The Struggling Song

Last spring, I read an article about the positive aspects of wrestling with a difficult task.  The article contrasted the U.S. with other countries, showing how our students give up more quickly when faced with complex problems.  I've been experimenting with these ideas in my classroom, starting with using the words "struggle", "wrestle", and "experiment" in a positive light.  

This month, the kids are trying what I call our 5 Minute Math Struggle.  I put a challenging problem on the board, usually something related to real life.  They have 5 minutes to try solving it in three different ways, with no help.  Even though they are working to get correct answers, the focus is on perseverance and on viewing a problem from many angles. After the 5 minutes are finished, the kids pair up and talk about their strategies and outcomes.

It is so interesting to watch.  The first time we tried one of these Math Struggles, a few kids got angry.  "This is impossible!" they said, with pained expressions.  Some of my students who need support in Math actually did the best.  Wrestling with unknowns is not unusual for those kids.  The ones who usually understand right away gave up more quickly.

Today, we tried again.  We talked about last time, and how they might approach today with a different mindset.  One student said, "I can handle the pain this time!"  Today, no one gave up.  A few were disappointed when the timer went off.  Their minds were engaged and they didn't want to stop.  Many were excited to show unique solution methods.  I'm excited about where this is going and can't wait to see how this affects other subjects too.  Soon, I plan to increase the time allowed and the problem complexity.  For now, 5 minutes is a long time to stay focused.

During recess, two girls wrote a song about this new process.  I love it.  It's called "Your Friend Struggling":

Oh, oh, oh….

Struggling, struggling, struggling,

Is so good for you!

Struggling, struggling, struggling,

It will get you through!

Light bulbs are flashing,

Brain cells are dashing,

Connect the dots in your brain,

Don’t fear the pain,

You’re almost to the end…….

Because struggling, struggling, struggling

Is your friend!

Missing Something

Student walking out the door today: "Miss C.? I wanted to tell you something before the weekend."

Me: "You'll miss me terribly and can't wait until it's Monday so we can learn again? Am I right?"

Student: "Um, actually, I miss my video games when I'm at school more than I miss you when I'm at home."

I guess that's fair. : )

Issaquah and Other Great Words

I watched an educational film about WA's coastal Native American tribes with my students today. The narrator talked about soaking cedar bark to make it pliable enough to weave. 

I said, "Pliable means flexible." 

One girl replied, "Oooh, I love Native American words!"

Best. Save. Ever.

During a recent Math lesson, Hannah kept getting up, walking to the art supply desk in the back of the room, and getting pieces of tape.  I finally said, "Hannah, you are too busy right now.  This is Math time.  Get back to your seat, okay?"  She looked at me with big, pleading eyes and replied, "But I was just making this for you!"

It was an origami lantern and she had written "Best. Teacher. Ever." in marker on the side.

What do I say to that?  Maybe I should keep craft projects in my car that say "Best. Police Officer. Ever." just in case I get pulled over for speeding.  :)

Hope, Take 2

This is another student's writing piece about hope.  Absolutely amazing.  This girl is a world changer.


"Hope is what you breathe in and out.
It's the song you may hear being called out.
It's that courage you feel and is what will drive you over the cracks in your life.
But nobody is perfect.
Hear that whisper waiting to be said,
Hope for you,
Hope for your courage you have,
Hope for the ones you will Love.
Hope is all you need."

A Lesson of Hope

I've been using the book, The Mysterious Journey of Edward Tulane to teach reading comprehension and delve into deeper thinking about fictional characters.  This is a rich book.  Reading it is like eating a gourmet meal; I am so excited about all the courses, but I take my time with each chapter, wanting to savor every bite.

Yesterday, a boy who is often in trouble for silly or off-task behavior, shared his thoughts on lessons learned from this book.  My very, very....very chatty class was silent for a full minute, just staring at him.  Then, they broke into applause.  His words are so beautiful.

They mean more if you've read the book, but I think anyone can be blessed by his insight.  What an amazing kid.

When Edward had some hard times, I learned that your life is not going to be perfect.  You're going to have some hard times.  It will be rocky.  Life shouldn't be easy, so just hope.  Hope for the ones you love, hope for the ones who love you.

Bacon Boy

Student: "Miss C, guess what SOB means?"
Me: "Uh, I already know what it means. What's got you thinking about that?"
Student: "I am crazy about bacon, so I want to say, 'Give me that SOB please!' whenever anyone has a stack of bacon! Get it?"
Me: "Yeah... I totally get it. Buddy, you need to know that most adults will think you are talking about a swear word when you say those letters. Do you think you can change the phrase to something else?"
Student: "Okay - how about POB? Give me your pile of bacon!"
Me: "Perfect."

Knock Knock

A student was having a very bad day. I wrote on a few post-it notes and called him over to my desk with a serious look on my face. He kicked his desk angrily, and sulked over, thinking he was in trouble again. I handed him one note at a time:

Post-it #1: Knock knock
Tyler (sniffling): "Who's there?"
Post-it #2: Tyler 
Tyler (looking at me like I'm crazy): "Tyler who?"
Post-it #3: Tyler, the awesome kid who is such a great part of this class. 
Tyler (smiling): "This is a weird joke, Miss C.!"

Open Sesame,,,, I Mean, Banana

My day started with two reasons to smile:
-I found a vase of bright yellow flowers on my desk
-the most adorable 2nd grader in the school (who is also my former student's little brother) was leaning in my classroom doorway, just smiling at me. When I said, "Hi Amman! What's up?" he pulled a slightly mangled banana out from behind his back and said, "Will you open this for me?"

Matthew, I Am Your Bar Graph

In August, I went to a class to learn strategies for students with more extreme behaviors.  The researcher emphasized the importance of first building relationship with our toughest students.  This year, one of my students opposes authority.  This means, he refuses to do classwork, homework, and any kind of activity where "everyone is doing this".  Sounds like a great candidate for relationship building.

So, I arbitrarily chose one assignment he refused to complete - a bar graph about the way he learns best.  I know he likes Minecraft and Star Wars, so every day, I google one of those topics and write a post-it note for the bar graph.  I place the graph and note on his desk in the morning, and wait for his reaction.

At first, I thought the plan might backfire.  Matthew (not his name) would make eye contact with me, crumple up the note, and say, "You won't win this one," or "I'm never finishing this dumb graph!"  The funny thing, was, he would then always place the unfinished graph back in the Turn In Box.  Being a kid who's not afraid of destroying papers, I would have expected him to shred the graph, not just the post-it note.  He's still engaging this with me, I thought, and googled "Yoda speak".

One day, a post-it with a warning that a Minecraft creeper was out to get him and the finished bar graph was his only defense, lay stuck to my laptop.  Matthew had written on the back, "COMEDY GOLD."  I looked over at him and he was grinning from ear to ear.

Game on.

From there, he got pictures of Darth Vader, saying, "Matthew... I am your bar graph...." and Yoda encouraging him, "Give up never, you will.  Bar graph finished, happy you will be."  Matthew told me he almost wet his pants when he saw Darth on his desk.

Slowly, he stopped keeping his hood on all the time.  Slowly, I'll catch Matthew raising his hand to participate in class from time to time.  Slowly, he'll say good morning to me every once in awhile.

All because of relationship.

And google.  I seriously know squat about Minecraft.