KSW Educational Concepts
  • Welcome
  • Who is KSW
  • What we do
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Parent Resources

Hate Teaching - I Never Thought I Would Hear Her Say This!

2/15/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
A zoom ‘night out’ with my teacher friends turned into a sad commentary on the state of education when one of them said ‘she hates teaching this year’. How could she? Or rather, why would she?

Generous by nature, smart, innovative, caring, child centered she has taught elementary school for a little over 20 years. She has been in all grade levels K-5, as both a regular education teacher and a special educator. She loves her students. Never gives up. Has a crazy sense of humor and is passionate about her students' success.

Her name is Lisa. I have written about her before. She is the one who has the sign on her desk that goes something like this: The child sitting in front of me is living the life they have been given, my job is not to make it worse. You can imagine how she feels knowing that despite her best efforts she is failing her students.

She is currently teaching Kindergarten - virtual and in-person at the same time. She spends most of her time just trying to get the attention of the 5 year olds who have no experience of what school is like. 

When she is focused on the children sitting in the classroom she loses the little ones in the virtual environment and vice versa. She feels as if she is herding cats and puppies. As much as this is not right for her - she knows this is not right for them. 

The children have a very long day. They wear masks except when eating. They bring their own toys for recess. Their backpacks weigh far too much for 5 year olds to carry. They come to school before breakfast, eat 2 meals and snack in the classroom. They never leave the classroom unless they get to go outside. All special area teachers come to their room. They start before 8 and end at 3:30.

She prepares daily lesson packets that are stapled together in the order they will be used and yet she spends a good deal of time explaining what page they are on because so many little ones do not understand what the next page means.

While she is doing this in the presence of the students in her classroom she is trying to teach her kiddos on the other side of the screen. Some of them have no one in close physical proximity to assist them. She needs to be their helper in a virtual space.

Anyone who knows me understands that the minute I hear something like this my mind goes at ‘WARP SPEED’ into what we can do differently. The school district is forced to change the academic model due to the pandemic. We all get that. We know it is not working for the majority of our students.

Why are we insisting on combining the 18th -20th century model of school with 21st century learning at the same time, on the same day? Every adult that has attended a virtual meeting knows it is not the same as in person. How often have we heard ‘if you are multi-tasking come back to me’?

Would it be more beneficial for our youngest students to attend in-person school two days a week as a split class? They would get their excellent teacher’s undivided attention. Instead of her normal 25 she would have about 12 students.

Logic would tell us, she would be infinitely more effective with the 12 she has on those two days than she is with the in person/virtual split. The children who are not in school could work on review packets at home.

The 5th day of the week could be an all virtual day. Everything would be directed to the students at home. Teachers reading from big books, storytelling and math games, PE, Art and Music would take place on this day too. All big movements that young children could manage without adults helping them.

These youngest of learners have no frame of reference as to what is expected in school. They have no actual model to refer back to as what ‘school looks like and how I participate’. In a year we will be talking about these little ones and their lack of executive functioning skills.

Vince Lombardi said: Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. Let’s give our youngest learners a chance at perfect.
​


Picture
0 Comments

Not Handing in Homework Epidemic of 2021

2/8/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Covid 19 pandemic has created a parallel epidemic of students not handing in assignments. We can point to the change in what going to school looks like as having an
impact. It certainly has. We need to remind our children they are in control of their own behavior regardless of what is happening around them. We need to support them in their move towards success in all they do.

The routine our children have followed for their entire school career - whether it be a 1 year or 12 has changed. ‘Going to school’ has taken on a new meaning. There is no reason to argue differently. It is what it is, and will, most likely, be in the future. The possibility of never having a ‘snow day’ again is a reality!

Why are students not handing in assignments? In my work as an advocate my students often get accommodations of extra time, they can hand in work at a later date. Sometimes, they have a modified, or smaller workload. Another option may be the ability of showing what they know in a different way. Some students get larger assignments broken down into smaller ones with varying due dates. They never get an accommodation of no homework.

So when students are not handing in assignments I do not mean 1 or 2 - I mean 30 to 40 per marking period. This is new behavior, not typical of these students. What is happening? Have they lost the idea of the purpose of homework because of remote instruction?

What is homework?
Homework is a conversation between your child and the teacher. It let’s the teacher know that your child understood what the teacher taught. It may tell the teacher, your child learned some of the material yet other parts were not understood. It may tell the teacher WHOA! I need to teach this material again - because no one in the class did it correctly.

When your child hands in their work tells the teacher they tried. It tells the teacher the level of success they have or do not have based on what they did. It gives the teacher a path to follow that better meets your child's needs the next day.

When homework is not handed in it sends an immediate message that your child did not care enough to do it. Unfortunately, that is the message. There is no conversation to make learning better. T: “Where is your homework?” S: “I didn’t do it.” T: Why? S: I didn’t understand it? T: “Show me what you did, so I can see where you were having the problem.” S: “I didn’t do it.” End of conversation.

Doing homework reinforces the day's learning. It ‘pushes’ what is learned from short term to long term memory. Doing homework provides the scaffolding for the next day's instruction. It is the daily foundation of success.

If your child is having an issue with understanding the material being taught, whether it is in
person learning or remote - that is not a homework issue. Consistently not understanding
needs to be addressed as a learning issue.

If your child is not handing work in as a choice it is vital that you address it. Don’t let this
become a habit. Make sure they turn in whatever they have done regardless of how well they did it. Some homework is better than none. Having the ‘homework conversation' with the teacher is vital to your child’s success. It sets them up for success in life. You can not have ‘a well done job - if the job is not done’.

Have a question or concern, reach out today.

​
Picture
0 Comments

Turning in Work for Virtual Learning

1/18/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture

Hearing again about a student who has just failed the first marking period in school, due to not turning in work, has almost hit epidemic proportions. This was a challenge for many students as soon as computers became part of the classroom. The move to remote learning has added considerably to the problem.

I was recently told by a parent of a straight A student, who failed for the 1st time, that 30% of her child’s grade level in a middle school failed the first marking period - Unacceptable.
Here are some ideas for lessening that work turn in problem. I am just ‘spit balling’ here. If you have an idea be sure to add it in the comments.

Students Can:
  • Create a screensaver that says TURN IN YOUR WORK! HAVE YOU TURNED IN YOUR WORK TODAY? SUBMIT DON’T QUIT! GIVE YOUR TEACHER THEIR HOMEWORK!!
  • If they have a phone they can set a reminder on that.
  • They can buddy up with a friend to remind each other.
  • Use Post It Notes around their work space.
  • If possible link a sound to the submit button (Technology is not my love language)
  • Use a wipe board with all assignments listed by day - when it is submitted it is erased or ‘X’ out.

Parents Can:
  • Ask to see the submitted work.
  • Learn how to use the schools reporting system.
  • Check the teacher reporting system DAILY.
  • Set a reminder on your phone/watch.
  • Use Post It Notes around your work space.
  • Ask to see the submitted work.

Teachers Can:
  • Make sure that every parent understands how to check digitally on their student.
  • Send a Bcc email to parents simply stating ‘Your child is missing work’ daily -
    please check Canvas, Google Classroom, whatever.
  • If you work in a team have one person a day that sends the Bcc email.
  • Play music and have a virtual dance party while assignments are being handed in.
  • Give time during class to work on homework. Have them submit what they have done before they leave.
  • Have the student’s create a HW RAP they can perform while collecting assignments.
  • Give BREAKS at the beginning, middle and end of every class.

Endless screen time is so draining. Let’s be kind to each other-working together we can make
this work. 

Be sure to post what is working for you in the comments.

Picture
0 Comments

Doing School Better in 2021

12/28/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture

Hurray!! The kids will be home from school for a couple of weeks - Oh wait! They have been home since March. This year school break will look different for students and parents. I encourage you to put aside school books, close up the home classroom and for this brief moment in time enjoy your family as best you can.

Closing out the old year is usually a time of reflection. We think about the last year and make plans for how we want the next year to look. What 2020 has taught us is that our best plans may indeed not work out as we may have hoped. Not because of what we have or have not done but because of influences out of our control.

As an advocate, what I am experiencing is the real need for parents to examine and reflect upon is how the first half of this year has been for their child. My sincere hope is that school has gone well with the myriad combinations of in-person, remote, synchronous and asynchronous learning options.

What I am learning is that much of what is not working has gone somewhat underground. For older students especially the amount of work that has not been handed in for grades, classes (remote learning) have not been attended and quizzes and tests that have not been taken can be overwhelming.

Two weeks from the end of the marking period is not enough time to correct these omissions. Plan now for what needs to be different for your student going forward. Remote learning is a reality for our children.

1. Students who have difficulty attending class or paying attention should not be in an isolated environment. To the degree possible parents must have continual eyes on their student and on the laptop screen.

2. Multiple computers are a huge NO NO! This is not game time when the teacher gets boring. Your students' work area should not look like a NASA control room.

3. If your child has a phone and they can not control their usage - take the phone during instruction, give it back when the work is completed.

4. Have your child teach you how to monitor assignments, tests and other information. If they can not teach you they can not do it for themselves.

5. If necessary have the teacher email you daily your student’s attendance and missing work information. Make this a teaching moment - not a daily or weekly assignment for you.

6. If necessary discuss the possibility of asynchronous opportunities, to better fit your child’s learning needs.

I can not stress these points enough. School life is different. What the future holds is truly an unknown. We, as parents, need to support our children in the best way possible for whatever that future is.

Have a question? Reach out today for a 15 minute free consultation. kswislon2358@gmail.com


Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    Kathi is a retired educator who is passionate about helping children succeed in school and in life.

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from US Department of Education, ironmancurling
  • Welcome
  • Who is KSW
  • What we do
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Parent Resources