Extensions - Let's Work WITH Our Students...

Yes - life has deadlines. However, let me offer another point-of-view... We are constantly telling high school students that they need to get involved in high school: Join clubs, go out for sports, volunteer in the community, accept leadership opportunities, etc... Then, we force them to revolve their lives around OUR grading calendar? The IRS will give adults extensions on their taxes provided they request one in advance. My question is this... Why don't we do that for our students? A child who wakes up at 6 a.m., sits in class all day, then rides a bus to another school an hour away to compete in a sporting event, competes and then rides another hour home isn't going to be in the best place to focus on the unit assessment in class the very next day. This child has been awake for 16 hours and hasn't even started their studies for the evening yet. So - they stay up to get the work done and come into school the next day exhausted and starting over on the same cycle. There has to be a better way to work WITH kids.

My philosophy is simple... allow students to come to me in advance to request extensions on assignments, projects, tests, etc. In the six years I have offered this policy (yes, I once made students revolve their lives around my calendar...) I have never had a student abuse it. However, should one ever get into that habit, I would host a meeting with the parents, child, and myself to discuss how to get out of that rut.

Benefits of this policy?

1. Less cheating. Kids don't feel the pressure to copy an essay from a peer or the internet because of lack of time due to their busy schedule.
2. Better grades. Students do a better job with their project or assessment because they have the benefit of time.
3. IEP compliance and discretion. Students with extra time built into their IEP's have an opportunity to get things done on a schedule compliant with their needs without having to lean on an IEP requirement to get it done. No embarrassing questions in front of the class from other students: "Why does Johnny get extra time?" etc.
4. Less complaints from parents. Families don't have to rearrange their lives around the classroom teacher's grading calendar. Helps build a bridge between parents/teachers/students.
5. Students gain ownership and time management skills. Kids feel empowered and be at the helm of their learning. It also forces students to organize their lives into a calendar and plan ahead. Some would say that I'm not forcing students to be responsible for deadlines. My response is that students are now much more responsible and gain some much-needed time management skills as a result of this policy.

There are many more benefits as well.

For those fearing that this extension policy removes students from learning about deadlines, consider the following. There are still plenty of deadlines. There are still dates that end semesters so there are absolute dates in life. Progress report dates are still firm and students want their grades in good shape when those are sent home. In addition, students do not want to dig themselves into holes with a pile of extensions. Deadlines still exist, but students simply now have a little more flexibility in arranging those deadlines. In the end, this policy has worked well for my classroom. My students (and their parents) seem to appreciate the flexibility and agree with the logic behind it.

I am eager to hear from any teachers who might have a similar policy in their classroom. Please feel free to share other benefits, your policy's structure, and the response from your colleagues, administrators, parents, and students.

Posting Objectives? GRR? True Learning? My Head is Spinning Again!

Blown away by this blog post/attached video this morning as it came across my RSS feed. I have been a subscriber to Joe Bower's blog for over a year now. I place a high value on his posts and his view of pedagogical best practice. I have been implementing many of his (and his subscribers') suggestions/theories/practices into my classroom this year.

What blew me away is the timing. This is the first year we have been tasked with posting our essential questions and daily objectives in front of the class. To me, this request seemed pretty reasonable and logical. You're giving students a some daily exit strategies (wouldn't it be great if our world leaders knew what those were...?) and therefore providing them with a sense of ownership in each day's lesson. However, I also get what Mr. Bower and Mr. Kohn are also saying here. Perhaps, by giving away the ending, you're losing the opportunity for true learning to organically evolve?

My relief (and vindication that I'm justified in being torn) came from Mr. Bower's last line: "At the very least, teachers should be afforded the professional responsibility to decide whether writing the objective on the board is pedagogically appropriate." This showed me that there certainly are two ways to look at this and I'm interested in finding out more.

My next question, of course, comes from the lesson Alfie Kohn describes in the video regarding measuring the ship. Our district has heavily invested itself this year in the GRR (Gradual Release of Responsibility) model. I've been reading the Fisher and Frey book and have found many areas of my teaching that can be improved some of the methods and practices described in this text. How does this boat-measuring exercise fit within the context of GRR? I don't know - I'm going to have to let that marinate for awhile. For now, GRR seems to be a model worthy of continued exploration. It's been showing me some simple tips and tricks to navigate some of the areas of classroom instruction in which I have identified myself as week in the past.

I will continue to promote this blog on Twitter. So far I've had a few dozen reads from many countries around the world. I hope folks will stick around and submit ideas/theories/questions, etc. to build this up into a true workshop community.

Introduction

There has to be a better way. I sit and shake my head each day wondering why I still am not making connections with all students, parents, guardians, etc.? I am constantly asking myself if I am following best practice? How can I truly separate formative and summative assessment regularly? Are my assessments catered to my students' learning styles and abilities? Are any of my efforts honoring this incredible profession?

I read the books and I follow the blogs. I truly enjoy the writings and musings of Joe Bower, Damian Cooper, Alfie Kohn, and others. I make no claim to be nearly anywhere near the same ballpark as these individuals. Not at all. These are pillars in the education community who I respect and whose opinions I admire. Nope, I am just a simple teacher trying to find a better way.

The day finally came (today) where I decided it was time to start a blog of my own. Not a blog where I preach the "wonderful" things I've done in my classroom. Not at all. This is intended to be a place for fellow educators in the same boat as I to come and workshop their philosophy and pedagogy in a safe and non-threatening forum. I do not put myself in the blog title. This is a "journey" WE ALL will take together.

So - let's start! Hello all fellow educators! My name is Jeff and I am a teacher in Green Bay, WI. I teach 9th grade Social Studies and our curriculum includes geography, economics, and civics. I love what I do for a living. I truly enjoy and embrace finding out what others think and how they run their classrooms. So please... pull up a stool, introduce yourself, and let's see where things take us...