those things combined, we can become educated students. We know that when any one of those five elements is broken that we become LAZY.
Additionally, we work on the keys for success. One of my "go to" Ms. A-isms is "attitude is the most important key to success." I have even gone so far as to show my students the following infographic:
Let's face it. It is unfair. Eight and nine year-old should not have "their entire future" based on one test. My particular class of students is more than just a classroom, it is a family. These kids are CLOSE! I, as their teacher, think over and over daily, who among them could be missing from this group as they move on to fourth grade next year with a reason for that, that they did not meet the cut score of the reading guarantee. That evil thought lights a fire in me to make sure that does not happen. These kids are CLOSE! Not one of them will be left behind...even if it takes me until August to make sure of it.
I have seen my students' anguish on their faces. I have seen my students cripple under stress as they rub their brow, bury their heads, moan, wring their hands, and bluntly refuse to create goals. I have held my students and rubbed their backs when they cry. So, what is a teacher to do with all of this madness?
For one thing, I lead by example.
I am asking them daily to answer questions with evidence. I want text specific evidence on reading comprehension questions. I want "work" shown and written explanations on math problems. I show them the EVIDENCE of why they should believe in themselves. I keep tons of data and I make sure I am up to date on my information. I show them where they are and where they need to be so that they can see proof of how good they are becoming and how much they have grown.
Secondly, I help them to lay a good foundation. We focus on P.R.I.D.E. in room 177. We need to show that we are proud students by doing our best and neat work on all assignments. We show that we are responsible students by coming to school prepared with all supplies and homework complete. We are independent learners in that we attempt to use our strategies to solve problems before asking for help. We are dedicated students in that we remain on task and do not disrupt others learning. And, with all of those things combined, we can become educated students. We know that when any one of those five elements is broken that we become LAZY.
Additionally, we work on the keys for success. One of my "go to" Ms. A-isms is "attitude is the most important key to success." I have even gone so far as to show my students the following infographic:
It is simple...do the math. We need to have a LOT of hard work. This is definitely important for my third graders. They are given challenge after challenge. I ask them to struggle so much. Through this struggle and through our phenomenal interdisciplinary units, students have the opportunities to gain knowledge. If we are lucky, we can add a little bit of love of learning. But, it is our ATTITUDE that will get us up to 100%. Each one of us is in the classroom experiencing the same thing each and every day. Twenty-five students and one teacher. Some students can begrudgingly take on their academic day while others can embrace it. In the end, the one who will be more successful will be the one who embraced it with a positive attitude. Same lesson, same experience, same teacher, same activity, same opportunity...different attitude, different outcome.
Another thing I do to help my students overcome their stress is HAVE FUN! They are not the only ones stressed in the classroom. As their teacher, I feel stressed as well, but in addition to my own personal stress, I carry their stress on my shoulders as well. These children are mine to teach and protect, to nurture and grow for one year. I can't have them hammered by the burden of "this test". So, when I feel the pressure or when I see their woebegone faces, I do something contraindicated--the opposite of what is expected. Normally under pressure, we start to boil or explode. To rant or yell. I try to not let that happen often. My little contraindicated "moves" are never planned. I am not sure how they come to mind, but they always get my students giggling and usually keep learning right on task.
Here is an example:
One student is "one tough cookie" for me and I have a hard time getting her to complete assignments and answer questions in class...even the "easy ones." Last week, when working on repeated subtraction as it is related to division, I asked her to answer "4-2=?". Three minutes later and after watching her make her squirlly faces as if she is really trying hard to figure this "tough" question out, the rest of the class was starting to get antsy. So, it was "do or die" time for me... I wanted HER to answer so all of a sudden I start singing (a' la the "Maniac" song from the Flashdance movie) "she's a maniac, maniac at MAAAATHHHH! She's a maniac, maniac, at MAAATTTTTHHH! And she's subtracting like she's never done before!" The class erupts in giggles and the student responds, "Two. You didn't have to embarass yourself singing you know." And the lesson continued.
Today, I saw this roll across my Facebook newsfeed and I thought I would share it with you. It really gets in the spirit of what I am trying to accomplish with my students. Even in the midst of negativity and negative experiences, we can #MakeItHappy.
Another thing I do to help my students overcome their stress is HAVE FUN! They are not the only ones stressed in the classroom. As their teacher, I feel stressed as well, but in addition to my own personal stress, I carry their stress on my shoulders as well. These children are mine to teach and protect, to nurture and grow for one year. I can't have them hammered by the burden of "this test". So, when I feel the pressure or when I see their woebegone faces, I do something contraindicated--the opposite of what is expected. Normally under pressure, we start to boil or explode. To rant or yell. I try to not let that happen often. My little contraindicated "moves" are never planned. I am not sure how they come to mind, but they always get my students giggling and usually keep learning right on task.
Here is an example:
One student is "one tough cookie" for me and I have a hard time getting her to complete assignments and answer questions in class...even the "easy ones." Last week, when working on repeated subtraction as it is related to division, I asked her to answer "4-2=?". Three minutes later and after watching her make her squirlly faces as if she is really trying hard to figure this "tough" question out, the rest of the class was starting to get antsy. So, it was "do or die" time for me... I wanted HER to answer so all of a sudden I start singing (a' la the "Maniac" song from the Flashdance movie) "she's a maniac, maniac at MAAAATHHHH! She's a maniac, maniac, at MAAATTTTTHHH! And she's subtracting like she's never done before!" The class erupts in giggles and the student responds, "Two. You didn't have to embarass yourself singing you know." And the lesson continued.
Today, I saw this roll across my Facebook newsfeed and I thought I would share it with you. It really gets in the spirit of what I am trying to accomplish with my students. Even in the midst of negativity and negative experiences, we can #MakeItHappy.
Kid President does such a wonderful job of reminding us to be positive. Our life experiences from home, school, work (for us grown-ups) can pound us with negativity. There are days that we want to curl up and quit trying. We get tired of struggle. We wish things were easier. A gentle reminder of the OPPORTUNITY for GROWTH that we have when we are presented with STRUGGLE turns the negative into a POSITIVE. We always feel PROUD after accomplishing a difficult task rather than an easy task. STRUGGLE leads us to good things. We just need to #MakeItHappy.
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