As you establish your procedures, you will be teaching students how to operate within your sphere. You will tell them how to head papers, turn in assignments, gain permission to sharpen pencils or travel for materials. You will encourage, review, model and restate the procedures multiple times during these first few weeks of school.
I'm a few weeks in to the school year routine, and I have been noticing something. I wonder if you have ever considered it. Procedures can be a structure or a millstone depending upon a few factors.
A few years ago, my family and I were blessed to travel to Mount Vernon. (I love Mount Vernon. Any time we are within a driving proximity of Mount Vernon, you will find me making an excuse to head over there. "Hey guys, they have a new.....fill in the blank....that I haven't seen. We neeeeeeed to go." You get the idea. Good thing my husband enjoys it as much as I do. He is always willing to go anywhere because it makes me happy. And Mount Vernon,well, it makes me happy! On the most recent trip, we went to George Washington's Gristmill and Distillery. (I would put our family picture up, but I can't find it, so you get this nice photo from our good friends at Mount Vernon. If you'd like to take the virtual tour, check it out here: http://www.mountvernon.org/site/virtual-tour ).
I digress. As I'm thinking about the gristmill and the millstone in particular, it reminded me of something that happened in class today that made me consider if my procedures are structurally sound or merely personally beneficial. I was collecting the first big writing assignment. It's one of those assignments that has a planning sheet/outline, a rough draft, revisions, and ultimately a published work. We've been working on it since the beginning of the year. At the time I am receiving said papers from student one, let's call him James, he is suddenly nervous. I found that nervousness perplexing. Finally, he burst out, "Mrs. Teacher, do I need to put this in a particular order? I just don't want to get a bad grade."
Well, that broke my heart a little bit. I assured James that I would take it in any order, but he could put it in the order that was listed on the rubric because that would make life easier for me when I am grading it later tonight. Definitely, I made it clear that there would be no deduction simply placing the papers in the wrong order.
This scenario repeated with several students when they were submitting this paper to me. They were nearly twitching with anxiety. I couldn't stand it anymore. Finally, I just blurted, "Why are you all so nervous about turning this in to me? I know you've done your best work, so what is the problem?"
That question opened up a floodgate of comments. Enter the millstone. Big, heavy, millstone, crushing everything that enters its grasp. It turns out that Mrs. Last Year and Mrs. Year Before (hereafter known as the Millstone Sisters) had a system that had a rubric for putting papers in order. And, it counted as a grade. And you would lose points if it wasn't stapled in the correct corner. And you would lose points if the rubric wasn't stapled on top of it. And you would lose points if you had wrinkled pages. The list goes on. This happened in every subject. It made me so upset to know that instead of each student having the joy of the completion of a project, the thrill of a job well done, each was consumed with fear of losing points because they did not possess the gift of stapling and stacking and collating. I couldn't leave it that way. I told them that now that they were older, I trusted them to put all of the components in the stack and that it would not be a graded event. Now, if the order really mattered, I would simply give a bonus in my class economy for those who stacked it. In this case, I expressed a hope for a certain order only because it made me more efficient and I would smile when I graded their paper because of their courtesy to me. I'm sure it helped my cause when I let them put two of my fancy paperclips on their work and let them drop it with a flourish in the fancy stack tray, but every single one of them had the papers in the correct order. Really. Almost a miracle, right?
Now, I'm thinking over my classroom procedures. How many truly provide the structure needed for us to operate together in an efficient and effective manner, and how many merely provide a convenience for me? So perhaps, you're thinking, this is not relevant to you. I would contend that it may relate to you more than you realize. (Don't like to hear talking in the mornings, so you have everyone enter the room in silence under the guise of the idea that students can't organize their things if they are talking. Is that truly a benefit to the class or merely part of your preference? I know some classes require different things, but you get the idea. ) I'm really raking over my procedures to see what brings benefit and value to class operations. (If you knew me personally, you would be amazed that I am writing this as I am known for being an excellent and consistent classroom manager. If you believe your own reviews, anyway.) :) I'm looking to see if any misplaced procedures are crushing my students. I'm sure the Millstone Sisters would never intentionally crush a student. They are loving and kind people.
Let's be mindful to prevent crushing the very thing we are trying to cultivate--the joy of learning, the thrill of accomplishment and the positive feelings that come with success and completion. The Millstone Sisters have been sending me students with those same fears, year after year. Each time I broach the subject with them, they deflect and defend. A millstone needs to be properly aligned to produce the desired flour or other product. These students have been under a misaligned millstone in my view. I still have my procedures in place, and we have rehearsed them. However, as I examine each one, I believe I will root out any potential millstones. (I know I don't like school policies/procedures that just benefit the convenience of administration. I'm going to keep that in mind as I examine my procedures.) :)
Students often have vivid imaginations about teachers, don't they? Some think teachers are in the classroom for the sole purpose of torturing students. Often times, at the dinner table, sauteed teacher is on the menu. Teachers are thrown under the bus by panicked students who confronted with missing homework. (You know, "She never told us. He didn't teach that in class. She lost my paper. He doesn't like me.")
That said, we need to keep in mind the status of our students as we deal with them. They are young and developing. How easily some are discouraged and crushed by the simplest things that we can say, perhaps offhandedly. We have a tough balance between being firm and being gentle. We want to cultivate in our students a toughness, or grit as Paul Tough would say, to face life's challenges. At the same time, we should not build that tenacity through criticism. Criticism always weakens tenacity in the long run. How many adults do you know who have been scarred by criticism from a parent or teacher or other significant adult? I know many who can not relate their story and scar without tears -- even though they have lived 40 years since the event. We need students to know they can persevere because they are prepared and strong.
As a teacher, we wield massive power. Let's commit to ensuring our power is used properly whether it is in our procedures or in our interactions.
I hope you will share your feedback. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. It is my hope that each of your students will only know the joy of procedures!
Originally posted 9/6/17
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