Note To Self: Chronic Absenteeism

As I am finishing my final semester in pursuit of my Bachelor’s in Education, my Mentor Teacher (MT) is finishing his final semester in pursuit of his Master’s in Education. This unique situation has allowed us to learn and work alongside each other on a different level.

I am bringing new, fresh ideas to him and he is providing me with the insight of a seasoned teacher, but also a returning students. For his final semester project, he is analyzing the idea of chronic absenteeism in our school building.

This was particularly interesting to me because I feel like it is something that could easily pass between the first-year teacher cracks. This semester I have been so focused on planning and learning how to correct behavior that I often forget to even record attendance until the end of the day.

But, school starts with attendance. If a student does not come to school, the learning process can’t even begin and things like planning and correcting behavior no longer apply.

My MT has shared his thoughts and resolutions for chronic absenteeism with our middle school team and I found myself very interested in it’s repercussions. So, I decided to take the initiative to further research it on my own.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as “missing 10 percent or more of a school year—approximately 18 days a year, or just two days every month” and it seems to be a national problem considering “5 to 7.5 million students are chronically absent” (O’Brien 3).

At the secondary level, especially at the middle school level, chronic absenteeism is a sign that a student will most likely drop out of school all together. But, regardless, missing school at any level has consequences for our students. Such consequences include, lower academic skills (i.e.—reading, writing), lower test scores, lower chances of attending college, and lower chances of breaking the cycle of poverty (WYPR Glenn 2).

Basically, it keeps our students at a lower level of achievement in all aspects of life. As an educator, when the idea of chronic absenteeism was brought to my attention, I automatically thought of 2-3 students that are not in my class near enough. And, unfortunately, I think most educators have the same problem.

Identifying our chronically absent students is usually simple, but the more important question is how do we prevent absences and help these students?

My MT has presented valuable suggestions to address this problem. Many of them are most effective at a school wide level, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt for us educators to begin implementing them in our classrooms.

To start, it is important to collect data on the students that miss school regularly. This could be as simple as tallying each day that a student is absent.

Once data is collected, analyze why you think this student might be missing school. Consider their socioeconomic status, culture, and personal/family traits. Do not be afraid to take a student-by-student approach and work on solving issues that keep certain students from attending school. For example, these issues may be housing instability, poor transportation, childcare challenges, bullying, etc. (O’Brien 8).  

At my school, students often miss school simply because they are not held accountable for attending and they do not wake up. So, a few teachers in my building started buying the students reliable alarm clocks, or even doing ‘wake up’ calls to make sure the students are awake and preparing for the school day.

In my opinion, the most important thing educators can do is to create and foster an environment where students feel welcomed, safe and appreciated. In an effort to do this, educators can communicate with students. In my future classroom, I would like to develop positive reward or incentive programs to encourage attendance. The rewards could range from candy and snacks to positive calls home and special class privileges.

Also, my mother was a truancy coordinator in the district that I work for now. Her program focused on providing students with adult role models or mentors for each student to meet with on a weekly basis. This idea, paired with positive rewards such as going out to lunch with their mentors proved very successful.

There are many things ways to tackle chronic absenteeism. So, future and current teachers, between your planning and teaching make time to focus on one strategy to help your students stay in school and stay motivated.

Resources

Glenn, Gwendolyn. "Empty Desks: The Effects of Chronic Absenteeism." Audio blog post. News.wypr.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.

O'Brien, Anne. "Addressing Chronic Absenteeism." Edutopia.org. N.p., 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.

Worse Things Have Happened

Worse things have happened.
You've tripped and fallen on your face.
And you've argued with those you love.
Someone has ignored your application,
Throwing away hours of your hard work.
You've lost more socks than you can count.
And your heart has been broken.
Wonderful people have died.
And they've cancelled your favorite TV show.
Worse things have happened.
And you survived.
There once was a women who began a tough journey.
She sweated through all her favorite shirts.
And made the mistake of wearing heels to make a good impression.
She brought leftover meatloaf for lunch,
Unaware that there was no microwave,
Or teacher's lounge...at all...
She escorted a sick kid all the way to a nonexistent nurse,
Still wearing the heels.
The students stare,
Refusing to answer questions.
She monitors the classroom,
Watching students do everything except their work.
She hears curse words in Spanish,
As pencils fly across the room.
She can sense the beginnings of a student brawl.
And then, she feels a tug on her sleeve.
"Miss, can you recommend any good books for me?
I think you're doing great!"
She looks around the room.
Mischievous middle schoolers on her left,
And on her right.
Some are working, some are not
Then, she takes a moment to talk about books.
She is the teacher now.
She knows it won't be easy.
But, worse things have happened.

Creative Genre Two: Future Letter

Dear, Ms. Loyd.

   I hope this letter finds you well. After your first year of teaching I am optimistic that I have found you with all your hair in tact and your wits about you. I am here to remind you of the intentions and values you held so dearly before embarking on your teaching journey. Enclosed are the Ten Commandments of Teaching that you, yourself, created shortly before you began your student teaching.

   Please review them, and initial in the blank following each commandment to indicate that you have upheld these commandments throughout the most stressful year of your career.

   If you have found that you have not upheld some or all of these commandments (which I pray is not the case), use this letter as a reflective opportunity to regain your purpose and continue pursuing the goals and dreams you first envisioned yourself achieving.

Thou shall be one who makes everybody feel like somebody—that is you have made an intentional effort to make every student feel seen and heard.   

                                                                                                                                                           

________

Thou shall not only teach about literary heroes like Atticus Finch and Arnold Spirit Jr., thou shall bring those characters to life!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ________


Thou shall extend and challenge the lenses in which students view the world and themselves.

                                                                                                                                     

________


Thou shall not give up on any student, no matter how difficult he/she may prove to be.                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                        

________

Thou shall not be negative when it comes to anything regarding teaching. This includes, but is not limited to: government legislation regarding education, challenging colleagues, demanding superiors, or frustrating students.

                                                                                                                                      

________

Thou shall try thy best to be a good example of an upright citizen every day for all, especially students, to witness and hopefully emulate.

                                                                                                                                      

________

Thou shall not post anything school related on social media—This is not a past problem, so with any luck, it is not a future problem!

                                                                                                                                     

________


Thou shall maintain confidence in thy ability to manage behavior and misbehavior within the classroom.

                                                                                                                                     

________


Thou shall NOT cry anywhere near school, and NEVER in front of a student, parent, administrator, etc.

                                                                                                                                     

________


Thou shall refuse to give up!

                                                                                                                                     

________

           

    It is my greatest expectation that you have not lost your passion for teaching and helping others. Take heart, push through, you were made to show the world it’s potential.

“Today you will lead the school. Tomorrow your students will lead the world.” –Go forth and make sure they are prepared!

Best wishes,

Past Ms. Loyd (the nervous, but eager, soon-to-be student teacher)

Cheering for Collaboration

Recently, I have been considering the usefulness of collaborative writing in the classroom. I am in an English composition class this semester that focuses on the concepts of teaching writing. Earlier this month, we read an excerpt from Invention as a Social Act by Karen Burke LeFevre. Her studies in writing and rhetoric align with one of the collaborative writing lessons I used in my middle school classroom last week. Surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly, it was the most successful lesson I taught.

Prior to reading this article I never considered that there could be a debate between individual and collaborative writing within in the classroom, but while reading it, I was able to use my own experiences to easily connect with what LeFevre was saying.

Throughout elementary and middle school, I, as a student, was exposed to many writing activities that usually required individual thought and reflection as apposed to collaboration. Specifically, I remember many writing diagrams that I was responsible for completing individually and then using those diagrams to create my own rough draft or final essay. Now, considering what LaFevre says, I believe it seems silly to reserve so much class time for individual writing without reserving time for reflection or discussion.

I understand the premise that “social intercourse necessarily destroys the philosophic act” (LaFevre 11). However, I do believe that the classroom is a social environment and when activities are correctly implemented and developed by a teacher, collaboration leads to further and higher thinking that ultimately helps students produce better writing.

In her conclusion, LaFevre states, “One invents in part because of others, because one thinks fruitfully in the company of a great many others, who are both possible and real” (93). I agree with this theory and believe it is up to the teacher to create meaningful and beneficial lessons that help students learn and grow by sharing their ideas.

For example, I participated in multiple Socratic seminars and I have seen them used in classrooms during my student teaching experience. I find them to be an effective literacy strategy that prompts students to deliberate on their opinions and stances on important issues and assists them in making sense of their own thoughts through cooperative dialogue. As a teacher, I would use this practice and perhaps have my students develop their own writing prompt from the seminar based on their thoughts and the thoughtful contributions of their classmates.

Also, I have seen a Kagen structure called Numbered Heads Together and I am a fan of this because it finds a balance between individual and group writing. The students are given a question or writing prompt and then once they have had time to reflect and write individually, they separate into groups of four to compare answers, and then they use their individual thoughts to create a collaborative answer that they present to the rest of the class.

Furthermore, I have seen collaborative writing bring a new motivation for engagement in the classroom. As I mentioned earlier, the collaborative writing lesson I used did wonders in my classroom. Considering I teach a first hour class, my students are often sleepy and slow to participate. So, to try something different, I started my final lesson of the week with a collaborative writing activity. Students each started with a different two sentence scary story prompt. They were given two minutes to contribute their own thoughts on how the story continued, and then they passed it clockwise to another students so he/she could continue the story. This process was repeated until each student received his or her original prompt again.

The loved sharing their creative ideas with one another! They were attentive and partook in the activity more than any prior activities. They were learning and I was so glad to present something that would make writing more fun. I owe a big thank you to my College of Education peer, Sarah Brill. We are placed at the same school and we spent the week planning together, so this lesson was her idea and it was beyond impressive. I now have a list of other collaborative writing lessons I can use thanks to her creativity.

In closing, the balance of individualism and collaboration is what I believe to be important in the writing process and finding a balance between the two is vital. As a teacher, it will be my responsibility to ensure my students are producing writing that reflects who they are as an individual, but writing that also shows a growth or progression in their thoughts that stemmed from class discussion or cooperation, as well as writing that is FUN and appealing to students.

Resources:

LeFevre, Karen Burke. "A Platonic View of Rhetorical Invention." Invention as a Social Act. 1st ed. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1986. 10-95. Print. Studies in Writing and Rhetoric.

Learning: The Adventure That Never Ends!

This week I had the pleasure of attending the annual Kansas Association of Teachers of English Conference. Not only did I learn many new and useful ideas, I actually had the opportunity to present my own ideas to current and future teachers!

What an experience! There may have been a few sleepless nights, but I am happy to report that it was completely worth it.

First off, I was able to attend a few informational, as well as influential sessions presented by teachers from around the state, but also my own peers from the Wichita State University College of Education. So, prepare for lots of fun teaching tips! HOW EXCITING!

I would like to commend Mary for her thought-provoking presentation regarding how an author creates a sense of empathy for characters that would not usually inspire empathy. For example, would you typically have empathy for Germans during the Nazi rule of World War II? Probably not. But, author Markus Zusak does just this in his novel The Book Thief. The specific examples of Germans being manipulated by propaganda and the comparison of modern day North Korea really sold the idea that empathy can be applied to anyone and any situation. I now know that The Book Thief is a must read, The VICE Guide to North Korea is a must watch documentary, and inspiring empathy in all students is a must teach lesson! Thank you and great job, Mary!

Next, I was able to attend a beautifully constructed presentation about channeling the arts in Language Arts by Keely. Wow. I have always been a big supporter of using art and creative projects in the classroom and Keely gave me all the resources and evidence to support that it truly opens a whole new door of learning for students. I am looking forward to Christmas break so I can read I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, which is full of art and it’s affect on people, and further my list of projects and activities to encourage and enthuse students to use their talents in conjunction with literature. Thank you, Keely!

The last session I attended, aside from my own (yay!), was one presented by Beth Gully, a professor of English at Johnson County Community College. It was centered around the lost art of writing thank you notes—kind of ironic considering this is basically an electronic thank you note. I particularly loved her idea of prompting students to write in the thank you note format when giving peers constructive feedback during the essay revision process. I definitely plan to incorporate it in my future classroom. 

Finally, I gained invaluable experience as I presented my own ideas on fostering kindness in the classroom through literature. Jacqueline Woodson’s picture book Each Kindness and memoir brown girl dreaming were my focus texts. Psssst…Woodson was also one of the keynote speakers for the conference. HOW COOL! Kindness is a concept that can be taught to anyone and it is especially vital in middle school when students are struggling with growing up and identity issues. I loved being able to share my ideas with a wider audience and using the feedback from practiced teachers to help me modify and improve upon my classroom kindness philosophies.

Jacqueline Woodson was a wonderful speaker and the 2015 KATE Conference was a wonderful experience. In closing, I would like to leave you with this quote from Woodson’s conference speech, “No one wants to be tolerated. We want to be accepted.” May we all strive to teach our students to not just tolerate others, but to accept them with kindness.

Creative Genre One: Positive Poetry

Satire for Future Classroom Heroes

Mario, like the Nintendo superstar,

makes me want to run so very far.

He thinks the classroom is his castle,

but he proves to be such as hassle.

I know he is a great kid,

so I try not to blow my lid.

He wants to be the class clown,

little does he know—

he is smart and worthy of the crown.

He needs to stop worrying about finding a Princess Peach

and focus on things that are more in his reach—

such as spelling, writing and reading.

He is surely capable of leading.

I need a way to help him control his vigor.

I have noticed boredom is a trigger.

Perhaps I should give him harder tasks,

so he can be a hero with many masks.

I am proud of his ability,

and the classroom is full of adaptability.

I feel I can make him a great student.

Maybe one day he’ll be even prudent.

I have no doubt he could rule a kingdom,

with kindness and wisdom.

But first I must channel his talents for good, not evil.

After all, my teaching methods are not medieval.