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Leader or Lord?

 

This article was originally written for Lightlines, a magazine for Christian schools published by Christian Light Publications.

Leader or Lord?   

   

The most pleasant and motivating people to work under are usually leaders – not lords.  Rather than greatly enjoying their superiority, position, and power; effective leaders have the ability and the willingness to view situations from the perspective of those under them.  Good leaders empathize with those in their care.  They do not find pleasure in lording over them, but rather in guiding and gently leading by example rather than barking orders and bossing others around. 

      Uriah the Hittite was a wonderful example of this kind of leadership.   When summoned back to Jerusalem by King David, Uriah answered all of David’s questions before being dismissed with a great amount of food and sent back to his house.  Uriah instead slept at the door of David’s house because he could not bear to be living in luxury while his men were sleeping in tents and out in the open fields.  It just didn’t seem right or fair to him that he should be privileged while the men who looked up to him were away from their homes and families while he relaxed and enjoyed a vacation. 

     Years ago I was teaching a large group of students.  We were out on a hot football field in the middle of the summer.  The director of the group was up in the stands ordering the students around as they practiced.  The students were hot and tired.  They needed rest and a water break, but the director was enjoying his power, and kept pushing them.  I was on the field teaching as well.  I desperately wanted to leave and get a drink – which I could have easily done because of my position.  But I was experiencing the same situation my students were, and I knew how they felt.  I realized that they would feel the same way about me as they did the director if I had walked off and enjoyed a nice cool drink while they suffered, so I decided to stay and suffer with them.  Finally, I could bear it no longer.  I left and returned with a squirt bottle.  I went to every student and gave them a much needed drink of water.  

     We don’t teach so that we get to enjoy our authority and power.  We teach so that we can impart knowledge and encourage our students.  Leading by example is one of the best methods we can use.  I often tell my students that I was up until after midnight grading papers or preparing something special for them.  I want them to know that they are important, that learning is important, and that I am willing to work hard because it is.  They don’t all comprehend this, but most of them get the message: I care about this, so you should too.   One of my seventh grade boys once wrote “If this matters this much to you, it makes me care too.”  Just seeing this kind of result motivates me to keep leading this way.  

     Uriah’s men probably admired him, respected him, and followed him because of the kind of leader he was.  He was not trying to be their buddy or friend, he was concerned for their lives and well-being.  He was truly a great leader, and he died doing what was right.  That is the kind of teacher I hope to be.  One who stands up for what is right, one who leads by example, and one who empathizes with my students rather than lording over them.  This doesn’t mean I’m easy on them; it means that I work hard and expect them to as well.  It means modeling everything from neat handwriting to cheering them on to write that research paper.  

        Teachers should consider their students before themselves. Being a great leader isn’t easy, but it is important, and we should learn how to do it well.  Modeling the behaviors we expect, keeping students accountable; and empathizing with them (putting ourselves in their shoes), will all help us to be gracious leaders rather than lords.  

Exemplary Embroidery

I had the idea to work on some embroidery for art awhile ago, and this month we finally got around to it.  I bought some muslin and let each student trace several designs I'd printed out for them, or create their own, which several of them did.  Then we showed them how to fit the fabric onto various sized hoops I had collected for a Chinese paper making project.  Next we gave them large needles, threaded them, and got to work.  Even the first graders finished theirs and did a good job.  

 I told the gentlemen that this was a good skill to have, and that as soon as they finished theirs, they could do some woodburning.  It worked.  One even added a solar eclipse to his.  (See below.)

 

The teachers usually complete the art project too, after making sure that all our students understand how to do theirs.  We drop whatever we are doing if they need help, and usually end up finishing ours at home or after school hours. This it sets a good example for the students to see us working on and completing our projects as well.  I finished mine below on a recent choir tour.  That explains the coffee stain.  

 

Teacher Priorities: Teaching the Youngest Students

This article was originally written for and posted at The Dock for Learning. 

Teacher Priorities: Teaching the Youngest Students

What should kindergarten and first grade teachers prioritize in order for their students to have a positive early school years’ experience that equips and prepares them for the rest of their school years?  

1.  Security.  First of all, students should feel that they are in a safe environment where they feel cared for and protected.  Five or six years old is still a fairly young and tender age, especially since most of our students are used to being at home with their parents for almost all of their preschool years.  It’s best if they can visit the school while it is in session.  This is best done with a parent holding their hand if necessary, leading and guiding them, encouraging them and reassuring them that this is a safe and enjoyable place to be.  They should be welcomed by the teacher and other students, who should smile and be friendly.  

The environment makes a huge difference as well.  It should be warm, interesting, and inviting, opposed to cold and sterile.  We usually have age-appropriate books and a few puzzles laying out on tables.  Art adorns the walls, and our current art projects are usually in progress laying nearby.  

There should be an extra desk for any visiting student to try out, and a carpeted, comfy reading area.  Ours has a tee pee on a soft rug, crocheted fruits and vegetables, books, and brain games in it.  Students are encouraged to explore these areas at some point in their visit. 

We have had students enjoy their visits the most when they were included and got to participate in whatever classes were going on when they arrived.  We have extra papers or supplies nearby, and students are invited to join in the current classes, but never put on the spot and asked to answer a question unless they wanted to.  

One of the greatest fears younger students have at school are the older students.  It helps if they are introduced to these older students while they are seated, not standing up and looking tall and scary to the younger ones.  I ask my older students to smile and say hello.  We strive for more of a family atmosphere, and being kind to the youngest students goes a long way toward this goal. 

All of these should help students to feel welcome, safe, secure, and cared for at school. If students are worried or don’t feel safe, they are going to have a hard time relaxing or learning. 

2.  Calmness.  The early years of school set a precedent and  mold a student’s state of mind and how they approach school.  School should usually be quiet, calm, and orderly.  Nothing should be rushed.  Everything should be purposeful and calm.  The teacher should set the pace for this by leading her students well and setting a calm example.  Softness and gentleness should be the norm, and she should lead out with authority and calmness.  This does include lunchtimes and breaks.  They should be times of laughter and rest—a mental break—but not a time of chaos and disorder.  Games and free time after lunch are most effective if they are not too wild, and when students understand that they are to reenter the classroom in a calm state of mind, ready to get back to mental work.  

3.  Order.  Working side-by-side with calmness is order.  There should be a set schedule for the day that is usually pretty closely followed so that students, especially the younger ones, will know what to expect.  There is also safety  and comfort in following a daily “rhythm.”   

The teacher should also make sure that the students are all listening when directions are given, and that students understand exactly what it is they are to do.  Practicing doing things correctly ahead of time (raising hands to speak, etc.) is very helpful for all students, but especially the youngest ones.  

4.  Handwriting!  From the very beginning, having good handwriting should be stressed.  Students should learn the correct way to hold their pencils, using the thumb and first two fingers in a “lobster pinch.”  The triangular rubber pencil grips are extremely helpful in this endeavor, and we make sure that all students start out with them and have access to them as long as they desire.  

Students should also learn how to correctly make the strokes the right way.  Teachers should repeatedly model this in large, bold strokes on the board, and then have students practice this with them in the air, finally repeating the process on paper.  The larger lined paper should be used.  I prefer the kind that only has one dotted line down the middle and a red line for the baseline.  Students should also clearly understand which letters go “down to the basement:”  g, j, p, q, and y.  Students  will often try to keep the letters above the line if they are not taught properly.   

They should also learn to press down fairly hard with their pencils and make bold downstrokes—not faint upstrokes—when writing.  This will result in purposeful and precise strokes, and not wispy light ones.  

5.  Focused work ethic.  Having an overall classroom culture of focusing on work when it is time to work, but then having order and calm when it is time for the less-focused activities is a wonderful balance.  Students will feel safe in these parameters, know what is expected of them, and will perform accordingly.  

6. Consequences.  While obviously these should not be stringent, there should be set classroom procedures that allow a teacher to maintain both his classroom culture and calm demeanor.  That’s where consequences come in.  This often entails a warning, followed by a time out in a space away from the rest of the class but still visible to the teacher, and finally, a written slip or communication with a parent.  Students thrive when they are operating within set parameters with known consequences if they make the choice to function outside of these guidelines.

Watercolor Whales -- With Some Salt

Miss Shirk, our amazing first and second grade teacher, taught us all how to paint watercolor animals last week, and it was quite enjoyable.  Even the first graders took part.  Using reference pictures, we sketched our animals first.  The next day we painted them, and some of us sprinkled salt on our whales' backs to add a bit of texture and color variance.  The third day we used fine-tipped markers to outline the shapes and add a few details.  After they were dry, they were all added to our art portfolios.  

 

Gentle, Slow-paced Learning: the Tortoise vs. the Hare: Teaching Special Needs Students

 

This article was originally written for and published in Homeschooler's Friend, a magazine published by Christian Light Publications.

Gentle, Slow-paced Learning: the Tortoise vs. the Hare 

     In the world of a special needs child, slow and steady is better than fast and sloppy, or worse yet, fast and not understanding.  The end goal is that our students understand what we are teaching them, and with special needs children, that means taking the route of the tortoise rather than that of the hare.  

     I have found that teaching the same concepts over and over again in a slow-paced manner yields greater results with these children.  Finding different ways to present the material, realizing that something hands-on produces a better outcome, is more important than just finishing a worksheet.  Using math manipulatives, letter blocks, and science experiments along with the written text and workbooks will help students remember concepts better.   

      It is also perfectly acceptable to slow down and cover one lesson in two different class periods (one earlier in the day and one later in the day) or even take two days if the child truly cannot comprehend or is seriously struggling with a concept.  It is more important to slow down and take the time to ensure that the student not only understands but can retain the information.  It is also helpful to begin a lesson by asking your student questions about the last few concepts learned to review and test their retention of those concepts before moving on to new material. 

     Art, music, and recess are vital parts of a special needs child’s curriculum as well.  These help any student look forward to school because they are the more enjoyable subjects. Art especially has so many advantages.  It uses the more imaginative side of the brain which helps creativity in thinking skills.  This not only allows students to enjoy being creative,  but helps them to process and think differently about math, language, or science.  I have found that students who do fifteen minutes of art every day are more happy and innovative students who look forward to school much more than the average student.  Using one of the two following approaches works well as leverage to encourage students to get their work finished. 

1.  These more fun subjects can be interspersed in the day’s activities.  When they finish math,  reward them with fifteen minutes of art.  After their English lesson is completed, reward them with fifteen minutes of music.  (This can be singing, clapping, counting beats, etc.)  

2.  The other option for more high-functioning students is to complete all of the more difficult subjects first while their minds are fresh and more alert, and then conclude the day by rewarding them with the more enjoyable subjects. 

Special needs children should be treated much like other students; they just need more time, repetition, and hands-on learning than our normal students.  Offering short art and music classes interspersed as rewards is also helpful in encouraging them to finish their regular schoolwork.  

Suggested Resources 

Music: Sing for Joy (Shenandoah Christian Music Camp)

Praises We Sing  (Christian Light Publications)

With Glad Voices (Illustra Graphics Publishing)

Art:  artprojectsforkids.org

StudioARTiculations.com 

  55 Hands-on History Projects* 

Art for Everyone*  

*available from thePlainProfessors.blogspot.com;

                use the Contact Form above to request these resources

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Videography by Franklin Miller,

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Thoughts on Grading

 

This article was written and published at The Dock for Learning.  

Fair and Square

First of all, I prefer to grade in a way that is what I call “fair and square.”  If there are twenty-five questions, then they are each worth four points.  If there are thirty-three questions (or close to it), then they are worth three points each.  Crazy weird in between numbers?  An EZ Grader has been one of my favorite teacher toys since 1989.  If feel that if I have to take off fewer points than that because of low scores, I either need to get new curriculum or teach better.  

Grace vs. Pickiness

Note:  This section only applies to daily grades which do not get recorded.  For tests that get recorded, everyone gets the same treatment.  

There are two main types of students, (with a few in between.)  The first extreme is the hard-working-but-struggling student.  This student is really trying hard, so if the math problem says to round the decimal number to the hundredth's place, and she writes 5.684 instead of 5.68, I will probably write “read directions—hundredth’s place” on it, but I won’t mark it wrong nor take off an extra point for it (not yet anyway.  The next quarter is coming. :-)

 

The second type of student almost always gets grades of ninety-five to one hundred.  Those are the ones I try to be really picky with, so that they will strive to excel even more. I will write a note on every little thing, and expect the pre-algebra answer to be 5.68.   

I will also be extra picky with their writing, because it is usually pretty good, but there is always room for improvement.   If there is a word that works but is a little more “first grade” as I call it, I will draw a squiggly line under it, which they know means to go get a thesaurus and put a more complex word in there.  

I have a former student who hopes to be a teacher someday.  She was one of those 98-100 type of students, and she stops by a few days a week after school to help me grade papers.  She was grading with me one day and asked me how picky she should be on a paper she was grading.  I asked her whose paper it was and how far it was off.  Then I replied, “She’s pretty sharp.  Be picky with her and expect more.”  

“Okay.  It certainly didn’t hurt me,” she replied with a smile, acknowledging the fact that I had done that to her when she had been my straight A student.   

 

Project Presentation 

For projects such as science fair boards, history research papers, or three-dimensional history projects, I give my students a rubric with the point values on it when I introduce the project.  Then I use that exact same rubric when I grade it, and give that back to the student with their grade on it so they can see where they excelled and where they fell short.  

I have found that after the first time of my doing this, they know exactly how it works, and their completed projects as well as their grades are much better the second time around.

Friendly Feedback

Supposedly, studies have shown that it takes seven positive comments to balance the impact of one negative comment.  It would be pretty difficult to write seven positive comments for every negative one or every “X” I write on a student’s paper, but we can certainly try to give lots of positive feedback.  

This can be written, and I try to write something positive on each paper, whether it’s just a smiley face or a “YAY - an A!”, but there are many other ways we can give our students positive feedback. 

A smile or a “yes!” is great positive feedback when a student gives a correct answer in class.  If they are close to the target but not right on it, encourage them to think a little harder, or lead them a little based on their first answer.  We can also say, “Great job!” or “Very impressive” quietly when we pass their papers back to them.  

For older students, especially the guys, I have found that writing one or two encouraging words on their papers does wonders.  I’m teaching a new student this year who has brought his grades in English up an average of thirty points.  When I handed back his last quiz, which was almost an A, I said, “See, I told you that you could do this,”  because I had.  I had told him that he could do it, and he did.  

Believe in them, encourage them, and cheer them on.  

Name __________________________

             

Science Fair Project Grading Rubric 

_____ 5 pts.   * creative title 

_____ 10 pts.   * purpose statement: 

                         (The purpose of this project is to . .. to learn/show . . )

_____  5 pts.  * list of materials used 

_____ 10 pts.  * list of procedures - steps you took

                        to make or do your project  1.  2.  Etc.

_____ 10 pts.    * photos of materials, steps in

 making, etc.  (3 or more) 

_____ 20 pts.  *  completed project with board

_____ 20 pts.  * written conclusion:  (This experiment or project shows how . . . works . . . I learned . . . What worked well?   What didn’t work like you thought it would?   To learn more about this I could .  . . . .   ) 

____ 10 pts.    * neatness

_____ 10 pts.     * graphics, creativity, overall presentation 

Designing and Managing Student Projects

 

This article was originally written for and posted on The Dock for Learning.

 Scherenschnitte from Germany 

Chinese brush painting

Designing and Managing Student Projects 

     While most of our class time should be spent covering major concepts and the material in our textbooks, there is much value in having students complete projects.  It has been proven that students learn more and retain information much longer if they are actually involved in working with or creating something using their minds and hands.   

     Projects create a completely different dynamic in the classroom as well.  Students become actively involved in learning, and usually really enjoy it.  The variety also does wonders for classroom morale.  The learning and creativity that takes place is well worth the extra planning and mess.  

      Two main categories of projects are written presentations and hands-on projects.  While I far prefer hands-on projects, written projects are also very worthwhile for students.  Here are a few ideas for both of these categories. 

Written:  reports, speeches, poster board presentations, portfolios (folders with both written information and photographs or drawings) 

Hands-on:  three dimensional projects, art projects, science experiments 

     I usually require my students to choose a history or science topic for their English papers.  That way they are practicing their writing skills and increasing their knowledge of other subject matter at the same time. 

     Often I will research the folk art of whatever country and/or time period in history to get ideas for projects for history and art.  

     I try to complete every science experiment in the book, even if it is a day or two after we covered the material because I had to purchase or find something unusual.  

WARNING!    Projects can be very taxing on parents.  One of my children once had five projects due the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving break.  It ruined our family time, and we spent much time shopping for whatever was needed.  Because of this, I follow these three rules.

1. Provide all the supplies needed and the time to do it at school.  We have the students for seven hours a day; let’s use the time wisely. 

2.  On the rare occasions where my students do have to complete a project at home, I never make it due on a Monday.  Usually it’s due on Thursday, and then if it’s a day late (- 10 points!), they can turn it in on Friday and still enjoy the time with their families on the weekend. 

3.  I never make anything due the week after a holiday break.  

     Before you attempt any type of classroom project, you should have your ducks in a row.  A few aspects to consider before trying to introduce more projects into your classroom repertoire are timing, purpose, and procedure.  

      TIMING:  Timing is very important.  I believe that it is best to complete a project after the material that it relates to has been covered in class.  For example, last week we learned about the Dead Sea Scrolls.  This week in art class, we are going to make some large scrolls with Hebrew writing on them.  This enriches their understanding of what they have studied.  

     Depending on the classes I was teaching and how flexible my schedule was, I have usually done these two different ways.  If I was also the art teacher, we worked on our projects in art class while we were studying the content in history.  If I was not the art teacher, I tried to complete one project every two weeks, beginning it after the students finished the chapter test (which usually didn’t take the whole period), and then using the next class period to get it well underway.  I would then give the students another two weeks (until we began the next project) to finish it, letting them keep their unfinished projects in my classroom and work on them during study halls, lunch, or whenever they had extra time.  

    

 PURPOSE:  The purpose for doing any project should be to complement what the students are learning in a specific class (usually history or science), or for the purpose of just being creative and using their brains to think in a different way using space, color, and motor dexterity, as well as learning new techniques and skills (usually art class).  

Illuminated letters from the Medieval era 

     PROCEDURE:  This is muy importante.  Great classroom management is a must before attempting to do any type of project in class.  There are also a few methods that keep the chaos down and the learning up.  I have found that if I follow these procedures, the students are usually so enthralled with working on their projects that they don’t talk much or get distracted.  

1.  With students sitting quietly, explain slowly and carefully how to complete the project.  Show them a finished project that you have made yourself, if possible.

2.  Give students a variety of options and ideas.  While my students are usually all working on the same type of project, the end results are very different because I’ve presented many different options to them and encouraged them to experiment and try different variations.  

3.  Either pass out the materials yourself or let students go in small groups up to a table and choose what they need.  I usually dismiss them by rows to do this and will not let the next row go until the students from the first row are seated. 

4. Next, lead students through the steps, going slowly and modeling what is supposed to be done up front where they call all see.  

5.  Walk around and oversee, encourage, or show students the different ideas that other students have had while they are working. 

6.  Near the end of the period, give students exact instructions on where to put their projects until they are finished and how to clean up the work area. 

7.  Always give students a grade!  These are learning experiences and enjoyable, but they are part of the classwork and need to be completed.  Give students a week or two and then follow up with them to make sure that they finish their projects. 

8.  Display the projects  for others to see.  

     I have found that working on and completing projects at school has greatly enriched my students’ understanding of the material that we are studying in class.  Not only does more learning take place, but the effect that these have on morale and just enjoying school and each other makes doing projects well worth the effort.  

Mezen from Russia