Today is Valentine's Day, so of course I perform the second of two Square One TV songs that I associate with this day. "Mathematics of Love" was always my favorite song from that show, mainly because the Roman numeral skit is so funny.
Here is a link to the song on YouTube:
This week will be the Chapter 5 Test in my Math I classes. Normally, I'd want to give this test on Friday, like all of my other quizzes and tests. But I'm giving this test on the second block day of the week -- tomorrow for fourth period, Thursday for the other classes -- for several reasons.
One reason is that one of my neighbor teachers is giving the test today. So I'm already one day behind her -- and I'd be a second day behind if I waited until Friday. There are also other things going on this week, which I'll explain on the blog as the week progresses.
So today is the main review assignment for the test. I find an old review worksheet online with many examples of arithmetic and geometric sequences. I have the students glue copies of this into their notebooks, and then I call on students to answer the questions.
Of course, I pass out the usual V-Day pencils and candy today. Today's treats are for those students who passed the most recent quiz -- which just happens to be a Hero Quiz, so that's almost everyone. (Indeed, the last quiz before Halloween was likewise a Hero Quiz.) But this, unfortunately, leads to distraction, particularly in second period. Not only are very few students working, but the others attempt to start arguments over why I shouldn't punish them.
I think back six years ago, to Valentine's Day at the old charter school. While February was my toughest month at that school, V-Day was one of my best days. That's because I had set up specific activities for my sixth and eighth graders that day (including a Roman numeral function activity, inspired by "Mathematics of Love," for eighth graders). The students knew exactly what was expected of them, and so they rose to the occasion and completed the activities.
One problem that often occurs for me today is that I have trouble making tough decisions. All along, I was planning on giving the test on Friday, until I found out that other teachers are testing today. So the entire weekend, I keep going back and forth between testing Friday and testing on block day. Indeed, it's not until I wake up this morning that I finally decide to test on block day, and so I print up the review worksheet.
But what this means is that I don't have time to think about how to implement the worksheet -- in particular, how to get the kids to work on it, and what the consequences should be for not doing it. After a few of them try to argue over it, I finally remember that it's Tuesday (yes, I'm thrown off by Lincoln's Birthday yesterday) -- the day when second period leads directly into nutrition. I tell the students that those who don't complete the worksheet will get nutrition detention -- but by this point, it's too late for me to check every student's work for completion. So the detention threat ends up meaning nothing -- several kids waste the entire period, and there's no way to punish them.
Of course, I correct this by fourth period. Coming into class, I tell the kids that they must complete two dozen roses -- uh, V-Day Freudian slip, make that two dozen rows -- of tables (containing arithmetic or geometric sequences) on their worksheet. Any student who doesn't do so gets detention -- and I do end up keeping five students in a few minutes of lunch.
Still, there are some hardworking kids in second period who want to be successful in my class, yet they can't because of all the talkers. Improving my lessons from second to fourth period is good, but it would be great if I had strong structured lessons from the get-go in second period.
But that requires that I make tough decisions -- like what day to give the test -- more quickly. That way, I can spend less time deciding what to teach or when to teach it, and more time on how to teach it, and how to get the students to do the work.
Today is Tenday on the Eleven Calendar:
Resolution #10: We treat each other the way we want to be treated.
Valentine's Day is all about relationships. It's a good day for me to step back and focus on what sort of relationships I'm forging with my students -- particularly my freshman students, as they will remain a part of our community for three more years.
As I mentioned on the blog before, relationships are important because students are more willing to work hard for teachers with whom they have a strong relationship. But unfortunately, I struggle at forming deep relationships with people. Thus students are less likely to do what I ask them to -- which then leads to arguments when I need to get students to work hard.
Even though fourth period is generally better behaved than second, there are still too many kids who aren't paying close attention to lessons. When I ask students to identify the twentieth term of an arithmetic sequence, very few of them can do it before I show them the answer. The formula isn't that difficult to use -- it's just that students must pay close attention so that they know it, or at least know where in their notes to find it. But too many students are talking (in second period) or using phones (in fourth period) and ignoring me during lessons, so that when I call upon them to use the formula, they can't even identify the first term.
It's hard for me to get students to stop talking or put phones away for more than a few minutes. But they're happy to do so for a teacher with whom they have a deeper relationship -- and that's why students in those stronger teachers' classes are more likely to know how to find the twentieth term.
But forming those relationships begins with those short conversations that occur during the first few or last few minutes of class. Today is the first day of school since the Super Bowl, so that provides me with plenty to talk about. I discuss the Kansas City Chiefs' victory with my guys and Rihanna's halftime performance with my girls. But I need to be more consistent with these little chitchats if I ever hope to have deeper relationships with my freshmen.
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