Friday, November 10, 2017

We Don't Need No Tech-ucation!


Yes...on a Thursday, I assigned a webquest to my sophomores. They whined. They procrastinated. They bellyached. There was grumbling and gnashing of teeth. All because I said, "Use the links I provided to answer the questions."

Seriously.

You'd have thought I had peeled their fingernails back and pinned them to a clothesline! Who was I do make them do the work? Why couldn't I just show a PowerPoint and let them passively write down the words so they could keep SnapChatting, texting, and taking selfies?? And we were only substituting paper for pencil - not even creating anything.

This is not the first tech assignment I have given this class, but it seemed like the kids thought it was. Or, I don't know. Maybe they were just anticipating having Friday off. But something was amiss on Thursday. I've had students say similar things to me, and I guess it bothered me for real this time.

It's just that...why?

Why does active learning burn so much? Like, maybe they felt like I was asking them to exercise or promise to give me their first born child. Walking around the room, the stress was palpable. There was an odd quietness -- not the good kind where there was work and creation, but the bad kind. A calm before the storm.

I had students literally sigh as they answered each question. It was so disheartening, I almost told them nevermind. Almost.

My 4th period came in much later, and I thought, "Yes! A new group -- THEY will love this!" Nope. They spent their time emailing me funny messages and SnapChatting with some new filters. One kid sat right beside me, whispering to her friend to tell her what number 6 was! I WAS SITTING RIGHT THERE!!!

Something isn't right with the tech use and integration at my school. I feel like I'm the only teacher asking students to create with technology, rather than take a test. How can my kids say they don't like computers? THEY ARE ON THEIR PHONES 24/7! I can't take the things out of their hands. So, I try to incorporate them, but that's too hard, too.

It has to be their brains. Nick Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet Does to Our Brains, wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal about our over-reliance on cell phones. Carr (2017) described a study in which three groups had variations of cell phones during a test: group 1 had the cell phone on the table and scored the worst; group 2 had the phone with them, but in a bag, and scored in the middle; group 3 had to keep the cell phone in a locker outside the testing room and scored the best.

What does this tell me as a teacher? Well, that my students need to keep their cell phones in their lockers so they can concentrate. And to that, I say:



Why am I laughing so hard?? Because so many edu "thought" leaders have screamed that banning cell phones in the classroom is wrong. Because cell phones are basically another appendage. Because I'll have parents cussing me out if they can't text Lil' Jimmy or Julie some drama that's happening at home!

But the research, and my experiences for the last few years, is clear -- more cell phones in the classroom basically cripple students' critical thinking and ability to concentrate on anything.

They still have to do the webquest, but it will be painful.

So...anyone else have similar pains? How do you handle the I-hate-computers-cell-phone-using-students?




Reference

Carr, N. (2017, October 6). How smartphones hijack our minds. The Wall Street Journal [New York], 
     p. C 1. Retrieved from 
     https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-smartphones-hijack-our-minds-1507307811

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Thursday, November 2, 2017

Oops

So many parts of my life are going wrong right now, and I can't fix any of them. At the moment, I should be solidly in the middle of collecting data for my dissertation. But what am I doing instead? Worrying about how to keep my yearbook staff focused on a daily basis. Worrying that the "reflection tool" I had to use in a district PD will get me fired for what I wrote (apparently, being honest isn't a virtue in the edu world). Worrying that my son will get mugged or stolen from again since he's moved to DC with some jezabel, and they've already gotten broken into once. Worrying that my ELA students aren't really reading and aren't enjoying the weekly blog posts I ask them to write. Worrying that my daughter is so bored at school that she will turn into one of the lackadaisical high school kids I deal with daily. Worrying that I'll NEVER actually write a dissertation that, in reality, means a great deal to me.

When it's Dissertation Saturday, I try to leave my house to read and write. Then, I get bored and sad that I am alone. So I surf the web, or plan fun, creative lessons for class. Then, I get mad at myself for not writing or finishing that book that was due at the library two weeks ago. So I leave Panera or the bookstore or the library and go home to sleep. Because all this stuff just makes me tired.
Or -- and this is my FAVORITE way of working -- I stay home because Lily has gone to a friend's house, and I don't have to entertain her. So, I start with some coffee and read my Twitter timeline. That lasts for oh, an hour or so. I see the time pass by and say, "Hmm... okay, one more cup of coffee and five more Twitter minutes." When that hour passes by, I think, "Hmmm...now it's time for breakfast." So, I eat breakfast and watch the tv because I can't eat and write at the same time. When those two hours pass by -- it was a Netflix binge -- I think, "Okay, I'm going to read this chapter and take notes, and then write ALL THE DISSERTATION!" And, after about twenty minutes, I fall asleep. When I wake up, it's probably been a couple of hours, so I stretch, fuss at myself a little, take the dog for a walk and get some fresh air, come back in and eat and while I eat, I watch the tv or read the Twitter and make a plan to stop and WRITE ALL THE DISSERTATION. But by now, my day is shot and watching Netflix or reading a fun book it much more enticing.

This is not how normal people work. Normal people do what they say they are going to do and follow through. And in my real life, I am one of those people. But as a doctoral candidate, I am the worst student/researcher. I have not found a partner with whom I can meet just to write with. I have not locked myself in a closet to sneak in writing. I do have notes and notes and notes, but no organization, so I don't even know what I have at this point.

And the worst part is, I don't know how to get back to caring whether I finish this degree or not. For vanity, I want to. But professionally? What will a doctorate do for me? Once I started really delving into the business of school and how things work, I can't unsee the policies that cripple teachers like me who know what best practices are, yet are forced to change because #TestScores. All these people in my district who are "in charge" of the educational programming have gone to graduate school. They sat in the same classes that I did where we debated and read and wrote about the #BadTeachers and the #SacrificingInstructionForTheTest and how we would #NeverBeThatLeader.

But they've all turned out that way.

I had a phone call yesterday from a woman I worked with when I taught elementary Special Ed. I trust her as a teacher and professional. She spent about thirty minutes (in the middle of my 4th period) justifying why my daughter and the rest of the middle school are taking daily computer tests and why the top students in each grade get to be "enriched" through clubs and interest groups. It all goes back to #TestScores. My kid scored grade level, but not above grade level. My kid is being punished ("She's not being punished, Stephanie. It's only twenty minutes four days a week.") because she didn't score in the brilliance range for math. My kid is being punished because they track the students in middle school -- AIG vs Everyone Else.

My friend and colleague who I trust turned out to only care about #TheTest.

So, this "unseeing" the bad seems to be weighing me down regarding finishing the doctoral program. I am in no way excusing myself or complaining. I'm simply depressed that nothing will change even if I have a doctoral degree.


Well, nothing except, it will be finished. Until then, I "Gotta Change My Way of Living"..... :-)