Most teachers have–from time to time–encountered a completely random question from their students. It’s the nature of the profession. However, if you are a teacher of middle school children, you know that these random questions are not so much from time to time but rather most of the time.

For example, earlier this week I was talking to my students about an extra credit opportunity based on the grade they earned on an assignment. I put the grade scale on the board with the accompanying extra credit points:

• 100 – 90% = A = 5 extra credit points
• 89 – 80% = B = 4 extra credit points
• 79 – 70% = C = 3 extra credit points

You get the picture, right?

Well, as I’m getting the students ready for the extra credit assignment…I’m explaining the steps, what they have to do, when the grades will be updated, and then suddenly a hand shoots straight up in the air.

I saw the students quietly talking while I was explaining the assignment, so naturally I figured someone was going to ask me a question about what I just said because they were talking while I was talking.

Wrong.

What occurred next is completely normal in a middle school classroom…

• S1: Why isn’t there an E?
• Me: What?
• S1: You know, we have A, B, C, D, and F
• Me: . . .
• S2: Yeah, so where’s the E?
• Me: Um, I . . .don’t . . . know . . . ?
• S1: It makes no sense
• S2: Yeah, there really should be an E

It was a question about the grade scale.

At this point, I busted out laughing, because what else can you do when posed with a random question like that?

I suppose some teachers might balk at being interrupted with what may seem like a completely off-topic question…and sometimes I’m a bit taken back, too. But truth be told, I want my students to ask questions. It shows that they are engaged…that they are thinking…and that they want answers.

Other reasons why I love random questions is because it shows that…

• Middle schoolers are still curious about things
• Middle schoolers harbor little fear when it comes to asking the weird questions
• Middle schoolers have no problem seeking an answer the moment they have a question even if it’s not remotely related to the task or topic at hand
• Middle schoolers are not afraid to ask me questions (Yay!)
• Middle schoolers think I have the answers (Ha! Yeah right)

I felt the need to share this because I know that some teachers may get perturbed by the random question. But why? Isn’t the curiosity of kids one of the best parts about being a classroom teacher? I love their thinking and where it takes them. Oh sure, random questions interrupt my train of thought (especially if I’m on a roll)…but I have to say when I stop and engage with my students, it’s all worth it in the end. I mean, don’t we tell our students to not be afraid of asking questions because someone else likely has the same question, too?

I’m convinced that middle schoolers have tons of random questions that pop in and out of their heads. And I love the moments when one of them shares their question with me. Not surprisingly, their peers are typically curious about the answer as well. And it gives all of us a chance to be human. To connect. Bond. And better yet…to have a good laugh together.

Have I mentioned that I love my middle schoolers?

On our first day back from winter break, I had my students begin by choosing #oneword that they would like to be known by the end of the year – December 2020. I asked my kiddoes to think about the person that they would like to become and narrow it down to one adjective (or noun) that would best describe them. I told them that this #oneword would perhaps be easier to remember than a list of resolutions that many of us are quick to shed before January is even over.

And because I don’t ask students to do things that I wouldn’t do myself, I also chose #oneword that I would like people to use to describe me by the end of 2020…

I chose my #oneword because in the hustle and bustle of work, school, and life, I feel as if I’m juggling too many things…trying to straddle too many worlds…I’m flitting in and out of conversations, trying to pay attention to everything, but missing many things. To be clear, I am good about putting my cell phone away when I’m with friends, but that doesn’t mean that my brain isn’t somewhere else when it really should be here…in the moment…with my friends. I have felt very guilty about this for quite some time. In fact, in all of that craziness, I know I am not giving my full attention to my friends and family, and I should…because I know that life is short and that we cannot get back lost time.

So my #oneword for 2020 is to be present when I am with friends and family. It’s going to take quite a bit of effort, and I expect that I will fail quite a few times along the way. However, by December 2020, I hope that my friends and family will look back on the times we spent together throughout this year and know that I was present whenever we were together.

Wish me luck.

An interesting tweet showed up this morning which, honestly, made me shudder. And judging from the comments (in Twitterverse), quite a few educators and I are on the same page.

The premise is simple: A teacher wears an earpiece during a lesson, which is being livestreamed for a remote instructional coach who delivers in-the-moment feedback to the teacher. #ReportersFavorites https://t.co/bfPnw7E11j

— Education Week (@educationweek) January 1, 2020

To be clear, I am not against coaching. I think it’s a valuable tool for teachers. However, that value is dependent on a number of factors including (but not limited to) interest and need.

NOTE: For the purposes of this post, I’m only going to focus on inservice teachers because preservice teachers need a different kind of support structure as they are new to the profession.

Interest: If teachers are not interested in being coached, no amount or type of coaching is going to work. It’s just not. Forcing teachers to be coached without their consent is futile. Just watch teachers forced to sit through mandated PD. #exerciseinfutility However, if teachers are open to being coached, then the conversation should begin with options for coaching: face-to-face versus video, realtime versus delayed, face-to-face versus ear-piece, peer versus outside coach, etc. Could this coaching support include bug-in-ear coaching? Sure, if the teacher is open to that.

Next teachers should be a key part of the structure of coaching and feedback. Teachers should determine whether the feedback is immediate or delayed. They should have a say in whether they would like the feedback in writing or delivered in a face-to-face conversation. The bottom line is that teachers should be an integral part of the coaching process, not something that a coach does to them.

Teachers should have a voice and choice.

Need: Some teachers know what they need, others may be wearing blinders or are just plain clueless. If teachers express a need for coaching, then they should be part of the coaching design process (see previous paragraphs). Now if the school leadership determines that a teacher needs coaching, the teacher still should be an integral part of the coaching design process. Telling a teacher what they need to improve upon is important, and all teachers should be receiving this type of feedback during the evaluation process (for sure) as well as during non-evaluation years. If the school leadership believes that coaching should be part of the solution or support, the teacher should still be part of the conversation regarding format, frequency, feedback, etc. No ifs, ands, or buts.

At no point should teachers (who are adults) have things done to them without their input. Teaching is part craft and part science (this is not the blog post within which to split hairs)–so yes, there will always be room for improvement. Students change, standards are revised, learning strategies are refined…no group of students are the same. Ever. Teachers who believe that they don’t need to improve are the ones wearing blinders.

If coaching is on the table (whether brought up by the teacher or school leadership) under no circumstance should the coaching process be dictated to the teacher. If teachers are interested in being coached, awesome. If they would like to have a co-teacher in the classroom with them, great. If they like the idea of recording a video of their lesson to watch later alone or with their coach, fine. And if they prefer wearing an ear-piece to get feedback while teaching, that’s totally up to them.

Teachers should have a voice and choice.

My point is that teachers should have a say in how they improve their practice. Although I would find it extremely invasive to have a voice telling me what to do (or not) via an earpiece, if other teachers are open to the whole bug-in-ear thing more power to them. Just count me out.

P.S. Yes, I’m aware of CT3. I didn’t care for it when I had to review the process in one of the doctoral classes. But once again, if teachers want to wear an earpiece so that they can receive real-time feedback from someone sitting in the same room as them, fabulous.

Just let teachers have a voice and choice in the matter, please.

The incorporation of blogging for my students has been one of the highlights of this semester. I love reading their thoughts on what they’ve learned not only in my class, but in their other classes as well. Their honesty about their struggles and victories has been quite enlightening.

My directions for the blogging assignment were pretty open-ended. I just wanted the students to think about their learning and experiences as a middle schooler. In order to differentiate for the varied interests and skills, I offered students the opportunity to complete the reflections alone or with a peer (or two!). They could have created a website, YouTube channel, or simply used Google Slides.

Besides getting a sneak peek into their thoughts, the reflections also gave me information on how to better support my students.

“In videos and slides can listen (keyword “listen”) to them very well”

~ Student

For example, the above quote from a student’s reflection was quite enlightening. I did not realize that they preferred audio over written or visual media. Because they wrote this (knowing that I would read it), I have already reached out to that student to let them know that our textbook has an online, audio component and that I would help them access this next week.

Little tidbits of information like this allow me to better support my students. It’s no secret that student’s basic needs must be met before they can move up on Maslow’s hierarchy.

These reflections, while it may seem like extra work for both the students and for me, help me to better support their social and emotional needs. In fact, many of my students have been quite transparent in their struggles with algebra. They mention the stress from their parents as well as the stress they put on themselves. This insight helps me when I interact with the students in class as I like to check in with these students.

These reflections also help me to adjust my teaching practices. Many students wrote that they were worried about the Sensory Figure: Samurai summative assessment. I didn’t think that the project was all that difficult, but to them it was quite stressful. In fact, one student wrote in their reflection…

Honestly, I’d rather take a unit test and digital notebook.

~ Student

This was news to me, because the unit test and digital notebook are both quite difficult as they require students to move through the various levels in order to get the grade they desire: Level 3 (C), Level 4 (B), and Level 5 (A).

Interesting, right?

As I reflect on the blogging/reflection assignment, I believe that this has been a positive experience for all. Students have a chance to reflect on their learning, strengths, areas in need of improvement and I get the opportunity to find ways to better support their academic and social/emotional needs in my class. It’s really a win-win situation.

I rolled this blogging/reflection assignment out to only one class this semester (my GATE/PreAP class) to see if this process was worth the effort. And I have to said that it was.

Next semester, I’m going to roll this out to all six classes of students. I will need to provide a bit more scaffolding for them, and I will take the lessons learned from this semester and apply them to my new group of students.

All-in-all, I’m very happy with this semester-long assignment. I think my students know themselves a bit better…and I certainly know more about them than I would have without this assignment.

It was an adventure worth taking.

I was having dinner with friends last night at a restaurant in Dana Point. The chef came to our private room several times to check in on us as we were happily grazing through the eclectic menu.

He was a young chef whose passion for cooking was evident in his face. He was in his element. The creations that came out of his kitchen were beautiful to behold. In fact, there were two dishes that no one wanted to touch because they were so artistic. At one point, he shared that he had the opportunity to work at a three Michelin star restaurant in L.A., but when presented with the opportunity to work in a restaurant in Orange County (where he grew up), he said that he couldn’t pass it up.

“Don’t chase your star, create your own”

This young man’s passion for pursuing his dream led him to the realization that he didn’t have to ride on the coattails of someone else’s accomplishments; but rather, he could pave the way himself. To be clear, all of the employees at the restaurant worked seamlessly as a team. And I don’t think that he was in any way promoting just himself, but rather he saw himself as part of a team who could make a difference in the food industry in Orange County. The restaurant doesn’t have a Michelin star (yet). But I wouldn’t be surprised if the accolades started racking up in the near future.

But the conversation with this young chef got me thinking. Why are we so intent on chasing the accolades of others? Why not create our own pathway…our own star to chase? The metric of success doesn’t have to be measured by society’s standards. Why not figure out the definition of success–our own star–as it relates to us, our passions, our goals in life?

I’m guilty of looking at the success of others and wanting what they have. It’s an easy trap to fall into. But I need to not chase their star…but rather, I need to create my own. What is success to me? What will make me happy? What will fulfill my need to make a difference in this world?

I became an educator because I wanted to work with children. I wanted to make a difference in their lives. I also wanted to give back to a profession that gave so much to me. I was blessed with so many wonderful educators throughout my entire schooling (kindergarten to doctoral studies) who have challenged me, supported me, and encouraged me to become a better version of myself. Their respective stars were theirs to pursue (or create). Now it’s my turn.

As I figure out what I want to do for the next stage of my career, I will keep in mind the words from this young, up-and-coming chef…

“Don’t chase your star, create your own”