Two toxic moments in staff meetings and what we can learn about being truly inclusive

This is a post that I want to write because these incidents happened.  There are a lot of other incidents that don't necessarily rise to the top in the pile of indignities, assumptions,  and examples of ignorance that are part of the life of being a bi-racial Latinx woman who is white passing and who is not afraid to speak up.  Name spelling and pronunciation, anyone?  (And yes, I acknowledge the great privilege I carry with my light colored skin and hair color.)

These things happen, and I think we can learn from them. So, stick with me.  This is not about comprehensible input.  It is about being better teachers.  And hopefully better humans.  

Anyway, let me give some background.

If you have read my blog for a while, you maybe know that one great passion of mine is inclusion, with the related passions of diversity, social justice, anti-bias, and dismantling the system of oppression and racism and bias that we live with every day.   

One key idea for me in being inclusive is that each member of my classroom (and hopefully community) feels safe and seen for who they are and what they need. They feel safe to say no if they are uncomfortable, or to ask a question if they don't get it.  They feel safe talking, or not talking.  

One of the greatest compliments that I have ever been given was in feedback about a presentation I did this summer.  I am putting it out here because it makes me feel great (because I read this blog too!) and because this idea of safety goes hand in hand with consent.  I am grateful that what I try to do was seen.  

[Elicia] was so open and engaging that she made each of us in the over-crowded room feel welcome. She modeled many important social-emotional practices: tiny physical "brain breaks" to reset our tired minds, differentiating by offering different options and encouraging us to make the activities we liked our own, responding to all suggestions and comments with "yes and", and above all, modeling asking consent for every little thing - "do you mind if I use your picture?" "may I use you as an example?" 

So this work is not just part of my teaching practice, it is who I am and what I bring to the classroom.  I believe in it and it's important to me.     

Fast forward to some incidents in staff meetings.  I want to be clear that I don't have issue with the activities I am describing.  I have concerns with the responses made by my peers, and I want to bring to light some of the embedded assumptions that are made when choosing these activities.   And I want to highlight what a good response to these kinds of incidents looks like. 

After these incidents, I sat down with my administrator and shared my concerns and we made a good plan to address them.  I am really thankful that I have a administrator who makes time and takes time to hear me, and takes these concerns very seriously.  

#1: In a getting-to-know you activity, there is a soccer ball being with questions written on it being tossed around. When you catch it, you answer the question that your right thumb lands on.  This game was being modeled as one that could be played in class or in our advisory groups, with kids.  Some questions were about favorite things, like breakfast cereals, and others were things like "what makes you sad?". 

Let's digest that for a minute.  First, what are the assumptions there?  

• Everyone in the community knows about breakfast cereals.  
• Everyone gets to eat breakfast.
• Everyone is feeling comfortable with getting a ball tossed at them.
• Everyone has the physical ability to catch the soccer ball. 
• Everyone feels comfortable talking about what makes them sad.  (Because you know what makes me sad?  Surviving this.  Is that really what people want to hear?  Trust me, the answer is usually no.) 

Being me, I asked the person running the game what happens if a student doesn't want to answer that question. (Because if I don't speak up, who will?)  Before an answer could be given, someone snickered and made a very belittling comment about what a stupid question that was, that they (the students) could answer the questions.  

Wait- WHAT?  Do we not want all students to feel safe?  Do we not acknowledge that students come from different backgrounds?  

The game leader (our very thoughtful admin) quickly responded "oh sure, great question- have them answer one near their thumb" and moved on.   

So, on one hand, I feel like the admin heard the question, acknowledged its value, and answered it.  I felt seen and heard.  But on the other hand, not only was my question belittled, there was no awareness from at least one colleague that it might be relevant. 

#2:  In a later activity, several pictures of a prominent sports figure were projected, displaying different emotions.  The activity was an emotional check-in.  The pictures were of this sports figure with different facial expressions, and we were supposed to put our initials next to the image that best expressed our emotional state.  

Again, let's dig in to some assumptions about the activity: 

• Everyone can read facial expressions and assign meaning to them.
• All participants know who the sports figure is.
• Everyone is comfortable sharing their emotional state.

I was not super happy for a number of reasons when this activity occurred.  But more frustrating to me was that I had no idea who the sports figure was and I didn't really know what the expressions were.  I asked who the person was (because asking about the expressions felt like it would open me up to ridicule, so I chose instead what I thought was a safer route).  The admin quickly responded, telling me the name and sport. No biggie.  

But my colleagues gaped.  "You don't know who X is?" "Do you know who Y is either?"  "How can you not know who X is?" "Are you serious?"  

I was shocked.  Like, really, really shocked.  Hurt, disappointed, sad, angry, and a dozen other negative emotions.

I want to reiterate what I said at the beginning of this post.  I did speak to my administrator. He heard me. We made a plan. I felt heard and seen and respected.  It's ok and I'm ok.  But it is a solid example of embedded assumptions and of not treating each other with respect and kindness.  And of side conversations getting out of control.   

Imagine if I was a kid in a class where that happened.  Maybe I'm 12 and growing in all kinds of new places.  Maybe I am new to the school.  Maybe my family doesn't allow screen use at all.  Maybe I just lost my parent. Maybe I ...there are a million maybes.  But I am sure that in that moment, I have completely lost the trust of that kid.  Note that the person running the activities, the "teacher" (admin, in this case), handled each moment with consideration and kindness.  It was the side talk, the outside conversations that were harmful.  

And please, I am not saying that every kid needs to be coddled and treated like a precious snowflake.  I believe deeply in the gift of failure, the power of hearing no, and the growth that those bring.   

But friends, they see a lot more of the real world than we think.  And they are still kids.  

I can not control what happens to them outside of my classroom.  I can commit to making my classroom as safe as possible.  Especially in 2019.  

What can I take away from these situations as a teacher? (Hopefully they will apply to you too.) 

For me,  it is to critically examine the actual things I do in the classroom and constantly ask myself what assumptions I am making.  Yes, it is exhausting.  I am going to do it anyway.

It is also to take a moment before reacting- to questions, to comments, to actions.  But especially to questions.  If I want to give an eye roll or a smirk, I need to check that right at the door. Because it is legitimate to someone.  

I need to keep focusing on creating a community where those kind of side comments can't happen (through procedures) and don't happen (through community building) and when (not if; I am only human) they do, I own it and address it.

I need to remember to take a cue from my administrator.  He never got defensive.  He owned what happened, apologized sincerely, and together we found a way to repair it.  

Most important, I need to keep asking questions and question other peoples' assumptions.   

I need to remember that it takes courage to ask questions and call attention to unpopular ideas and call people out on their assumptions.  And sometimes I am going to feel bad or unwelcome.  (These weren't even about race. Think about that.)   I need to remember that is who I am- courageous- and find ways to connect with communities that support me and that build me up and help me when I'm down.   

Mindset reminder: as the new trimester starts and pressure to get kids "ready" ramps up

Backstory:  

Shortly before the grapefruit knee

I decided to get knee surgery after 2 years of PT, tons of doctor's appointments, and a grapefruit-sized knee after our second day of bike touring in southwestern Utah.

When I started paddle boarding because cycling was getting to be too much, I realized that I really needed to do something about it.  (If you don't know me, it might be helpful to know that I started teaching cycling in the public schools, and my previous career was as a cycling educator and advocate. So not being able to ride is major. And I ride to work every day possible.)

Back to school:
I sat on a stool, I put my knee up, and I tried to teach. I tried to follow my plan. I tried not to cry.

I sort of mostly succeeded, in that I didn't usually cry until I actually got home.  Usually.

Some days, the pain was so overwhelming that I could barely form words in English, and the thought of trying to do anything hard in another language brought those tears back.


So I let go.


I let go of my plans.  Instead, I did lots of card talk- only I would give the kids like 10 minutes and sometimes colored pencils to draw, and then collect their papers and make a slideshow for the next time I saw them. (Sounds like a lot of work- it's really, really not, with airdrop and a phone. Here is an old post about how I do this.)

These, plus some other pictures, ended up being an hour of lesson plan
in 2 different classes!

I decided to try Special Person interviews, something I had tried 4 years ago and hated.  The kids loved them and begged for them.  I tacked on some Write and Discuss, and voila, that was the lesson plan.  For an assessment, I had them write about themselves.  (And the results were mind-blowing.  Not a single student said "Yo es 13."  (I is 13).

I even showed funny videos, and used them for input, but I didn't always do a reading afterwards.  (The copier is a LONG way from my classroom.)

I leaned very heavily into FVR.  And Sr. Wooly.  And Weekend chat.  And small talk.  And whatever I could do to keep the language flowing, minimize trips to the copier, or even trips that involved standing up and writing a new word on the board with a translation.

I got REALLY GOOD at keeping my vocabulary in-bounds- and I was already getting good at it!

I'm not counting down. You're counting down.

I guess I want to write this for myself- to remind myself as I stare down the calendar at 40 more days of school, 8 of which are Mondays (at least according to the daughter of the kindergarten teacher, who is good at knowing things like how many days are left), that input is input.


Input that kids are interested in listening to and input that they understand and are interacting with is all good.  In fact, it's the best thing I can do for them.



There is no rule that says I have to follow my scope and sequence. (Thank goodness.)

There is no rule that says I have to cover this or make sure to teach that. (I am very fortunate.)  

There are only the constraints and demands I place on myself, and I really want to cultivate a different mindset.

I am incredibly lucky, I know, and I think I need to remember and acknowledge it.

I know myself.  I know that if I am not careful, I am going to look back at January, February, and March of this year and ask myself what the heck I was even doing those months.  There is hardly anything glued in our interactive-ish notebooks, and if it weren't for Anne Marie Chase's quick quizzes and weekly timed freewrites, there would be no assessment grades in the gradebook.

But you know what I was doing?  Getting to know my kids.  Exploring their interests, and mine.

Shooting the breeze with them, in Spanish.  Watching videos of cats and sloths and penguins and then talking about it. We literally spent an hour discussing the gross things that pets do and eat.  It was one of the funniest hours of my life as kids shared horribly funny stories of their pets bringing them dismembered bits of other animals.  We spent another hour talking about their class trip and what they saw, felt, and experienced in the nation's capitol, which led to an intense discussion about what is feminism, what is sexist, and what is culture.  I could not have planned that if I tried.

I want to remember that some of the fastest and best hours of teaching have gone by when we just read, or chat, or look at interesting pictures and talk about them.

I want to remember (in May, when the pressure to have my 8th graders "ready" is really building up) that I am preparing them to communicate, not to conjugate.

Targeted vs Non-Targeted input...the great debate

Targeted vs Non-Targeted Input: Our little slice of language teaching is finding itself divided over these terms.  There seems to be WAAAY more animosity and negativity around these than could possibly be justified.  At times, the discourse seems almost political (that is to say horrible, disrespectful, unnerving, unkind).

Ben Slavic demonstrating the power of pause and point in a
demonstration of Non-Targeted input

However, in my exploration of non-targeted input (NT) at the recent Comprehensible Cascadia conference, I learned that we all want the same thing and most of the core beliefs about how languages are learned are identical.


These observations are mine and mine alone.  They do not constitute a manual, plan, or merit much in the way of debate.  I am just thinking out loud and trying to process some of what I learned and match it to what I already know.  Many thanks to Ben Slavic, Tina Hargarden, and all the participants and workshop leaders at Comprehensible Cascadia for discussions and answering my questions.  

First, definitions.  Thanks to Bryce Hedstrom, Tina Hargarten, and the great community over at the CI liftoff Facebook page for creating this definition.

Non-Targeted Input:  The words needed (the input) emerge from the activity. The teacher uses skills to make the students comprehend the language. Acquisition is allowed to develop according to the natural order and the unconscious mind is able to process the linguistic data from understanding the messages. One technique that works well for Non-Targeted (NT) is One Word Images, pioneered by Tina Hargarten and Ben Slavic.

Targeted Input: The words (often called structures or target structures) are chosen from high frequency word lists; often they include the Super Seven (from Terry Waltz) and the Sweet Sixteen (Mike Peto).  Teachers create input around these words using techniques that include TPRS and other comprehensible input techniques. (This is my working definition)


Some similarities:

Non-targeted classroom, comprehensible input

• Languages can be taught most effectively through comprehensible (comprehended) input.
• The core skills- going slow, teaching to the eyes, sheltering vocabulary but not grammar (aka staying in-bounds), personalizing.
• The idea of teaching for mastery, not memorization.
• Creating a classroom community that is safe, welcoming, extremely positive and joyful, and equitable (reaching all kids, not just high achievers) is a huge priority.  In fact, it is necessary to do it in order to be successful. 
• Equity is a core theme: all kids can learn language.  
• Languages can be most effectively taught through comprehensible input.
• Teachers have a responsibility to hold ourselves to best practices and research-based instruction.
• Everyone who is doing it is extremely passionate about their work.  
• Teaching is a very difficult job and as such, teachers have a right to not be miserable in their professional life work-life balance.  As such, low to no prep lesson planning and a joyful classroom allow us to take care of ourselves so we can be the very best we can be when we are with the kids.  
• Much of the content comes directly from the kids- in NT it is One Word Images or Invisibles; in TPRS it comes from story-asking and student suggestions.  But both are student centered and highly personalized.  

Some differences:

• One of the key skills in TPRS is circling.  Often circling is used to get frequent repetitions of targeted words.  
• NT prefers to use light to no circling and does not focus on repetitions in the same way.

My takeaway: As I get more experienced, I focus less on circling anyway.  When I do it,  I *think* it is light circling.  Having Terry Waltz's circling cards is pretty great for this.  However, for less experienced teachers, circling is a basic skill that I think one needs to know how to do for either type of input.

• TPRS is one way to stay in the target language at the recommended (by ACTFL) 90%.  Practitioners (myself included) find it easier to maintain that much language in class. 
•  In a recent workshop with Ben Slavic, he dismissed the notion that staying in the target language for a certain number of minutes is an important goal.  While he didn't actually scoff at the ACTFL 90% recommendation, he pointed out that since a human brain needs 10,000 hours to learn a language and we have at best 120 hours a year, it's ridiculous to stress about it. We aren't going to get 10,000 hours, so why not focus on the important stuff: creating community, having fun in the language with the class.  From a private conversation:  "The stress that it (90%) puts on the teacher and the children doesn't make sense." "It is not practical in a school setting to go at 90%."  

 I think it is important to note that he is not saying we shouldn't teach in the target language. Of course we teach in the target language.  He is merely asking teachers to give ourselves permission to lighten up.
My takeaway: I don't need to stress so much about that 90%, or compare myself to others who do it better.  That is a huge gift!  Also, it reminds me of Karen Rowan's frequent admonition: "Comparison is the thief of joy." 

• Comprehension Checks- TPRS teachers use comprehension checks to, well, check comprehension.  Frequently.  Individually and chorally.  Sometimes cold calling students.  Often by simply saying "What did I just say?" and expecting an answer in the shared language (L1).  In fact, much of circling is comprehension checking, when you think about it.  
• Non Targeted (Non targeting?) CI teachers watch for understanding (look at them- do they understand?) and listen for the weakness of the response (to questions).  In a discussion about this, Ben said: "I am not doing any comprehension checks, I am just paying attention."  Tina mentioned that she no longer cold calls on kids at all and does not do comp checks that put kids on the spot, and reports that it seems to be positive for her classes.  

One path, lots of ways to get there!

My takeaway: There are many different ways to do comprehension checks.  But everyone using CI effectively is probably doing them in one way or another.  More experienced teachers with strong classroom community building skills (note- I did not say classroom management skills!) know how to pay attention to what they need to and do less intrusive checks, and less experienced ones will benefit from just asking what was understood.  My wondering: I wonder how to teach the skill of listening/paying attention for comprehension checks?  

In conclusion:
We all want the same thing.  We all choose the same path to travel.  We differ in the exact pattern of stepping stones that we jump to get there.

On Being a Student in a Less Commonly Taught Language...part two

OK, I never wrote part one.  Here is the abbreviated version: 

My first experience learning a less commonly taught language with different characteristics was with Betsy Padovan, learning Japanese, at NTPRS 16. 

She did a great job of using the transliterated Japanese (romaji), all the comprehensible input techniques (going slow, slower, and slower; pausing and pointing, and more), keeping it interesting, and helped me recognize a few key kanji to boot! She did it using gestures, lots of direct translation, lots of group comprehension checks, and lots of retell.  She also wove some pretty brilliant pieces of culture into her lessons seamlessly.  It probably helped that my talking buddy was the brilliant Justin Slocum Bailey, who has enough enthusiasm and joie de vivre to overwhelm any potential fear of failure on my part.  

All in all, I feel like I got a taste of what it was like to be a student in a TPRS classroom, taught by a master teacher.  

Fast forward a year.  I am at Comprehensible Cascadia in Portland, OR.  (My old hometown!)  I am taking an Arabic class with a teacher new to some specific Comprehensible Input techniques (One Word Images and creating stories from OWIs, aka "non-targeted input").  He is simultaneously teaching a series of three hour classes while trying to incorporate this new learning, and being coached in the meantime.  Wow.  

This very talented and brave teacher is taking such a risk.  What follows is JUST my reflection on being a student, where I needed support, and what worked for me.  This is not in any way a reflection on his technique- aren't we all learning together?  Also, through the process of coaching, the teacher made changes to make himself more comprehensible.  How amazing is that?  

As I sit in the back (not my optimal place for learning!) I am learning more about what it is like to be a student, and what that discomfort of being lost feels like.  

So, this what it feels like to be lost, to be found, and how important the important things really are.

• Gestures are crucial.  This became more clear to me in the Cherokee class, where the teacher used them more consistently and I felt so much more comfortable immediately, as we established a gesture for each major word.  (In this case, it was scorpion, has, wants.) 
• Pause and Point: When the words for yes/no are nothing like cognates, it really helps me if the teacher goes slow and pauses and points for them too...with the English.  I did not realize how hard these two words were!  Update: the teacher started using gestures (thumbs up and thumbs down) for yes/no verification.  It helps a LOT.  
• Frequent comprehension checks  ("what did I just say?") in English support me when I check out from overload, or go to the bathroom, or get distracted by the really cool sounds of the words, or...I wanted more of these.  I wanted more repetitions.  I wanted to go slower.  (We have about 7 words on the board...and I still want to go slower.) 
• Clearly establishing meaning: One moment of checking out (at the exact moment we decided that our character was a bus) and the word bus not being written under the Arabic text meant that I spent the first few minutes thinking that the Arabic word pronounced baasss was a cognate for some kind of fish.  Writing "bus" under the Arabic would have really kept me from feeling like an idiot when I finally saw the picture!  (Again, the importance of not assuming that your students know what a word means...or remember!) 

  

  This is what a truly responsive, reflective teacher looks like.  

• Using two colors really helps me focus.  Having the Arabic text in one color and the English in the other helped me choose where to look.  If I knew the word, I could ignore the English, but if I was struggling, that English was crucial to keeping me checked in.   Update: The teacher just erased the transliteration of the Arabic, and moved to just English and Arabic- the sense of relief in the room was palpable.  The transliteration was too much noise for me. 
• Personalization keeps interest high. One thing that I am struggling with in this lesson is that we established that the bus (our image) is sad.  For me, it would be very natural to start talking about the students.  "Jenny is sad.  No, Jenny is not sad."  This adding parallel character/personalizing would increase the interest for me as we are only 7 words in, but I am not confident about them.  Update: I guess I wasn't the only one who thought this, as the coach suggested it too.   As soon as the teacher started personalizing,  I was able to identify two more words without really working at it, and felt confident about more.  

My favorite verb: To summer

In my house, summer is a verb.

To summer means...

• Sitting on the front porch at sunset drinking chilled white wine (or jalapeño margaritas in our school-branded margarita glasses!) 
• Running up through the water at City Creek in the heat of the day (not so much this summer- I have a torn MCL so am instead on the couch...sad)



This isn't even my cat. 

• Sleeping in and cuddling with the kitties.
• Making elaborate salads and no-cook meals for leisurely dinners

• Reading several books at once, including school summer reads, non-fiction, and whatever else is interesting to me in the moment
• Having the time to read all kinds of articles on the interwebs that I am interested in but don't have the time to read during the rest of the year
• Attending multiple conferences
• Rewriting a scope and sequence for K-5
• Writing an English-Spanish TPRS glossary and basic training materials 
• Working on my Spanish
• Thinking about how to better my curriculum
• And more school stuff
• Also, going back to GUATEMALA! 

Many teachers write blogs about how to get the most out of your summer- with the assumption that too many teachers spend their summer working on things for the school year.  Well, I do a lot of work to look ahead for the next year, and I try to keep it well balanced for the sake of rest and margaritas and rejuvenation.  That being said, I am doing three language conferences and going to Guatemala (just for two weeks) and will be back just in time to set up my classroom.  And I feel great about that!

For me, summer needs to be full of movement and excitement.  Part of that is because Salt Lake is hot and kind of miserable in the summer, unless you drive to the mountains.  Part of it is that my husband was working from home and both of us in our small house for eight weeks was probably a recipe for disaster. But mostly, it is that I recharge by meeting new people and learning new things.  And traveling.  The one year I spent mostly in the area was the year I felt least ready to go back to school.  (And, come to think of it, I did three workshops that summer too- they were just local!)

This year, I get to attend Comprehensible Cascadia in my adopted hometown of Portland, OR.  I am so excited to be attending a conference with an entire Equity and Inclusion track!  Also, Cherokee!  I am eager to learn about the much talked about Invisibles, One Word Images, and Story Listening.  And I am eager to go home for a few days and see my friends.

Next, it will be off to a Fluency Fast class with my father.  This is in lieu of going back to Costa Rica, both cheaper and less grammar focused for both of us.  We will be in Denver, where we have lots of family and the conference takes place at my dad's old high school.  I am excited to be a student in an advanced class and see what that looks like, and I am thrilled for my father to get to experience a TPRS class.

Shortly after, I will return to NTPRS, this time in Texas, with my newly hired colleague.  Last year blew my mind- I learned so much in so few days and became a much better teacher as a result.  This year, I am going to be on the coaching track, which is both nerve-wracking and exciting.

Finally, after all that thinking about language teaching, I get to go back to my beloved little community/school in Guatemala and be a student for a couple of weeks, with the rain storms and earthquakes and revolutionaries that I adore. I really missed not going last year (I try to go every other year.) so my husband surprised me with some finances to help with the plane ticket.  Here is a link to a review I wrote about the school, if anyone is interested.  I am passionate about this place.

So, I think that I am summering quite well.

Part 2: Teaching Empathy, diverse perspectives, and critical thinking: how?

Some thoughts on lessons about empathy, diverse perspectives, and critical thinking:

Otros zapatos, otros ojos (other shoes, other eyes)
My level 2 Spanish students are grappling with the idea of immigration, documented and otherwise, and looking at push/pull factors for people who decide to immigrate.  This is the lead-up to reading the novel Esperanza, by Carol Gaab, which is the story of a woman in Guatemala whose husband is forced to flee for his life due to politics.  To help give the students a global perspective on immigration, we have been using the cultural unit El Viajero (by Martina Bex) which deals specifically with dangers on the Mexican/US border.  We also read a short reading (also by Ms. Bex) on immigration in Spain.  We have been having some rich discussions with a variety of viewpoints.

Today, I wanted to push the discussion a bit further.  I gave the students the warm-up questions (in the target language- TL):
Are you happy with your life here in the US?  Why?
Do you think that life is better in other countries? Why or why not?

We discussed their answers for a while, then I asked them to imagine: (also in TL)
-You are black.
-You are an immigrant with dark skin.
-You are Muslim.

OK, I picked these three because they are topical and relevant.  Before writing them, in ENGLISH, I let them know that I had selected three roles that I felt were important to talk about.  These were just three of any possible other people.  I did this in English because I wanted them to know that I was being thoughtful about stereotypes, as I expected them to be thoughtful.  Also, I never miss an opportunity to point out that in Spanish, a description of someone (black, dark skinned, bi-racial, Catholic) is not considered racist or rude.  I pick my English very carefully, and this was a moment that I really wanted them to be clear on.

So, students spent a moment thinking about the answer to the same questions, but from someone else's eyes.  They shared their answers, then I asked them to introduce themselves (to say what perspective they were speaking from).

I was too engrossed in the fascinating, nuanced conversation that we had to report it back. Suffice it to say that it was a powerful thing to consider these same questions from a different person's perspective.  Their answers showed a great deal of empathy, knowledge of current issues (way to go, civics and history teacher!), and remarkably nuanced points of view.  They were not reductive (as in only thinking about people based on their skin color or religion) and they were able to find positives and negatives.  I was blown away.

Two of our essential attributes are empathy and being open-minded.  I feel like this lesson helped me see what an amazing job our school does with students.

Part 1: Teaching empathy, diverse perspectives, and critical thinking...in the target language

Part 1: Philosophy and Derivation of my Plans

Teaching empathy, diverse perspectives, and critical thinking...in the target language.

Is it possible?  Is it important?  And if the answer to the previous questions is an emphatic YES, then how do you even start?  With novices?  

Terrible iPhone picture of inspiring poster from NTPRS16 Diversity and Inclusion Workshop

I am going to try.  This fits into my personal "Tikun Olam" goal: repairing the world.  (I am not Jewish but this is one of our school's values and the one that I am most drawn to.)  

Last year, at NTPRS16, I attended a really amazing workshop on diversity and inclusion.  For me, the workshop brought a lot of threads that I had been playing with all together into one big gorgeous blanket.  And knitted into that blanket: We must teach empathy, critical thinking, and diverse perspectives.  It is a moral obligation.  

One thread came from Bryce Hedstrom's Special Person interviews. (Scroll down to Special Person interviews from the link.)   His presentation started with the quote "Only Connect" E.M. Forster.  Bryce made a very compelling case for social learning and why we remember things about other people, based on brain research.  (Aside: I love that one of his passions is reading the science behind why we learn what we learn, and how.  Very inspiring.)  In Special Person interviews, teachers use comprehensible language and input to help students listen to each other, learn about each other, and connect.  Bryce also insisted that it is our obligation as teachers to help kids who are so disconnected by social media and all the other disconnectors in their lives to...only connect.  That, in my own words, this is one way that we can help them begin repair the world.

Another thread was woven from Alina Filipescu's workshop about classroom management.  She is a brilliant teacher and so many of my daily routines are borrowed from her workshops.  Two actions that she takes that I put away to think about were: 1) Show inspiring stories.  English, Target Language, doesn't matter.  Take a few minutes to show kids inspiration and hope.  2) Write cards to each and every one. Hand written.  Mailed to their home.  [Aside: I started...with hand written and mailed thank-you notes for holiday gifts received this year.  Start with what you can do...right?]

Yet another thread that has been coalescing for me is based on Bob Patrick (a brilliant Latin teacher) and his colleague's work around creating language classrooms that are accessible to all learners, including those with special needs.  The work that they are doing is brilliant and one reason why I am so drawn to TPRS/CI.  (Almost) anyone can learn a language.  It isn't just reserved for smart/monied/privileged/organized/school successful students any more.  I have seen this play out in my classroom (and I feel like I am just scraping the surface of creating equity...I have so much more to learn).  

Finally, my own threads and passions: diversity of thought, cultural perspectives, implicit biases: I came from a graduate program that taught a social justice-through-education curriculum.  I am bi-racial.  I live in a community where I am anything but the dominant (even if I am light skinned and married, which makes me at least similar to much of this city) and work in a community that is apart from the dominant culture.  Issues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice are incredibly important to me.  

At the diversity and inclusion workshop at NTPRS, we were presented with examples of implicit bias, asked to question what values we were teaching with our stories, and given actionable examples to help break out of teaching values that weren't necessarily aligned with equity and inclusion. 

I ate it up! It was amazing!  And I had to chew on it little by little before deciding how to make changes in my own classroom.  I forgive myself.  Change is hard.  And balancing the wackiness/unexpected details of TPRS with a vision of diversity and inclusion can be...well...challenging.  Part of the reason TPRS is so fun is because it is so silly.  How do I keep the silly and inject something more?  

The first change I started making was teaching my level one novice speakers adjectives for personality traits that went beyond physical description.  I just started with "works hard" and "friendly".  I have got a lot of mileage out of those two.  Instead of someone being pretty and attractive, now they are friendly and work hard.  Think about that.  What message am I sending?  Yeah, I feel pretty good about that.  

In my next blog post, I will discuss what I am trying to do to further implement empathy, diverse perspectives, and critical thinking in my classroom...and all my stellar failures and occasional successes.    

When they scream for a story...

Quick post between meetings because something REALLY COOL just happened:

Several of my Spanish 2 kids had to leave for a cross country meet.  Instead of introducing new subject matter to only half the class, I decided to do a review. Of something.  Um, what?  I had nothing planned.

They begged for a story.   I didn't have a script and I didn't really think I'm confident enough to just do a story.  Plus, we are working on preterite verbs and talking about the past, because I'm still learning how to not shelter grammar.

I'm new at this!

But what I could do was take a story from another class that I know really, really well and quickly put it in the past tense.

I put the past-tense structures on the board and went for it.  We ended up with a usual silly story (a friendly elephant, a shark, and the reasons you don't see leprechauns in Ireland any more) and another easy, fun 30 minutes of Spanish used naturally.  I don't even think they realized how much language we just used...And as a bonus, I got to work in some structures (indirect object pronouns, tener + que) that I've been meaning to review with them.

Good day.

Update: Helpless learners and the opposite

Today, after yesterday's frustrations, I sat down with two of my most motivated, unafraid-to fail at anything classes and asked:
What do you do in your head that allows you to get past your initial fear (of seeing something that you don't understand) and just get to work?  What's your process?

The answers were fascinating and led me to almost cry in joy.  These answers came from a class of 7th graders that I have only just started teaching in October, and 8th graders that I have been teaching since last year.

• I looked at the words I know and just wrote those down.  The others came to me.
• I remembered what I know about (Italian, French, from last year) and tried to figure it out.
• It's fun to figure it out.  
• It's fun to have the challenge- like a puzzle. 
• I read the words around the hard words and figured it out.

Then I asked why it was fun- what was happening in their heads or in the class to make it something that they wanted to do.  (This was where I almost started crying.)

• It's not a competition in this class.
• It's ok to get the wrong answer in this class.
• If it's challenging it means I'm learning.
• How we learn in this class isn't stressful.
• You make it fun.
• I appreciate how you make it ok to be wrong, and we get to do fun stuff.  
• We are all on the same level here.
• Even the homework is awesome.  

So, my big question is:  what did I do with those two classes?  How can I recreate that feeling of love, support, trust, fun, and safety so that all my kids feel like that?  

And also, how do I celebrate such a mind-blowing success???  WOW!!!  

Are we creating helpless learners?

My gut reaction is YES!  Especially those who are "high" academically.  And I'll tell you why:
I have a class of "faster paced" students.  They are mostly girls, mostly with great handwriting and organizational skills.  They always bring their materials to class and meticulously write things down in their planner.  They almost never forget assignments. (The fact that they are mostly girls who got accelerated is a whole 'nother post, or possibly rant.  I'll save it.)

But they can't actually do much.  No- that's not fair.  Let me rephrase:  they really, really struggle with tasks such as inference, breaking down large tasks into smaller ones (and not in an organizational way), and problem solving.

These are the students who are so afraid of getting a wrong answer that they are unable to make a guess. Or, their brain gets completely overwhelmed with anxiety that it shuts down.

 I've seen this dynamic play out a few times in one particular class, and I vacillate between being incredibly frustrated ("Where do  I put my name?"  "Where it says Nombre!" I know, not fair of me but true.) and terribly saddened (What do you mean you don't know where to put your name?  How is that possible? What have we/I done wrong?)   What I notice is that often they don't know where to put their name because they are so terrified of putting it in the wrong place and...? Getting eaten by the no-name monster?  What role have I played in creating this fear of doing anything wrong?  Or how am I allowing it to continue?

I stopped calling tests and quizzes tests and quizzes.  I made my assessments short and sweet, 5-10 questions, and usually unannounced, in the middle of the class period.  That helps reduce anxiety, but I wonder if I am helping them (by reducing their anxiety, thus allowing them to demonstrate the language that they have acquired in a low stress situation) or doing them an injustice (by caving in to their absolute lack of resilience).  I am of two minds.  On one hand, everything that I've read (see sidebar for some links to great books about assessment) and come to believe about assessment, humanizing students, and recognizing that they are only 12 years old, indicates that they don't need more stress and that stress won't help them with my goal: to acquire language.

But I have to wonder: am I helping to create their helplessness?

There is also the question: are the tasks I am giving them too hard?  If they are not being successful, one would think that yes, I haven't adequately prepared them.  However, if I, for example, ask them to translate a sentence and ask them to explain it, most can do it 100% of the time.  Today I was using the Tweetly Deet assessment from Martina Bex's Las Novias unit.  I love this formative assessment because she has done an amazing job of finding authentic text (tweets, in this case), that use the targeted structures in context, and asking great questions that involve both knowledge and inference.

I discovered that my "helpless" kids absolutely panicked.  For instance (and this is not an example from the text in order to respect copyright), they had to read Mi hermano va a la iglesia.  (My brother goes to the church.)  The question was who goes to the church (in English)?

When I pointed out that they could translate mi hermano va (my brother goes), they were able identify the brother.  The iglesia could only be a church.  Right?  So about 70% of the kids got it, but the "helpless" couldn't think past the word that they didn't know.  And those kids are the "academically advanced" in our school with high grades.

Later, we were doing a sheet that asked them to look at a diagram of a bull and answer some questions about it.  Again, total panic from the helpless, and the kids who can problem solve were finished.  Some kids couldn't get past the first question.  I tried to give some hints:  "What do you think that word indicates on the diagram?  Which body part are the words near?  Is it a cognate?"  I tried to reduce the fear:  "This isn't graded. " Still, after 20 minutes, I called a halt because some were almost in tears.

How do I teach problem solving? That inference/trusting one's instincts/lack of fear of getting it wrong? How am I not teaching it?

Going with the flow

I think that the past two weeks have seen me hit some kind of magic flow. I wish I knew why everything is working so well, but for now, let me just celebrate.

I started teaching Brandon Brown Quiere Un Perro with my smallest, most challenging class. I had no idea what to expect from them in terms of comprehension or interest. I didn't really know what kind of activities would work for me and them, what the pace would be, and how much to plan that was other than reading. I still have no idea about pacing or activities, but I am finding myself creating compelling input easily and naturally, and the students are responding in truly incredible ways.
Here's what I wrote in my little reflection that I'm keeping about teaching it.

I am clearly planning too much- tareas de la casa seems like the past already.

There is no way we'll get to the ciclovias movie...even if I desperately want to show it and talk about my friend Clarence the moviemaker.

But, I feel like they are getting SO much better at spontaneous conversations, and I'm getting better at PQA. Today, I asked them about bikes in their house, then skis, and made a quick graph on the board. We compared and discussed, then I showed them the bicicletas slideshow very quicky. We also had a hilarious discussion about pet collars, and one girl swore that her hamster had a collar while her friend disagreed. There was SO much language. I love teaching this novel.

 I love that I have the headspace to sit and write a quick paragraph about my lessons!  Of course, those 50 narrative progress reports are not being written, so there's a trade-off.

Also, I hit the local Goodwill this weekend and scored on stuffed animals, mostly cognates.  I have enough for every kid to have one.  So far, one class got to snuggle with them while we talked about ghosts and monsters and I did a Movietalk about El Cucuy (from a great unit from Martina Bex).  Another class had to explain why their chosen animal would not make a good pet.  And finally, one class got to do a spoken retell to their chosen stuffie today.  Just because it's fun!

S

Tools

NPR has been airing a special about specialists' tools, and it got me thinking about the tools that I use to do my job. Having only one hand has led me to value some tools over others. So, here's my list:

Tools for Organizing
iDoceo - iDoceo is an iPad app for teachers. I tried a couple of organizational teacher apps when I first started using my iPad and this one is by far the best. It has many features that I don't use because my school requires that I use their (horrific and unwieldy) grading system and software, but having used the gradebook functions to track classes, I can vouch for its well thought out design.

The features that I do use are the calendar (integrated with my iCal), the gradebook for tracking anecdotal notes and data that isn't worth putting in the computer grade book, and the lesson planning interface.

 I really love the lesson planner. It's just a simple layout (day, week, month) that I use the same way other teachers use their plan book, but fancier. I can take a picture of the white board and attach it to that day's plans. I can use the "bump" feature to move a day's lessons to the next period for that class, or indeed back in time if need be. I can save resources or not, take a picture of that day's seating plan, etc. Each class has a separate plan view, gradebook, notes section, seating chart, and more. Also, all your data backs up easily to most of the major platforms, although it is not an automatic sync.

My only complaint is that the initial set up of the calendar is clunky and not very intuitive. I also haven't found an easy way to input my weekly duties so they show up on the "day" view of the planner, but that seems pretty minor. I can't imagine planning on paper any more.

Dropbox- how did I ever live without Dropbox? Everything goes in my Dropbox these days, and I love that I can have my most used folders on my desktop at my fingertips.

Evernote- I am using Evernote more and more, for organizing web resources, lesson ideas, reflections, to do lists (since writing is still so hard), and just about everything else. For my personal life, I still prefer the interface of AwesomeNote, but being able to go from platform to platform with Evernote is incredibly important for me at school.

Symbaloo- while th iPad app is terrible, the web version of the bookmark organizer is pretty great. It's easy to use, easy to save, and the visual lay out makes it easy to navigate. It's where I save all those great ideas that I want to come back to but aren't necessarily applicable to my lessons. I also like being able to share my "mixes" easily.

Tools for teaching
Every day, there are three things (other than my lesson plan on my iPad) that I need to have within easy reach:

NO LIDS!  (Perfect for the one-handed trying to write with the non-dominant hand)

Retractable white board markers- they come in three colors (blue, black, and red), they don't have caps to manipulate with one hand or put back on the wrong colored marker, and they last for ever. Seriously, for writing in two colors on the board TPRS-style, they help me so much. Best impulse purchase of last year.

Laser pointer- Many TPRS teachers believe that a physical pointer help you clarify and slow down. I don't disagree. But I am short and many of my posters are way beyond my reach. And I try my best to point slooowly.

Remote for the smartboard- I learned that I actually can not teach my class without this silly little device. (Someone borrowed mine...it was a rough morning until they 'fessed up.) It allows me to "freeze" the image I project on the smartboard while I take roll on my computer, find something else to project, or even check my email without displaying it in front of the class.

For the Class
Smartboard + appleTV + speakers - the smartboard is basically a really nice projector. The software is a pain and I can do twice as much with my iPad AND with the appleTV, I am not chained to a certain spot in the room. My iPad can double as a document camera (with some fussing, I admit), and I can run a slideshow while sitting on the floor with the kids. Again, having only one hand to work with, these things become increasingly important.

Whiteboards, inexpensive dry-erase markers, and pieces of old t-shirts-student whiteboards are like instant engagement tools, and I can think of a million ways to use them.

Scrap Paper Bins- I hate using paper.  I hate how much paper we use so I decided to use as much recycled paper as possible.  Our daily starters (para empezar) are almost always done on quarter-sheets of scrap paper I take from the staff copy room.  Since I rarely collect the work, they just go right back into the recycle bin...but now having been used at least twice.

The "Multi-shot" function on the copier + recycled paper- Another way I save paper is by reducing everything that I hand out to half size (if it makes sense) and then printing it on recycled paper.  Most fancy copiers do this very easily, and since almost everything gets glued in our notebooks anyway, it works out fine to have the aper copied on both sides.

So... there are my Most Important Tools, excluding my coffee mug and bicycle, which are so important I didn't even think of them because, well, I'm never without them.  (My wrist injury is the exception to this rule...3 months off the bike and counting.)  

Roses and thorns

Thorns: last night after school I had 3 pins that were holding some wrist ligaments together removed. It was an outpatient, fairly minor procedure, but it still hurt (still hurts) and I had a full day of teaching today. I hadn't really counted on the loss of the meager functionality that I had in my wrist this morning, so it was especially frustrating. Socks and zippers are beyond my skill set at the moment, so my husband had to zip me in my jacket and I had to keep wearing it until my morning duty was over. Also, I couldn't put my hair in a bun, so all day, my hair was in my face. Grrr.

Roses: a mother of a former student mentioned that in parent-teacher conferences, her child's Spanish teacher was very complimentary of his preparation and skill. Another student told a much younger kindergarten kiddo "You will love Spanish in middle school, Señora is the best."

Finally, after asking one class to work on a challenging on-line assignment, I asked them to reflect. I have noticed that many of my students, for whatever reason, are so afraid of "getting it wrong", no matter what "it" is, that they can't do anything without step by step hand holding. Throughout this assignment, I kept asking them again and again to persevere and risk writing something down that was incorrect. When I finally called it quits and we were in a circle, the students who had the most difficulty showed a great deal of self-awareness about their need to grow- to take risks, to try, to get it wrong. Other students kindly, sweetly, shared their strategies for succes, and it was a really neat moment.

Nope, it wasn't TPRS, it wasn't comprehensible input. It was a great discussion about our school's essential attributes, and I would argue that there is value in that.