Raising your passing rates

In my first year of teaching, our principal would plead with the teachers to raise their passing rates. I, like many new teachers, had a traditional approach to education: give the assignment; then give a zero if they don't do the work. My failure rates approached 25% at times, and the principal would have a conference with me to discuss what I was doing to lower my failure rates. Eventually I succeeded. Here is what I did/do.

1. I walk around and make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing. From a distance, I can see which students have a pencil in their hand and which students are looking at what they are supposed to be doing. Watch their eyes! Watch their hands! Basically, do not let them decide whether or not they do the assignment. Goal: Everyone does the assignment every day. So for the most part, everyone gets a 100 every day whether they like it or not.

2. Now that I know they are doing their work, I often times give everyone a 100 if they were present and a zero if they weren't. When a student returns the next day, I will give them the assignment or some extra credit. This makes it easy on you, as well. At the beginning of the year, grade everything so students don't catch on.

3. Call home if a student isn't showing up to class. Parents need to know.

4. Make sure students don't copy off of other students. If they do, they will fail their finals and make you look bad.

5. Make sure your assignments are meaningful. Working out of a textbook in many classes doesn't work because textbook companies don't make good questions. All students do is skim like it's a scavenger hunt. They learn almost nothing. If you use a textbook, design the questions to what you want them to learn. Design the assignments yourself so you can cater them to your testing standards.

6. Tell the students about every other week what assignments they need to turn in. They will not come to you the day after they are absent to ask you what they missed. Unfortunately, you will have to seek them out and tell them what they need to do. I don't reccommend giving them their average if they are passing. If they have an 85 average and you tell them, they won't do anything to make it up.

7. Have a make up day on the last day of the grading period for them to do an assignment that they failed to do. This really helps.

8. I don't take off for late work. As long as I know that they did it themselves, I will give them full credit. After all, if the assignment was meaningful, then it was worth doing. If they did it and learned, they deserve full credit. If you take off too many points for late work, the student may not do it at all. They will learn more if they do the assignment than if they don't do the assignment. Plain and simple.

9. Consider not assigning homework. If you don't teach AP and you don't teach math, then you are setting them up to fail. They won't do it. If you have a way of getting inner city kids to do homework in a non-AP class then please comment.

In a non-advanced classroom, the only kids failing should be the few that don't show up at all. In most cases, if a kid shows up almost every day, they should be passing.

Getting girls to participate

In my experience, when I call on a girl to answer a question, there is a higher chance that a boy will blurt out the answer when the girl does not answer immediately. Also, in my experience, when we read aloud, boys heckle the girls at a greater rate than boys heckling other boys. There is no easy solution to this but I have had some success in equalizing participation.

In the beginning of the year, when I ask a girl to answer a question and a boy shouts out the answer, I make it clear that a: I appreciate it when students participate in class. b: when I call on a student I expect that student to have a chance to answer the question and not be rescued by a boy. There have been times when I call a boy into the hall and have a quick talk with him (about 1 or 2 sentences). The boys don't mean any harm; it's basically a mating ritual like throwing paper balls at them. Just be aware that it is going on and try to put a stop to it. I certainly protect my girls, but it's just one issue among a million to deal with.

You Don't REALLY Need to Go Do YOU?

Effective classroom management is always a balance between being a decent human being and a strict disciplinarian. Teachers often let too many students leave to go to the bathroom. Let me give you a few tips on reducing your bathroom trips.

First, imagine you are a student. If you have a choice to walk your girlfriend to class or to relieve yourself, what would you choose? Students keep a mental list of which teachers are "cool" and which ones you don't even bother to ask for a pass. Don't be the latter!

When a student asks you to go to the bathroom, say, "Hold that thought" and continue what you were doing. Many times the student won't ask you again. When they do, you might repeat the first step and put them off. If you can manage to put them off long enough then you can say, "Well, it's almost time to go!"

When you, on occasion, let them go, don't make it pleasant for them. Give them a dirty look. Take a deep breath to show you are slightly annoyed at them. Tell them, "Okay, but hurry. Don't make a habit of this!" Students are constantly trying to gage which teachers are cool with bathroom breaks and which ones aren't. From a psychological perspective, don't reward them with smile and an easy-going attitude. Make 'em pay!

When a student asks you loudly in front of the class if they can go, the answer is always, "No." If they ask you privately, then give them an annoying look or other posture and let them go. If your class sees you letting one student go, then you will have literally 4 or 5 saying, "Can I go, too?" Those students didn't need to go bad enough to ask themselves, but all the sudden they all have an "emergency." Don't let this happen. Make them ask you privately to avoid this line.

Keep them busy! Bell to bell business always distracts them from their bladders. Honestly, students just like to walk around. They genuinely need to go, but they really want a change of pace/scenery. You can't blame them, but you can't have 4 people per hour roaming the halls causing problems for other teachers. It seems that when I'm teaching, students rarely need to go. However, when I transition between one activity to another, someone always asks. Keep 'em busy!

Some of you will just say no all the time. That is a great approach as long as you are human about it.

Watch their eyes!

Where are your studens looking? Are they looking at what you are trying to show them? Are they looking at the book? A quick glance around the room can be a handy strategy of detecting off-task behavior. If you are showing a power point or a movie or a math problem and your student is looking down near their belt buckle area then they are probably on the phone. They could also be fascinated with various objects. Kids get fascinated with all sorts of objects. I'll show a $20 million dollar movie with lots of special effects and violence and I still find students staring at their erasers or bottle caps. Teen behavior is really fascinating, isn't it?

Again, watch their hands; watch their eyes. Don't let them get behind because once they do, they'll copy off of somebody or simply give up. Don't let them get behind. Don't let them think they can get away with it!

Student Respect or Lack Thereof

Wouldn't it be great if we could all work in different school environments so we could appreciate what we have and strive for what we don't? My background is a bad inner-city school and a high functioning inner-city school. I've never worked in the suburbs. But today I talked to a teacher from the suburbs. She lamented how she missed working in tha hood. She was tired of the disrespect. I thought you have a problem with disrespect? As it turns out some of her students are somewhat wealthy so they look down on teachers. It probably didn't help that she was African American.

My definition of disrespect is much different! At my old school, I'd get cussed out every day. I'd get physically threatened on a regular basis. Just so you know, my students didn't do it that much; it was usually students in the hallway. But still, that type of disrespect is a completely different monster. In order to consider working at such a school, you must understand this: African American kids are the most forgiving kids you'll ever meet. They'll blow up at you one day and you'll blow up at them. Then it's over. That's it. No anti-depressant medication necessary for the student, no parent conference (usually), no resulting school shooting (Sorry suburban schools! I couldn't resist.) In my 6 years, I've never noticed a student look down on me because I'm just a teacher. I've heard of teachers in rich districts complain about that.

Youtube is the TEACHING GOD!!!!

Most of you might get on youtube to watch videos of dogs chasing their tails or bootleg copies of the Simpsons, but did you know that you can use it to be a better teacher? You can find a short videos on almost any subject. Let me demonstrate: Let's start with history, the easiest. Now, some of you are saying, "I already show war movies and such. I have no use for youtube." Okay, fine. but what multi-million dollar Hollywood movie do you have about the Panama Canal? Or the entire Cold War? Check this funny, short video on the Cold War. Imagine this as a preview or a review for 11th graders.





I would not want to teach Psychology without youtube! I can teach students about any type of mental disorder using a 3 minute video. Teaching narcolepsy is easy because youtube is full of videos of narcoleptic cats, goats and even a narcoleptic tree cutter (not really appropriate for the classroom). Many of the videos are designed for the classroom;many are video projects that students put together for their AP Psychology class. Most of them are funny. There are many clips from documentaries I can use rather than getting the DVD on interlibrary loan and waiting, etc. Here is a video that taught me a lot about the brain:



Math: As far as I know, good math teaching doesn't use a lot of videos, but students should use it if they need a bit of extra help. A student asked me for help factoring trinomials and I typed that into youtube's search feature and found a few professors and teachers showing how to do it. Here is a funny video for math students when they need a good laugh:



Sciences: Simply just type in a vocabulary term. Try photosynthesis, Jupiter, balancing chemical equations, atomic structure, dna, scientific method, cell structure, coke mentos, funny scientific experiments. Here is a 10 min video about the scientific method. There is also one that uses Monty Python to explain the scientific method.



English: Reading and analyzing literature doesn't always lend itself to film watching, but I did pick an author at random, Sandra Cisneros, and typed her name and found a chapter acted out (by students, I think). This illustrates how short youtube videos are.



My main point is youtube videos are short, effective, funny and efficient use of class time. To find them you simply type in key vocabulary terms into the search feature and start choosing from many options.

If you can't access youtube at school, go to http://www.real.com/ and download Realplayer on your home computer. It will save youtube videos for you to save to your USB drive. You will not need realplayer installed on the computer at school for this strategy to work. You can download Adobe Media Player. That will play the videos you save off youtube. Again, you save them using Real Player at home. You may have to play them at school using Adobe Media Player (because your district may not block Adobe's website like it blocks Real Player. Using the same laptop at home and school is ideal.

Transferring the videos can be tricky the first time. Go to the folder where Realplayer saves your videos. Go to your Start menu and click on search. Search the term Realplayer downloads. There you will find the folder where realplayer saves your videos. They are flash videos so they will have the file extension .flv Select the videos that you want to save to your USB flash drive, plug in your flash drive, right click the videos and hover your mouse where it says send to, then select your removable disk.

What do teachers really make?

Another cell phone tip

When you see a student with a cell phone, tell the class, "I need everybody to put up their cell phones." The benefit of this approach is there may be someone in the room who you didn't see with a phone and they will think that they are busted and will put it up. That's like a freebie in teacher terms!

Some of you may say, "Why not take the phone up?" That approach might work well for you. In a rough school, you have to ask yourself what are you going to do when the person refuses to give you the phone. What are you going to do when s/he refuses to go to the office? What are you going to do when s/he slips the phone to another student on the way to the office and claims that s/he didn't ever have a phone? Whatever your response is to those situations, it will take away class time. And that investment in time might be worthwhile in the long run.

You could take up the phone and keep it until the end of class. I don't because I might lose it. If you are a female teacher, you could simply put it in your purse. You could do what a friend of mine did. He took the student's phone and texted the student's girlfriend saying I don't want to see you no more. Now that's teacher's revenge! Ha Ha!

Seating arrangement

I guess I've bought in to this No Child Left Behind idea because I'm always paying attention to my worst students with my method for seating students. After a couple of weeks, I give a fair test to my students. I then arrange the seating chart based on their scores. I know all the research says to place your worst students next to your best students so all that knowledge will somehow magically rub off on the bad students. What the Harvard researchers don't get is the lower students will cheat off the good students and trick YOU into thinking they don't need help. I put my best students in the back row; I put my worst students where I can keep an eye on them. One benefit is I can stand in the middle of the classroom facing front with my best students at my back. I don't need to watch them as much. My lower students are always within arm's reach in case I need to tap on their desk to wake them up or genuinely ask them if they need help. If my low students want to copy off of somebody, they'll have to copy off of another student who needs help or actually try to do the work. This seating arrangement allows me to profile before even getting to know my students. On week 4, I might not know my students' personalities, but I do know how they did on that last test I gave them. Certainly, they can move if they do well on the next test. Be careful not to make it the dummy area. I've seen a teacher do that in a rough school with some success (half the class could eat and drink; the other half couldn't)

Managing off task behavior.

No technique works for all students all the time, but that's no reason not to share a few tips. One thing to remember is we are all human. Personally, I break the rules on occasion because I don't think anyone is paying attention. So let's say I'm a few minutes late every day. Nobody says anything so I continue to be late. Then my Principal mentions it. I feel guilty and start being on time. I simply needed that direction because being late was easier than following a rule that I thought nobody was paying attention to. Students are the same, as are teachers in professional development. We all space out from time to time. So how can we as teachers correct this behavior without stopping the flow of class?

You must dedicate yourself to not stop the flow of class. Here are some tips:
1. In a traditional teacher-centered classroom situation (like mine is often), I will continue to talk but I will stare at the offending student who is spacing out. She will get the message and get on task. No class time or pride is lost. Not one second was wasted.
2. Incorporate their name, or their offense, into random parts of the lecture. "The Romans invented a lot of things. CELL PHONES weren't one of them. Right, Carlos? Yeah. [Class giggles]
3. Walk around the room. Your physical proximity tell their heart to give a shot of adrenaline into their bloodstream. Remember how you felt when your teacher came nearby? It's the same. If a student is off task, I might just tap on their desk. They'll get the picture. There is no need to make a scene.
4. Give dirty looks without stopping.
5. If you see one cell phone, address the entire class, "I need everyone to put up their cell phones." Benefits of that approach include student dignity and the real possibility that there is another cell phone being used that you don't see. That unknown student might think you are onto her and will put it up. Free points for you!

What if the subtle approach doesn't work? Tell the students, "Hey guys, if I look at you funny when you are doing something you are not supposed to be doing, please just stop doing it. Don't make me stop class to say, "Maria, put your phone up." You don't want me to sit around and gripe all day do you?" Kids appreciate learning about the material more than hearing you gripe.

Watch their hands!

Here is a quick, practical tip in preventing cell phone usage that works for me. When looking around a classroom, observe their hands. In today's classroom, all hands need to be visible at all times. Sorry, students who like to scratch their knees or pick their fingernails under the desk! You guys brought this on yourselves! In my class, I have to stop and say, "Guys, I need everybody's hands on your desk. Also, I need you to put your backpacks on the ground." (It's amazing how girls will text message in class with their purse in front of their phone, as if I'm superman and their purse is made of kryptonite and I can't see through it!) This small shift in priorities for your eyes will make a big difference.

Here is a related tip: When working with rough students, look at everybody's hands. You will probably find 2 or 3 that don't have a pencil or pen in their hands. Noticing their hands is the quickest way to know if they are going to waste the next 10 minutes of class, if not more. Those 10 minutes are very important because many students are simply waiting for you to not pay attention and start to copy off of somebody else. Everybody must work; nobody is left behind.

Your tone of voice is important.

I observed a teacher yesterday. He was in a pretty unfortunate situation. He was an art teacher subbing for a vacancy in the Spanish department. He did what any teacher who is not trained would do: he got out the books and had an out-loud reading session. Now, imagine you are a student who got placed in a Spanish class. You already speak bad Spanish and now you are informed that you don't have a Spanish teacher. A student in that situation needs leadership and reassurance that his/her time won't be wasted. Some of that comes from confidence. A lot of it comes from the tone of the teacher's voice. You've been a student. You know what it's like to have a monotone teacher. Or even worse, a monotone teacher that does not speak loudly!

I try to sympathize with my students while keeping in mind the psychology of varied inputs into the brain. I don't just say good morning to my students. I'm more like Robin Williams from Good Morning Vietnam. Goooood Mooorrrnnning Class! These kids need more sleep than adults and usually get less. Many can't make it to Starbucks or go by the coffee machine in the mornings. The least you can do is wake them up! On Monday's I'm practically screaming at my students! So let's all agree to not be like the "Bueller? Bueller?" dude from the popular Matthew Broderick flick.

All sounds are important. If I were the teaching god, I would not want to walk by a quiet classroom unless they are reading or being punished. If you have your own room, I suggest you play loud, obnoxious music for them to bang their heads to until the tardy bell rings. Strong music tells the brain to produce adrenaline in the body. It has the same effect on the brain as doing push ups before class. It also tells your brain to produce endorphins (happy hormones!). Loud music also has the benefit of preventing too many in-depth conversations getting started before the bell. One major drawback to this approach is they disrupt bell ringers. I don't do bell ringers, but I have no problem with them.

Confidence

Half of good teaching strategies is thinking of your good teachers and your bad teachers and learning from them. Of course, we all hear about teachers who lament, "Why should I try to be a fun, interesting teacher? My teachers didn't!" I could dedicate an entire blog griping about certain, older generation teachers that stopped trying years ago, but I'm here to help YOU in a positive way.

Having confidence is important for a teacher, especially in rough schools. Students are like lions and dogs. They smell fear. Imagine the many times you went to some professional development class and the teacher spoke in a self-effacing manner and a quiet, non-confident voice. He/she said on many occasions, "Uh" and "Um kay." (Yes. That was a South Park reference.) It's difficult to learn in that environment. Remember the movie Stand and Deliver? One of my favorite lines from that movie was Escalante's line, "You wanna know why? Because I'm the best [teacher]." Most kids love a self confident teacher! The worst kids require it. In my first high school, I had to on many occasions pretend that I would fight a student right there. It was very much like like 2 gorillas beating their chest or 2 birds ruffling their feathers.

Welcome to my high school teaching advice blog.

I love to teach. I love teaching students and I love to teach other teachers what I know about teaching. My goal in this blog is to write down all my ideas and get criticism now before I try to publish them someday. I'm all heart, little research. I don't trust Harvard researchers because they've never had to call a parent or have a student to tell them to go &*%@ themselves.

About me: I grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood when parents still let their kids go outside. I'm 35, just old enough to graduate without taking any computer classes but young enough to have grown up on video games.

My first teaching job was at a jail. I was 24 teaching a life skills class to inmates who have had more life experiences than I have. However, I went in there every day with the necessary confidence because I was smart enough to know that their life experiences are what got them in jail in the first place. I learned quickly not to be afraid of adults. Adults need leadership and guidance just like everybody. I spent 4 years teaching female inmates the math and writing skills they needed to get their GED and hopefully not return to jail.

My second job was at tough inner city school. I learned many things teaching in 2 rough situations: 1. You have to believe that your thugs are worth teaching. If you don't believe that your job is important, then you won't have the intrinsic motivation to get you through the rough spots of the day. 2. You have to teach to the heart. City kids do things voluntarily or not at all! Luckily for you, these kids have an intrinsic desire for learning. You just have to find a way to tap that.