How to Approach Student Apathy, and What a Huge Nerd I Am...

After yesterday's inspirational post, I thought I would tackle something a bit more challenging: what to do when student's just don't seem to care.  I don't know a single teacher who doesn't encounter this in one way or another.  The reality is that we have a number of students who have either made the decision not to engage or no longer see the value in education.

It's important to remember that the reasons for this are as diverse as the students we are trying to reach.  Maybe the material just isn't exciting enough, or perhaps the student has other more important things on their mind from social concerns to troubles at home.  Whatever the reasons might be, this has become one of the most frustrating issues for me on both a personal and professional level.

I came across an article in the Washington Post that offered a few suggestions that I started to mull over a bit.  It begins with recognizing that "teachers are expected to combat apathy by continually finding new and innovative ways to reach students - through multimedia lessons, group work, games, alternative assessments or whatever it takes."  According to the author, "the real danger is that this way of thinking has shifted the responsibility of learning, and of caring about learning, from the student to the teacher."

So far so good, right?  Seeing the world as Principal Skinner can't be all bad, can it?

As a suggestion, the author offers two suggestions in order to see the much desired improvement:

1. There is a need to change the conversation about education.  Teachers and policy makers should naturally strive to make improvements to instruction and assessment, but this also needs to include clarifying the role of students in their own learning.
2. Teachers and parents need practical strategies to encourage students to take responsibility for their own education.  We need to help kids develop the habits and discipline that will lead to success.

This isn't anything I hadn't heard before and admittedly left me wanting for more.  Fortunately, the author provides at least one promising strategy that I have seen work: chunking.  At this time of year, I've already been involved in a number of conversations with students regarding their academic fate and it can be pretty overwhelming for some of these kids who have chosen to tune out most of the year.  The task of digging their way out of such a huge hole, though, is incredibly daunting and I can understand why some would still continue to 'take the zero' and give up.  Breaking the task into smaller, more manageable steps can certainly help to build a feeling of accomplishment.

While each student should be considered individually, here are a few other things that have helped me:

• Always go back to the relationship piece.  This can be tough but it has always surprised me just how powerful a positive relationship can go to improving things.  Finding time to get out of the classroom for a bit and walking next to some of my more apathetic students only to ask them something... ANYTHING... about their plans for the weekend or where they got their new hat.  I don't always take the time to ask about their lives and having genuine interest in who they are has more often than not given me just enough energy to start turning things around.
• Ending so-called 'lectures' on the upswing.  Maybe they deserve it but I can do better to remind myself that some of these kids hear the same things over and over at school and once they get home.  I will try to end one-on-one conversations with students on some sort of positive note.  "You haven't been doing your homework and you stole that phone from another student in the class.  These are problems with real consequences.  But... I think you are a leader in this class and people look to you more than you realize.  Let's try to use this energy a little bit differently.  What are some things that I can do to help with this?  

At a recent District PD, Dr. Jody Carrington told us that "every kid deserves a champion."  I know that I can keep this in mind a bit more regularly, and especially with some of my more challenging students.  Without knowing that someone is there for them, how can I possibly expect to care about anything I have to say?

What strategies have worked for you?  Feel free to leave your thoughts below.

Dungeons and Dragons

Back in February, I was watching the following video with my older boys:

And then we kept watching it.  I was honestly a little surprised at how quickly I soon found myself online making a bit of an order...

I even ended up taking my kids to the local Comic shop and buying them their own set of dice.  I'm still feeling pretty overwhelmed with the whole thing, and certain distraction has probably pulled me away from my efforts to learn and understand game mechanics.

I'm hopeful that I can get a handle on things during the Easter Break (which can't come fast enough).  I may just have to report on my progress.

~Mr.T

Quick Thoughts on Getting Back...

Once again, I find myself as a lapsed blogger.  Truthfully, there were many times when I really tried to find the will to sit down and reflect but... (insert poor excuse here).  If I'm being honest, though, the biggest inspiration as of late has been my own wife who has really taken a liking to the craft.  While I can take credit for helping to introduce her to the bells and whistles of blogger, and regularly provide valuable tech support, she has an ability with words that I remain envious of.  Feel free to check out her thoughts here.

My early offerings might be light until I get back into that blogging groove, but here we go...


Gamer Brain

I recently came across an article on Edutopia that addressed some of the bigger ideas behind gamification and how they can be effectively used within the classroom.  In particular, the author address four main points:

• Leveraging the Gamer Brain... identifying the types of games that students enjoy and crafting learning objectives that can tap into that interest
• Embracing Failure... recognizing that most games provide regular and timely feedback about what is going well and not-so-well; evaluating assessment practices to ensure that students can learn in the same efficient manner
• Celebrating Epic Wins... getting excited over 'Fiero' or the feeling of triumph over adversity; students need to be challenged but they also need to feel the win
• Fostering Voluntary Learning... most of us play games because we want to and not because we have to; teachers need to strive to create an environment that invites wilful participation in spite of being so regularly mandated and structured

There is a tremendous demand in my school for gaming.  I continue to host my school's eSports Club several times a week and the numbers continue to steadily grow.  In addition, a 'Gaming 101' option as FLEX Learning for Middle School received likely the greatest number of interested students.  

The challenge remains to have this be about more than just playing games.  This needs to be about recreating the learning and interaction found in most board and video games.

More to come...

Oooo... A New Toy!!

It's no shock that I've been into gaming for most of my life.  And I'm a sucker when it comes to new experiences that allow me to continue enjoying the pastime in ways I couldn't before.

Despite some initial reservations, I managed to secure a pre-order for the Nintendo Switch.  Of course I have selfish reasons to do so, but I'm also intrigued by the portability aspect and ways that I can share the experience with others, including my classroom.

Less than a month to go...

~Mr. T

Get Blogging, Mr. Thompson!

It would be super easy to just let this whole blogging thing curl up and die.  Like Voldemort in "The Deathly Hallows: Part 2"... only less gross.  I can't help but feel, though, that the insight I can gain from a little bit of reflection far outweighs the extra time I might gain to do something more lazy.  And I really like being lazy sometimes.

Once again, I find myself needing to recommit.  Here are a few quick thoughts...

READING

It didn't take long into the semester to introduce my Grade 8s to my grand plan of reading more books over the course of the year.  I've even had some successes.  Most of the kids appear to enjoy the time that they get to read something that they are interested in.  Some books have become quite popular, possibly necessitating the need to secure additional copies.  Perhaps more telling, though, is the fact that a handful of students who were convinced at the beginning of the year that this just wasn't for them, have found themselves regularly buried in a book... and even liking it.

A bigger challenge has been the regular implementation of the 'Reader's Notebooks'... an idea that seemed simple enough in it's execution.  I would purchase a simple notebook for every student (which I did), and then I would collect them at the end of each week.  I would then read and respond to every single entry shared with me.  This, however, has proven to be more difficult than I had planned on.  The first time I read through them, for example, it took me over 5 hours to do so.  While the feedback from students has been invaluable, I have sometimes struggled with the prospect of occupying so much of my weekends with these notebooks.

Overall, I'm happy with a lot of the things that I have seen so far, but I have to admit, that I can approach reading with a more positive attitude in spite of the day-to-day that can sometimes sap the class and I of our enthusiasm.  I can't just provide the time to read and act with a seeming indifference when it's time to move on.  

There is still work to do.

JOURNEY

I recently took to a little bit of time to play through a game on PS4 called "Journey."  I remember being intrigued by the concept when the game first released on PS3 in 2012.  I just never got around to it.  Well, it was free last month with Sony's monthly subscription program... and I like free things.

This would be what I would call an 'artsy' game: not a genre that I've always enjoyed in the past.  The objective isn't always abundantly clear other than seeing a giant mountain in the background and knowing that's where you need to go.  There's no traditional action or combat... it's just... a journey that you're on.  And I quite liked it.

I'd recommend this one for those who have yet to take the plunge.  It only lasts about the length of an average Hollywood film, but it left me thinking quite a bit about the presentation and, admittedly, the emotions I felt.  I have also found myself playing the soundtrack in the background while doing some work or when I've needed some quiet time.  It has been quite therapeutic.

I'm already telling myself that I need to experience it again... once I take care of those Reader's Notebooks first.

SO MANY MOVIES!!!

It's a very good time to be a fan of geeky movies.  I have a few on my radar, and by that I mean I actually have a countdown on the whiteboard in my classroom.

ONE LAST THING...

It's my intention to start providing some more 'educational' insights and not just make myself some sort of middle man between YouTube and my very limited audience.  I did come across this last gem which I en joy watching with my boys.  My body is too 'big-boned' and I'm too scared to do this for real.  Videos like these will be the closest that I will likely get to thrill seeking for the rest of my life.

More to come...

~Mr.T

CHHS eSports is Live!

We had our first play session today and I am just thrilled with the turnout.  All in all, we had almost 40 students show up in the library.  In fact, most of them were waiting for me to arrive.

After some delays (my bad) in having everything up and running, we got right to it and most people were pretty good about taking turns and letting other switch in.  Many even came prepared with 3DS's to use as controllers which allowed us to have larger battles.

Here are a few pictures of the event:

It took about 2 minutes to get our first memorable quote of the day: "I believe in you, Pikachu!"

Lots of energy and excitement.  It was definitely a plus to be able to play in front of a crowd.

All in all, I'm very happy with our humble beginning.  The goal is for this to be as student driven as possible.  I already have some students who are putting together a tournament for later.

~Mr.T

Early Take on 'The Witness'

Being paid once a month has advantages and disadvantages.  On one hand, there are many months where I'm often feeling that things are tight and that we should only buy ramen and hot dogs to tide us over.  Well... not really, but you get the point.  On the other hand, getting that paycheck gives me, albeit temporarily, the sensation that I can get whatever I want.  Having just bought a new van, though, has tempered that significantly and I've had to give myself a monthly allowance.  I've known for a while, though, what I was going to get with my monthly stipend: The Witness.

So I picked it up and downloaded it once I got home from work.  I've read some reviews but I didn't want to spoil the surprise for myself.  Once the game was installed, I grabbed my controller, plunked myself down in Mr. Chair, and waited to see what I could find out in the first few minutes.  Turns out, I didn't find out all that much.

Here's what I can say: you start in a tunnel, you walk out of it, and then you're on your own.  Free to explore but no real sense of where you should be going.  For a kid who grew up with 80s Nintendo, conventional wisdom was to always go to the right.  Nowadays, with technology giving programmers and artists the freedom to create vast, open worlds, games are played in the Sandbox.  And this is a good thing.

The PS4 has a built in feature that allows gamers to share videos and screenshots.  I haven't really done this before because quite honestly I didn't think anyone else would care in a world populated with PewDiePie and other prolific social gamers.  However, I wanted to try and experiment with the feature and make this a little bit more of a shared experience for the handful of students and readers who might find their way here.  These are a few pictures that I took yesterday:

I captured this image after completing a series of panels within the game.  Essentially, these panels have you draw a line from a designated start point to the correct end point, always noting that there is a method to the madness.  You need to use the clues around you to figure out how to draw the line often before moving on the next panel.  The panel you see in the image above was part of a series where I had to not only draw the correct pattern, but reflect and mirror that pattern onto three opposite panels.  I was some sort of camera type thing emerging out of the ground and firing a beam of light off into the distance.  I've only just begun and this gets me excited... and feeling like I'm not so sure what I've gotten myself into.

As I move to another location and work my through more panels, I find myself having to use reflections of light to see correct patterns.  This means positioning myself in a way so that I can try to work things out in my head, as panels are now partially obscured or relying on multiple sources of light.  It's a bit hard to describe without showing you a video (which I will work on for later).  Eventually I end up here:

What?!  I spent more time running around this small room, with limited light and water levels that could be changed, before getting stumped and moving on to another area.  I hope that I can remember to come back here...

One more picture to share.

I really don't want to give too much away, but I have already found several moments where the solution seemed impossible only to have something click as I look at things from a different angle.  There's a lot to be said about problem-solving and I'm eager to scratch that itch of discovery that I am experiencing.

More to come...

~Mr.T

I love you, Lego...

This is acceptable.

~Mr.T

Teacher, teacher, can you teach me?

A few weeks ago, my principal knocked on my door and asked if I would be willing to have one of the new education students from the Medicine Hat College come to my class to do some observations.  Without much in the way of hesitation, I quickly said yes, and made my way back to my desk feeling just a little more confident than I was 17 seconds before.  Surely, after nearly 8 years of teaching it was time to be able to pass on a little more of the sage wisdom I had accumulated to one in a rising generation of eager educators.  This would be interesting.

And then I woke up this morning, and realized that I had no idea what I was going to say.  I panicked a little.  Well... maybe more than a little.

I spent most of the morning thinking about my own experiences as a student-teacher, both failures and successes.  I remembered the feeling of hopelessness and rejection during my IPT (Introductory Professional Term) as my first mentor teacher essentially locked me away in an office after teaching my first class of the day for nearly 4 weeks straight.  Apparently my German wasn't good enough and she felt it would be best for me to plan for most of the day instead of being in the class.  While I passed the practicum, I was so turned off by the experience that I was certain I no longer even wanted to be a teacher.  I set my sights on a permanent position with a landscaping contractor and figured that I would at least finish my degree and be done with it.

On the other hand, I also remember my APT (Advanced Professional Term) and the relief at being able to work with two mentors who let me experiment and figure things out for myself.  I was allowed to form relationships with staff and students and given the freedom to play with the curriculum instead of feeling limited by my own weaknesses.  Rather than hide me away, they let me own my time at the school.  I won't make the claim that I was an amazing student, but I will say that my passion for teaching was rekindled.  It was that feeling that I left home with the desire to recreate.

After meeting my student and giving her a quick tour, she got to work writing detailed notes over our routine for the morning.  I would try to touch base during the classes but I also wanted her to come to her own conclusions about what went well and what didn't work.  Before she left for the day, I sat down with her and said that I was not a perfect teacher and that I made mistakes all the time.  As a student-teacher, I remembered feeling overwhelmed with the desire to do what my mentors wanted me to do.  That was what I mainly felt would be the path to success.  As I look back on that, I realize how wrong I was, and that's what I told my student.  I said that she shouldn't hesitate to find her own groove and inject her own personality, talents, and perspective into her approach.  After all, if she couldn't be herself as a teacher, then what is she ultimately hoping to accomplish?  There is no one mold for being a successful educator.  At the core of this profession is a passion for learning: in creating that feeling in others and maintaining it for yourself.

CHHS eSports: Our Humble Beginning

When we had our first meeting back in January, the top game request with nearly 50% of all votes cast was Smash Brothers for WiiU.  So, naturally, that's what we're going to start with.  I managed to secure a copy of the game along with a brand new WiiU Mario Kart Bundle.

I'll be the first to admit that Nintendo is not always to first choice among hardcore gamers who craze somethine more intense or realistic.  However, I maintain that no other game company can create the kind of universal and downright fun like Nintendo can.  Perhaps that's one reason why I still like their games so much: it's about keeping it approachable and accessible for everyone.  I can come home from work, help my own kids with their chores, and all of us can run downstairs, grab a controller, and have a blast!  That's not always something easily done with their competitors in an age of gritty photo-realism, stylized violence, and toxic online communities.

It's my hope that as people see our small group grow, it will lead to great things.

Well, what if there's no tomorrow?  There wasn't one today.

Groundhog Day remains one of my all-time favorite films.  Too many classic moments.  I've written about this before so I won't overdo it.  I will, however, share this little gem.  The world needs more Ned Ryerson.  Bing!!!

~Mr. T

Here We Go Again...

Well.  Not much to say here that hasn't already been said.  So... here's a picture!

If I'm being honest, and I really should be here, I think that I'm more occupied with trying to come up with something insightful or entertaining to impress other people with instead of just writing.  This is a blog that not many people will see, and more especially when I'm not even working on it.  I need to practice what I preach to my students and just get into the habit of reflecting and getting my thoughts out there.  I won't promise that they'll be in any logical significance or order, but if the goal is to write then I will have at least achieved that.  

What's Your Star Wars Number?

I can't really begin to describe just how absolutely psyched I was to see Star Wars Episode VII.  From the moment they first announced the project in 2012, I was thrilled to be able to see a new, updated effort to revive a franchise that I have loved since I was very young.  I have vague memories of seeing bits and pieces of Episode IV as kid when Super Channel was more of a thing.  It just stuck with me and I grew up loving those movies, and ultimately felt the disappointment that many other fans experienced with the Prequel Trilogy.  I enjoyed them, but not in the same way, and Episode VII represented a chance to rekindle that feeling of wonder and amazement that I remember feeling as a kid.  And boy... did it live up to the hype.  

I bought my tickets for opening night a full two months before the release and had a countdown in my classroom where I eagerly ticked down every single day.  By the time opening night arrived, I couldn't stand the thought of having a terrible seat and waited with a few friends for over 2 hours outside the theatre (so worth it).  From the moment the lights dimmed until the credits began to roll, I couldn't help but feel like they had done what they set out to do.  I was excited and overwhelmed, in fact, that even though I got home quite late in the evening I couldn't fall asleep and just sat in my living room trying to process all the excitement, anticipation, and new questions that I had.  Two days later I saw it again.  And again.  And ultimately enough to tie my previous record for most theatrical viewings of a film, which remains at 5.

Excessive?  Perhaps.  Do I regret it, though?  I think you know the answer.  And only 321 days until Star Wars: Rogue One! (Yes... I have another countdown up...)

The Witness on PS4: I Want That!

With limited time and a more discerning eye, I'm often on the lookout for new gaming experiences that will be different from the standard fallbacks that so often dominate the industry (looking at you, CoD).  This is a new release that has really caught my eye, and I'm actually thinking about incorporating some of this into future blogging just for the heck of it.

Here's a trailer.

I can't say if it's necessarily featured in the game, but I'm also really liking the music.  Something about a good cello evokes a certain grandness that I've always enjoyed.  The song can be found here.

Project-Based Learning: I survived!

At the beginning of the school year, our middle school team was able to take advantage of a two-day session that gave us an introduction to Project-Based Learning, or PBL.  At the time, I wasn't 100% sure how I felt about it... I liked the idea of seeing kids take ownership over their own learning but I wondered how successful some would be with the lack of traditional structure.

A colleague and I came up with the idea of focusing on the Age of Exploration and having kids plan out their own voyage to the New World, based on the context of being in Europe/Spain shortly after the return of Columbus from his first journey to the Americas in 1492-1493.  We would supplement their traditional learning about what happened with story excerpts to help paint a clearer picture of what life at sea would have been like at the end of the 15th century, have students write their own journal entries documenting and describing the experience, and ultimately pitch their proposal the Catholic monarchs of Spain.

Having tried the idea and processed the successes and failures, I can at least say that I'm not a PBL noob.  I played around with a new approach and learned some things about how I need to approach this context in the future, as well as how I can more effectively foster that understanding within my classroom.  I suppose it's a good thing that I didn't feel like I was so done with it, and I've actually been thinking a fair amount about how I can improve the project moving forward.

I don't always take the chance to play in the classroom.  I still worry more than I should on whether or not I've sufficiently covered required content and just how much of a balance I can have between student and teacher-directed learning.  I'm glad, though, that I tried.

I Bought a New Minivan

Pretty self-explanatory, but it's the first brand new vehicle that I've ever owned.  It was definitely time to put our previous van, a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan, out of it's misery.  After putting nearly 150,000 kms on it, the time felt right.

So I got me one of these bad boys...

In my defence, minivans are very different from when I was a kid.  They're cool now... right?

~Mr.T

Hobbies

As a way to get back into the writing, which I have been doing terribly at for the past few months, I will be doing the same posts along with my students.  I decided to keep today's topic pretty straightforward in the hopes that it wouldn't be too difficult to think of something to write.

Hobbies are something I don't always feel that I have the luxury to think about.  The demands of career, family, and other commitments often leave me feeling like I don't always have the time to invest in the distractions that I have regularly enjoyed in the past.  Occasionally, though, even with piles of marking to be done, there is a need to remove myself from what needs to be done and have some fun.

For years, despite the most well-intentioned efforts of an athletic father, I developed a passion for playing video games.  I would read about them in magazines (you know... before the Internet), and get together with friends to talk about and enjoy them.  My first foray into the world of gaming began after a family trip to Great Falls where my parents purchased the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Behold the 8-bit glory that was the essence of gaming for many children of the 1980s.  It won't be surprising to those of us who grew up during this time that most parents referred to all gaming as 'playing Nintendo.'  Whatever it was called, I quickly came to love it, although most games I had back then remained unbeaten... I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I have not yet beat the original Super Mario Brothers.  I've found other digital successes, though, and this was before the era of excessive achievement sharing.  

While I don't game as much as I used to, which is something that my good wife is most appreciative of, I do get to play with my kids now.  To be able to race together on Mario Kart or crush one-another in Smash Brothers has been a incredible joy.  Contrary to what some critics have maintained about the hobby, it can be quite social when the right efforts are made.

Until next time.

~Mr.T