Today was my first day at CMS. I am sitting in on the classes of Mrs. X, and she is in charge of teaching theatre to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. In our first discussions of the day, this is what she told me.
She says that the biggest issue at the school is discipline. She thinks that middle-schoolers are babied, and then when they get to high school they don’t know how to meet the behavior expectations of the teachers and staff. The school is in its third year of academic emergency, and is danger of being restructured, which means that they can either shut down the school or fire everyone and make them all reapply for their jobs. All of the teachers at the school are to focus on reading and writing skills, because the administration thinks that those are the easiest areas to raise skills quickly for this year’s test in May. Right away I understood that the focus in the school is on the standardized tests, which is kind of disheartening. However, Ohio is a standards-based environment right now, and it is good to get some experience in the thick of things so that I can understand what it’s like to teach under these kinds of restrictions. Mrs. X told me that half of the eighth graders in Columbus Public Schools are failing the ninth grade, and that the way they are being schooled in he middle grades is to blame.
She said that learning the names of her new students is the number one priority for her, because the kids play with you if you don’t know them for sure. That’s a good tip for later.
The day started off with he announcements over the PA, and it began with an “Epilepsy Fact of the Day.” The teacher wrote the plans for the day on the board, something that she says is required by her administration. She also included a “Quick Write” topic: “If I could change the world I would…” This is something that the students at the school do in each class to work on their writing skills for the upcoming tests in May.
First period is seventh grade theatre. There were 16 students in this class today, 4 girls and 12 boys. There were 3 white students, 11 African American students, and 2 Hispanic students. Students in all classes are expected to bring a drama folder with their past and current work in it each day. She will be performing a folder check each week at a random time. Students are also expected to bring pencil and paper. If students have forgotten a pencil, they can borrow one for some sort of collateral left with the teacher, a binder or trapper (yes, middle schoolers still use Trappers ☺). Many students in this class forgot their pencils. While the kids worked on their quick write, the teacher went around to check on their progress and their thoughts. When she caught one student drawing instead of working on his writing, she demanded to see his quick write. She held it up and read it to herself, and then smiled and said, “That’s really good.”
Each student must also provide her with a card that has their name, their parents’ names, a home phone number and a cell phone number with which to reach them. She told me before the students arrived that she calls parents a lot. She also is in the process of setting up seating charts, which she assigned seats to students and had them sign up in a blank chart.
After the quick writing was over and she had read each students, pausing to give them comments and suggestions, she passed out a treat to each student for their good behavior the previous day for the substitute. She made sure to remind them: “Don’t always expect a reward for good behavior because you are always rewarded for good behavior, even when you are a grown-up. It could be a raise, it could be a promotion, you have to take it upon yourself.”
She moves the talkers in the class to a desk right next to hers, facing the board.
This class did pantomime work after the quick write and folder check. Some of the different pantomime exercises that she did with the class included: washing hands, opening the fridge and drinking a soda, making and eating a hot dog, taking 3 eggs out of the fridge and cooking, and sweeping the floor. She made sure that each pantomime had a beginning, middle, and end, something that she stresses in this exercise (which is preparing them for improv). She called on volunteers first, and then made sure that each child had to go up and perform. She is getting them used to being in front of the class.
Second period was also seventh graders. These students did not receive a treat like the previous class; in fact, in addition to their quick write, these students had to write a ½ page letter to a guest teacher: “Dear Guest Teacher, why I should respect you…” She told the class, “Substitute teachers have to travel all over the city and go into schools where they don’t know the kids. It is a very hard job. And I want my students to respect them. When I am not here, you don’t act crazy.”
This class was 12 students, 3 girls, 9 boys. There were four white kids, 6 Black kids, 1 Asian-American kids, and 1 Hispanic kid.
These students also finished the period with pantomime, and since they had more time to spare at the end of class, they did more complex mimes, pairs playing different sports. One boy volunteered over and over again. When they were doing beginning stuff, the teacher said to a girl who was baking, “Don’t look at me, I’m not in your kitchen.” She is establishing the concept of the fourth wall.
Third period was Theatre Survey, the eighth grade. There were 28 students, 12 girls and 16 boys. The racial makeup was 6 White, 2 Hispanic, and 20 Black students. They were in serious trouble because of their behavior the day before, and received quite a lecture about it. She demanded to see their worksheets from the previous day, and told them that if it happened again, they would all receive Fs for their work.
In this period, I realized that this teacher has complete control over this class. There was no talking, not a peep. It seemed kind of sad, desks in rows, very teacher-centered, but later I learned that she starts off the new students like this and then lets up when she knows the students can handle it. In a school like CMS, this might be the best way to do it. Something else I noticed that carried over from Indianola: students are still halfway through activities when the teacher realizes they don’t have a pencil and they haven’t said anything about it. That used to happen all the time with the fourth graders, and it happens with eighth graders, too!!
It was about this point in the day that I realized that the students only have two minutes to get from one class to their lockers, to another class. Now, CMS is by no means a HUGE school, but it’s still a little large for only two minutes. Lots of students come in late, perhaps because of dawdling, but mostly because of the time constraints.
Fourth period was 23 students, only 10 girls. This was another eighth grade class. This class was structured 4 white students, 17 black students, and 2 students of Asian origin. They also worked on their worksheets and wrote letters to the sub apologizing for their poor behavior the day before. During this period, the teacher explained to me the signs up in front of the room, “Infer, Formulate, Support, Track, Compare, Cause/effect, Evaluate, Describe, Predict, Explain, and Chart,” all with definitions. This is to help the students and remind them what makes up good writing skills for the testing in May. Again, large focus on reading and writing.
Also during this class, I was struck by the amount of disrespect that is shown to the teacher. She asked a girl to spit out her gum, and when the girl was coming back to her seat, she pulled another piece of gum out of her pocket and stuck it in her mouth. Another student in this class sat in the back of the class and drew an elaborate Celtic cross on and around his wrist. It was a gorgeous drawing, but he only worked on that, flying under the radar for the entire class. In this class, the teacher handed out two lunch detentions for off-task behavior and for rudeness.
Fifth and sixth period are lunch period for the teacher and I and lunch duty, respectively. During sixth period, she stands in the auditorium with the boys for twenty minutes, and then when the girls are finished with their lunches, the boys go to the cafeteria for theirs. She makes them stay in their seats, with empty rows in between. The eighth grade boys are very loud and cannot sit still very long. It was a constant battle to keep them in their chairs and in the auditorium instead of out roaming the halls.
Seventh and eighth periods are sixth grade drama students, and today the sixth graders were on a field trip to COSI, so the classes were pretty empty. The first class had 8 students, half girls, all Black students. I noticed that these sixth graders take their sweet time doing things that they are asked to do. During this period, they needed to be reminded: “You need to be in charge of your mouth, don’t let your mouth be in charge of you.”
There were only 5 students in the lat period class, 2 girls. They checked their work from the day before and did the quick write. They also did some basic pantomimes at the end of the period. Both sixth grade classes seem to be less self-conscious in getting up and performing than the other two grades—I wonder why that is?
So that was my first day. Due to the bus drivers needing background checks, there was no school on Thursday, as I found out when I drove all the way up there and was met by the principal at the front door. I won’t be back for two more weeks, and I’ll write more then, but I can already tell that this is going to be a challenging quarter for me. I am really going to have to remember that I can’t save all the kids, right? My heart is probably going to break a little bit each time I do this. Whether it’s the young boy who’s mother was murdered by his stepfather three months ago and he hasn’t missed a day of school yet, or the young girls who come to school with revealing clothing and sashay up the halls at age twelve, I think this is going to be hard for me, but I also believe that it is going to be an unforgettable experience in diversity for me, and experience that I might very likely never get again. I hope to learn from it every moment that I am there.
She says that the biggest issue at the school is discipline. She thinks that middle-schoolers are babied, and then when they get to high school they don’t know how to meet the behavior expectations of the teachers and staff. The school is in its third year of academic emergency, and is danger of being restructured, which means that they can either shut down the school or fire everyone and make them all reapply for their jobs. All of the teachers at the school are to focus on reading and writing skills, because the administration thinks that those are the easiest areas to raise skills quickly for this year’s test in May. Right away I understood that the focus in the school is on the standardized tests, which is kind of disheartening. However, Ohio is a standards-based environment right now, and it is good to get some experience in the thick of things so that I can understand what it’s like to teach under these kinds of restrictions. Mrs. X told me that half of the eighth graders in Columbus Public Schools are failing the ninth grade, and that the way they are being schooled in he middle grades is to blame.
She said that learning the names of her new students is the number one priority for her, because the kids play with you if you don’t know them for sure. That’s a good tip for later.
The day started off with he announcements over the PA, and it began with an “Epilepsy Fact of the Day.” The teacher wrote the plans for the day on the board, something that she says is required by her administration. She also included a “Quick Write” topic: “If I could change the world I would…” This is something that the students at the school do in each class to work on their writing skills for the upcoming tests in May.
First period is seventh grade theatre. There were 16 students in this class today, 4 girls and 12 boys. There were 3 white students, 11 African American students, and 2 Hispanic students. Students in all classes are expected to bring a drama folder with their past and current work in it each day. She will be performing a folder check each week at a random time. Students are also expected to bring pencil and paper. If students have forgotten a pencil, they can borrow one for some sort of collateral left with the teacher, a binder or trapper (yes, middle schoolers still use Trappers ☺). Many students in this class forgot their pencils. While the kids worked on their quick write, the teacher went around to check on their progress and their thoughts. When she caught one student drawing instead of working on his writing, she demanded to see his quick write. She held it up and read it to herself, and then smiled and said, “That’s really good.”
Each student must also provide her with a card that has their name, their parents’ names, a home phone number and a cell phone number with which to reach them. She told me before the students arrived that she calls parents a lot. She also is in the process of setting up seating charts, which she assigned seats to students and had them sign up in a blank chart.
After the quick writing was over and she had read each students, pausing to give them comments and suggestions, she passed out a treat to each student for their good behavior the previous day for the substitute. She made sure to remind them: “Don’t always expect a reward for good behavior because you are always rewarded for good behavior, even when you are a grown-up. It could be a raise, it could be a promotion, you have to take it upon yourself.”
She moves the talkers in the class to a desk right next to hers, facing the board.
This class did pantomime work after the quick write and folder check. Some of the different pantomime exercises that she did with the class included: washing hands, opening the fridge and drinking a soda, making and eating a hot dog, taking 3 eggs out of the fridge and cooking, and sweeping the floor. She made sure that each pantomime had a beginning, middle, and end, something that she stresses in this exercise (which is preparing them for improv). She called on volunteers first, and then made sure that each child had to go up and perform. She is getting them used to being in front of the class.
Second period was also seventh graders. These students did not receive a treat like the previous class; in fact, in addition to their quick write, these students had to write a ½ page letter to a guest teacher: “Dear Guest Teacher, why I should respect you…” She told the class, “Substitute teachers have to travel all over the city and go into schools where they don’t know the kids. It is a very hard job. And I want my students to respect them. When I am not here, you don’t act crazy.”
This class was 12 students, 3 girls, 9 boys. There were four white kids, 6 Black kids, 1 Asian-American kids, and 1 Hispanic kid.
These students also finished the period with pantomime, and since they had more time to spare at the end of class, they did more complex mimes, pairs playing different sports. One boy volunteered over and over again. When they were doing beginning stuff, the teacher said to a girl who was baking, “Don’t look at me, I’m not in your kitchen.” She is establishing the concept of the fourth wall.
Third period was Theatre Survey, the eighth grade. There were 28 students, 12 girls and 16 boys. The racial makeup was 6 White, 2 Hispanic, and 20 Black students. They were in serious trouble because of their behavior the day before, and received quite a lecture about it. She demanded to see their worksheets from the previous day, and told them that if it happened again, they would all receive Fs for their work.
In this period, I realized that this teacher has complete control over this class. There was no talking, not a peep. It seemed kind of sad, desks in rows, very teacher-centered, but later I learned that she starts off the new students like this and then lets up when she knows the students can handle it. In a school like CMS, this might be the best way to do it. Something else I noticed that carried over from Indianola: students are still halfway through activities when the teacher realizes they don’t have a pencil and they haven’t said anything about it. That used to happen all the time with the fourth graders, and it happens with eighth graders, too!!
It was about this point in the day that I realized that the students only have two minutes to get from one class to their lockers, to another class. Now, CMS is by no means a HUGE school, but it’s still a little large for only two minutes. Lots of students come in late, perhaps because of dawdling, but mostly because of the time constraints.
Fourth period was 23 students, only 10 girls. This was another eighth grade class. This class was structured 4 white students, 17 black students, and 2 students of Asian origin. They also worked on their worksheets and wrote letters to the sub apologizing for their poor behavior the day before. During this period, the teacher explained to me the signs up in front of the room, “Infer, Formulate, Support, Track, Compare, Cause/effect, Evaluate, Describe, Predict, Explain, and Chart,” all with definitions. This is to help the students and remind them what makes up good writing skills for the testing in May. Again, large focus on reading and writing.
Also during this class, I was struck by the amount of disrespect that is shown to the teacher. She asked a girl to spit out her gum, and when the girl was coming back to her seat, she pulled another piece of gum out of her pocket and stuck it in her mouth. Another student in this class sat in the back of the class and drew an elaborate Celtic cross on and around his wrist. It was a gorgeous drawing, but he only worked on that, flying under the radar for the entire class. In this class, the teacher handed out two lunch detentions for off-task behavior and for rudeness.
Fifth and sixth period are lunch period for the teacher and I and lunch duty, respectively. During sixth period, she stands in the auditorium with the boys for twenty minutes, and then when the girls are finished with their lunches, the boys go to the cafeteria for theirs. She makes them stay in their seats, with empty rows in between. The eighth grade boys are very loud and cannot sit still very long. It was a constant battle to keep them in their chairs and in the auditorium instead of out roaming the halls.
Seventh and eighth periods are sixth grade drama students, and today the sixth graders were on a field trip to COSI, so the classes were pretty empty. The first class had 8 students, half girls, all Black students. I noticed that these sixth graders take their sweet time doing things that they are asked to do. During this period, they needed to be reminded: “You need to be in charge of your mouth, don’t let your mouth be in charge of you.”
There were only 5 students in the lat period class, 2 girls. They checked their work from the day before and did the quick write. They also did some basic pantomimes at the end of the period. Both sixth grade classes seem to be less self-conscious in getting up and performing than the other two grades—I wonder why that is?
So that was my first day. Due to the bus drivers needing background checks, there was no school on Thursday, as I found out when I drove all the way up there and was met by the principal at the front door. I won’t be back for two more weeks, and I’ll write more then, but I can already tell that this is going to be a challenging quarter for me. I am really going to have to remember that I can’t save all the kids, right? My heart is probably going to break a little bit each time I do this. Whether it’s the young boy who’s mother was murdered by his stepfather three months ago and he hasn’t missed a day of school yet, or the young girls who come to school with revealing clothing and sashay up the halls at age twelve, I think this is going to be hard for me, but I also believe that it is going to be an unforgettable experience in diversity for me, and experience that I might very likely never get again. I hope to learn from it every moment that I am there.
posted by Jennifer Martin at 10:59 AM
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