Parent-Teacher Conferences

It’s Parent-Teacher Conference time! Often, during these fifteen minute conversations parents want to know what they can do to help their children, support the work of the the teacher, and also make school a part of the child’s life at home. Teachers may suggest reading; parents reading to children, children reading to parents. The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease (his web site) will give both teachers and parents a wealth of information on this topic. I used a lot of these ideas with my kids during the seventies and eighties when they were growing up.

About five years ago I came across a little ‘throw-away’ magazine in the local supermarket next to the shopping circulars, home-sales brochures, and auto ad booklets. The Rhode Island Family (March 2000) included a brief article by a local teacher, Kathleen F. Pesta that listed fifteen “hints” parents should know to help their children be successful in school. I adapted this list to include some ideas that extend Pesta’s “hints” and have used it in both pre-service and in-service instruction.

HOME-SCHOOL RELATIONS: The Advantages and Challenges of Parental Involvement


Parents can help children succeed in school
Model good work habits and attitudes for your child
• A child must know that school is a priority. This can be taught through example. You show your child every day how important your job is.

Be a mature and responsible adult.
• You are the parent!
• Children need guidance, limits.
• It is necessary, at times, to “just say no!”
• Behave in a way that requires discipline.
• “Responsibility” is an expectation.

School nights are not Mall nights!
• Successful students rarely go to malls, movies or friends’ homes during the week.
• Children almost always have homework.
• It takes time to study efficiently and complete quality homework.

Limit phone, TV, Internet chat, video & computer games.
• Restricting “chat” time both phone and IM adds definition instead of randomness to after-school time.
• Judge Judy would say: “Don’t watch me. Do your homework!”
• Children protest but many parents structure and restrict phone, TV and computer use!

Expose your child to Nature and Culture
· A trip to the zoo can be pretty wild.
· Art museums and galleries show the colors of peoples’ minds.
· Music and theater show the colors of their soul.
· Cultural experiences offer multiple pathways to learning.
· Interesting outings with parents showcase the world as a fascinating place to learn more about.

Know your child’s friends & parents
• Insist on names and phone numbers when your child is leaving the house with friends.
• Introduce yourself to the friends and parents.
• “Network” with other parents about activities and schoolwork.

Parents need to be home when teenagers have friends over.
• “Home” needs to be child-friendly.
• Respect children’s privacy.
• Check to make sure other parents are home if your child is going to someone’s house.

Spend time with your child. “Did ‘ya feed the dog today?”
• Give children regular chores to do.
• Let children know their contribution is important.
• Give them the opportunity to feel proud.

Get involved in your child’s school life.
• Attend parent nights…right up to senior year.
• Know the subjects and courses they are taking.
• Showcase your child’s BEST work.
• Let them know you care about this very important part of their life.


Parents and teachers need to be allies not enemies. Accept your child for who s/he is.
• Recognize and praise their best work. Even if it’s a C+ in chemistry.
• Challenge them but don’t frustrate them.
• Every child is an honor student in their own right…even without the bumper sticker from the local middle school!

A homework/study schedule leads to success.
• Some children study alone. Others need company.
• Some children study for hours. Others need smaller “chunks” of time.
• Observe your child; plan with him or her what works best. Make it happen and stick to it.

Encourage your child every day.
School is important work.
Honest and meaningful praise go a long way on the road to success.
Six or sixteen, your child needs YOU to be actively involved in his and her life!

Organization, structure, regimen, attention, involvement, caring, and just parents and schools send messages of success to children. They are, after all, our most precious resource.

Sailing, Planning, and Reflecting

As many of you know, I do have the opportunity to sail off shore quite a bit. As a matter of fact, my most recent sailing adventure occurred during the first couple of weeks in October (2006) when we left Westerly, RI with a Norfolk, VA destination. Incredibly rough seas and gale force winds forced us to hunker down in Ocean City, MD before continuing the jaunt to VA. All in all, it took five sailing days and nights and a couple of days eating and drinking our way through the establishments of Ocean City on the Delmarva Peninsula, the only port on that Atlantic shore that would accommodate a five foot draft boat. The good news is no one got sick….the bad news is no one got any sleep for days……… This trip had me thinking about other sailing I have done that was more pleasant and less taxing on the mind, body, and spirit. Following, is a recollection of a just such a trip and the teaching and learning outcome it produced. I have included an abstract for those of you who would rather not have to read the entire story before deciding whether or not you want to read the entire story!!!

Abstract

Sailing, planning, and reflecting provide an opportunity for me to create a piece of curriculum for a fourth grade classroom. Through the use of storytelling, a narrative in journal form, I detail the discovery of a bottle on the shore which led to the development of a learning activity for children. Curriculum developed for this learning activity is designed for active learning, is inquiry oriented, and considers experiences of children a critical component. Children investigate, cooperate, discover, and imagine as they learn. My reflection validate many of the instructional strategies and learning theories employed in this teaching and learning activity; I review current trends in teaching and learning and offer possibilities for professional development and staff evaluation.

Beginnings:
Once upon summertime, a number of years ago, I spent most days sailing the Long Island Sound, Narragansett Bay and the outer islands of Cape Cod in Southeastern New England. When sailing, there is a lot of opportunity for thinking: reflective, active, passive, personal, and professional. Some of the thinking came and went. Some stayed for a while and found a place in my memory. And some became written stories and plans to be carried out. This is a "story" of one imagining that became a reality, an activity, and a piece of integrated or developmental curriculum for a fourth grade classroom that I would be teaching in the autumn following the summer sail. The events are as accurate as the distance of time permits. Contemporaneous notes have been used to reconstruct this narrative.

The story:
One day, while walking a lonely expanse of beach in southern Rhode Island, I came upon an odd shaped bottle lying partially covered with sand; its globe-like bottom glistened in the bright sun. Reaching down to rescue this treasure, I pulled the bottle out of its partial entombment. It had a long neck with a rusted metal cap screwed on top. It is very unusual in these days of plastic to find anything on beaches of this design and composition. I brought the bottle back to the boat and kept it displayed on a shelf in the saloon where its daily presence provoked my thoughts and elicited comments from everyone who came aboard.

What if this bottle had a message in it? What would children do if they found a bottle with a message? How might a child's foundational experiences be utilized when planning learning programs? How might this engage a child in profoundly active learning? How might this generate discovery and inquiry based curriculum in a classroom? How can an activity be created that would “fit” curriculum objectives and also be multidisciplinary? These questions were not as clearly formed that many years ago. But playing with the notion of stimulating the natural curiosity of children in a classroom setting was always upper most in my teaching plan. And so I set about imagining how I might weave this bottle into a learning theme.

When the first day of school arrived and my eager fourth graders entered the classroom to embark on a new year of learning, the bottle was prominently displayed on my desk. Inside, sealed tightly by the rusted metal cap, was a very crumpled up piece of brown paper which clearly had writing on it. The process of "creating" what might be considered an authentic looking piece of paper from one hundred fifty years ago is a story in and of itself. Let me digress to share with you how a brown paper bag became a castaway’s last hope of rescue. First, I wrote the note. (More about the contents of that little ditty later.) Next I soaked it in water, dried it with a hair dryer, crumpled it, ironed it, crumpled it again, and finally rolled it up to fit in the bottle. Voila! An historic document with all the allure of ages past.

So, there the bottle and "message" remained for most of the first week before one child asked about it during an afternoon whole class activity session. These weekly sessions were used for developing and planning learning experiences which would occur in coming weeks.
"Hey, Mr. Cleary! What's that bottle on your desk for?" Asking one of the children to retrieve the bottle from my desk and bring it to the group, I related the story of how it came into my possession. Noting the paper inside, I assured them I had not opened the bottle to read the "message".

There began quite a bit of buzzing and humming among the children, as one could well imagine. After they personally and individually inspected the bottle, I suggested that each person take a turn making a comment about this unique treasure that had landed in our room. Children's comments ran the gamut. Some mentioned the odd shape of the bottle, others mentioned the note inside, wondering what it might say, while others questioned where it may have come from and how long it had been stuck on the beach where I found it. We began making a list of questions and comments about this bottle at random times throughout the next week. When group planning time arrived on Friday of the second week, children demanded we begin with our list of questions and comments developed about the bottle throughout the week. I suggested we review the list and come to some agreement on the questions and comments that seemed to be most important and interesting to the group. "What did the message say?" "Where did this bottle come from?" "How old was it?" "How long was it there?" "It is really different looking!" (Coming from children raised in a world of 2 liter Coke, the fact that it was glass made it very different looking!) "Can we open it?" With those questions as a starting point, I asked children to talk with their parents over the weekend about the bottle and their new found interest in it. I suggested they each write a journal entry about their parent discussion for Monday. Unlike most journal entries, these would be shared with everyone in a group meeting Monday afternoon. Not really knowing where this might go, but committed to developing learning through the natural curiosity of children, I scheduled much time for discussing, planning, researching, and writing about the bottle in the week to come. At that time, if an administrator saw my "plan book" with that much empty space I would have been questioned about my adequate use of time for academic matters. “Where’s the Math?” “How do the reading standards align with this activity?” “Why would you spend time talking about a bottle? Is it something that will be included on state assessments?” And maybe, just maybe, the answers to these questions will surprise you!

As the week began, the bottle became more and more the topic of random conversations throughout the classroom. The weekend journal entries were shared. They seemed to reinforce the natural curiosity ebbing and flowing in the children's minds. Parents too, wondered what secret this bottle contained. It was decided that the bottle needed to be opened and our questions needed to be explored. Our Friday afternoon group planning time was established as "bottle opening" day. Even some parents joined the in. It was like an audience participating in “Deal or No Deal”!

Eagerly, the children gathered for group and a hush fell over the class as Jesse, the classmate selected by class vote, began removing the rusted cap. Because of the small neck of the bottle, the "message" had to be squirmed out with the eraser end of a pencil. It was carefully handed to me. Slowly, with all the thespian qualities I could muster, I painstakingly smoothed out the brown wrinkled paper exposing a very faded hand written note which began, "to anyone who finds this I hope..."

We read the message together. It indicated a man named George Dodge, from Block Island, RI, had been out fishing for the day in an area at the mouth of Narragansett Bay, when a sudden storm came up blowing him and his boat many miles into the bay. The boat finally sank and George swam to the nearest shore. He later discovered he was on an island. There were no other people on this island. It was late fall. His note went on to say he had set up a lean-to shelter for the time being and was searching for something more permanent, in case he wasn't rescued "before winter set in". He included the date of October 14, 1814 in his closing plea to search the islands of Narragansett Bay and "find me or my bones" and return them to B.I. Quite powerful stuff for the imagination of a nine year old to roam with!

This note confirmed it. The children definitely wanted to know more about George Dodge, Block Island, Narragansett Bay and the Islands, weather, fishing, and what was actually going on in this part of the world during 1814. Facilitating the formation of study groups around the original questions and these newly identified interests, we outlined roles and responsibilities of group members whose learning activities would be to gather information and develop a presentation for the class that reflected a specific area of interest which the bottle and message had prompted.

Groups formed and began brainstorming where and how to gather information, what to do with the information gathered, and how to present their new found knowledge to their classmates. Some children used our school library to begin their search. Others selected the community library as their starting place. One group began by writing letters to the town hall on Block Island asking if any information about our George existed. They also wrote to the Department of Environmental Management in Rhode Island asking for tide charts, nautical charts and maps of Narragansett Bay, and any weather information they might also have available. As the investigations continued, children brought in books, maps, nautical charts, almanacs, pictures, and even model boats. Each group decided on which question or topic they would investigate deeply. With some assistance and coaching from me, children went about their inquiries, gathered information, and put together their presentation. Students' personal journals were used to record information about their research process, George Dodge, boating, weather, Narragansett Bay, and fishing. I checked on progress and the amount of work being done by each group, recording in my own journal each child's name and the things he/she was doing. I set time lines to guide activities and established dates for written work to be completed and class presentations to occur.

By the end of September the children had gathered a wealth of information. Using a "panel presentation" format, each group told the class what they were able to discover about the ideas and topics surrounding the bottle and its message. They discovered that the Bay had many islands, some big and some quite small. They learned about tides, currents, weather, fishing, and that actually there was no record of a George Dodge living on Block Island in the early eighteen hundreds. They built shadow boxes, dioramas, and environment boards to represent everything from Narragansett Bay and its islands to George Dodge's lean-to and island living area while marooned. They read, wrote, drew, measured, deduced and induced, worked cooperatively and individually. They studied science and geography, math and reading, art and writing. They presented themselves as being eager to discover and seemed to enjoy the process of research and the presentations of their classmates.

When each group had completed their presentation I brought the entire class together to again look at the original list of questions and concerns that were raised. As a group, we felt comfortable that we had acquired information which responded to these questions and concerns.

Reflecting on my practice:
Only today, after much time has passed and professional growth and development have extended my learning, do I find myself prepared constructively to inquire and reflect on that classroom investigation from many years ago. I enter into this inquiry oriented reflective practice as a veteran educator eager to enhance my own practice. It seems then, I have reached that "higher ground" so as to reflect on the "nature of things” that Jerome Bruner in his book Actual Minds, Possible Worlds (1986) suggest we all come to in our lives. Even Lev Vygotsky, writing in 1962 in his book Thought and Language suggests that I am engaged in a “consciousness or reflection which is providing me a means for my mind to turn around upon its own thoughts and see them in a new light” (p. 115). And so, I begin to assess what actually happened with children's learning while seeking and discovering bottle information.
This inquiry/discovery oriented environment which I established was an essential feature of children's learning and the foundation of their bottle investigations. Throughout these investigations children engaged in "...a variety of internal developmental processes that ... operate only when the child is interacting with people in his environment and in cooperation with his peers" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 90). Children's experiences also are critical components needed for learning to occur (Dewey 1902; 1938; Shannon, 1992, p. 48). The construction of this activity encouraged children to venture into classroom learning discoveries based on interest. Implicit in a child's interest area is a foundational level of experience. (Living in a "beach" community, all children had made their own "beach discoveries"). The group work clustered children having similar interests and structured opportunity for peer interaction. Learning was active and involved children's minds reaching out to discover and learn. Children constructed knowledge and developed meaning from their learning by having personal and environmental interactions.

By creating an environment and opportunities which engaged children in active learning I established the ingredients necessary for learning to occur. Children were very much engaged in learning about the many topics they developed relating to the bottle. From the moment they discovered the "message" each and every one of them was wild with imagination and eager to discover. This was clearly evident in their journal writing, group work, and personal daily conversations.

I was able to move beyond the traditional segregated curriculum, the didactic instruction offering the "facts" of learning. By developing and initiating this activity my classroom curriculum was "...generated within the life of the classroom by all members of the classroom community" (Cordeiro, 1993). Learning was constructed so the curriculum for children would be inquiry-oriented. That is to say children inquired about possibilities, selected direction to discover, and chose their own methods, means, and materials for learning. I designed this piece of curriculum for children to work in groups, using a range of resources for information, which would be relevant to the world outside of the classroom, and encouraged students not only to produce knowledge but also to reflect on their learning. There was actually "...hands-on, minds-on, hearts-on learning..." (Wells, 1995, p. 265) occurring in my fourth grade classroom.
Children, and even their parents, became the primary constructors of this curriculum through the initial development of questions and comments which ultimately drove their research and discoveries. The structuring of the learning group around common interests, the selection by children of where to and how to gather information, and the decision on how best to share with others what was being learned became largely the responsibility of the children. Responding to issues, promoting group inquiry, facilitating student learning by encouraging and guiding, and creating the environment which fostered and encouraged student inquiry and student choice was my focused role.

Conclusions and implications:
The children's investigations never really established the authenticity of the message or existence of George Dodge*. Not being able to really know for certain if this message was real seemed to be a bit of a disappointment to the class. This activity did however, set the stage for many other inquiries and discoveries this class would embark on throughout the year.
This piece of curriculum encouraged children to become engaged in their learning because of their own experiences and previous knowledge. They inquired, discovered, and acquired meaning from their learning because the environment and curriculum were structured for them to do so. "[I]nquiry is ... the most effective route to understanding, which should be the goal of learning and teaching at all levels in the educational system" (Wells, 1995). This kind of learning insured that my classroom would "...resound with the voices of articulate young people in dialogues always incomplete because there is always more to be discovered and more to be said" (Greene, 1995, p.43).

At times, I felt removed from the learning as children became so engaged in their own discoveries. A strategy I would employ to avoid this concern would be to initiate my own journaling activities. Recording in a log the actual goings-on of group work and children's comments and conversations would have insured more active teacher involvement in the student discoveries and been an invaluable record to support and detail the learning which occurred.

This process of identifying a piece of one's professional practice through story and reflection on the dynamics of current child development theory, instructional practice, and curriculum development has extensive implications for professional development programs and staff evaluation procedures. I can imagine a summer institute for teachers where this process becomes a week of professional reflection documented through writing. Each participant would detail a specific classroom "story" from their personal experience, write about it, share it with a group of peers, review current literature on teaching and learning, and discuss its implications for classroom instruction. Imagine the lasting positive effects on the teaching practice of those participating and the impact on colleagues who read the personal accounts of these classroom practices.

Through a staff evaluation procedure which incorporates teams of teachers involved in reflection of practice based on specific goals established by the team, individuals could identify "best practices" occurring in classrooms and share these instructional strategies with each other. This would structure substantive discussions about teaching and learning in an accountability environment encouraging professional growth and development. Imagine the kinds of dialogue occurring in staff lounges. Imagine the possibilities of transforming instruction in a school or district that considers teaching rather than testing. I guess with all this imagining it's time to go sailing again!

*Actually, the Dodge family was quite prominent on Block Island throughout its history and continues to be a presence to this day!




Some sources that were used to construct this narrative include:

Bruner, J. (1986). Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Codeiro, P. (1992). Whole learning. Katonah, New York: Richard C. Owen Publishers, Inc.
Codeiro, P. (1993). Becoming a learner who teaches. Teachers Networking. 12, (1), 1-5.
Dewey, J. [1900, 1902], (1992). The school and society and The child and the curriculum. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Collier Books.
Dodd, A.W. (1995). Engaging students: what I learned along the way. Educational Leadership, 53, (1), 65-67.
Donaldson, M. (1978). Children's minds. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
Greene, M. (1995). Releasing the imagination. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Heald-Taylor, B.G. (1996). Three paradigms for literature instruction in grades 3 to 6. The Reading Teacher, 49, 6,456-466.
Hyun, E. & Marshall, J.D. (1996).Inquiry oriented reflective supervision for developmentally and culturally appropriate practices. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 2, (2), 127-144.
Shanahan, T. (Ed.). (1994). Teachers thinking, teachers knowing. Urbana, Il: National Council of Teachers of English.
Shannon, P. (Ed.). (1992). Becoming Political. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Van Scoy, I.J. (1995). Trading the three r’s for the four e’s: Transforming curriculum. Early Childhood, 72, 1,19-23.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1962). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wells, G. (1995). Language and the inquiry-oriented curriculum. Curriculum Inquiry, 25, (3), 233- 269.

Teaching Then and Now

Life often intervenes and limits opportunity for professional interaction. So it has been with me during these last few months; not even one sentence was written for thoughtful provocation. The fire continues to burn. As a result, the following is offered for your consideration.


Introduction:

It is a typical New England November. Some days quite overcast; dense gray clouds wrapping this small corner of the world with chill and dampness, acting as the harbinger of winter snows soon to follow. Other days of the Indian Summer breed with deep blue cloudless skies allowing the sun’s generative strength to warm the body and soul of anyone wandering the out of doors. Most trees have shed their leaves preparing for their season of sleep. The occasional oak tenaciously holds onto the last of its foliage, now brown and crisp; these will finally be expelled by new buds of spring. The smell of wood fires fill the air as families began their seasonal ritual of warming their living spaces. Anticipation of harvest celebration is evident as bittersweet drapes itself in its orange/yellow splendor along road sides and decorates farm stands and pumpkin patches.

These are good days for schooling. Children have settled into the routine of learning and growing, friends and play, homework and family activities. They are ready and eager to learn; the school year is becoming familiar but the newness has not yet worn off. Backpacks filled with the artifacts of a child’s school life are opened each morning as classmates greet one another at desks and near coat racks. Papers, books, lunches, sometimes stuffed animals and other special treasures pour forth from these youngsters’ overnight bags and are often awarded special places for the day in the teaching and learning habitats. There is, however, in many big cities, small towns, and quaint villages throughout the test driven, Adequate Yearly Progress, standardized classrooms of the Northeast, an uneasiness about the teaching and learning occurring during these ephemeral fall days that has its roots in the accountability agenda of No Child Left Behind.

Recently, I had the occasion to review some of the research and writing I produced about a decade ago to see what “things have changed”. Currently, extensive narrative and storytelling on blogs, in news print, and media tell us of the implementation of curriculum and instructional practices, particularly in urban and high needs communities that are research based and teacher proof to insure “Success for All” and “Reading First” will not leave children behind. Although these classrooms, many of which I have visited while supervising student teachers during the last few years, cause me to think of the schooling that must have occurred on the planet Camazotz in the Madeleine L'Engle book A Wrinkle in Time, I am often heartened to see the “rebel” teacher also using research based instructional strategies that embrace a constructivist platform to engage children in meaningful, socially and academically engaging learning acquisitions. More on this later, but for now, let me take you to some classrooms of a decade ago. Please know that names are not real!!!


History:

It all began about twenty years ago when overcrowded classrooms and buildings caused many traditional kindergarten through sixth grade elementary schools to reorganize into kindergarten through fourth grade configurations. This reorganization rippled upward moving fifth through eighth grade into the junior high schools which was then being renamed “middle school” to honor this domino manipulation. Throughout the next decade school districts continued to grapple with various declining and increasing enrollment situations; extensive renovation to existing schools and the building of new schools stretched the tax dollars of all communities to critical points. This too had an impact on instruction! Some districts recognized that fifth graders were more suited to an elementary (K-5) configuration rather than the middle school (6-8) structure. Traditional teachers however were quite comfortable with the departmentalized, didactic, curriculum as fact instructional program of the middle school a.k.a. junior high school. Their teaching and learning program was philosophically and pragmatically worlds apart from the dialectic, curriculum as activity, dialogic, curriculum as inquiry, learner centered, and literacy based elementary program. It was a challenge for them to assimilate into the integrated instructional practice of elementary teaching and learning. As teaching and learning today gives short shift to most curricula that is not reading, math, or science, I wonder just how far we have really progressed in our goal to not leave any child behind.


Method:

As an administrator in one of these typical reconfigured districts, I began making many classroom visits during a November in the late 90s, recording what I was seeing and sharing these observations with grade level teachers. These contemporaneous recordings, and in some cases participant observations of classrooms, became a component of the fodder for the articulation of curriculum, instruction, and assessment with all elementary teaching staff. I visited eleven elementary fifth grade classrooms in four schools during these “good fall days for teaching and learning”. All teachers except one were in these elementary school fifth grade positions as a result of being involuntarily transferred to the elementary setting for this year’s teaching assignment. Although each of the eleven offered interesting scenarios individually, what actually became quite intriguing were three classrooms in one of the elementary schools. These classrooms, located side by side along one corridor of the school, and the teachers within, presented distinctly different styles of teaching and distinctly different environments for learning. Even colleagues commented on how different the classroom instruction and “atmosphere” seemed to be for each of these fifth grades. This may or may not be. Only the readers of this monograph will make that determination individually by agreeing, disagreeing, or challenging the conclusions of this recorder.

During these November days I visited each fifth grade classroom for about two hours at about the same time of day on three consecutive days. In an attempt to portray the reality of classroom practice without distorting the situation with pre-ordinate theories, research designs, or protocols, the following description is being offered to create an opportunity for the reader to develop a deeper meaning of the curriculum and instruction being practiced in these fifth grade classrooms. For narrative sake I have created three categories, the whip, the pointer, and the pom-pom from which to view the classrooms. I apologize for any pre-judgment this categorization may cause.


The Whip:

The classroom had a circus quality to it. Like the big cats, the children seemed to fear this trainer. Much like the lions and tigers in the center ring of cages, children had their places to be in this room and clearly knew better than to move about. The teacher also added to the circus atmosphere. She was bedecked in a manner fitting her stately and demanding position. Ms. Barnum was wearing a smartly tailored, sleek fitting black suit, which accented her beauty pageant figure. From head to toe, her erect posture, in black heels and newly highlighted auburn hair, curly and shoulder length, exemplified authority. Gold jewelry, including ear rings, rings on four fingers, bracelets and necklaces provided accents. Her lips were vivid red and coordinated with her fingernails. Cheekbones were brushed to a radiant glow and her smile, which seemed to be pasted on, glistened with white, perfectly aligned teeth.

In random piles and stacks throughout the room were packets of ditto assignments waiting to be distributed. Books were scattered on these piles, also on shelves and counters, but not desks! The artifacts of children’s learning, in various stages of completion dotted the class-scape. This classroom found children seated at desks in groups. There were 17 children in the class when this observation began. They were working on a math sheet and as they did parts of the assignment, they brought the papers to Ms. Barnum to be checked. At most times there were two to four children standing near Ms. Barnum who had positioned herself in front of the room. She stepped quickly to the side of the room to sit at her desk and continued checking papers. Children stood in line, others worked at their desks. Ms. Barnum demanded “NO TALKING” in here on three occasions. One child was putting clothing in a bag. Another was looking through a file folder. Still another was writing and reading. A couple of children were coloring. One boy spent most of the time playing with a pen and a box of materials (tape, pencils, scissors, etc.). One boy stood by his desk most of the time, occasionally sitting in his chair and softly talking to anyone who would listen. Another boy was coloring and visiting with those around him. Ms. Barnum continued to “instruct” individuals at her desk by going over a decimal point problem and asking questions like “What’s the biggest?” “How many tens do we want?” “What’s our number?”

She left the desk area and asked if everyone had handed in their math tests. She announced to the class that they would get all the other materials (projects, written assignments, dittos, etc.) completed today. She asked children to take out of their desks the Indian packets. She cautioned children about talking and reminded them to put everything about Indians all together in one packet. Children rummaged through their desks looking for additional pieces to include in their packets. She directed the children to pass forward these packets. Clearly, some were not ready to do this and continued to look for additional parts of this assignment.

A teaching assistant was working individually with four children in one corner of the room when Ms. Barnum instructed all children to “be in your seats”. Sixteen children remained at their desks while three children continued to work with the teaching assistant at a table on the side of the room. Ms. Barnum handed out a test and said she would go over directions. She asked to have all eyes on her after the children put their names on the paper. “One of the most important things to do is to listen.” Ms. Barnum went over the directions on the test and read the words on the test. She explained that these words were used in the story they had recently read. She read the directions for the true and false portion of the test, and told children that if a statement was false they were to write “why” it was false on the back of the paper. She continued to read the test “so that no one would have trouble with the words”. Children were motionless but not necessarily attentive.


The Pointer:

Standing behind a podium in the front of the classroom, just barely able to see over the top to survey the class, stood Ms. Jones. She was dressed in slacks and a blouse with brown tie shoes. A cardigan sweater, unbuttoned, hung loosely to her waist. She possessed no visible signs of makeup. Her squat body poised to begin giving directions.

Children were seated in paired rows with an occasional third desk strung to the side of the pair. All students were working on a “test” in language and using the English text and a “check-up” page for the evaluation. Children’s attention was focused on the teacher or the assignment on their desks. Ms. Jones moved across the front of the room with determination and precision to a table in another area still at the front of the room. As children completed this test, Ms. Jones reminded them to complete their “resolutions”. Occasionally, children would bring a paper to Ms. Jones and ask a question or have it reviewed. She reminded some children to complete their English assignment before going on to the next assignment.

Assignments for the day were listed on the board and included: Math pages and examples, Spelling, English, Social Studies, The Specific English Review and other items that needed to be completed including three additional assignments: a word puzzle, resolutions and ‘96 memories. Using a yard stick as she spoke, Ms. Jones pointed to each assignment on the blackboard as a CEO would do if outlining the business strategy for the month to a room of sales representatives. Children were told they could get their snack but needed to continue working while they ate. A business, working lunch seemed to be alive and well in this fifth grade. As they finished the English Review, children worked on worksheets about “resolutions” and a crossword puzzle. Ms. Jones spoke to the class about the crossword puzzle and a correction that needed to be made. She told them the puzzle was not due until tomorrow and that they should do other things first.

A bit of time passed before Ms. Jones began to move around the classroom. She went to one student at his desk and spoke to him about his resolutions, suggesting he needed to include a bit more detail in each “resolution”. She returned to the front of the room and added “November terms” to the list of things to do. Children continued to work on the assignments as listed while Ms. Jones spoke individually with children at the front of the room.


The Pom Pom:

Ms. Bauer positioned herself at the front of the classroom holding a piece of chalk, poised to place the numbers and symbols of math on the blackboard for the children of the class. Her dress was casual. A paid jumper, turtleneck shirt, and blazer of muted autumn heather gave the appearance of a recent visit to L.L. Bean. Long, straight brown hair parted on the side and extending below her shoulders, along with brown leather boots completed the country girl look. Her smile was inviting and her voice was pleasant, supportive, and encouraging.

Children were seated at desks in rows. Ms. Bauer asked children to take math books out of their desks. She introduced the activity as: “We are going to do some ‘rounding’ today. Have your rules ready! Let’s try some at the board.” She asked two children to come to the blackboard and bring their rules which they would use to assist them in rounding two numbers she placed on the board. The children rounded the numbers as Ms. Bauer described what the children were doing. During her description she would refer to the list of rules for rounding numbers which the children carried with them.

Ms. Bauer asked these children to choose another number and put that number on the board. The children were then instructed to give a set of directions to their classmates to round the new numbers. As this activity proceeded, many hands went into the air from students around the classroom eager to take their turn at writing on the blackboard. Ms. Bauer encouraged the new children at the blackboard as she pointed out what “right” things they did.

Ms. Bauer continued this “rounding off” activity by having two more problems and sets of directions created by the current children at the blackboard. While the next pair of children was working at the blackboard, Ms. Bauer placed a piece of math paper on each child’s desk. A whole class assignment was about to begin, but not before more chalk and board activity. As the children “worked” their problems on the blackboard, Ms. Bauer “talked” them through their activity, identifying the correctness of their performance. She asked them to verbalize (state) the problem and directions for a new set of numbers they were placing on the blackboard. Again, hands waved in the air as if a parade of dancers had just passed by the class room windows. A new pair of mathematicians went to the board to solve these problems. And again, Ms. Bauer reviewed the problems when they were completed. She pointed out the good process and the successful responses with encouraging words.

Everyone was now seated as Ms. Bauer told children to use the paper at their desks; they would be rounding addends and sums. She asked what kinds of numbers were being used. One child responded “addition” problems. Ms. Bauer set up an example at the blackboard and then walked around the room to make sure each child “set up” their paper with space so they could round the addends. One child asked if he should write this in his math journal. Ms. Bauer agreed it would be a good idea, but not right now. She wrote a rule on the board about estimating sums and then strolled across the classroom to help two children “set up” papers. She asked everyone to round the addends and “estimate” the sum. Ms. Bauer described this process and suggested they do another one. She said she would come around to assist and check. She encouraged with words as the children completed the task. As children finished this problem, they sat quietly or raised their hands.


Concluding Thoughts:

I can’t help but think of Maxine Greene’s provocative wisdom in her book Releasing the Imagination as she tells us “classrooms ought to be nurturing and thoughtful and just all at once...[and] ought to resound with the voices of young people in dialogues always incomplete because there is always more to be discussed…” Does that make you wonder about these three fifth grade classrooms? There just didn’t seem to be any “dialogue”! But maybe I was too preoccupied with regimen and structure and environment and fashion and teacher language to hear children’s language. The similarities in instruction practice were not easily seen just passing by these rooms as evidenced by the positions of many other professionals who frequently commented on the “differences” from one classroom to the next and how these styles and practices were a “good fit” for particular children in those classrooms. Yet to me, there existed a homogenized curriculum of fact and didactic instruction processes. This was clearly evident in the teachers’ directions to the class, the form of questioning that was occurring, the location and arrangement of student seating, and the focus on a singular academic discipline that blocked any attempt by the students to integrate disciplines. (Recall the student who asked about writing in his math journal but was told that it wasn’t an appropriate time?) Although there were distinct differences in classroom atmosphere, the instruction practices were painfully uniform and absent of student engagement. These classrooms were teacher directed and content centered.

Do teachers and students need to engage in dialogue and established a process for learning with joint responsibilities and mutual growth? It didn’t seem as though it was even on the radar screen at that time. Have we made any substantive progress in the last five to ten years that would indicate these practices have changed? Or are we in the same instructional place leaving many children behind while we continue to “teach” content rather than children? We understand that interactive communication and interdisciplinary instruction are crucial components of teaching processes for children if learning is to occur. Part of the development of children’s minds occurs through the engagement in dialogue with adults about common interests. This allows children the opportunity to express personal beliefs. Engaging children in their learning, making them the designers of, rather than objects of instruction, and connecting their personal experiences to their needs, creates relevant learning. Is this what is truly happening in our “Success for All” and “Reading First” classrooms of today as teachers march through pieces of standardized content that demonstrate connectedness to states’ high stakes tests but have little, if any, connectedness to meaningful hands-on, minds-on socially provocative, interdisciplinary learning for life? Do you think these fifth grade teachers ever recognized that children need to become developers of their own education? And what about the thinking of teachers today? Any changes in the recognition of children’s needs from then to now? Children should no longer be the object of a lesson to be taught or information to be poured into them as if they are an empty container. Instead, might we consider learners as decision makers, problem solvers, and communicators? Conversations occurring between and among students provide opportunities for all members of the classroom to sparkle in their own right. All that glitters in classrooms is not necessarily intended to be the gold jewelry worn by the teachers!

Sadly, it seems to me that today’s teaching and learning practices have made little, if any, significant improvement from the practices of ten and twenty years ago. The “Three Rs”, read, remember, regurgitate, have new life in the NCLB accountability agenda that praises standards more than students, content more than communication, and government regulations more than educational research. Maybe it is time for the education pendulum to be swinging in the direction of socially just and morally responsible teaching and learning. Could that be possible?