Using Class Cards with teachers
(Seminar interaction)

Midway through Day 1 of a two-day training, I passed out 3 X 5 index cards and asked the teachers to write their names at the top of the card. The cards were then collected and I began to use them to randomly call upon the teachers based upon whose card came up. (Up until that point, I had been taking responses from teachers who wished to volunteer a response. Not the best way to go, I'll grant, because people can choose to check out if they wish; nonetheless, I wanted to get a feel for their overall desire to contribute to the conversation.)

At the next break, one of the teachers, who was seated in the last row of the room, came up to me and said, "Hey, Rick. You should have seen everyone sit up a little straighter when they figured out that you were going to start calling upon them randomly."

"Yeah, it's funny to watch and happens at just about every seminar whenever I crack out the cards. Let's see how they handle it when I actually call upon someone who doesn't have a hand up. That should be entertaining, eh?"

Later on, when I was discussing how a Check Off Sheet (COS) can help a teacher focus on students who need attention, I directed their attention to the sample shown below. It documented the completion of math assignments by my students.

I had used it to collect Monday's assignment. At 1:45, I heard from four students--Fabian, #11; Heather, #13; Marshall, #19; and Megan, #20--that they weren't finished. Their numbers were circled.

At the end of Tuesday's math time, two students weren't finished--Calvin, #6 and Marshall, #19--and Fabian, #11, was absent.

On Friday, as my students began to work independently on the activity sheet I had given them, I filled in the assignment information and triangled the numbers of the two students who were absent. Then, before I set the Math COS next to the collection box, I looked back over Monday's and Tuesday's results and realized that I needed to go see one of my students right now to find out how he's doing.

"If you could only go see one student right now," I asked the teachers as I shuffled their index cards, "who would you go see?"

As the teachers responded, I put their cards in separate piles. There was a pile for everyone who said, "I don't know yet." There was another pile for everyone who said, "Number 11." That pile actually began to grow as more and more teachers heard others say, "Number 11," and so said it themselves. There was a third pile for everyone who said, "Number 19."

Out of the twelve or so teachers I ended up calling upon, only one of them said, "Number 19," which was the correct response.

Now then, here's the point I'm trying to make. Since I had placed their cards in piles based upon their responses, I was able to go back and call upon the one teacher who had said, "Number 19."

"Elena. Who should you go see right now?" I asked again.

"Number 19," she repeated calmly.

"Why?"

"Because he didn't finish Monday's assignment and he didn't finish Tuesday's assignment," she answered.

I then took over the teaching by pointing out to everyone that: 1) Marshall's number was circled on both days which means he hadn't finished; and 2) we can't talk to Fabian right now because he is absent. I should go see Marshall.

What I should have done was allow Elena to continue the instruction in my place. Something like this:

"Elena, how did you know Marshall hadn't finish either assignment?"

"Well, his number is circled both days."

"Thank you. And why can't we talk to Fabian?"

"Because he's absent."

"How do you know that?"

"His number has a triangle around it. A triangle represents an absence."

"Well said, Elena. Thanks for your help."

Looking back a day or so later, I realize it would have been better to have her do the whole thing. Live and learn, I guess.

But at least I was able to use her as a resource for reteaching. And the only reason I was able to do that was that I had taken the time to put the cards of responding teachers in separate piles based upon their responses. Had I not done that, of course, I would have been at a loss as to which one of the many teachers called upon had actually provided the correct response.

A word about sensitivity
(Conversation with my wife)

I called my wife from the hotel that night to see how she and my son were doing. Toward the end of our conversation, I mentioned the situation about the index cards and the teachers' responses.

"Aren't you afraid of putting people on the spot by calling upon them randomly?" she asked. "Not everyone is comfortable speaking in front of a group of people, you know."

"No way, babe. These are teachers. They're used to public speaking."

"Well, maybe you should ask them how they feel about it," she suggested.

"Sure. I can do that," I said, thinking that no one would say a word about it.

Could you remove my card?
(Seminar interaction)

Day 2 began with me discussing my conversation with my wife from the previous night.

"My wife thinks I need to be concerned about the possibility that some of you may not feel comfortable being called upon to respond in a random fashion. I told her that I would find out today and see if that's true. So, I'm asking: would anyone like to have your card removed from the deck?"

There was a bit of awkward silence and some side conversation, but not a single person raised a hand.

"No one, huh?" I asked and then paused for a response.

I was just about to move on, when one of the teachers said, "Maybe you should allow anyone who wishes to have the card removed to see you at the next break. After all, if they are that shy about speaking, they're going to be shy about raising a hand right now."

Well, of course that makes sense and I said so.

I went on to explain how I used to use the same procedure when I was taking scores or grades from my students orally. Every student knew that if you didn't want to announce your score out loud you could come up to me and whisper it to me. (I made sure the class realized that sharing a grade privately did not necessarily indicate a low grade or an embarrassing score. Maybe the student is just being modest and doesn't want to show off a great grade. Maybe the student just wants some personal contact with me. Let's just not assume the worst.)

Anyway, at the very first break, one of the teachers approached me.

"Could you remove my card from the deck?" she asked in a somewhat hesitant fashion.

"Sure I can," I smiled in reply. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't feel comfortable speaking in front of a large group."

"But you're a teacher. You do that all the time, don't you?"

"Yes, but that's different. They're not my peers. It's when I'm in a group of teachers that I start to feel pressure at speaking."

"Okay. I'll remove your card. But how am I going to know you're staying with our discussions and not drifting off?"

"Well, yeah, I do have a problem with paying attention sometimes."

Yikes. Now what do I do? She's just admitted she has a bit of attention-deficit but, at the same time, is clearly troubled by the prospect of being called upon to speak.

As much as I didn't want to--because I have such high expectations for my students--I said, "Let's remove your card right now so that you don't have to worry about this any longer." I showed her the deck and allowed her to find the one with her name on it. "I'm glad you said something. I certainly wouldn't want anyone to feel any pressure or stress during one of my seminars. Thanks for being brave enough to come up and speak with me."

She seemed quite relieved as she walked away, and I realized that her decrease in stress would most likely result in an increase the amount of information you would take in and process over the remainder of the day. (This concept is called the low academic filter. That is, reduced anxiety leads to improved achievement.)

And so, for the rest of that day, she wasn't called upon but I did make a lot more visual eye contact with her to assess her involvement. All in all, a win-win situation.

Reality: Could you do this with your own students? Allow one or more students to have their cards removed from your deck of cards? In a word, no. They shouldn't be allowed to make that determination. And since they don't have this option, it's incumbent upon us to make sure that the use of cards is done in a safe and non-threatening manner so that those students who are reluctant to speak in front of the group are supported and nurtured until such time as speaking in front of the group becomes a non-issue.

Sorry I'm wearing my hood
(Seminar interaction)

During one of the breaks, a teacher walked by me. She was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and had the hood pulled up so that it was covering her hair.

As she passed me, she turned and said, "Sorry I'm wearing my hood in class. The air is kind of cold in here." She seemed to be a bit embarrassed about the fact and then added, "But I don't allow my students to wear their hoods in class." She gave me a smile and then continued on by.

Why is it that teachers grant themselves freedoms they deny their students? After all, if it's okay for her to have her hood up in my class, why shouldn't students be allowed to wear their hoods in her class? Stated simply: is the wearing of a hood in class proper conduct? Yes or no? Right or wrong?

Personally, I don't really care. I'm more concerned about what's going on inside of the head than what's covering it. Which leads me to the point of this entry.

I grant my students as much freedom as they can handle.

Freedom, as most of you know from my writing and speaking, is one of the five basic student needs Bill Glasser has identified as critical to their overall success in the classroom. The other four needs are: power, fun, safety, and love.

For instance, my students have the freedom to work away from their assigned seats. (This is somewhat enhanced by the fact that we do have some free space in our classroom. There's always the kidney-shaped reading table students can sit at if it's not being used by a group. There's the small carpet at the front of the room students can work on. Just make sure you grab a clipboard so that your handwriting doesn't suffer. There are any number of walls a student can lean against.)

All I require is that the student be productive. That's the bottom line. Move if you wish, but stay on task. And if the move causes you to get off task for any reason? Move back to where you normally sit. It's your choice. (In the classroom, freedom is nothing more than allowing students to make choices. According to the research, it's the choices children make that help to build their character. And when you have character, you have hope for a better future.)

So wear a hood if you wish. I'm okay with that. Just don't let it get in the way of your ongoing quest for an education.

What if, though, the student is "hiding" in the hood and not engaged in the lesson? The student has a choice: wear the hood and stay engaged or remove the hood if you can't stay engaged. It's as simple as that.

What if the student's hood is hiding the fact that he is also wearing a set of ear buds which are connected to an iPod so that he can surreptitiously listen to music? In that case, the student has violated trust and will need to remove both the ear buds and the hood. That's assuming, of course, that I had previously stipulated that listening to an iPod in class is forbidden.

Which brings up a related thought: what if listening to music actually enabled a student to be more productive? The music might just eliminate classroom distractions and facilitate the student's ability to concentrate on his writing or reading or math. (I'm listening to some music right now as I write this entry. It's playing softly in the background and creates a nice little cocoon of sound. And, it should be noted, there have been frequent periods of time in which I didn't really notice the music at all because I had become so engrossed in wordsmithing. It just kind of fades in and out depending upon my focus.)

All I'm trying to say is that we don't always know what's going to help and what's going to get in the way. Wearing a hood? Working away from your desk? Listening to an iPod? Could be okay; could be a problem. Add to that mix the fact that every student is different and handles freedom in slightly different ways and you come to the conclusion that teaching is truly an art.

So, let's take a deep breath and think before making blanket statements about classroom policy--no hoods in class--when a more flexible stance might just allow students an opportunity to flex their freedom muscles. And that's the beauty of the arrangement. Freedom is possible only when it is accompanied by self-discipline and personal responsibility. Show some restraint and self-control and you can have the freedom. Conversely, freedom can be denied until such an ability is demonstrated by the student.

As always, it's up to the individual.

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