ASK BARRY

Do you have a challenging problem in the classroom?              

Ask Barry!

He's not exactly Dear Abby, but he likes to help fellow teachers if he can.  If you have a particular problem that has you frustrated, send it to Barry.  If he can help, he will.  Just click HERE for contact information.

Since Barry travels a lot, he may not be able to respond quickly, so be patient.  In the meantime, please peruse the problems that other teachers have faced (below), with Barry's responses.

“Standards Versus Needs: Who Really Wins?”

This is an open letter to Administrators and State Standards setters written at one of my workshops.. Anyone can respond or reply.

Dear Decision-Makers and Standard-Setters,

Will I be a Miss Foley?

I often feel that I am a failure. I question what I am really teaching my kids—my students. They are my kids—150 teenagers. I honestly can say that I like all of them…even the pains. I remember so often this year driving home upset and frustrated because I’m afraid I’ve failed them. Those are the days that other jobs creep into my mind; not because I hate my job, but because I can’t stand thinking that I failed them. I know I’m growing and learning and getting better, but I need to be a sage now!  Immediately!  I may have 30+ years in 8th grade to go but each one of my students only has this one year. Have I wasted a year?

I know they connect with me on certain days. I feel the flow, the comfort settle in, the fears float away, and the work begin, but then I pull out my planner at night and think, I hope my boss doesn’t question me on the standards or our school’s framework principles because I’m not paying attention to them…I am teaching what the kids need. Then, I hear her answer in my head, “How do you know what the kids need? You’re only a second-year teacher, and you didn’t create any standards or framework!”

And what do I do next? I change my curriculum for the umpteenth time this year—I align with the standards and the framework principles and do that for awhile…until a couple of months later, I feel the itch come back. The itch, the instinct, to teach from my gut because my gut KNOWS what they need and otherwise I am not doing them justice…but where does justice fit into the standards and my school’s framework? How do I hang onto this job without killing the passion for my career?

Sincerely Questioning,

The New Kid on the Teaching Block

Dear Barry,

I am not a teacher but a mom. I have a son in Grade 5 who loves to write and draw pictures. His writing and pictures follow a theme of science fiction and action adventure. My question is how do you mold his skill for these types of writing so that they do not have too much "gross" or "violent" type activities in them? He tends to write stories and draw pictures of battles with aliens or good verses evil type stories. He struggles at school because his work is seen as "offensive" by his female (no kids) teacher and is often told things like "it is not acceptable to the school community to have pictures of aliens attacking the school and FBI agents shooting holes in the school". At home we tell him he has a gift and are glad he loves to read, write and draw. How do I allow him to explore his creativity when he is told it is wrong? How will we be able to tell him it is OK to study literature in school that has violent or "gorry" scenes in it but you can't write it or draw it?

We have encouraged his teacher to tell him what audience he is writing or drawing for and to ask him if a particular action sequence or event in his story is necessary for the story to evolve. Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks

Frustrated mom

Dear Frustrated,

 I can feel your frustration.  Since the horrors of Columbine and other school shootings well meaning teachers and administrators feel that they must censor or deem inappropriate the work of students who explore violent themes in their writing or drawing. While I agree that teachers and principals should have the right to maintain standards of what is appropriate in their school, the total outlawing of violent themes in writing class is, I believe, wrongheaded.

 Recently, Heinemann published a book called Misreading Masculinity  by Thomas Newkirk.  I highly recommend that you read it.  In that book Newkirk discusses incidents where children were actually arrested for writing violent stories.  Newkirk, convincingly argues that young boys frequently explore violent themes in their writing for a humorous effect and teachers either don’t look past the gore to get the joke or worse, they consider comic book writing an inferior writing genre.  This alienates many boys from reading and accounts in part for the sizable achievement gap between boys and girls in reading in the upper grades.  Newkirk’s most convincing evidence for his position comes from the many interviews he conducted with young boys about the topic of violence.  These young boys could very eloquently discuss levels of violence in both movies and books and tell the difference between gratuitous killing and the kind that is necessary to carry the story. Outlawing violent writing closes discussion on these important topics.  It also places moral judgments, preferring serious human interest literature to the classic good and evil sagas like the Lord of the Rings.  Lets take the violent scenes out the Tolkein’s trilogy and we have a few Hobbits and a wizard out for a picnic.

    In Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants novels (loved by young boys and reviled by some teachers) he satirizes the very issues you bring up in a warning:

      You are right to encourage your son and find him other outlets for his comic writing. It’s also worth opening a dialogue with your teacher about encouraging comic book writing as an acceptable genre.  Show her Newkirk’s book.

      When I was getting my master’s degree in fiction writing at the University of New Hampshire, I had a classmate named Jeanette whose husband Peter worked as a short order cook and collaborated with a friend to write comics on the side.  His comic book writing was never accepted by his teachers so he pursued it on his own outside of school.  The year I published my first short story  in a literary magazine, Peter  and his co-author scraped up enough money to print 2000 copies of their first comic book.  I remember seeing a story about it in the college news paper and thinking how important it was for all folks to pursue their own literary forms, even lower forms like comic book writing.  I, on the other hand, was a serious author.    Peter’s book was called   Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His name was Peter Laird and he is now a multi-millionaire.

             And now you know, the rest of the story.

Barry

Dear Barry,

I teach sixth grade at a middle school in Indiana. Because the people in our state capital seem to be the ultimate experts in education, the famous law, P.L. 221, has recently passed which was made to improve schools. Every school in Indiana has since been working on an extensive school improvement plan to present to the state by this summer. It is a long and complicated process, but hey, teachers and administrators don't have anything better to do.
 Last year I spent 8 days listening to the same speaker talk about "best practices", "curriculum alignment", and "data". All of these days were spent hoping to get us more comfortable with the new state standards. As they told us throughout those days, "Gone are the days when you can do your favorite projects with the kids. There will be no time for that if they are not in the standards." Personally, I believe that real learning often takes place outside of the standards, so I had some problems with those workshops.
 At any rate our school has targeted areas of improvement within our school, and one of those areas is writing across the curriculum. The puzzle with that is how do teachers implement writing in physical education and other courses that do not typically write as we do in English classes? We've brainstormed some ideas as a staff, but after attending one of your workshops, and I think EVERY TEACHER IN THE WORLD SHOULD ATTEND ONE OF YOUR WORKSHOPS, I realized that there has to be a fun, non-threatening way for all teachers to incorporate writing into their curriculum.
 Any suggestions that you might have for us would be appreciated. With any luck we will be able to find the funding to have you come to our school. I would love to have you speak not only with our staff, but to conduct some workshops with our students. That is a goal I will be working on.
 Thank you so much for an exhilarating day. I could not wait to get to school and get some of your exercises going with my students. They loved it, and now I'm anxiously awaiting your books.

 Inspired in Indiana

Dear Inspired,

     Thanks so much for your important letter.   It addresses a concern that is more widespread then you can possibly imagine. State Standards are often flailed about as a means to control teachers, not empower them.   Ironically, the most empowered teachers end up meeting these same standards in a way that suits the needs of both students and curriculum.  But, these teachers are rarely held up as examples.   The issue is trust.  That 8 day workshop you attended was a way of saying,  “We don’t trust you to think for yourselves so we are going to tell you exactly how to meet these standards.”  Hop to it!    Ironically, they thought they were trying to get you comfortable with their new rules.   

     The problem is that standards are NOT rules; they are guidelines. They are yardsticks to assess progress and monitor outcomes.   In other words, to say “forget about your favorite class project,” was, in my humble opinion, way out of bounds on their part.   Rather, they should have said, “Think about these state standards and incorporate them into everything you teach.   Don’t abandon what you are most passionate about, rather, adapt and refine your current curriculum to include these outcomes.    In some cases, this might mean tweaking or even abandoning some projects, but that would be your call based on what you think is best practice.   It’s about time people started treating teachers like the  professionals they are.  It’s also about time teachers, talked truth to bureaucrats.

    Required reading,   “One Size Fits Few” the case against standards  by Susan Ohanian published by Heinemann.  Even if you don’t agree completely with Susan’s assessment of the standards movement, I hope you can see how your struggle is not an isolated one.

    My book (co-authored with Gretchen Bernabei) Why We Must Run With Scissors, Voice Lessons in Persuasive Writing has many ideas for generating multi-genre writing assignments across the curriculum.   I am going to send your letter to America’s most Passionate physical ed teacher, Shelley Westerhold, and she will give you some ideas for writing in gym class.  Shelley has designed curriculum for physical education classes.

Till then,

 Chart your own destiny oh inspired one.

And may all your dreams, not your nightmares,

 meet the current state standards,

Barry 

Laughless in Milwaukee

And Gretchen's response as well....

Dear Sleepless

 I agree with Barry about your supervisor's precarious position.  If I were you, I would smile and agree, and learn everything you can from her, including how NOT to be, with kids.   It's true that students need strength in their leaders, and they will need to see that you are not afraid to manage a classroom, to step between them and disorder, to shield them from unkindness from others, to lead the way in showing the best way to live and learn.  Those are all important.  But the teacher's advice only points out her own weaknesses as a leader, and you can't hold that against her.   Throughout your whole profession, you will come across so many adults whose weaknesses are that obvious.  Listen to your gut instincts, and remember your own best models, as you have.  But also remember that even this teacher has gifts for you.  You might have to look harder to find them.  Find things that this one does really well, and focus on those.  (And inside, COMPLETELY disregard the bogus advice.)  When I was student teaching, my cooperating teacher humiliated students in front of the class, with a relish and gusto that was almost Naziesque. I remember asking her at lunch one day about a particular incident, and before all these other teachers, she informed me that "The real world isn't fair, and so if students experience unfairness in a safe environment, it's good training for them."  I remember thinking that's such hogwash, and I looked around at the other teachers.  They didn't even blink.   After lunch, three of them made a point to tell me privately, "Stick to your guns, Gretchen.  Keep your own beliefs ready to use when you have students.   What you heard today wasn't what everyone else thinks."  Why hadn't they disagreed openly?  I guess they enjoyed maintaining a working harmony with everyone.   Who knows?  If she said it where I work today, I would openly have dialogue and disagree with her, but I've grown as a ! professi onal.

Humor IS an important tool for classroom management.  Shakespeare used it to manage groundlings.  Twain used it to manage his outrage at the incomprehensible hypocrisies we have in our institutions.  Look at our models in the finest literature we have.   Humor often gives you a really light touch for handling tough situations, and the lightest touch necessary is always the best choice.  On the first day of school, demonstrate that you know what you're doing, Harry Wong style, with organization and standards that are clear, and then show them what ELSE you're made of:  kindness and warmth, and the rarest ability to laugh, both at yourself and at their charm.   Remember Maria Von Trapp and let them charm you.  Too many teachers are uncharmable.  Show them your delight in them from the first day of school.  They will work that much harder to dazzle you, if you're dazzlable.  (Did I just make that up?)  Use those talents you have, and try not to let yourself be crippled by criticism you perceive from the grownups around you.  So that leads me to my next biggest piece of advice for you:

Choose wisely those people for whom you will work.  Shop for principals who WANT a school that is student-friendly, not student-crushing. It's much easier to "be yourself" in class with students when you know it's the kind of work your principal wants.  Remember that you work for the parents, and the students too, and that customer satisfaction is really critical.  We do need to teach, not just entertain, but humor can definitely be a gifted teacher's most important tool.

Remember Voltaire's message:  "God is a comedian, playing to an audience that's afraid to laugh."  The proof is in your students' performances.  And with luck, their performances will be brilliant, lively, touching, and funny.  And you will be so dazzled.
Gretchen

And yet another reply....

Dear Laughless,

      I agree with both Gretchen and Barry's advice. I'm a traveling artist in residence, who creates short and long term projects with classes. I'm always a guest so I know of  what you speak, having a watchful presence over my personality at all times. I return to so many of the same schools year after year that luckily I often know what I'm stepping into, so it makes it easier. Either that or I've been in a similar class somewhere else, so I'm used to it.  I'm also not in any one class for the whole day at a time.  

      Over the years I've learned, as Gretchen says, to adopt the best tools from the teachers as I go. A tapestry of teacher tips!  The best tools in my mind, are the ones that will work for me, fit into my personality, because to me it is vital that I am myself with the students.  Imagine doing a job all day, everyday where you had to check your personality at the door. You'd grow so grumpy and bitter that you might even suggest to others that they do the same.

      The tricky part is that once the teacher has established this code of behavior for herself and her students in her classroom, the students, for the most part begin to adapt their personalities to that code. Breaking the code in a dramatic way is often like swinging open the barn door, and if the students are used to it, it's like inviting them to become animals, thus reinforcing her prophecy. Their reaction to your glorious humor will be completely out of proportion. The students won't behave this way elsewhere, by the way. Go observe them in Gym sometime. The tightest classes in the classroom are often the wildest classes elsewhere. They always need to let off a little steam.

      Since I'm only in a school for a short time. (Once a week for several weeks) and I'm not technically being supervised by anyone, I try to gently bump at the barn door as much as I can in ways that will help the students. If all goes well, by the time  our final presentation takes place, even the teacher will have learned something. I often hear comments like, " This year I know what you're doing. Last year I thought you were crazy!"

      My secret weapon when I'm trying to reach students in a stifling situation is to treat the students with respect. I mean go out of your way to listen to them, look them in the eye. Congratulate them on what they've done well so clearly, that anything else they need to concentrate on won't seem like a put down. Look for a positive even if you need a bionic magnifying glass, and start there. Explain the rules calmly, when no one wants to follow them. If they know that they must be extra quiet for an extra favor to Mrs. X's class because they are testing in the next room, it helps.  By the way she treated you, my hunch is that there isn't an overwhelming degree of personal respect for the kids, either.

      Children, as an unfortunate rule, don't get a great deal of personal respect. They drink it up eagerly. If you are honest with them, and respect them, and give them the opportunity to be themselves, they'll blossom so beautifully, even the grumpy supervising teachers will be impressed.

      When you have your own classroom, BE YOURSELF. That includes admitting to mistakes you've made, and showing how it can be hard to do your best all the time, especially on subjects that are tricky for you.  They'll appreciate your human qualities.

      From your letter alone, I can tell that you'll be great!  I'd love to teach in your classroom anytime!

      All the Best,

      Carol Glynn

Dear Barry,

I want to share some frustrations I'm having with my 4th graders' writing, and see if there is any advice you can offer.

First of all, our school district has decided that all students need to be able to produce 11 different types of writing (because two of them will be on the state proficiency test.)  Some of them are personal narrative, fictional narrative, summary, letter to the editor, thank you note, friendly letter, and informational report.

Our school leadership team decided that all 4th graders will do all eleven each semester, for a total of 22 pieces of writing by the time the year is over. My greatest frustration is that as soon as we finish one writing, it's time to start the next one. There is not enough time to go over their previous writing, and try to improve it.   As a result, their writing is not getting any better.  Another frustration is that there is no time left in the schedule for students to write what they want to write.   We are too busy doing brainstorming, rough drafts, revisions, proofreading, and final drafts.

It's a relief if I can finish one of those 11 writings in a week's time. The longer pieces take two weeks.  As you might guess, the students are also tired of going through all those steps, but it's what we have to do. We are supposed to be teaching them "The Writing Process". (ta-da!)  But I have found that 4th graders are either unable, or unwilling, to find anything wrong with their writing.  So there is very little revising, editing, or proofreading, no matter how much I talk about it.   In January, I still get final drafts without capital letters and punctuation.   I don't have a choice about doing these 22 writings each year.  Is there anything you can suggest that might make it less painful for the kids, and for me?   Right now, we all feel like groaning when I tell them it's time to write again.   And I love to write!

Thanks for any insights you can offer.

Sleepless in Ohio

Dear Sleepless,

Oy vey!  What madness!  Let me address your question at both a practical and idealistic level.

First off, you have to find a way to maintain student choice writing in your curriculum, not because it's fun, but because it is the single most important thing you can do to create a class of writers.  And don't let the
bean counters kid you, if your students are groaning about writing it will show up on the test scores too, and besides,  those tests were put in place to create better writers, not to squash them.

So what are you to do?  Here are some practical suggestions that may or may not help.   I think other teachers around the world can offer more.

1)  Whenever possible, integrate the state writing assignments into your curriculum.   This should be easy for things like thank you letters.  For example, if the man from the zoo comes to your class, the kids write a thank you letter to him.  You talk about what makes a good thank you note, specific praise, etc.  This shouldn't be more than a one or 2 hour assignment.  Create a review sheet to go back to near test time and save a copy of their letters.  Informational reports are probably already something you do in science or social studies, a letter to the editor can be a great history lesson.  I'll write one as Abraham Lincoln in favor of abolishing slavery.

In other words, disguise the state stuff, or rather, fit it in to what you are doing and not the other way around.  Whenever possible make these assignments authentic and/or fun.

2) Sure you are supposed to be teaching the writing process but The Writing Process is not a formula that students have to follow step by step.  Focus on engagement with their content, not on the lock-step method  presented in textbooks. The time issue you mentioned is critical. If you are just trying to touch all the writing process bases it is not going to help them.  Better that they really see the value in brainstorming or not do it at all.  What do I mean?  In short, don't follow all the steps with every paper unless it is helping the students to write better.  I can write my thank you letter just fine without webbing or brainstorming, thank you very much.  But maybe after a first draft, I can perhaps brainstorm a few extra  specific details and add them in with the final draft. This is revision enough for me, especially if it improves the thank you note.  Do you see what I mean?  Mix it up.  Don't let them turn you into a robot teacher!   And don't groan about the test to your students.  They will pick up on it and it will sabotage your efforts.  Be sneaky and learn to love your sneakiness.

3) Make a list of what is most important to you as a teacher to teach.  Forget Mr. Ohio for a few minutes. What are the most important things your students need to be doing?   Make the list long then narrow it down.  Now look at the curriculum.  Fit its demands into yours.  For example, if you think that students should have an hour of free choice writing a day you stick with that no matter what.  Your students attitude toward writing is more important than their memorizing 22 formulas for passing a state test.  There may be 22 ways to cook eggs, but none of them will work if you don't have a chicken.!!!  Buck, Buck Buck!!!  Also, you can teach these forms with less trouble if your students are fluent writers.  I swear, it's true.

4) Don't let them throw you off center.  Study the painting of Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci.  Study the smile, the knowing smile.  Wear it at staff meetings and when handed new directives, say softly "How wonderful, this fits right in with what we are doing already."

Remember you are a hero. You will slay the state test with your eyes closed and one hand tied behind your back, and the whole world will marvel at your effortless effort.

Barry

And our Web Visitors write:

To: Sleepless in Ohio

An advantage that you have, as I see it, is that you do know all of these forms in advance.  That should allow you to do some advance planning.  By knowing your overall yearly curriculum, you can plan in the summer/fall to slide each piece of writing right into other areas where they would be most appropriate.  Christmas could bethink you letters time.  How about a little historical fiction to take care of the fictional narrative and to tie in with Social Studies?  Watch for a social complaint or issue that they all come in upset about, or tie one in that you think they should be concerned about....there is your letter to the editor.  (My second graders wrote to the principal about dirty bathrooms that they kept complaining to me about.  They became concerned about the homeless and did letters that eventually turned into them becoming responsible for a school-wide collection of items for our homeless veterans and their families.)  I was fortunate enough to have an older sister who figured all of these things out and shared them with me long before integration and writing were hot topics.  That has made my 32 years of teaching much more fun and challenging for the students and me...and yes, I do have similar mandates.

Best wishes.  I hope it all comes together for you in a fun way.   And..please keep on being concerned about the children and making learning fun for them.

Dear Sleepless in Ohio,

I, too, have those"mandates" shoved onto me. I just reminded myself what a brilliant teacher once said to me:" Most of these mandates are only justifications for somebody's job." If WE don't make those mandates, our heads are usually not the ones that roll....it's the ASSHOLE who WROTE the stupid mandates that loses his or her job!! We get to roll on; yes we probably "get the blame" but I haven't seen any of those administrators, politicians, or critics waiting at my door to take over my job!!  Think of that!!!

Rebecca