Ten, Nine, Eight…Blast Off to Summer

 In our school, and I am sure in many other schools, we have an end of the year tradition – the ABC Countdown. We countdown the days of school left until summer break with fun ABC theme days. Slowly we help the kids pack their things up while we pack up our classrooms, which is still an amazing concept to me since I know no other business that requires its employees to pack everything up once a year to clean (but that is for another post). No matter how good, or bad, the year was together, by the time summer arrives, everyone needs a little break—from the daily grind, but not from lifelong learning. Curious joyful learning should be a habit, a part of our identity, and summer should be filled with exploration in a different classroom.

I struggle with this and other end of the year traditions for many reasons: for some kids, school (not home) provides a safe nurturing environment; what message are we inadvertently sending about school and a love of learning; is the interruption to/loss of instruction worth these fun themed activities; and we pack up the library as well as the classrooms – what good do books do locked up all summer in an empty school?

In almost every school regardless of the economic stability of the families the school serves, there are some kids who do not feel safe and nurtured in their home environment. School provides a structure and a place to be seen and heard. So, for some students, the idea of “summer off” is not welcome. Instead of exploring different learning opportunities outside of the classroom like museums, zoos, and such; summer entails being cooped up at home with video games and perhaps not enough food. Counting the days until summer only increases anxiety not excitement. Could schools be doing something better to help these kids make the transition with less anxiety? 

Does the end of the year countdown inadvertently send the message that school is bad or boring? Especially when the countdown is filled with theme days like, “Crazy Hair Day, PJ Day, Game Day”—are we saying we need fun alternatives to spice-up the day because learning in and of itself is not fun or exciting? The countdown always seems to emphasize getting out of school to begin the summer, instead of emphasizing ways in which we can continue be curious joyful learners over the summer as well. Perhaps “M is for Museum Day”—let’s learn about all the museums in the area you can visit over the summer and find one or two that offer free admission days for our families that live in poverty.

Once we start the countdown, both kids and teachers seem to “check-out” and valuable instructional time is lost. Both kids and teachers begin packing up for a quick get-away when the last bell rings. The countdown encompasses 15% of the school-year where instructional time loses focus and engagement. This does not include all the additional time lost with functions like standardized testing, breakfasts and snacks, assemblies, etc. Allington (2007) cites the statistic that approximately one-third of the available academic time is consumed by nonacademic functions. That is a staggering amount. Teachers need “safe” blocks of instructional time that are not disturbed. One thing I firmly believe in, everyone—every teacher, every staff member—should be with kids from the first day of school until the last. Collective bargaining agreements should include teacher pay for one or two days before school to set-up classrooms and one or two days after school to close-up, so neither of these occurs when school is “in-session”—they cause all of us to lose focus, engagement, and effectively shorten the year.

Working in a Title I school, where most kids do not have books at home and do not have access to books over the summer, I am so deeply saddened by how we put every book back on the shelf, take inventory, and locked up the school library. I am also equally as guilty of doing this with my classroom library. Why not check out 5-10 books to each student for summer reading? Even if every book does not get returned in the fall, replacing the books is still more inexpensive than summer school and some studies show access to books can prevent summer slide. We can so easily take a huge step towards closing the achievement gap and minimizing summer slide!

I find myself rethinking my end of the year routines. No matter how good, or bad, the year was together, by the time summer arrives, everyone needs a little break—from the daily grind, but not from lifelong learning. Curious joyful learning should be a habit, a part of our identity, and summer should be filled with exploration in a different classroom.

To Read or Not to Read: Book Abandonment

About a year ago I began listening to books on Audible during my drive to and from work in an attempt to add more reading time into my already full schedule. Typically, I listen to adult books on Audible because I don’t require a hard copy of an adult book for my classroom library. But this week, I have been reading a children’s book that downloaded as part of a deal. 

The story takes place in the 1800s and the author did an incredible job writing in an authentic voice for that time period. The “topic” of the book is science and the study of nature. Notice I said the “topic”, because the book has no apparent story arc – no plot that is compelling me to read (I am about one-third of the way through the book). Normally, by this point in the book I will literally sit in my car in the school parking lot or in my garage at home, so I can continue listening to the story even though I have reached my destination. With this book, I am struggling to continue reading at all, often switching to one of my music playlists instead of listening to the book. 

The question that is now further distracting me while reading the story, “Should I keep reading or abandon the book?” I believe it was Donalyn Miller that I once heard say, “There are too many pieces of quality literature to continue reading a book that is not working for you.” I am finding this advice really difficult to honor because I don’t think I have ever not finished a book that I have started. I have this weird obsession to finish a book that I begin. As a teacher, I also think, “What if this is the book that I can recommend to a struggling reader that will get them excited about reading?”

During my dissertation research, I noticed that the kids in my study abandoned approximately 60% of the books they started. I could not find any research that gave some indication as to what was an “acceptable” rate of book abandonment. Regardless, the 60% seemed high, particularly given the other data I collected. In my research study it seemed kids were abandoning books primarily for one of two reasons: (1) they did not really know and/or use previewing skills and (2) they did not have enough knowledge about what made a text complex and the corresponding skills to work through a complex text. As a teacher, I do encourage kids to abandon a book if the book contains content that makes them feel uncomfortable. However, I also worry about book abandonment because it seems in our society of instant gratification, that kids often don’t have the stamina to finish piece of literature. Kids need a balance of shorter and longer texts to grow their reading skills. So, what level of book abandonment is acceptable? Or, do I need to focus on the reasons for abandoning a book? I have always struggled with these questions in my classroom.

While writing this article I tried to Google more information about book abandonment. There was surprisingly little meaningful information. A few formulas to help make the decision to read on or not. And in June of 2013, there was a poll on Goodreads (a bibliophile website) responding to the question, “When do you abandon a book?” Twenty-one thousand, nine-hundred and seventy-seven readers had five choices: I always finish, no matter what (38.2%); After reading less than 50 pages (15.7%); After reading 50-100 pages (27.8%); After reading 100 pages (7.7%); and After reading 100+ pages (10.5%).

The results of the Goodreads poll makes me feel like I am in good company—I am not alone in my weird obsession to never abandoned a book. Yet, I am still pondering the question—should I continue to read a book that I am not enjoying? What should I expect of my students? Even if it is ok to sometimes abandon a book, how many times is too many? I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

"Just Do It" - Beginning the Routine of Posting Weekly

My first blog post is inspired by a book that I am reading (only about four chapters into the book) Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear.

In the book, Clear states, “Success is the product of daily habits­—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations” (p. 18). Clear emphasizes how we are often focused on goals or outcomes. We should be focused on systems—the process, or daily habits, that lead to desired outcomes. The small unnoticed change that occurs within our daily habits eventually adds up to meaningful change.

I find myself in-between goals and process. I have set meaningful goals for my personal and professional growth. I am a very systems-oriented person—I can create a vision, or goal, and develop detailed systems to reach a goal. I am also a perfectionist, so I tend to perseverate on perfecting the system needed to reach my goal and can at times be paralyzed by my need for perfection. I realized reading this book that I need to follow Nike’s motto, “Just Do It!” Jump in and begin. My website and blog are a continuous work in progress and as such will never be perfect, so it’s time to just jump in and make my written reflection on this a blog a habit. 

The book, Atomic Habits by Clear, is support by behaviorist, like B. F. Skinner, theories (operant conditioning). I literally have to force myself to keep reading with an open mind, because I question the theories undergirding the thinking in the book. I have read quite a bit by researchers like Deci & Ryan, Alfie Kohn, and Daniel Pink regarding the impact of rewards on intrinsic motivation, engagement, and character development. I think of behaviorist-based programs like PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) has a rewards-based program that facilitates extrinsically motivated compliance instead of intrinsically motivated engagement and character development. The objective researcher in my is reminded that a theory in and of itself is not necessarily good or bad, but each theory has a place in our educational day. The trick is to understand a variety of different theories and apply them in the appropriate situations to achieve the desire outcomes.

I am anxious to keep reading the book. I am anxious to understand the connections and distinctions between behaviorist rewards-based theory and motivational theory, so I can strategically apply them to improve the academic and personal achievement of my students. How am I misunderstanding and misapplying these theories? Is there a difference between behavior and character development? How can I keep an open mind to apply these various theories, and consider the research that supports them, to help my students grow to be curious joyful lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and problem solvers who persevere? I would love to hear your thoughts and perspectives.