8/15/07
As The School Year 2007-2008 Approaches
Like teachers everywhere (even those of us who are retired), the first of August automatically turns our thoughts to the start of the new school year. Fortunately I no longer have the concerns that affect many teachers: How many children are going to be in my class(es)? Is the new principal going to retain the order and methods to which we’ve become accustomed? Have our new texts arrived? Will I have many children with learning disabilities or without knowledge of English? I’m sure you can add to this worry list!
Probably more than just the turn of the calendar got me to thinking about the coming school year. I’ve been working many hours to complete a book, A Banner Experience for Teachers, a “spin-off” from my book published earlier this year, A Banner Experience, the recounting of the why and how I founded a K-8 private school in Frederick, MD, in 1982.
This book for teachers has a brief overview of what starting a school takes and how well the school did, but mostly I used this opportunity to share the many teaching materials I created during my years in the classroom. I was a middle school teacher of both a math and English in public and private schools. I love solving problems, which is why I created so many of my own materials, because no matter what was at hand in the classroom, it seemed we always needed something else.
Math was never a problem. Since this had always been my best subject, and I had started tutoring other students in seventh grade, I had good insight into the various types of problems that vex students and remedies for each.
English, however, was something else. Often called language arts in middle schools, it is a broad panoply of elements that includes reading a variety of works with facility and comprehension; using correct grammar; writing different types of material that show mastery of mechanics, style and critical thinking; using a variety of reference materials - in other words, everything these students need in preparation for high school English, where teachers spend less time correcting spelling and mechanical errors but work on higher levels of thinking, reading, writing and research.
Much of that material is of little interest to many students, so, of course, my biggest challenges came from the “turned-off” students, the ones I perceived as having the necessary abilities but who never wanted to exert themselves. Their work was sloppy, their written material unacceptable and their resistance to homework strong. Over time I had learned how to discover the strengths and weaknesses of my September classes. I needed to find material that would “push their buttons” and get them involved in the learning process.
Because I was always trying to accomplish more than time allowed, I began to combine several of those English components into one assignment. At the start of each school year, I made a quick assessment of each student's abilities and proficiencies with the many hidden hazards of English by dictating sentences that included many of the elements I mention above. The results demonstrated the weaknesses and strengths of the class as a whole and of individuals. I also dictated sentences each week that contained students' upcoming spelling words, allowing each of us to see what we needed to study - and what we did not, rather like pulling weeds from a garden.
Next time, I’ll expand on these and other classroom matters. I hope you have a great start to the new school year!
That’s my word for now.
Ellie
