After watching videos of Dr. Briseno and Dr. Chargois, I really connected with something Dr. Briseno shared. He explained that it's important to examine quantitative data,but it's equally important to look beyond that. We must look at the child and the life the child is leading. Did the student eat dinner? Did they eat breakfast? Did they get enough sleep last night? All these questions affect the academic success of our students. I can't help but reflect on a student I currently have in my third grade class. He consistently talks out of turn, reads at a kindergarten level, has a low self-esteem, has and can be extremely disruptive in class. Despite all of these things against him, I genuinely like him. His listening comprehension skills are fantastic. He offers insights that are unique and spot on. He makes me laugh and he makes me sad. While reading with him last week, he randomly shared that he was having a horrible day. Of course, I replied that he was in fact, having a terrific day and explained why. He went on to say that he'll have a horrible day at home. I was quiet and let him share. He shared some difficult experiences he had been through recently including being told by his mother many times to "shut the f-word up" (his words) along with many other horrible situations. My heart was quietly breaking for him. How can I help him concentrate on his academics when he's worried about his situation at home? I do my best to create a calm, supportive and learning rich environment for him as well as create opportunities to build his self-worth. His situation goes beyond his reading level and math abilities. It goes beyond his disruptive behavior. As Dr. Briseno explained, we must look past the quantitative data and meet the needs of our students beyond academics.
The 9 Passions That Drive Your Journey in our Dana text really allowed me to make connections with what our principal is trying to implement on our campus. With each passion, I really was able to visualize the purpose of our current campus schedule and what he is trying to accomplish with it. By creating "families" of classrooms, he's attempting to create professional opportunities for growth, an optimum, learning rich environment for our students with consistency and familiarity and potential for some exciting and effective learning opportunities in the future. I'm looking forward to the future and the opportunities forthcoming.
I'm a bit hesitant to admit that I'm having an unusually difficult time nailing down an action research topic. This uncertainty is definitely new territory for me and it makes me uncomfortable. I have several thoughts on what I wonder about, but what is realistic and worthy of inquiry? I'm unsure. I love classroom management and student behavior. One thought is to explore how implementing the CHAMPS approach to classroom management affects the classroom dynamic. I also am mentoring a new teacher who is also teaching in the behavior unit of our campus. I taught in the behavior unit for three years and wouldn't change the experience for the world. I learned so much, but I'm struggling with buy-in from this new teacher. Can I affect a change of philosophy in this teacher and ultimately help change the learning environment in which our behavior students are currently in? I would love nothing more. I keep changing my mind. This is so frustrating for me.
Thanks for reading and visiting.
Cheers!
Wendy
Dana, N. F. (2009). The Passions that Drive Your Journey: Finding a Wondering.
Leading with Passion and Knowledge the Principal as Action Researcher
(pp. 25-68). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, a Joint Publication with the
American Association of School Administrators.
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