Please click on the following links below and write your reflections and AHAs (Ideas that made you think of say AHA). Please also respond to one AHA from another student.
Click on comments to leave your response.
http://www.resiliency.com/htm/turnaround.htm
http://www.resiliency.com/htm/build.htm
http://www.resiliency.com/htm/turnaround.htm
http://www.resiliency.com/htm/build.htm
15 comments:
I enjoyed reading these articles and it always helps to have a reminder as to how MUCH we as teachers can/do make a difference (and sometimes sadly NOT make a difference) in our student's lives and to keep ourselves in check. I am always in awe as to how much power and responsibility we have in educating our students and how we are a huge influence that can either help or hurt.
There are so many things that I agree with in both of these articles and maybe the top one is that I am a HUGE believer in the power of simply ACKNOWLEDGING a student. I was told that in Africa, instead of saying "Hello" they say "I see you." LOVE IT!:) Also, in my opinion, if one doesn't have that connection and doesn't start building a foundation with a student, there is nothing which to build upon and the student will stay stuck in the mud.
Finally, (and this has been a work in progress) I realize that we as educators/mentors cannot FIX a student; rather, we are just one powerful influence, among others in the student's life, that can help transform and change him/her.
One last thing! I love quotes and took one from the article and have it on my door: "What is right with you is more powerful than anything that is wrong with you."
I agree with Courtney. That quote jumped out at me immediately as well. I am impressed that she already has it up on her door. Seeing those words every day will help her students ingrain its message into their minds.
I had an "aha" moment the minute I saw the word resiliency in the titles of these two articles. When I meet with my students' parents in the fall, I tell them that one of my major goals for their child is to help improve his or her resiliency. I have been doing it for quite awhile so many of the things I try are effective. However, I also feel that my approach is haphazard. According to The Gallup Organization, I am the norm. (..."each person's greatest room for growth is in the areas of his or her greatest strength" p. 3) The Personal Resiliency Builders mentioned in the first article and the 3 C's - connection, competence, contribution - in the other article give me some new ideas to implement in my classroom.
I think we all innately understand the importance of being resilient but it was interesting to read the research on this topic. Resiliency is in all of us but, for some, it just needs to be honed. The same is true for our students. This is a powerful mindset for me to maintain as I try to instill a belief in each student that she or he has the ability to bounce back.
It was also interesting to learn that each of us can have our own pattern for coping with life's challenges. The checklist results were surprising for me. Did anyone else feel the same?
My favorite article was the resiliency article on self- esteem.
My first aha was when the article said that in order to aquire authentic self-esteem, one must shift his/her internal focus for themselves to a "thorough appreciation and application of how they have 'done as well as we've done'." pg. 2
I feel I need to focus on this with not only my students, but with my own two children. I have always talked about self-esteem with my second graders and we do talk about what they are good at. We discuss how everyone has their strengths. What I haven't talked about a lot with them is how to put their personal strengths to use. I need to do that!
One of my favorite parts of the article was the story of Sandy and a school counselor. I immediately thought of one student in my class. (I have some students who come from very rough home lives- but one stuck out in my mind more than the rest). I am going to do kind of what the counselor did, but at a different level and not all at once. My student is only 8! I am going to have him list all of the things he is good at and we will go from there! I am going to try to focus on that list and build off that with him. I have tried so many things with this student. Most days I know he is doing as well as he can, knowing what I know about his life.
In my own self-reflection, I realize I need to sometimes step back and look at all of the things I've accomplished in my life. I am stronger than I think! I can definitely use my strengths to overcome changes that come my way!
I definitely agree that our society focuses on the weaknesses of everyday life. We do live in a culture that is "obsessed with 'what is wrong'." pg 5 If only we could all focus on our strengths and put them to good use!
I agree with Courtney about the quote. I highlighted in a different color that the rest in my article! I don't have it on my door either, but it is a great idea.
The other article was enjoyable to read. The part about inviting students to help create classroom rules was something that made me smile because I have been teaching for 11 years and have always done that. I agree that it does give them ownership and makes them feel more responsibile when they break the rules.
"Resiliency today is patience in this snowstorm!" (That was prompted by my 3rd outing with a shovel - sorry.)
I also enjoyed both articles and was surprised to see that I already recognize using so many of the resiliency builders on the list (for my own life). Perhaps this is because of a long life with lots of experiences and opportunities to build up or expand the usage of those on the list.
I love hearing that we all are trying so hard to establish student-teacher relationships that benefit children so much. The situations in the articles are poignant reminders to stress their positive assets with our students. Sometimes I don't think we see results right away, but when you consider the amount of time we can influence them, it IS a powerful responsibility, as Courtney mentioned.
Mirroring back their strengths certainly builds lines of communication.
These two articles reminded me of a class I taught 20 years ago called Turn Around for a technical college. This was a class for displaced homemakers. The class was for men and women who had been homemakers and now needed to get back into the work force. One rule we had was “Don’t should on yourself.” Examples: I should be smarter, I should have finished school, I should make more money, I should have a job. We talked about what we were going to do and how we were going to get it done. We worked together to see the skills used as homemaker were strengths and marketable skills. They needed to “live their strengths.” I didn’t realize at the time what an impact that class could have on the students. It reminds me that the parents of my students also need to be reminded of their strengths. That is a population that needs our help as much as their children do. One parent I have dwells on the “damaged victim” she is. Everything is someone or something else’s fault. We have conferences next week. I hope I get a chance to point out to her what a “resilient survivor” she is. She is the mother of the little girl in my class who has been retained, misses a lot of school, is often late and come dirty and unprepared. Her older sister comes to school in her pajamas because she wants to be in school and is a good student. She is the resilient survivor.
I would say after looking over the checklist one of my personal resiliency builders is relationships. I have the ability to be sociability and friendly and form positive relationships. I need to focus on this more with my students and their parents.
I think the biggest part that really stuck out for me while reading the articles was how we have a perception that children born into bad situations do not do well, but according to the research the opposite is true. People for the most part can succeed when faced with adversity and I think that is a pretty neat thing. Teachers spend a lot of time worrying about some of our fringe children and how they will turn out. For the most part they are going to do well. The difficult thing is for us to become the agent of change in their life or at least part of it.
I thought this was interesting too because I was just talking about change in people with a friend. We both decided for people to change they have to be faced with some adversity. I think this makes things clear for what they want to work for. Sometimes I worry about the kids that are given everything more as they have no obstacles to overcome and will not know how to deal with the obstacles that will come later in life.
Finally, I think this idea goes along with what Darcy said about resiliency. I think this is a skill that kids almost need to develop. They need to know how to react when things are not going well.
AHA! The quote Courtney put on her door would be a good one for me to post on each of my students' desks. Out of my 18 students many of them are so quick to tell me what is wrong with them and why they can't do something. If they had that quote to look at everyday, possibly they would start to realize that they have so much more right with them then they realize!
I liked the article about being a turn around teacher. It made me think about a goal I have been working on this year in my own school. I wanted to get the entire school involved in a some multi-age groups as a way to build a better community. So, we took the entire student body and separated them up into twenty groups. Almost every month we have a KFC (Kids Friendship Club) time. I wanted the kids to be able to have one more adult "on their side." So many students at our school come from disorganized home lives that I really felt having another constant person in their life was very important. If I am that turn around teacher for even just one student in my KFC group it is all worth it to me!
Wow, these two articles sure get the brain thinking. I’m going to break down my “aha’s” into two parts, one from each of the two articles.
First, the article on Self-Esteem: I liked the comments in regards to having too much “fluff” or artificial self talk for creating self-esteem. Too often, too many people tell themselves things that truly, they don’t believe. I agree, those are truly “meaningless affirmations”. I, instead, agree that when we acknowledge a students strengths & accomplishments, then we’re truly creating positive self-esteem. I enjoyed the short example about Sandy & her counselor, and getting to the meat of the story. I find that in my own classroom, keeping a student after class to discuss their life helps both myself and the student understand why the achieved result wasn’t necessarily what either of us wanted. I find this works much better, one-on-one, rather than in front of the whole class, or even during class for that matter. Finally, in that same article, I appreciated the comment, “We obsess about and overestimate the power of weakness, and we fail to recognize and underestimate the power of strengths.” This is all too true. I find this coming out in our team meetings too, when we talk about all that is wrong, rather than what we are doing right. This will definitely be an area that I need to work on.
Now, for the article on Resiliency and being a Turnaround Teacher: The first “aha” that I had was based on the comment, “it is clearly the presence of a nurturing climate that draws (the student) forth and encourages their expression”. This leads back to the book, and creating trust! If the student has trust with their teacher, that is the basic building block of accomplishing both student & teacher goals for learning. This leads to another interesting finding in this article, by Werner and Smith, how they state how a students’ favorite teacher is one of a students most positive role models. And, don’t we all want to be termed a “favorite teacher” by our students?
Sam, I almost saw that as an AHA as well, our "perception" of disadvantaged students.
I like how you state, "the difficult thing is for us to become the agent of change in their life...". Like I mentioned in my previous posting, in our team meetings we focus on our disadvantaged students and their behavior, rather than becoming that "agent" of change for them, and trying to figure out a way to redirect their behavior.
These two articles were wonderful reminders of what we need to focus on as educators. the "Turn Around" article stressed the importance of making connections with students while building competence and the ability to contribute. We can easily see this in our own classrooms and families. Students are motivated to do what they know they are adept at. The trick is finding that small seed of strength in an area that needs growth, and building upon it.
I especially enjoyed the Personal Resiliency Builder list in the "Authentic Self-Esteem" article. The list is something I may use in my classroom to encourage self-analysis in goal setting. I haven't spent much time of my own reflecting on how I achieve success, but It makes sense to share these differeing methods. As the article quoted, "Each person's talents are enduring and unique.", and I believe the different methods of developing those talents are important as well.
I appreciated being reminded of my own resiliency. My husband, Paul, and I have been through a couple major life crises in the last decade, one of which was infertility. Personal resiliency builders that got me through were my positive attitude, determination, flexibility, perseverance, spirituality, and especially sense of humor. I’ll always remember Paul’s Aunt Heidi calling after my second miscarriage and saying in her German accent, “Your Uncle Tony and I couldn’t have babies, either. Do like we did and get lots of dogs. Our dogs are our kids.” Politely, I swore to her that, I didn’t know when or how, but we would have human kids. (Not that I don’t love dogs… We have 2 labs.)
Anyway, we now have four beautiful children, each with their own story. Megan (7) is adopted, Kylie and Kadie (5) were “test tube babes,” and Jaden (3) was a “Surprise!” The first article says acquiring “authentic self-esteem” has to do with a “thorough appreciation and application of how we’ve ‘done as well as we’ve done.’” I can tell you that not a day goes by that I don’t whole-heartedly appreciate the miracle of my family and marvel at how it came to be. (Even when Kadie was throwing up on her breakfast platter at McDonald’s Saturday morning at which time I again, on a smaller scale, drew upon my “innate capacity for resiliency.”) As for application, I’ve been able to help many friends and acquaintances through struggles similar to ours.
My AHA was simply the reminder to focus on my personal strengths that have and will continue to help me deal with life’s major crises and small hassles (and help my students identify their strengths). Cindi’s entry gave me ideas to get things rolling in my classroom. Thanks, Cindi! I think I’ll start with the writing prompt, “I am good at several things. First, I…” Then I’ll have the kids share their pieces with the class. My plan is that these activities will then set the stage for discussions about how the kids’ can capitalize on their strengths.
This weather can make everyone negative. Finding the positive is a challenge. Today while it was raining and the students were grumping around, I said there is a positive about the weather. They wanted to know what. I said at least my car is getting washed. Their outlook, along with mine, improved. I’ve had to look hard to find positives. I’m dealing with a family illness and spending 6 hours a weekend traveling. Starting this class only to find out we can’t blog from school, so I’ve been visiting the public library. And last but very important, dealing with a negative school atmosphere. After reading the AHA articles, I wanted to change so I would feel better and make the students feel better. And then that makes me feel even better. I’ve been greeting students as they come in the library. I deal with Middle/High School students and sometimes they are hard to impress. They also want to know what is going on, but they seem to be in a better mood. I have taken on the idea that if I do say something negative, I always follow up with a positive. It makes for a much more pleasant atmosphere. I talk to many of the students, but the ones I spent that extra minute, giving a pat on the back, a smile or a “good job”, are the ones that aren’t getting it from others. I tell them that I don’t expect them to be perfect, what I expect is their best. My student aides have done a much better job. I work along side them and we put books on the shelves together. They do a better job of getting the books back in the right spot and of straightening shelves. For these next weeks I want to keep this up so I have an easier time dealing with other difficulties I am facing right now.
I grew up with parents who spent a lot of time with my sister and I. My sister was a wiz at everything she did. Me, I had problems. It took me longer to comprehend certain concepts, but my parents were always there telling me I could do it. My parents instilled in us to be proud of what we did accomplish. They looked at us as individuals and that gave us the confidence to do the best in whatever we tried. That has stayed with me all my life. I realize that I am much more resilient than I thought and that I need to continue try new things and do the best I can.
There were a few AHA moments in the two readings listed.
I agree with Sam that we often look at and judge students that come from bad situations.
We assume that they will have a difficult time ahead and achievement will be low. I was really glad to read the study and the stats on how that is “not” necessarily true.
In my supplementary occupation; real estate, we have been taught to NOT judge people on what we think they might be able to afford. We have to be very careful about assuming anything in real estate. This job has helped me be more open to looking at the families I deal with at school.
After taking classes in Love and Logic, our instructor/family counselor had described how when kids are given everything or have an unrealistic idea of how special they are, it could be potentially dangerous. It restates that in (Smith and Elliot, 2001), when kids suffer disappointment, it can lead them to turn to unhealthy escapes, such as drugs, alcohol, etc. That was logical but surprising to me, and is a good reminder that we need kids to learn to be resilient and fail once in a while so they can learn to deal with small problems, which in turn may help with the larger ones ahead. I need these reminders not just for my students but also for the healthy development of my son.
I found it very interesting to see of “list” of Personal Resiliency Builders. I saw Creativity in one of my qualities and it stands out in many of my students. Many of my students that may not do well in other areas of school, really enjoy the escape of the art room!
In our building we have a type of teacher mentor program. We call it pen pals. We pair up with students to help them manage their schoolwork, do things with them and show an interest in them. I have taken on many students over the years and it really means as much to me as it does the student. I have students that are in middle and high school and beyond that I still keep in contact with. Two of those students told me they wanted to go into art education because of my influence. This making connections with students is a powerful thing. Kristen works with the KFC group in the same way. I ditto what Kristen said, that if it makes a difference with even only one, it is truly worth it.
Reading these two articles really made me sit back and take a good look at myself and my life as well as my profession. As in the Self-Esteem article, it is often so easy to sit back and dwell upon the weaknesses or what is going bad. This article reminded me that in my classroom (and in my life) I need to focus on the strengths of my students and help bring those strengths out. I really enjoyed the quote, " The people who helped me the most were the ones who told me 'what is right with you is more powerful than anything that is wrong with you.'"
The second article - Turnaround teacher - reminded me as to why I went into teaching. I love being a positive role model for children. Developing a positive relationship with all students is not always easy, and this article reminded me as to why that is so important. I like what Renae said about finding even the smallest seed in a student and helping him or her grow upon that seed. I can picture that seed blossoming into a beautiful and original flower with some tender loving care that many of those seeds most often need.
One statement from the Turnaround Teacher article that strikes a chord with me is: “When we don’t know each other’s stories, we substitute our own myth about who that person is.” Every year, I look forward to our scheduled parent-teacher-student conferences, and strangely enough, to the especially tough ones. It’s amazing how quickly “my myth” can change and how deeper understanding and empathy can grow after a meager 20-minute meeting with a parent. Time and again, a student who has gotten off to a crummy start, or who has made a less-than-stellar impression on me, is seen in a whole new light. While I understand the importance of privacy, prior to HIPAA laws and the implementation of our school policies on student/family confidentiality, I felt like I had a better handle on my kids back in “the old days” when the counselor or administration would fill me in on some of the background issues that affected a student’s progress and relationships at school. That in turn seemed to give me just a little bit of a boost in identifying and addressing that individual’s needs. It takes additional time and trust to get to know more about my student’s home-life these days, but as always, it’s important!
Another main point from this article is that 70% of “high-risk” children end up doing well. Awesome to hear some hopeful news! Yet, in doing a little bit of digging on the Internet, I found evidence that suicide in children is an increasing concern to emergency physicians. According to Laurie Flynn in her article, “Before Their Time: Preventing Teen Suicide” (http://www.communityvoices.org/Article.aspx?ID=202) Suicide is now the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years old. Since 1960 the suicide rates for males 15-19 years old has tripled. More alarming, suicide is increasingly claiming its victims at younger ages. From 1980-1996, suicide rates among children 10-14 years old increased 100 percent. Suicide is now the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years old. I wonder how many of the children included in that data had been identified as being “high-risk”.
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