Teaching in an inner city school you will discover that there is a special gift that every single one of your students has. Like a superhero with x-ray vision, your students will be able to spot a fake from a mile away and will let you know it. The teacher who is fake with their students will never earn their respect nor will they ever be able to truly reach them. Be honest with them and honest with yourself. If you cannot relate to them, do not pretend to. This is not a "fake it until you make it" career. The best thing you can do is to try to understand them and know them on a genuine level. I know this is not exactly a positive way to begin a blog but it is the reality. My homeroom class is made up of some of the worst behavioral students in their grade level. They are smart, funny and a wonderful challenge for me but at the end of the day their behavior is killing their grades. Our homerooms are meant to serve as an unofficial behavior skills remediation class. I have tried all of the books they wanted us to pull scripts and scenarios from, however even with my urban background, they could not relate to the materials as "legit". I decided to try something I had seen at the high school I student taught and coached chess at, "Freedom Writers." Every day we watch 20 minute chunks of the film and discuss little things that we see or feel. Yes the language is a little rough and the content very serious, but to kids who bury family members who have died in gang violence, this is a chance for them to state how they feel. Today we were at the point where a student in the film states that they are in the "dumb class." I prompted the students with the simple question, "do you feel that your teachers give up on you before they try to help you because they think you are dumb?" I asked students who felt this way to raise their hands. All but three raised their hands. My heart sank to think that my kids believe that their teachers give up on them before they ever have a chance to know them. I asked them to clarify their answers because simply raising their hands is not enough justification. One by one I listened to the students statements that truly did present the evidence I sought. "I don't care if you do it or not, I am getting paid the same either way." "You are going to grow up to be like your brother, in jail." "They throw me out for things they let others do just to get rid of me." It's heartbreaking to see these stories and know that this is how they see us. If you want to change your test scores and your student's achievement levels increase, the students have to buy in to the fact that you want and believe that they can succeed. The only way they will buy in to this is for you to really want and believe that they can succeed.
The second part of my day ended in a fist fight between two girls, the fifth one I have broken up this semester. One thing I learned about the differences between inner city and rural schools is that in the city kids of both genders know how to fist fight from an early age. Now you are required to protect your students and their safety. I will tell them to break it up two times and then decide if it requires me to intervene. This is the plan of action that is rarely ever met. All five fights have resulted in one student being pinned to the ground and beaten or the surrounding students or teachers being at risk of being hurt. As a result, I step in and separate the fights. I don't blame anyone for the fight, I don't chastise or yell or scream at them. My sole goal is to separate the fight and prevent any other fights from happening. Diffusion is always the best situation but I will tell you that when it comes to breaking up a fight you have to be aware of a few things. First, you may get hit, scratched, cut, or spit on. There is no beating around the bush about this. Second, know your limits. If you know you can't physically break up a fight, don't. Call for help. I am fortunate that I am over six feet tall, 220 lbs and have fought and trained to fight for a majority of my life. Sadly, with every fight comes the comments from some teachers, "I just let them fight. I am not trying to break it up. I just hope (whoever they call) gets here quickly." This mentality goes against everything we stand for as educators. PROTECT AND EDUCATE. I don't understand what we think at these moments. After every school shooting we say how we will take a bullet for our kids and their safety, yet we fear a broken nose or scratch to save them from being beaten or harmed in a fight. I have health insurance and a good union. My kids safety is my to priority. I hate that they fight. I pray that they never fight again but I am real. It's going to happen. I just pray that I am there to step in and stop it before anything serious happens.
Alright on to today's work. Today, I had 8th graders. We are focusing on the influences of the Enlightenment thinkers on the creation of the Declaration of Independence. The assignment today was to break down the Declaration of Independence 7 using the PowerPoint of John Locke, Montesque, and Baccaria. The students are to take the copy of the Declaration of Independence and working in their stations of 4, use a highlighter to identify the statements in the Declaration of Independence they felt could be attributed to the thoughts of John Locke, underline the statements that could be attributed to the thoughts of Montesque and circle the statements that could be attributed to Baccaria. Once the students completed this activity, they were given a puzzle to complete. The puzzle consisted of sentences of the Declaration of Independence cut in to strips and mixed up. The students were to put them in order and glue them on to a large sheet of construction paper. I will tell you this much. The students enjoy the craft portion of any assignment. However, know that if your students are anything like mine, several grade levels behind in reading, the Declaration of Independence will be a chore. You will have to go around and assist them with their readings and assistance. In order to differentiate, I may have students simply highlight John Locke or evaluate the first portion of the Declaration rather than the entire thing. Once the students were finished, their writing assignment is to "Discuss how you would have felt if you were the King of Britain and were reading the Declaration of Independence for the first time." I always try to incorporate writing every day. I can be do nows, simple journals, note taking, essays or exit slips but I want them to practice writing everyday and more importantly learn to convey feeling in their writings.
Tomorrow I am teaching my students ALICE training in the event of an active shooter in our school. It is important to me that our kids are at least trained in case a situation such as Newtown arises in our school. It's always difficult to discuss the reality of these potential events. Having been in high school when Columbine happened, in college when Virginia Tech happened I have learned to understand the importance of being prepared for anything. I just hope that if there is ever a situation in my school where this happens, that no one is harmed but that if someone has to die for our kids, I hope that it is me. I would do anything to protect my kids. My 32k a year salary is a drop in the bucket for the cost of my student's lives. I just pray that there are more teachers out there that feel like I do than there are the ones who make my students feel like they are in the "Dumb Class." I mean what is my life if it helps one student realize they are a diamond in the rough.
