Summative Assessment

          Over the course of this semester, I acquired an incredible amount of knowledge.  I learned more than skills and ideas for assignments, though.  I discovered that literacy is much more than one’s ability to comprehend and/or produce written language.  It entails a person’s progression from novice to master in any given field.  “Oh, you play softball well?  Then you are literate in that field.”  “You learned how to crochet and now have a wardrobe full of sweaters?  You are obviously literate in the field of yarn creations.”  The point is, if a person is a master of a task, they are literate.  It is my job as a teacher to try to incorporate those multitudes of literacies into my classroom.  Do not get me wrong: reading and writing are necessary for academic success, but they are not the only factors teachers need to consider when giving instruction.  I also know that in order for students to become more adept readers and writers, they must practice as much as possible.  Building proficiency is hard work, and students must learn the skills they will need to succeed.  As teachers, it is our job to model our knowledge and let our students borrow it in order to become masters themselves. 

            When I look back over this course and consider the most valuable learning experiences I have had, three come to mind: my observations/co-teaching at NPHS, the NELMS Conference, and the cooperative learning activities.  I was incredibly excited and nervous to complete the observations and teach two lessons.  I met with Ms. Cellucci, a phenomenal English teacher over at North Providence High School.  She coached me and helped build my confidence when I was unsure of myself.  I expressed some concerns to her at the beginning of my observations about my anxiety of standing in front of a group of seniors who did not know me.  In all honesty, I was panicking—fear of the unknown and all that.  She sat me down and told me that it was normal to be tense; nonetheless, I should never let that stop me.  After talking to her, I still encountered nervousness, but I knew that with her support and guidance I would be just fine.

            After I had completed the observations, Dominique and I met several times over the course of two weeks to create our lessons.  Before this experience, I did not know how much harder it is to make lessons with another person than it is to do the job alone.  Scheduling conflicts made the process troublesome, but the most time-consuming part of the assignment was making sure that my partner and I were on the exact same page.  We had to be specific when we spoke to each other about our ideas to avoid confusion.  As difficult as it was though, I thoroughly enjoyed the co-teaching experience.  I was able to do something I love with a person whose company I greatly enjoy.

            The second valuable learning experience I encountered came when I attended the NELMS 34^th Annual Conference for middle level educators.  Several of my friends from another class were there as well, so we decided to stick together.  We all looked through the brochure and decided which sessions we wanted to attend after the keynote speaker had completed his presentation.  Three of us decided to visit a session titled “Using Writing and Media to Persuade.”  This session sounded the most interesting to me because writing is a love of mine, and I would like to find any way I can to help students feel passionate about writing.  I was not disappointed.  The entire concept of the meeting was to encourage students to write about topics relevant to their strong beliefs and interests.  The speaker used one of her students as an example for those in attendance.  The girl in question was an avid equestrian, and was appalled when she learned of the poor treatment horses receive in circus shows.  She wrote a scathing review that highlighted her staunch beliefs about animal rights, and berated the deplorable way circus animals are treated.  I not only appreciated the student’s viewpoint, but also the way she conveyed her message to readers.  According to the presenter, this student had claimed that she disliked writing assignments in the past; however, when given the opportunity to write on a topic she had strong beliefs about, she completed the task and did a wonderful job.  This goes to prove that if teachers would simply incorporate non-academic literacies into their assignments, students would feel a deeper engagement with their tasks and be more willing to complete the work.

            The last (but certainly not least) valuable learning experience I had during the semester was our cooperative learning day.  Up until that class, I really did not know that there was a difference between cooperative learning and simple group work—in my mind, they were interchangeable.  I have had experience in my past with cooperative learning, but I considered those activities to be excellent group work assignments and nothing more.  When I look back on my academic career, I can see that the most effective experiences I have had while participating in group activities came when teachers fostered cooperative learning environments.  Cooperative learning puts an emphasis on community and structured learning where group work simply thrusts students together in hopes that they will accomplish something.  Once I learned the distinction between the terms, I decided that I would try to use cooperative learning instead of group work as much as possible in my future classroom.  I want to make sure that my students attain as much learning as possible, and group work does not always allow that to happen.

            As far as my final grade goes, I do not really know what I deserve.  I tried to do my very best: I did the reading, I participated in class, and I (mostly) turned my assignments in on their due dates.  On the other hand, this semester my classes have been difficult, and life outside of school has been troubling, to say the least.  That being the case, I know that doing my best was not always enough.  I suppose, if I were to give myself a letter grade, it would be a low “A” or a high “B.”  Maybe I am giving myself too much credit—I do not know.  What I am sure of is that I gave every possible effort to be successful in this class.

            When the class began, I was a bit overwhelmed, to say the least.  I saw all of the rubrics and hand-outs and had a “how in the world am I ever going to get through this” moment.  I was able to calm myself down once I got home because I decided to drink “too” much coffee (as if that is possible) and finish re-reading The Return of the King.  When I was reading, I came across a passage that I had noticed, but never paid attention to before.  During this portion of the book, Sam is engaged in an internal argument.  Defeatist Sam says, “You might just as well lie down now and give it up. You'll never get to the top anyway."  Immediately following those lines, Optimistic Sam says, "I'll get there, if I leave everything but my bones behind (…)."  This may sound a bit silly, but that short passage hit me hard.  I realized that I had been fretting over “so much work” and did not consider that I could handle it.  I was able to comprehend that, although there were many assignments and hurdles ahead of me, my track record so far for living through difficult situations has been 100%... and that is pretty good.

            I know the anecdote located mere centimeters above seems out of place for this assignment—what do Samwise Gamgee, heavy workloads, and survival rates have to do with what I learned in this course?  The answer is: everything.  When I think back about all the useful information I was able to obtain over the course of this class, I am struck by the realization that I had not truly considered the amount of work and effort that goes into teaching until I read Sam’s words.  I know that my chosen career will cause me to lose sleep trying to keep up with all my responsibilities.  I also know that I am capable of doing what I must (strictly within the parameters of the law, of course) to accomplish my goals.  Laying down and giving up are not options.  Teachers are responsible for the education of countless not-yet-fully-grown people—that is not something to be flippant about.  I now understand, at least a little bit, how much labor teaching entails, and I look forward to the challenge.

NELMS Conference Letter

Dear Ms. Rief,

            I would like to begin this correspondence by thanking you for your presentation at the conference.  I appreciated you making the trip all the way to Providence from your home in New Hampshire to speak with those of us in attendance.  When I looked through the available workshops, yours stood out to me immediately.  I wanted to find a session which dealt with literacy and writing, and yours provided both.  I think your idea to combine writing and current media events is wonderful, and the inclusion of political comics and videos was inspired.

            I was once assigned a project somewhat like the one you spoke about.  My teacher did not give me or my peers the opportunity to pick topics relevant to our beliefs and interests, though.  Sadly, I do not feel as if my experience with this type of project was successful, but it sounds as if it was for your students.  Since you gave students the opportunity to choose topics which pertain to their lives and personal cares, you gave them an incentive to do their best because they were personally invested.  I especially appreciated that you included a writing sample from one of your students.  I was surprised and pleased to learn that this project helped the young lady want to write.  Furthermore, I would like it if you could pass on a message to her from me.  “Thank you for sharing your beliefs and research on examples of animal cruelty found in circus companies.  I loved reading your essay, and am happy to have found a kindred spirit on a topic which is so important to me.  Please keep writing and sharing your heart.  Every little bit helps make the world a better place.”

            I would also like to commend you for your inclusion of political cartoons and video.  I enjoyed seeing the graphics and videos your students created to complement their writing.  I would like to implement this idea in my own classroom for writing projects one day.  It allows students with different learning styles to interact with the assignment in a fun, constructive way.  This creative aspect of the assignment allows students to play with various mediums of communication which thoroughly enhances their learning.

            Thank you again for presenting at the conference.  Your contribution is one I will not soon forget.

Sincerely,

Denise Roberts

Teacher Candidate at Rhode Island College

D&Z Ch. 12

            The final chapter in Daniels and Zemelman’s book functions somewhat like an overview of previously discussed material.  Some of the points which struck me the most are things that I have believed for a very long time.  1.) Students need to read a lot; volume, quantity, and practice count.  In this case, D&Z use studies to back up their claim that students who read more will do better on standardized test reading scores.  They do not simply cite claims to support their beliefs.  In fact, they go so far as to mention opposing claims and refute them with their research.  Opposing views mention that some students read more because they are better readers, instead of students becoming better readers because they read more.  Although I have not done research on either of these viewpoints, I would think it only logical that students who do more reading would become better readers.  That is not to say that students must read books by Stephen Hawking or Jane Austen all the time in order to become better readers.  Give them a copy of Harry Potter and let them have some fun.  Even if their reading levels do not improve, the worst that could happen is that they read a book—I’m not exactly seeing the bad there.

            Another point I would like to highlight from the chapter claims that students need to read plenty of material at a comfortable reading, recreational reading level, not frustration level.  I think these two points go hand-in-hand.  Students do not need to read “hard” books in order to glean knowledge.  For instance, think about literary theory.  Students do not need to read Saussure’s essays on linguistics in order to discover that assigned words are arbitrary in nature; give them a wordless graphic novel and they will discover that on their own with very little prompting.  My point is this: reading does not have to be incredibly difficult for students to learn from it.  In fact, studies have shown that students’ reading improves if no more than 10% of the content is difficult for them to grasp.  Reading material does not have to be hard to be important.

 

 

 

D&Z Ch. 11

            I think we have all heard the old adage, “do as I say, not as I do.”   Here’s the problem with that: life doesn’t work that way, and neither does teaching.  Typically speaking, this phrase is used as a cop-out for authority figures who want to enforce the rules for others, but have the opportunity to break the rules for themselves.  This sort of elitist attitude does not normally compute with young people, or older people, if I am being totally honest.  In a perfect world, the phrase would be, “do as I say, and I’ll show you how by doing it myself.”  In chapter 11 of Subject Matters, Daniels and Zemelman discuss this concept as it pertains to teaching students how to interact with text.  Here is the point behind their discussion: instead of telling students what to do and expecting them to do it, show them how to do it.  The most effective teachers are those who allow students to borrow their expertise in order to become masters themselves.

 

            Reading comprehension is not an instinctual action; the brain does not see a configuration of letters and automatically understand the words and how they connect to each other.  Just like reading itself, comprehension must be taught.  D&Z suggest that “teachers use ‘think-alouds’ to demonstrate meaningful thinking, giving instruction rather than just instructions.”  This means that teachers should be doing what they ask their students to do, instead of just telling them what to do.  When I think about modeling in this case, baseball comes to mind.  I could have a group of people sitting in a classroom listening to me explain how to catch a grounder.  If I do not show them how it is done, however, they will never truly understand how the process works.  It is the same with teaching students how to be effective readers.  They may have a general understand of what is being asked of them in theory, but without modeling, the chances of them being able to convert theory to practice is slim.  As educators, it is our job to show them how to bridge the gap.

 

D&Z Chs. 9-10

           Chapter 9 in Subject Matters deals with book clubs and how to implement them in the classroom.  I just want to say that book clubs can be an excellent learning tool.  The whole idea of letting students work together in collaborative groups while reading a book to escape typical “school time” is awesome.  If it is done correctly, book clubs offer students the opportunity to experience books outside of common reading lists, build vocabulary, practice respectful interaction with peers, and become elf-regulated learners.  There is one, large set-back, though.  Some teachers may wonder how they can get students to participate in the activity.  Never fear: D&Z were kind enough to offer some suggestions to this problem.

 

 

            Student participation is fundamental in utilizing book clubs.  In fact, I have been involved with a couple—some were successful and enriching for me as a student, and some were absolutely not.  The common denominator for those groups which were successful for me was student-decided norms.  In those classes, my teachers let individual groups decide what the rules would be.  The ineffective book clubs did not involve students’ input on the norms for the group.  I think letting students decide how their clubs will work offers another layer of motivation to complete the work and participate in discussions.  Furthermore, students will hold each other accountable to get the work done. 

            Another thing to consider is group size.  D&Z suggest that the target group size is four members.  Two or three members do not offer enough diverse input, and smaller groups are too vulnerable to absences.  Groups of six or more allow some students are able to hide and rely upon other members to do the work.  Four people, however, will be able to share equal responsibility.  This target number will also offer a good range of input from a diverse group. 

 

            (The video below offers a visual over-view of many of the concepts discussed in the text.)

D&Z Chs. 6-7

         After reading Chapters 6 and 7 in Subjects Matter, I considered the idea of classroom community.  How can teachers foster empathetic relationships between students?  How can people see others as worthy, even though they may look or act differently than what we are used to?  Honestly, this is a terrifying thought for me.  I realize that I am going to be in charge of so many students, and before I can effectively teach them, they need to feel safe.  I will be responsible for creating a safe and nurturing environment which caters to each of my students.  What a daunting thought.  Really, when you think about it, each and every one of us needs to be conscious about overcoming our prejudices—and these do not always have to do with race or sexual orientation. 

            Fear of the unknown is an ugly beast.  Until we get to know someone, they are simply a number lumped in with a group of people outside the norm for us.  How can we, as human beings and teachers of future generations, create and foster an environment of compassion and empathy?  How can we help students understand that no matter how different their peers are that they are still human?  I know I am asking a lot of questions, but they are not rhetorical.  I do not have solid answers for these questions.  I find myself scared of things I do not understand all the time, so how can I help my students look beyond their worldview to really see another person if I am scared to do the same?

            Over the years, I have gotten advice from my Aunt who has been a teacher for almost 20 years.  She has always told me that, in order to get past fear and prejudice, we need to see others as people who are worthy of love and respect on a fundamental level—just because they are people.  Her strategy for doing this involves asking her students to work with people they do not know in class.  She says that once you see a person instead of a member of a different group, empathy develops.  So far, she has had a fairly high success rate.  No one should ever be made to feel like they do not belong.  As teachers, our job is to make sure that they are able to participate and learn, no matter what.

Strong Ch. 6

            After reading chapter 6 by Strong, I realized that this type of writing assignment has been the most successful for me as a student and as a teacher.  I remember teachers giving me writing assignments that follow this “CRAFT” (or even “RAFT”) format and they were the ones loved to write.  They allow students to play and be creative.  Furthermore, they allow students to put a piece of themselves into their writing by owning it and taking control.  What is better than letting students own their writing so they enjoy it?  Nothing!

            A couple semesters ago, I was asked to create a writing assignment based upon the graphic novel “The Arrival” by Shaun Tan. 

First of all, I highly recommend this book to all of you.  The art is incredible and the blending of the different story lines is outstanding.  (I am not exactly an emotional reader, but one of the stories made me tear up.)  Without words, the author is able to pull his readers into his story and make them understand what it means to be an immigrant in a foreign country.  Anyway, I created this writing assignment and decided to test it out.  I lent the book to three middle school students who I tutor.  After they finished the story, I asked them to create short pieces of writing based on my assignment.  The results were great.  None of the kids were very enthusiastic about writing, but my assignment made them want to do more.  I was so excited!  I realized that, with a little extra effort, I could help students love to write.  For anyone who is interested, here is a shortened version of the assignment:

           

Consider the written language in The Arrival (see photo). Interpret images from the book and become one of the characters.  You may compose letters, form journal entries, or record a video diary describing how this unknown language has challenged you in this new world.  These letters may either be addressed to another character from the book or your own family members/ friends.

 

Requirements:

You must have 3 entries of at least 100 words each.  Be as creative as possible in order to develop characterization and tell the story of your imaginary persona.  After planning and writing original drafts, you will work in pairs for team revisions.  Once the entries are completed, you will be asked to choose one and share it with the class.  *If you choose to create a video diary, be sure to include 3 scripts of at least 100 words each (one script per video entry).

D&Z Chs. 3-4

            Chapters 3 and 4 from Daniels and Zemelman highlight quite a few ideas which I have embraced as a student and future teacher.  In a nutshell, they give reasons why teachers should use reading selections outside of the prescribed textbooks of their content area to foster enriching interaction with the content as well as helping students to become lifelong learners.  I am a strong supporter of this idea.  I have taken part in classes which relied solely upon textbooks to teach content.  I have also been fortunate to have experienced classes which used textbooks as nothing more than reference materials and allowed most of the learning material to come from outside sources.  There is so much left out of text books.  We lug around these thousand-or-so page books that say so much and almost nothing at the same time.  I think that splitting away from this idea of learning everything entirely from textbooks would benefit every individual greatly.

            I took World History my junior year of high school.  My teacher gave us an assignment which required that we read one source outside of our textbook and write a report or critical paper on it.  I chose to read Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.  (I highly recommend this, by the way, if you are at all interested in WWII, post-modern literature, or simply want a great read.)  After reading this book, I noticed that the reasoning behind war troubled and intrigued me.  Ever since that assignment, I have put in many hours of additional reading in order to answer some of the pressing questions I have about war.  Why do we have them? What greater purpose do they serve? Is there ever really a "good guy" and a "bad guy,” or are there always extenuating circumstances?  This anecdote just serves to prove that lifelong learning and a search for answers can come from sources outside of textbooks.  Perhaps if we took the chance in our own classrooms, we would be able to replicate this experience.

 

Understanding by Design

            The reading about Understanding by Design was incredibly informative and helpful.  I think the idea of shaping learning by starting from the end is revolutionary.  The system requires teachers to be organized and know where they want their students to go and have developed a way to get there.  By doing this, teachers have the opportunity to listen for teachable moments and work them into the overall goal.  The author states that this method is also called planned coaching.  It is a system which allows teachers to follow their objectives and use their teaching tools (textbooks and projects) and methods to achieve these objectives.  Circular priorities (a fundamental concept of this framework) allow teachers and students to interact with the material in a meaningful way which goes far beyond meeting state-mandated objectives for learning.  It allows students to achieve enduring understanding instead of memorizing facts for assessment purposes.

            I had a teacher for literary criticism who worked his class in this way.  Instead of beginning by having us read about New Critical theory, he had us watch some video clips which helped the class understand where he planned for us to end up when the semester was finished.  He used the first two class meetings to get us acquainted with the much more complicated ideas behind post-modernism and worked his way backward.  Now, I know that UbD does not require teachers to start a unit from the end and work their way to the beginning of a chronological progression.  It is a planning framework which requires teachers to know where they will end up so students can grasp and try to answer the essential questions presented to them.  This teacher’s method of instruction simply reminded me of UbD.  He knew where he wanted us to end up and slowly introduced the material to us so we would not be caught off-guard by the involved material.

 

D&Z Chs. 1&2

            As I was reading the chapters in Daniels and Zemelman’s book (which, go figure, I enjoyed it), one particular excerpt stood out to me.  “Yes, there are a lot of obstacles to young people falling in love with math, science, history, language, and the arts.  But that doesn’t mean that our idealism is sentimental and misplaced, or that we should give up the dream that binds us to this profession” (p. 10). I have, on various occasions, been accused of being a sentimental dreamer.  Generally speaking, this type of comment does not negatively affect me—I don’t stop hoping.  There have been instances, though, which make me question myself and my dreams of becoming a teacher. 

            A woman who used to be very close to my family once asked me what I wanted to do with my life.  I replied with, “I want to teach English.”  This response caused her to wrinkle her nose and give me one of those knowing glances—the one that says, “Oh, bless your poor, little heart.”  This woman was one of the last people on earth I ever expected this reaction from because she was, in fact, an English teacher.  I was hoping to hear that I had my work cut out for me but the rewards far out-weighed the struggles (or something along those lines).  Instead, she suggested that I would have better luck working my way through the managerial track at a fast-food restaurant.  Her words caused me to question myself, and I had to readjust my worldview.  That being said, do I believe that my teaching career will change the lives of every student I encounter?  I can only hope.  Will movies be made about my life and the impact I have on my students?  Doubtful; I am a dreamer, not a lunatic.  I suppose the reason I appreciated the authors’ words so much is because they grant me permission to be a bit of a dreamer—I think we all need that in our lives. 

            Now that I am finished with my “sentimental” diatribe, I will briefly discuss the text.  I enjoyed the reading, and the writing style was smooth and simple to understand.  The introduction to the content discussed the things teachers need to do and understand when it comes to helping students learn how to read.  The second chapter dealt with the many strategies employed by good readers.  My favorite segment from chapter 2 discussed how reading is an active, constructive process of comprehending information.  The reader either clicks through a passage, or clunks through.  Our job, as future educators, is to help our students advance from clunking to clicking by teaching them the tools and strategies of good readers.

 

 

Wilhelm Chs. 1 & 2

          When I read the text by Wilhelm, I noticed quite a few connections between the concepts he discusses in both chapters.  The first thing that stood out to me was the idea of “Wide Awake” teaching.  This idea claims that teachers need to be constantly vigilant about what and how they teach and base the success of their practices on students’ understanding.  I picture it like a checks and balances system—if what you are doing is not working, how can you fix it to help students?  The idea of adjusting instruction to cater to individual groups is something that I have experienced from many teachers I’ve had in the past.  In fact, “Wide Awake” teaching sounds a great deal like differentiated instruction, which is something all teachers should strive to provide for their students. 

            The author points out that instruction should move from being teacher-centered to learning-centered.  The illustration which depicts the levels of learning was incredibly interesting (p. 11).  The chart moves from the teacher doing the activity while the student watches and eventually ends with the student doing the activity while the teacher watches.  My mother, who also happens to be a teacher, used this instructional practice with myself and my sisters when we were growing up.  From a very young age, I was interested in baking.  My mom would pull a chair up to the counter and let me watch her measure and mix ingredients.  After letting me watch a few times, she would hold my hand and help me measure and pour the ingredients into the mixing bowl.  After showing that I was able to complete these tasks with little to no help, my mom would stand next to me and watch to make sure that I did not do something like confuse baking soda and baking powder (I do not suggest doing this, by the way.)  Eventually, I was baking without any help.  My mom’s method of teaching me how to bake proved that learning-centered instruction is a successful way to teach.

 

           The second thing I noticed in the reading occurred throughout the both chapters.  The author states that “kids particularly need to know how to do things so they can deal with information and use it to think—so they’ll possess generative kinds of knowledge that they can use in new situations” (p. 2).  How can we teach students to understand learning?  How do we reach them in their Zones of Proximal Development?  The author briefly discusses lending students our expertise so they may become master readers, writers, and thinkers.  To do this, we must teach students that reading is an interactive form of work.  It is our job as future educators to instruct our students to not be passive readers, but active ones who use the text to form opinions and glean meaning from the words.  The author also mentions that we need to teach students the rules so they know how to play the game.  The game of reading is complicated, difficult, and time-consuming work, but it is the basis of every type of learning.  If we can teach students to be effective readers, their potential is limitless.

Literacy Profile

          Three semesters ago, I took FNED 346 and our class was required to commit time to a service learning project.  Instead of signing up to go to a school in Providence like the majority of my classmates, I asked for permission to find another setting closer to home to save on gas.  I live in Portsmouth and I was enrolled for 16 credit hours that semester, so driving to Providence on days when I did not absolutely have to was not an appealing thought.  One day I mentioned to family friends that I had to complete some hours of community service.  One man, Blake, happened to serve as the campus director for Boy’s Town New England.  He mentioned that the program is always looking for people to come in and tutor, so I got permission from my professor, Dr. Brell, to complete my hours through Boy’s Town.  After a two week process of paperwork, background checks, and fingerprinting, I was in.

            When I began, I was scheduled to go in on Wednesdays and Fridays when the kids got home from school so I could assist them in completing their homework and practicing their reading skills.  Every Wednesday, at least four of the six children would get off the bus and run to me with their backpacks so I could check their homework schedules.  We would sit down at the dining room table and I would move from one child to the next, constantly supervising and answering questions, until everyone was done and ready to go play.  As soon as I finished helping with homework, I would have one of my supervisors sign my time sheet and go home.  After about a month on campus, the children would ask me to go outside and play with them when they were done with their homework.  It became a pattern for me to keep sneakers and a pair of socks in my car so I could play outside with the kids in something other than flats. 

            Two months after starting at Boy’s Town, I had completed my required hours and turned in my time sheet.  I decided, however, to stay on as a volunteer.  Since I had started, I began to understand the way my supervisors ran their home.  I understood protocol for behaviors and how to respond to them in a way which would help the children become productive, caring human beings.  See, most of the kids at my house were taken from their homes for safety reasons.  They came from broken homes with parents who were neglectful, at best.  These home environments were not conducive for the kids to learn basic behavioral or social skills.  At Boy’s Town, they learn how to make good decisions because the patient and loving people who live with and care for them show them the proper way to interact with others.  Every visit I made to the house allowed me to more fully understand how to handle children with anger and impulse control issues.  I also learned to help create outlets for the kids to deal with their issues in a positive way.

            One of my kids, let’s call him Jorge, is an eleven year old boy who speaks English as a second language.  He has difficulty reading at his grade level, and this fact distresses him.  He knows that he is behind his friends in class, and sometimes acts out because he feels deficient.  One Friday, I was distracted from helping one of the girls with her homework because Jorge started yelling and throwing books around the living room.  My supervisors were in the office, so I approached Jorge and asked him what was wrong.  After about five minutes, he calmed down enough to tell me that he was mad because he got the lowest grade in his class on a reading test.  My first thought was, “why does this kid know he got the lowest grade?  Who is his whack-job teacher?”  I decided that sharing this thought would probably not help him calm down.  Instead, I asked him to use every word he could think of to describe how angry he was instead of throwing books.

            He told me that he was mad at his teacher because she did not help him learn the material he needed to understand.  He knows that bad-mouthing an adult is frowned upon by the Family Teachers at Boy’s Town, so he was reluctant to share his feelings.  I told him that I knew exactly how he was feeling because I had been there, too.  I know what it’s like to feel rage like it’s a living thing.  I’ve had my fair share of times when I wanted to throw everything that wasn’t bolted down because I was so mad.  After telling him that I understood his frustration, I shared with him something I do when I feel like I am losing control—I write an “un-sendable” letter.  I write down every mean thing I want to say but know I will regret.  After I get all the angry poison out on the paper, I take the letter, rip it up, and throw it away.  I explained to Jorge that it is alright to have angry thoughts and feelings, but most of the time those feelings lead us to do things that will hurt others.  If we learn to purge those bad things without hurting anyone, we feel better and no one else has to be hurt.  He decided that my idea sounded pretty cool and asked to be excused to his room to have some time to write his letter.  One year after that Friday, he still writes un-sendable letters when he feels like he cannot deal with situations in his life.  I count that as a win.

            This single experience is like many others that I have had while at Boy’s Town.  I have been able to make connections with the kids I work with and I get to help them figure out how life works—seriously, how cool is that?  I am still learning these lessons myself, but the fact that I get to share what I have learned with my kids is incredibly rewarding.  Through the influence of my supervisors, I learned how to connect with the kids to help them deal with their negative impulses.  This experience has helped me develop patience and understanding, and I am very fortunate to have acquired these traits, even in their smallest measure.  I believe what I have learned from my kids at Boy’s Town will help me better influence and understand my future students.