"Teach[ing] Like a Pirate' and Student Haikus

When I made the decision to start blogging again, I figured I would look at a few things that just might give me the boost needed to counter the growing exhaustion that I really start to feel at this stage of the school year.  I made my way back to something I made a note to check out some years ago but never got around to.  I was still hesitant as I made my order... surely this book couldn't be that good, could it?

Well.  My new reads showed up yesterday and the experience has been refreshing and enlightening.  I've started to actually think that maybe I CAN actually teach like a pirate.

This book has been out for a few years and I'm sure that a number of my teacher friends have checked it out and implemented on some of the many recommendations shared by Dave Burgess.  I don't want to simply regurgitate what I've been reading but there are a few things that have caught my eye so far.

First is the meaning behind the word 'Pirate.'  Burgess has created a straightforward and powerful breakdown for each letter:

• P... Passion-there is an immense need to be passionate about what we teach, even if we don't like it (lookin' at you, poetry...)
• I... Immersion-teachers need to set aside the curriculum and really be with students in the moment
• R... Rapport-we need to be willing to get to know our students on a personal level
• A... Ask and Analyze-teachers need to ask the right questions, and seek and act on feedback, in order to design lessons that are more effective
• T... Transformation-we have to recognize when our approaches to teaching need to be changed and reframed
• E... Enthusiasm-teachers need to share our excitement freely throughout the day and with every class

I'm still working on the book but I want to circle back to the first section on passion.  At the risk of revealing far more than I should, Burgess divides passion into three separate areas, one of which involves our personal passion.  In a nutshell, he argues that we need to be far more willing to incorporate our own passions into our work.  I'll admit that there are lots of times during the year where I feel guilty for taking time for myself.  I could read that book, go airsofting, or play that game but I should really tackle that marking that's been building up or figure out how to teach my students about writing essays.  For that reason, I've maintained a degree of separation that has perhaps prevented me from allowing myself to get too excited about the stuff that I care about.  That isn't to say that I don't have fun during the school year but I have probably been denying myself the opportunities to grow and amplify that sense of fun and excitement in my own classroom.

While reading "Teach Like a Pirate," I started to think about the things that I am truly passionate about: quality time with family, games (board and video), technology, news and current events, planning big trips... some of which I might even go on, music, etc.  Burgess points out that listening to someone who is truly excited about something has a certain hypnotic quality to it: we just can't look away because they're so captivating.  I think there are some exceptions to that rule but they are admittedly few.  Surely there are some ways that I can bring my own passion a bit more regularly into my job.  Not many people, in teaching or otherwise, can probably claim that they get to do that as often as they would like.

More to come on this one, but in the meantime I'd challenge you to think about your own passions and start thinking about how you can bring that out a bit more.

Haikus

Somewhat related to the first section, I've been trying to give my Humanities classes some exposure to poetry.  Those who know me figure out pretty quickly that I'm pretty passionate about Social Studies and maybe less so about Language Arts.  I know it's incredibly important and I do my best to cover the required outcomes, but... I don't always feel that I have the enthusiasm that would convince most kids that what I say has that much relevance.

I hit a snag a few weeks back while looking at a few examples of poetry.  Suffice it to say that everyone... and I mean EVERYONE... was checked out.  I felt that in spite of my preparations and approach, I was failing and that I was wasting everyone's time.  So I returned to an old favourite that I had done when I first started teaching Humanities.  Truthfully, though, I stole the idea from my own Grade 8 LA teacher.  I liked doing it and figured my students could get behind it, too.

After introducing an activity that had them analyze and interpret a song of their choice, I introduced Haikus.  I introduced the structure as I had been taught and most would today approach it.  However, I also shared this video from perhaps one of the greatest cartoons ever made:

I gave my students their assignment: write three Haikus about any topic of their choosing as long as at least one of them had something to do with nature.  The results have been pretty impressive to say the least.

I emphasized that with the limited syllables, each and every word and sound mattered.  I saw students grabbing their thesauruses, and sharing their poems with one another.  There was even one student who was determined to create for me the ultimate sensory Haiku: he would write one about Dr Pepper and also provide one that I could drink while reading his poem.  

He wrote:

Cold Dr Pepper

Refreshing Mr. Thompson

Twenty Three Flavours

While I'm still waiting for that Dr Pepper, I saw what Dave Burgess was talking about: kids laughing and having fun being silly or reaching a little deeper and trying to capture the essence of the images that they chose.  Since putting up all the class poems that I've collected, 'The Wall' has been a popular hangout for students before and after class as they read what others have done.

I can do that more.

Video of the Week

I don't always watch Jimmy Fallon but I have loved most of the videos and snippets from his show.  This one was particularly enjoyable.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

~Mr.T

I know... I did it again...

Let's just get the apology out of the way:  I am terrible at making this a thing of permanence.  Once again, I find myself in the position of needing to get back into the habit.  However, I'd like to think that I'm in good company on this one.

I mean... it's Batman for crying out loud.  If I've learnt anything from the impeccable performance of Michael Caine, it's that I need to keep going and push forward.  Starting today.

I won't bother trying to give a recap since my last update.  Suffice it to say, that we are still here, and for middle school that should be an accomplishment far more than people might realize.  In any case, I've been spending a good deal of time looking for things that I can do to add a little bit of energy into my daily routine, or to give my students some of those moments that they'll look back on and maybe laugh about when they're older.  That is my hope.

Teachers are pretty adept at looking around for new ideas.  This can sometimes be a bit of a two-edged sword, though.  In the past, I've felt free to approach a colleague and ask for a few resources only to end up with a huge stack of manuals and binders that I know that I won't have the time (or the desire) to go through.  Don't get me wrong here... I've always appreciated the help, but my time is finite and it can be immensely difficult to look at curriculum through the eyes of another teacher.  What this usually leaves me feeling is that I need to spend the time to create resources for my own use.  There is undoubtedly still a time factor here, but at least I will know what it is that I'm creating.

From time to time, I get lucky and I'll see something that just gets me excited.  This was the case a few weeks ago when I came across a segment from Jimmy Fallon.  The premise was simple: give 7-year-olds the title of a film and They wouldn't be told what it was about.  Once they had that, they would simply need to write a scene.  I've included the clip below... it's so good.

Once I had the idea, all I needed was a collection of titles that, in my opinion, would be relatively unknown amongst my students.  Students were divided into pairs, and they selected a random title from a list that I had put together, which included gems like "The King's Speech," "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," and "My Neighbour, Totoro."  Students were given time to write a two-person dialogue and then all scripts were turned in.  As one final step to increase the potential humour, I handed out scenes to random groups and gave them a few minutes to prepare before they would be read out in front of the class.  I have to say that our collective response was a lot like what was in the video above.  We had a blast and we all left feeling more energized then we had in a while.

It's good to be back.  More to come...

~Mr. T

Blogging Challenge - Day 10

I find it easier to get back into any routine when I enjoy myself.  This is probably one of those posts that will help a bit.  Here we go, and in no particular order...

Five Random Facts About Me

• I have a giant red birth mark on the bottom of my right foot.  Not a bad spot for one if I do say so myself.
• I am number 13 of 31 grandchildren on my dad's side.  Yay for unintended palindromes!
• I don't like spiders at all.  I wouldn't even touch pictures of them when I was a kid.  I'll put on a brave face for my kids but they are much braver than I am when it comes to creepy crawlies.
• I have never had a broken bone.
• My parents bought me a Walkman on a trip to Montana around the time I was in Grade 2.  The first tape they got for me?  "Step By Step" by New Kids On The Block.  I loved that tape and probably still know more of the lyrics than I would care to admit...

Four Things From My Bucket List

This one is hard so I'm limiting it to destinations...

• Beijing, China
• Tokyo, Japan
• London, England
• Berlin Germany

Three Things I Hope For This Year

• To find that proper balance between career, family, health and fitness, personal recreation
• To stay more organized and clutter free
• To not put myself in a situation where I have a ton of marking to do at the last minute 

Two Things That Made Me Laugh Or Cry As A Teacher

• every year I commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and it gets me every time
• I can count on one hand the number of times where I've been incapacitated in the classroom due to laughter.  This video was one of those times.  Dumb, I know, but at the time it just got me.

One Thing I Wish More People Knew About Me

• I don't like confrontation at all.  I'm not just talking about arguments... sometimes even bringing up the fact that someone is doing something wrong or that I don't approve of is still incredibly difficult for me.  I'm not always so eager to point out infractions as some people might be tempted to think.

There.  Enlightening, no?

~Mr.T

The Wonderful World of Google

*Image couretsy of PetaPixel

One of my projects these past few days (while not scrambling to complete marking) is to get more familiar with the wonderful architecture provided by Google (sorry Internet Explorer).  As one of the goals for the semester, each of my students will set up and utilize a Google account which will provide them with a plethora  (Word Win!!) of services.  I'm hoping to show kids that there's more to Google than funny pictures with cats.

... Although, there's still a place for some of those, too...

Exam Anxiety

This is perhaps one of the days I most dread in any semester: the diploma exam. It's stressful for everyone, including me, because at the end of the day, I want my students to do well.  I want to feel like I've done everything that I could to help them get to where they want to be.

Here's a good source of information on identifying exam anxiety and how to deal with it.

Bottom line: prepare early and often. Take care of yourself and don't add more stress than you need to.

Good luck, again, to all of my grade 12s today.

One final note... in this modern age of technology, please save your work often.  I saw three students nearly lose their work yesterday because the computers they were using shut down.  Nope.  Don't want.

~Mr. T

Finals Week

Seriously, though.  Best of luck to all of my current students on your exams.

~Mr. T