Back to Middle School!
Last week I participated in the Shadow a Student Challenge, a national movement designed to provide a wide range of leaders across the country the opportunity to gain empathy and insight into the school experience of students. Last year I shadowed a SHS high school student (see In Kendra’s Shadow, a previous blog post) and this year I chose to shadow a middle school student, Sam, and experience the school life of 8th grade.
I began the day in physical education class, where students choose either a team sport or personal fitness. Sam ran on the treadmill and used weight machines donated by Bryant University. I overheard some students noting their sore muscles later in the day – further proving the worth of physical activity. Mrs. Connell had eyes everywhere at once, coaching individual students on the proper use of the equipment. Before long, it was time to move along to English class.
Although Sam’s ELA teacher was absent, the lesson was planned in advance and the class was in the capable hands of Karen Zuercher, a retired Massachusetts teacher and Smithfield resident. Mrs. Zuercher knew students by name and executed the lesson with ease. After a gallery walk featuring students’ onomatopoeia comic strips, students worked on a personification writing assignment that was both challenging and fun. If attention was paid solely to the assignment, students could have finished the work by the end of the class period but, like most students their age, a little socialization kept them from that goal. I can’t begrudge them for the balance of work and fun as there’s value in both and enough work was accomplished to support learning.
Earlier in the morning I had reviewed the absence report and noted some classrooms in the district that were without substitutes. The shortage of subs is a challenge to our principals who are forced to juggle other personnel to fill vacancies. This year, we raised the daily rate of subs to $80/day, up from $75/day, but this is still well below $100/day, which is the rate in many districts across Rhode Island. When I see the value of a well-trained and dedicated substitute, like Mrs. Zuercher, I’m reminded to propose another jump in pay to help us catch up with other districts so that we can compete for additional, qualified substitute teachers.
Music class with Edmea Sylvestre was intimidating, at first, for this non-musically inclined adult, but I noted that the lesson was structured in a way that provided entry to students of all abilities. At the start of the class, students paired up and read off notes during a timed period, reporting on the number of rounds achieved during that period. It was OK to report fewer rounds read than other pairs, since students competed with themselves, rather than others. Next, they practiced a variety of pieces on electronic pianos. I could only imagine the cacophonous noise from all these instruments if output wasn’t limited to headphones alone!
Mrs. Grundy told me that I’d already know what was being taught in social studies but I have to admit that every adult should review the Articles of and Amendments to the Constitution now and again, not simply because one might forget them but also because reflecting on their contents encourages appreciation for our country and government. The pace of the class was appropriately brisk, as there’s much to accomplish in 40 minutes. In addition to a formative assessment Mrs. Grundy collected and will use to gauge student progress, students practiced academic vocabulary and started on an assignment.
Most people who know me know that I love mathematics but I hadn’t graphed equations in a while so Sam ran circles around me. Mrs. Drainville set up stations around the room and, after finding the intersection of the two lines graphed, the answer led the team to know which station to go to next. Station 10 was a mini-lesson on a new, related math concept. Lesson structures like this provide movement and a natural pacing you don’t get through seatwork. The planning that teachers do for such lessons may take a bit more time but the results are well-worth it. While many in the public think that teachers’ days begin at the first bell and end at the closing bell, the lesson, itself, reminded me that planning often involves several hours more each week.
I eat lunch at least once in each school each year, both for convenience and as a means of assessing quality. The students have expressed appreciation for the lunch choices provided by Chartwells and I can see why. My chicken sandwich and waffle fries were fresh and tasty. The choice of sides included fruit cocktail, fresh fruit, and salad. Like in any school, there’s never quite enough time for eating and socializing and we were soon herded off to an extension period. On Wednesdays, Sam heads back to Social Studies, where Mrs. Grundy has planned mapping exercises for the students.
In science, Mrs. Ramos set up stations around the room to provide practice for metric measurements. Students measured mass, length, and volume of various objects and answered questions about metric units. I noted that today’s students are more comfortable with the use of these units than in years past, although, undoubtedly, their high school teachers will also find it necessary to review the basics. Again, another teacher understood the value of movement, teamwork, and variety. Student engagement is not the sole responsibility of the student but is, instead, something to be considered when designing lessons.
In the course of the day, I reflected on the level of rigor, lesson structure, and variety provided by the teachers. I also attended to relationships, both among students and between students and their teachers. In the news we hear of bullying and discord but, in fact, harmony and respect is more the norm among students at GMS. As students navigate their adolescent years they are bound to make mistakes and as adults we are charged with teaching, modeling, correcting, and guiding. To accomplish all this, the relationships between teachers and students must be strong and in no where have I seen them stronger than in Smithfield schools. It’s one of the qualities of schools that can’t be measured by standardized tests or school report cards.
Thank you, Sam, for giving me a glimpse into the 8th grade experience. If I could go back in time, I’d want to repeat my adolescent years here in Smithfield!
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