Do you feel like this some days?
Some days I wonder what I want to be when I grow up. How many more days can I leave work wanting to jab a pencil in my eye or down a bottle of wine to numb the observation of childhood trauma. Why do I keep walking through those doors every August to endure another year of verbal abuse, physical abuse and draining self-doubt? The faces and souls that you will observe throughout this site are the answer. They are worth more than the complaints and exhaustion that comes with teaching children at-risk. Children do not choose the circumstances under which they are born, but ultimately they are accountable for who they become.
This project has been created to support teachers and students in the development of prosocial behaviors through stories. With the guiding question, how do kindergartners solve problems by exploring stories?, I will analyze different story telling devices and share our learning.
This project has been created to support teachers and students in the development of prosocial behaviors through stories. With the guiding question, how do kindergartners solve problems by exploring stories?, I will analyze different story telling devices and share our learning.
Stop and Think!
While I am concerned about my students' social, emotional and economic challenges, it cannot impede their educational rights and goals. I teach early childhood so it is my responsibility to teach many of my students social/emotional "norms". I don't want this responsibility, but many of my students come from families that are not providing a 'moral education'. "Moral education must provide training in good habits...For children to take morality seriously they must be in the presence of adults who take morality seriously. And with their own eyes they must see adults take morality seriously" (Bennett, 1993, p. 11).
Last year I learned the seriousness of this quote. I was teaching in a new school and mandated to use
the Stop light System. If you are unfamiliar with this system, it is supposed to be a behavior management system for students. I have never found these systems to be very fruitful, and the stop light system I found to be highly punitive.
The red light was on the top, so moving up meant you were making the poorest of choices, yellow meant you need to stop
and think about your choices and green meat you were ready to learn and doing fine. Every day the children started on
green and they stayed on green all day unless they made a poor choice. So each day I was teaching the children that everyone comes to school ready to learn and they stay that way or they go downhill. What? That's not life! I was frustrated and, in retrospect, since I didn't believe in this system how could I
expect my students to buy into it?
Last year I learned the seriousness of this quote. I was teaching in a new school and mandated to use
the Stop light System. If you are unfamiliar with this system, it is supposed to be a behavior management system for students. I have never found these systems to be very fruitful, and the stop light system I found to be highly punitive.
The red light was on the top, so moving up meant you were making the poorest of choices, yellow meant you need to stop
and think about your choices and green meat you were ready to learn and doing fine. Every day the children started on
green and they stayed on green all day unless they made a poor choice. So each day I was teaching the children that everyone comes to school ready to learn and they stay that way or they go downhill. What? That's not life! I was frustrated and, in retrospect, since I didn't believe in this system how could I
expect my students to buy into it?
POSITIVE Change
Well, this year I returned to my old school. Many of the teachers use some form of behavior management system, but what and how is their choice. The expectation for all grades is to teach our school wide habits. We have Six Habits to Success. It was created by our teachers a few years after we established our charter and after we knew and understood our population. These habits are taught continuously and upheld by the staff, custodians, administrators, by everyone, and accountable talk is expected to resonate through the building.
After a summer of reflection and human development class, I decided that I was going to spend the year trying to reinforce positive behavior by consistently recognizing students' good choices. Working with a few trusted educators and scouring the web to get other peoples' ideas, I came up with the following 'system.' Yes, I decided to use a system because my teammate wanted to use one. Luckily, she understands the little person's mind and agreed with me on reinforcing the positive because the negative is what our population mostly receives. We have to teach them what positive choices are and how to appropriately accept compliments and consequences.
Our para chose seven colors to make a bibical connection. We call the bottom three colors "the fire zone." Our students do not want to be in the fire zone. Every one walks in the door on ready to learn and then chooses how the rest of their day shall go. We let them know that they have all the power to choose for themselves. We stop instruction often to recognize and move people up, explaining why the student is moving up the chart. Seriously? Three colors above ready to learn? Absolutely! Why not? When we considered ourselves as teachers, as human beings, we realized that we walk in the door sometimes ready to learn, sometimes needing to refocus and sometimes on fire and ready to inspire! I certainly have my WOW teaching days and my need to reflect days, and on rare occasions, I am a Bodacious Bucket Filling teacher. A Bodacious Bucket Filler is someone who has followed ALL Six Habits consistently throughout the day. The bucket filling idea is from a few popular texts:
After a summer of reflection and human development class, I decided that I was going to spend the year trying to reinforce positive behavior by consistently recognizing students' good choices. Working with a few trusted educators and scouring the web to get other peoples' ideas, I came up with the following 'system.' Yes, I decided to use a system because my teammate wanted to use one. Luckily, she understands the little person's mind and agreed with me on reinforcing the positive because the negative is what our population mostly receives. We have to teach them what positive choices are and how to appropriately accept compliments and consequences.
Our para chose seven colors to make a bibical connection. We call the bottom three colors "the fire zone." Our students do not want to be in the fire zone. Every one walks in the door on ready to learn and then chooses how the rest of their day shall go. We let them know that they have all the power to choose for themselves. We stop instruction often to recognize and move people up, explaining why the student is moving up the chart. Seriously? Three colors above ready to learn? Absolutely! Why not? When we considered ourselves as teachers, as human beings, we realized that we walk in the door sometimes ready to learn, sometimes needing to refocus and sometimes on fire and ready to inspire! I certainly have my WOW teaching days and my need to reflect days, and on rare occasions, I am a Bodacious Bucket Filling teacher. A Bodacious Bucket Filler is someone who has followed ALL Six Habits consistently throughout the day. The bucket filling idea is from a few popular texts:
Closing the Gaps....
....between home and school...
I encourage my families to hold their child accountable for the six habits and bucket filling choices. Daily communication is sent home through each child's take home folder. In each child's folder is the behavior system explanation for parents to reference when they discuss choices made that day. They have the opportunity to ask their child how they were a good Samaritan or maybe why they needed to refocus. This builds a bridge between the child's school community and home.
....amongst our community of learners...
Propel McKeesport is my school home. I teach kindergarten literacy and social studies. The following is information that may shed some light on who we are:
IEP: 14%
African American: 79%
Low SES: 86%
Propel McKeesport is located in McKeesport, PA and has been in operation since 2004. The charter school serves 400 students in grades K-8. In March of 2010, Propel McKeesport was named the single top performing elementary charter school from a nationwide consortium of charter schools. Propel McKeesport received an Effective Practice Incentive Community Award from New Leaders for New Schools 3 consecutive years. EPIC awards schools making the greatest gains with student achievement. In a three year span, Propel McKeesport raised literacy scores from 68% to 87%.
I encourage my families to hold their child accountable for the six habits and bucket filling choices. Daily communication is sent home through each child's take home folder. In each child's folder is the behavior system explanation for parents to reference when they discuss choices made that day. They have the opportunity to ask their child how they were a good Samaritan or maybe why they needed to refocus. This builds a bridge between the child's school community and home.
....amongst our community of learners...
Propel McKeesport is my school home. I teach kindergarten literacy and social studies. The following is information that may shed some light on who we are:
IEP: 14%
African American: 79%
Low SES: 86%
Propel McKeesport is located in McKeesport, PA and has been in operation since 2004. The charter school serves 400 students in grades K-8. In March of 2010, Propel McKeesport was named the single top performing elementary charter school from a nationwide consortium of charter schools. Propel McKeesport received an Effective Practice Incentive Community Award from New Leaders for New Schools 3 consecutive years. EPIC awards schools making the greatest gains with student achievement. In a three year span, Propel McKeesport raised literacy scores from 68% to 87%.