Students, Parents and Cell Phones

I spent the better part of six wonderful years as a high school and middle school assistant principal. My main task in both roles was to preserve school decorum through the management of student behavior issues. Cell phone use was always on the top of the list of concerns. I began my career trying to push cell phones out of our students’ hands to the extent that I even researched the installation of a signal jammer. My view of cell phone use in schools has drastically changed since that time. Cell phones can be a vital tool for parent communication, safety response and, when managed correctly, can be a powerful classroom tool. Cell phones have and will continue to permeate every aspect of schools and society. To try and stop cell phone use is akin to the Dutch legend where the little boy sticks his finger in the dyke to stop a leak, only to have seven more leaks open. Let's focus our efforts on teaching responsible use of these powerful devices.  

As parents we face relentless badgering from our children who we have not yet allowed to have a cell phone. When and how we walk through this rite of passage with our children is a very personal decision. Several days ago I came across the rules below that a parent put in place when she gave her son an iPhone for Christmas. The rules don't only speak to everyday phone use, but to large societal issues with which we need to help our children. The rules below were taken in part from Michael Smith's Principal's Page The Blog, which can be found at www.principalspage.com/theblog/.

1.  It is my phone. I bought it. I pay for it. I am loaning it to you. Aren’t I the greatest?

2.  I will always know the password.

3.  If it rings, answer it.  It is a phone. Say hello, use your manners. Do not ever ignore a phone call if the screen reads "Mom" or "Dad". Not ever.

4.  Hand the phone to one of your parents promptly at 7:30 pm every school night and every weekend night at 9:00 pm. It will be shut off for the night and not turned on again until 7:30 am. If you would not make a call to someone’s land line, wherein their parents may answer first, then do not call or text. Listen to those instincts and respect other families like we would like to be respected.

5.  If it falls into the toilet, smashes on the ground, or vanishes in thin air, you are responsible for the replacement costs or repairs. Mow a lawn, baby sit, stash some birthday money. It will happen, you should be prepared.

6.  Do not use technology to lie, fool, or deceive another human being. Do not involve yourself in conversations that are hurtful to others. Be a good friend first or stay the heck out of the crossfire.

7.  Do not text, email, or say anything through this device you would not say in person.

8.  Do not text, email, or say anything to someone that you would not say out loud with their parents in the room. Censor yourself.

9.  No pornography. Search the web for information you would openly share with me. If you have a question about anything, ask a person – preferably me or your father.

10.  Turn it off, silence it, put it away in public. Especially in a restaurant, at the movies, or while speaking with another human being. You are not a rude person; do not allow the iPhone to change that.

11.  Do not send or receive pictures of your private parts or anyone else’s private parts. Don’t laugh, unfortunately people do this and sometimes they are arrested. Someday you may be tempted to do this despite your high intelligence. It is risky and could ruin your teenage/college/adult life. It is always a bad idea. Cyberspace is vast and more powerful than you. And it is hard to make anything of this magnitude disappear – including a bad reputation.

12.  Don’t take a zillion pictures and videos. There is no need to document everything. Live your experiences. They will be stored in your memory for eternity.

13.  Leave your phone home sometimes and feel safe and secure in that decision. It is not alive or an extension of you. Learn to live without it. Be bigger and more powerful than FOMO – fear of missing out.

14.  Download music that is new or classic or different than the millions of your peers that listen to the same exact stuff. Your generation has access to music like never before in history. Take advantage of that gift. Expand your horizons.

15.  Play a game with words or puzzles or brain teasers every now and then.

16.  Keep your eyes up. See the world happening around you. Stare out a window. Listen to the birds. Take a walk. Talk to a stranger. Wonder without Googling.

17.  You will mess up. I will take away your phone. We will sit down and talk about it. We will start over again. You and I, we are always learning. I am on your team. We are in this together. It is my hope that you can agree to these terms. Most of the lessons listed here do not apply to the iPhone, but to life. You are growing up in a fast and ever changing world. It is exciting and enticing. Keep it simple every chance you get. Trust your powerful mind and giant heart above any machine. I hope you enjoy your awesome new iPhone. 

To Help Students Learn, Appeal to What They Value

The following article was taken from Heidi A. Olinger's blog as posted on edutopia.org.  The full citation is below the article.  Enjoy!

A Hunger for Recognition

Greg was among my toughest students in a tough year of teaching high school. Physically he attended class, but academically he was missing. He was a freshman invested in his image with older students he deemed cool, and academic achievement was not a group value. He was disruptive and disengaged. But Greg began to care about school the day that study hall rules changed and he could not leave the classroom -- not even to buy snacks. He quickly became hungry and morose, and, already the enemy, I was doubly so for enforcing the rule. Before me was a hungry boy, so I emptied my briefcase of every snack I had: a soft apple, a Power Bar, Dum Dums. I put these in a pile on his desk and said that was what I had.

His face smoothed in surprise. He sat up a little and opened a notebook. The next day he brightly offered to replace the bumper on the old truck I drove.

The start of Greg's visible respect for school was simultaneous with my visible respect for him as he wanted to be seen: wild, misunderstood and in need.

To know why it is important to understand what students value, I encourage everyone to reflect on how they feel -- and perform -- when a school leader knows and acts on what is important to team members.

Now think about when a leader ignores or disrespects team and individual values. How does it affect performance?

I have learned this: discovering and appealing to what students value has the power of a "return on investment" of their eagerly engaging in and owning their learning. And that is the pedagogical gold ring.

Getting Inside Their Heads

Following are practices for uncovering student values. Each may be used alone. However, they yield more accurate information when applied as a set throughout a school year or term.

1. Ask in Writing

This shows students, from day one, that you care who they are and what they value. I have asked the following of multiple groups, from fifth graders to college sophomores:

1. Describe your last [science/math/English] class.
2. What did you like best about the class?
3. What made the best class you have ever taken the best?
4. What made the worst class the worst?
5. What do you do when you are not in school?
6. What is important to you?
7. What do you expect of me, the teacher?
8. What would you like me to know about you that I haven't asked?

For questions 3 and 4, students have one answer. Can you guess what it is?

"The teacher."

Closely read students' answers on what made a teacher the best or worst, rendering a class the best or worst experience. Ever.

2. Have a Conversation with Each Student

A one-on-one conversation can have significant results -- it humanizes you, and it provides insight on where students are emotionally. Prepare only a few questions, with the goal of gaining in-depth answers. Here are examples:

• How is class going for you?
• What do you enjoy about class?
• If you could change anything, what would it be?

Listen and record the responses. Remember, when you request feedback, be willing to hear the answer. Be a compassionate observer of what you see, as well as what you hear.

Scheduling the conversations before a project or exam gives students an opportunity to ask questions they might not otherwise pose.

3. Remember When

I design and teach STEAM curricula to appeal to girls, and the fourth and fifth graders with whom I am lucky to work can keenly demonstrate Newton's Third Law of Motion. They will tell you how to save yourself should you ever be free-floating in outer space.

They easily grasp this cornerstone of physics, a lesson many others do not encounter until senior year, because I frame the learning with three things important to most tween girls:

1. Horses
2. Clothes
3. Their latest crush

Dealing with a Crush is vital to girls, as it was in the dark old 1970s of my preteen years. I obsessed about boys, so now, to help explain that "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction," I relate force to the effect of capturing a boy's interest by ignoring or walking away from him. His interest in a girl will be equal in force, I explain, to her deflecting his request to meet at a dance or lunch. "For every action" (the girl exerting force by walking away from the boy she likes) "there is an equal” (the boy likes her, too) “and opposite reaction" (he moves toward her to further the relationship). As with boy and girl, forces always come in pairs.

Frame your physics lesson in terms of how a girl can successfully handle her tween crush -- valuable when you are 11, 12 and 13 -- and the learning soars.

The nonacademic passions, social intrigues and fads we would dismiss are among the things students value and, ironically, are a springboard for learning. What are your ideas for uncovering and working with students' values? Please share your thoughts and experiences.

Heidi Olinger's blog can be found at www.prettybrainy.com/blog/

Source:

Olinger, H. (2014, January 15). Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/user/108918

Teaching's Holy Grail

When I left college almost 20 years ago and was searching for a teaching position, there was a set of interview questions that were fairly common across the school districts with which I interviewed. One of those questions asked if teaching was an art or a science. It was a good, thought-provoking question without a clear answer. One could make a strong argument on both the art and science side of the question. The answer 20 years later is much clearer; teaching is a science. I can hear the groans and counterpoints coming, and I will be the first to admit that our best teachers are fantastically artful in their presentation. I will also admit there is a fine line between good acting and good teaching; however, there is a bevy of current research, summarized in reader friendly publications, that clearly identifies the most impactful teacher-controlled variables in increasing academic achievement. We are in great error if we are not implementing these strategies with fidelity in our classrooms every hour of every day.

Let us start with Marzano, Pickering and Pollock’s jewel Classroom Instruction that Works, Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. This book is a meta-analysis that identifies the instructional strategies that have the highest probability of enhancing student achievement for all students in all subject areas at all grade levels. The nine most effective strategies are outlined below from most impactful to least.

Instructional Strategies	Percentile Gain
Identifying Similarities and Differences	45
Summarizing and Note Taking	34
Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition	29
Homework and Practice	28
Nonlinguistic Representations	27
Cooperative Learning	27
Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback	23
Generating and Testing Hypothesis	23
Questions, cues, and Advance Organizers	22

We know the instructional strategies listed above, when implemented with fidelity, have been scientifically proven to be some of the most impactful approaches to teaching and learning that we have at our disposal. It is of paramount importance that the strategies identified are implemented with fidelity, meaning they are used by teachers in ways that are consistent with the research done by Marzano, Pickering and Pollock. We are remiss if we simply see homework listed as an effective practice and assign the next chapter to be read for the next class or assign 25 of the odd problems in the book to be completed while at home. We are equally mistaken if we take a position that all homework is ineffective and our students will not complete it. We need to study the practice of assigning homework and understand what variables need to be implemented for this practice to be effective. If we do not assign homework or we do not assign homework properly, we are missing an opportunity to help our students grow. 

John Hatte’s book, Visible Learning – A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement, reveals what Hatte calls “teaching’s holy grail.” The foundation of Visible Learning is built on research encompassing millions of students. It analyzes the largest ever collection of evidenced-based research and showcases the most impactful variables that improve learning. Noted below are four contributions from teachers that have shown to critically influence student achievement.

1.     Microteaching:  Mini lessons to small groups of students that are analyzed by colleagues (in person or videotaped). The analysis should include an intense reflective review of the lesson.

2.     Teacher-Student Relationships:  Students do not learn from people they do not like. It is as simple as that.

3.     Expectations:  It is widely understood that all teachers form expectations about student ability and skill. These expectations have a momentous effect on student achievement. For a better understanding review the Pygmalion Effect at http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-and-learning/pygmalion.

4.     Teacher Clarity:  The ability of the teacher to communicate to the student what the objective of the lesson is and what success will look like.

The two compilations of research explained are only a small sampling of available research that clearly articulates the most impactful variables that are within the control of the teacher to positively influence student achievement. How many of the strategies outlined do you as a teacher use every day? Are there strategies or approaches you use that are not listed? Are they effective? How do you know?

Curriculum resources, standards and technology (education hot buttons) do not increase academic achievement by themselves. Teachers engaged in disciplined research, making disciplined decisions and implementing disciplined practices will guide students and empower their futures through increased academic achievement. Let us become leaders in student growth and achievement together. 

Parents and Relationships

There are times parents call our schools because they are upset. The parents who call are passionate about their children. From time to time, we all find ourselves talking about and generating a great deal of concern about parents who do not care about their children and have no passion for their children’s futures. You know, these parents do not exist. All parents love their children the best they know how and are passionate about their children’s education and futures. All parents express this passion and love a little differently. As educators, we need to continually remind ourselves of this, and we need to be cautious that we do not pass judgment because we choose to view parenting through the lens of our own experiences.

We need to actively listen to parents and remember that every parent we interact with is at least half right in their argument, no matter what the circumstances are. As educators we do not know and understand students as well as their parents do. Because of this, we need to partner with our parents in every aspect of their children’s education. It is difficult to partner with our parents if we do not work to build positive relationships. Relationship building requires that we extend a hand more than halfway. It means we call home, visit home, write notes, email, text, tweet, blog, and stick our head in the car window. It means that our first interactions with parents have to be positive. 

As professional educators, we need to be current and stay cognizant of the substantial body of research that demonstrates a direct correlation between student success and parental involvement. John Hatte (2009) articulates one such example when he reminds school leaders of the claim made by Sweet and Applebuam (2004) that the most effective parental involvement strategy is home visits.  Sweet’s and Applebuam’s meta-analytic review of home visiting programs for families with young children proved to both reduce abuse and increase school achievement.  Dr. Barbara Link, Principal of Jefferson Elementary School in the Beaver Dam Unified School District, sponsors a school community meal once a month where she opens her building to the families of the Jefferson Elementary School community where volunteers serve an evening meal.  A majority of Jefferson school families participate in this school connection activity.  The success of the program is dependent on Dr. Link’s intimate involvement calling families, sending invitations and visiting homes to transport families to school.  The advent of Jefferson school’s community meal program correlates with the school’s ongoing success as a Wisconsin School of Recognition.

We all understand it is a much less anxious endeavor to invite families to our schools for community meals or call home to talk about a student’s success than it is to deliver news that is less than positive.  How we handle very delicate parent interactions that involve delivering bad news will often determine the quality of our long-term relationships with these families.  Begin these conversations with an apology:   “I am truly sorry for having to contact you today to discuss a difficult situation involving your daughter.  I know you didn’t start your day thinking I was going to be calling you.”

Establish a partnership by letting the parent know you are looking to work together to find a resolution to the problem at hand.  Listen for and find common ground.  When having to explain discipline, work to articulate how you have created the best outcome for the student given the situation and provide a resource for help:  “I am really sorry we find ourselves in a situation where Jane has to be suspended out of school for three days.  We are going to take advantage of this situation by talking with each of her teachers to find where her time can be best spent over the coming days working at home.  Within the next hour, Jane’s school counselor will call you to talk through the support we will provide Jane while she is out.”  Following the phone call, we have to deliver on what we promise.  It is of paramount importance that we develop and nurture trusting relationships with all parents in our learning communities.  We cannot do this if we do not deliver on the promises we make within the timelines we articulate.  Here are some additional strategies that may be helpful in building positive relationships with our parents.

• Send a postcard home to every student in your class/building each semester explaining something positive.
• Track your positive interactions with parents and ensure you reach every parent twice a year.
• Start all parent meetings by sharing something positive.
• For parent meetings that require multiple professionals to attend, have one staff member meet with the parent and have others arrive later.  Never bring a parent into a room full of people.
• Strive to return every phone call or email within 24 hours.
• Apologize often.
• Listen.

We all have to work to demonstrate our commitment to do what is best for the students we serve.  The responsibility to create positive relationships with our parents falls squarely on our shoulders.  Embrace the responsibility. 

References:

Hattie , J. (2009). Visible learning. (p. 70). New York: Routledge.

Sweet, M.A., & Appelbaum, M. I. (2004). Is home visiting an effective strategy? A meta-analytic review of home visiting programs for families with young children. Child Development, 75 (5), 1435-1456.

I adopted many of the strategies listed above from the works of Todd Whitacker (http://toddwhitaker.com).  If you are interested in additional strategies and information about working with parents (sometimes in difficult situations) you may find his books helpful.