I came home from work yesterday with the most satisfied feeling I can remember in a long time. So many things had gone right, I was ripe with glee.
First block I started wading into the opening segments of the Titanic project they will start in full next week, and that always does my heart good. In Creative Writing, one of the annoying students was out of the room, so the rest of us could work in peace. I even handed out cookies.
Then came 8th, the period I dread the most. 28 kids and LOUD. I have one quiet table, but the rest is a menagerie of craziness. I actually wear ear plugs sometimes just so I can get through this extra long, lunch period class. My ears hurt when they leave!
But this day was different. They came in and immediately got to work on their projects. I mean…this never happens. Usually they are opening up video games and waiting for me to notice. And they weren’t airplane-overhead-loud for once. It was so noticeable, I couldn’t help but register it right away.
There was a boy scheduled to present, and he immediately begged off, saying there were a few things he needed to fix in his presentation. I originally didn’t think much of that. But as the time went on, I saw what was happening. And it stemmed from the previous class.
On Wednesday, we had three presentations — Taylor & Adelynn, three other girls as a team, and a boy named Julian. The team of girls did so-so, but Julian really botched his. When I filled out his scoring and feedback form I let him know the many places he missed the boat, as well as reminding him he could re-do his presentation if he would like. This is a cardinal rule of Global Perspectives. Since they are to be building skills, we have to give them every opportunity to get it right.
I had seen Julian in the hall on Thursday with his ELA teacher. She said, “This boy is very concerned.” Julian was asking me to clarify — could he do his presentation again and when? I told him yes, and we’d schedule it. To clarify, he is a quick-thinking, top notch student who received a 70/100 on an important assignment, which had dropped his grade to a (horrific for him) 85%.
But Julian’s failure and subsequent learning was not going to be lost on the others. They had all witnessed his presentation, the boy who can do no wrong, and when he was open about his failure to succeed, they took notice. It is why Lucas knew he had to improve before presenting. It is why kids in the class were calling him over to help them with things. He had become the expert through poor performance. And he had already taken the time to figure out where he went wrong, and he was actively and vocally fixing it. “Hey, Ms. Sadler. Come and see my slide layout now.”
Dang!
The entire class period was a marvel. Boys that are usually just goofing around were actively creating their flash cards and gently arguing over sequencing information. I was actually able to work on some things I needed to finish because suddenly they didn’t need me anymore. They had their models in place and they finally understood what to do.
And that wasn’t all. 12th period has been approaching this project in the most creative ways, and we had three presentations in there. Jonny did a “sell it” on the history of Asian food, with humor and personality. Charlotte had a cute cartoon drawing which cycled her through her presentation on livestock systems. And Khloe had a “news report” where she taught us the ins and outs of refugees from Afghanistan— not only creating a great deal of interest in the topic, but leaving us wanting to know more. This is pretty great stuff for 7th graders, I have to admit. They are starting to exceed my expectations.
And what teacher doesn’t love that feeling best of all?
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