No Opt Out: Classroom Management, Self-Esteem, and Differentiation

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

-Michael Jordan

If you mess up on the first day of school, there is no going back. Your entire year can be ruined instantly.

The first weeks, days, hours, and even seconds are crucial to a successful school year. Your students will pick up on your mannerisms. They will "size you up" and assess your competency in classroom management, whether or not you are ready for it.

First day of class. You are shaking students hands at the door and introduce yourself. Now is the time to begin teaching procedures. Many teachers begin with "icebreakers". (These activities are a good way for students to get to know each other, but I strongly recommend that you stress the procedural component of the activity and not the classroom environment. You can create that environment of comfort between your students, but I strongly recommend with beginning with procedures.) Let's say after you model how to enter and exit the classroom (which I refer to as First Five and Last Five) you have your students stand in a circle and say their name one at a time, and then something they like beginning with the first letter of their name. ("I'm Mr. Friedberg and I like mangoes.") The next person says their name, something they like, and the person before them. ("He's Mr. Friedberg, he likes mangoes, and I'm Gabriella and I like guitars.") But what happens when you get to the student who refuses. What do you do? Whatever words you say will indicate to the class your authority; are you going to maintain it, or are you going to give it up to a student who is trying to test you?

This is where No Opt Out comes in. It's the first technique in the controversial Teach Like A Champion, which is essential to my classroom. When I was in college, student taught, and became a substitute teacher, I knew all the slogans and catchphrases to use in interviews. I knew to mention "data driven instruction" and "high expectations". But what exactly do "high expectations" look like, especially in an urban classroom? No Opt Out is critical to maintaining strong behavioral standards, in addition to helping build students' self-esteem. Here is how Lemov defines the technique:

A sequence that begins with a student unable to answer a question should end with the student answering that question as often as possible.

Let's first examine defiance and return back to our icebreaker scenario. A student may say, "I don't know", "I don't want to do this", or "I don't like anything". In all three instances, the student is trying to take control of the classroom. Power should never be negotiated. Before I became a teacher I worked for years at a local community center. My former boss was one of the best disciplinarians. I have ever seen. As she put it, "Either you're in charge or the kids are. You decide."

Like Cold Call, the technique is incredibly simple with deep implications. Essentially, use the technique to have a student answer your question or respond to your direction.

It's important to realize that when a student says, "I don't know", they may be unsure of an answer or they may be defiant. Identifying this circumstance is crucial to rectifying it.

In a successful urban classroom, or any classroom for that matter, power is never negotiated. This does not mean that you need to be punitive; you should not be. In fact I strongly use Positive Framing in everything I do. I want my students to feel welcomed and excited to learn. Simultaneously, that does not mean that I let up on  being "strict". That term often has a negative connotation. I view being strict as making my expectations crystal clear and holding my students high to what they need to do. It does not have to be anything more or less than that.

Let's return to our first day scenario. You get to a student who tries to test you. He responds, "I'm not doing this,"

What is happening? He's trying to take power from you. This is where you cannot negotiate and where you can use No Opt Out. Calmly say to the student, "Alex, I'm going to ask you one more time. Either you're going to participate or you're going to be in detention after school. Now, what is your name and what do you like?"

Now it's become clear. You refuse to give up power. The majority of the time, most students should probably respond to your request- that is, if you have developed a strong classroom climate where you are the clear authority. If you have not done that, your power can begin to crumble. If the student still won't budge, it is imperative to follow up with your consequence. Whatever we do, we send a message to our students. The message sent is either this teacher means business or this year is going to be a joke.

Now let's begin to examine using this technique for when a student actually does not know. Let's say you're cold-calling students. Lemov asserts that there are for ways to respond when they cannot (or refuse to) answer:

Format 1. You provide the answer; your student repeats the answer. 
Format 2. Another student provides the answer; the initial student repeats the answer.
Format 3. You provide a cue; your student uses it to find the answer. 
Format 4. Another student provides a cue; the initial student uses it to find the answer.

In my eighth grade language arts class we are reading The Book Thief. Let's say you do a close read on a passage in the beginning of the book. Liesel Meminger finds out that her father was taken away. After the students respond with sticky notes based on Common Core question stems. You begin with a simple question using cold call. "Why was Liesel's father taken away (pause) Fabian?" The student replies that they don't know. Using all four formats, here is how you could possibly respond:

Student: I'm not sure.
Teacher: He was a communist.
Student: Oh that's right,
Teacher: What was he?
Student: A communist.
Teacher: Excellent.

Student A: I don't know.
(Cold Call another student) Teacher: Help him out (pause) Janine.
Student B: Her father was a communist.
(Teacher points back or gives a brief verbal cue to Student A)
Student A: Her father was a communist.
Teacher: Right!

Student: He was Jewish?
Teacher: Good try, but remember, he wasn't Jewish. What were some of the other groups targeted by Hitler?
Student: Poles, the mentally challenged, trade unionists... oh, communists! He was a communist.
Teacher: Good job, Fabian!

Student A: He was a gypsy?
(Cold Call another student) Teacher: He was not, but he was a member of a certain group. Who else did Hitler target besides those of a certain ethnicity (pause) Carlos?
Student B: He went after gay people and people of different political groups.
Teacher: Good. Now what was one of the main groups Hitler targeted Fabian?
Student A: Oh, communists!
Teacher: Good, give me a complete sentence, please.
Student A: Liesel's father was a communist.
Teacher: Great work!

One of the great things that I love about No Opt Out is that it can be used to build students' confidence. As I mentioned in my cold call post, questioning techniques should not be used to make students feel ashamed, but to help make them feel better. The technique emphasizes having the student answer correctly. That's what it's all about, and when students can answer correctly they can feel proud of themselves.

As you differentiate questioning techniques, you can differentiate using No Opt Out as well. My favorite "format" is 4, where another student provides a cue for their peer, and that the question is answered. (This creates a high ratio.) For example, if you ask a higher level question and the student does not get it, you can cold call a student that you believe could appropriately answer. You can also do this with a lower question. You want to create a "culture of error" where everyone participates and feels comfortable in speaking.

Students need to know that it's not only to try and fail; it's expected. Many students suffer from learned helplessness. The more we can destigmatize getting a question "wrong", the more we can push students to answer questions correctly. Our students won't become Michael Jordans if they are afraid to miss some free throws. And in order to succeed, we need to give them lots of opportunities to take free throws. They will miss some, but with proper support, they will be less afraid to take shots.

Why #Blacklivesmatter is a Part of My Classroom

I can't breathe.

-Eric Garner

Part I- Subjectivity

I had a teacher in high school that became like a father to me. He took me under his wing. He mentored me and guided me, and eventually helped me to get a full scholarship to a private college.

That school was Kansas City Art Institute. I visited it and broke down. Not only did I not want to attend this school (no disrespect to the institution), but I also realized that art degrees are not functional for the most part. I still love to draw, but I did not want to spend four years and lots of money on a degree I would not use. (That said, I never want to discourage my students from persuing their dreams, and if one of them wanted to attend art school I would support them completely.)

But the ultimate fear existed in how I would tell my teacher that I decided not to attend this school. Trepidation seeped into every fiber of my body. 

As expected, he did not take it well. But I also came to realize that he had shaped me in his image. A year later I went to visit the school, only to hear condescending comments from him about the choice I had made. As my hero began to fall from grace, I realized that his AP art history class was extremely subjective- obsessing over the French classisicts and the imagery of Western life, while, with the exception of the Edo woodcuts of Japan, completely ignoring the rest of the world. In addition to the racism rooted in this philosophy, it was clear that he was infusing his own opinion into the class by openly criticizing or praising various works based on his own opinions. There was no objectivity.

Reflecting upon this sick individual, it became clear to me that as teachers, it is our duty to try to have students think independently. Trying to make them copies of ourselves is harmful not only to them, but to us as well.

Part II- Black Lives Matter

Yesterday it was revealed that multiple officers from the Baltimore Police Department will be charged in the death of Freddie Gray.

While this looks like a remnant of hope, not only am I skeptical of the results, but Mr. Gray is still dead. I'm not sure what consolation, if any, this will bring to his family.

Even in death, black men are dehumanized and degraded. Just days ago, there were a slew of political pundits and commentators theorizing that he had somehow caused his own injuries. "Suicide" was too offensive of a word and it was too soon to use, but there were lots of other assertions that redefined ignorance. Rush Limbaugh pointed out, "Look at how many times the police did not kill Freddie Gray." Yes, they should be commended for that, whereas Mr. Limbaugh was arrested for prescription drug fraud, yet it's somehow not "amazing" that he was not killed or is not in jail.

Whites constantly attack the "decline of the two parent household" in black families, black on black crime, or the problems that plague many communities of color. My biggest problem with this sort of logic is this- nobody is saying that black on black crime is not a problem. But for one, as a white man, I don't believe it is my job to lecture black people on what to do in their own communities. And two, this obscures the larger issue- the racist system in which we live; a black man kills a black man and goes to jail, and when a white police officer kills a black man he receives paid administrative leave.

Finally, why black lives matter? Don't all lives matter? Of course all lives matter, all people matter. No one is disputing that remotely. We say black lives matter because those are the ones that clearly do not matter in America today. We do not have a pattern of unarmed white men being killed by police officers. If the problem was equal, if "reverse racism" existed, if somehow Africans had conquered Europeans, then yes, "all lives matter" would be a valid claim. But that's not what has occurred over centuries, and it's certainly not what's happening in America today.

Part III- #BlackLivesMatter In the Classroom

How do we balance these two seemingly different schools of thought based on subjectivity and objectivity?

First, we need to create a classroom environment where all views are tolerated. Kids should be able to express their disagreement without fearing retribution from their classmates in teacher. I saw this in my own classroom this week. A (Hispanic) student journaled about how #alllivesmatter is a more powerful hashtag/concept than #blacklivesmatter. She was the only student in my classroom who had this opinion. Nonetheless, her peers all clapped for her response afterwards for her well-thought response. It was a powerful reminder that all students should feel accepted, no matter which position they take.

One of the ways to do this is to focus on counterarguments in essay writing. When students write, they should be able to take in the totality of views in order to maintain an informed opinion.

We can also stress the importance of compassion. When reading To Kill A Mockingbird, my coworker had the class evaluate all of the characters' courage on a scale of 1-10 during the trail. When Mayella was brought up, the entire class instantly said that she should get a 1. Their teacher emphasized empathy. Look at what Mayella has experienced. Consider what her father has done to her. Look at their living conditions, as well as their stigma in Maycomb. The students saw that courage can take many forms and can be subtle. It's important to recognize that even outside of conversations on race, it's important to be feel compassion even for those we may disagree with. Mayella's actions and their evaluations of her courage show us that our individual experiences form our opinions. This, even if we disagree with others, is critical to remember; the context of the opinions that have been formed on both ends define us as individuals. The more students can view the sentiments of which they disagree with a sense of objectivity, the more respectful classroom debates will be, no matter the subject matter.

Third, we can take into the context of the "pedagogy of the oppressed" into everything we teach. If we look at history through a critical context of those that have disproportionately affected by xenophobia, racism, Manifest Destiny, and genocide, we can teach in a way that honors the realities of history- realities with which many of us did not encounter in school ourselves. This does not mean we do not honor the great achievements of history- it means that this is not the only thing we do, and that we do it beyond the Western World.

Finally, it's hard to argue that saying that unarmed black men should not be killed is subjective. This is a basic fact of human dignity. I have no doubt that in fifty years, white Americans will look back on this period in history with the same attitudes of disbelief that their parents and grandparents carried during the Civil Rights era. Do I believe racism will end? Certainly I am not that naive. I do believe that we are going through some of our darkest days as a country, and one day we shall look back on them with shame and accept the fact that black human beings matter and do not deserve to be killed at the mercy at those who have more power than they.

Why Special Education Students Should Not Feel "Special"

I have epilepsy. I take medication to prevent myself from having seizures.

There is often a stigma for those with physical, emotional, behavioral, and/or cognitive disabilities. And there should not be. That is why I am being honest about my own disorder.

My first year teaching I had several students with IEPs in one classroom. I was overwhelmed as it was, and while I had researched, student taught, and was subbing previously, this was absolutely nothing in comparison. These were MY students, and I had a duty to educate them properly- an overwhelming responsibility that was entirely new to me.

Just like I had been taught in college, I started the first week with procedures. We completed a sheet of Do Nows and Exit Slips for the week. I collected them on Friday to see what my students were able to do, and what I would need to re-teach.

One student's work particularly stuck out to me. I'll call him "Alex". As I read Alex's Do Nows, I saw that all he had been able to do was copy the text from the Do Now on the board. All the other students with IEPs were able to respond to the questions in some fashion, but all Alex could do was copy them.

I spoke with the special education teacher. Alex suffered from severe dyslexia, in addition to being severely learning disabled in other ways. My first thought was, "Wow, I wouldn't notice this just by looking at him."

There's an intrinsic problem with that assumption; I had preconceived notions of how special education students should appear. I did not acknowledge the vast diversity in student needs, as well the various ways they can appear on the surface. Alex looked "normal" to me, but the irony is that he needed more help than any other student.

I thought long and hard about how to make life science successful for Alex, because no book or professor had explained to me how to differentiate instruction for a student like him. I had a very rudimentary concept of how to make material understandable for a kid like Alex. I knew I could give him extra time for assignments or fewer questions on timed tests, but solutions beyond that escaped me.

Our first quiz was on the scientific method. I gave him fewer questions. On the multiple choice questions I eliminated some choices to try to make it easier for him. He got an F.

After class I spoke with him in private. I asked him if he wanted seperate assessments- homework, tests, etc. He did not. I asked, "Are you sure?" He confidently replied that he was.

Differentiated instruction- content, process, product. I could not figure out what I was doing wrong. And then it hit me. Shame.

Alex was ashamed of his cognitive challenges. He was tired of being "different", and not just from students. I found out that one teacher had not even looked at his IEP and had called on him to read aloud in another class. Of course he could not, and she started yelling at him. He cried.

The next day I asked to speak to Alex after class again. I guessed, "You just don't want to take a different test from everybody else, right?" He nodded his head and told me that was exactly it. We came up with a solution; I would give him a normal assessment just like his peers and collect it at at the end of class. Afterwards I would recycle it and then we would meet and I would create something that was appropriate for his schema. Instead of a quiz on cells, I would give him three circles describing different organelles. I would read him what needed to go in each box and he drew the organelles. He loved it.

This showed me something interesting yet extremely obvious; there is a distinct connection between conprehension and self-esteem. When students understand material, they feel positively about themselves; when they cannot master content, they develop a negative self-image. This connection was shown when we got back the results from our standardized testing. Between math, reading, and science, his highest scores were in my class, science. He ran to show me and was so proud of himself.

Data like this can also show us where a student with special needs is specifically having trouble. All of the material on the test was read to him, so it became clear that while he lacks decoding skills, he has comprehension, especially in terms of listening.

Too often special education students are made to feel "special" and different. Alex taught me something I will never forget; all students want to be treated as normal kids, and the more we do that as educators, the more successful our students will be.

I have epilepsy, and I refuse to be ashamed.

SWBAT... Understand Objectives by What They Are Supposed to Know and Do

To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you can better understand where you are now so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.

-Stephen R. Covey

One of the problems in education today is that ideas are constantly in flux. Teachers often have concepts, trends, books, and programs shoved down our throats at such a rapid pace they become hard to digest. One of the paramount issues is the use of objectives in our classroom.

We are told to write objectives on our board, but that leads to a lot of questions. Should objectives be written in student-friendly language or more formally? Should we also have our Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings on our boards? Should students read the objectives aloud each day? Should objectives be written using Bloom's Taxonomy verbs, or should we say what students will be about to do and how they will able to do it? Should objectives be written with explicit references to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and question stems?

All of these questions have definitive answers, but the journey to best practices can be nebulous. All teachers can likely that Understanding by Design (Wiggins, McTighe) has completely revolutionized lesson and unit planning. Of all the education books that have been released over the past decade, this has arguably been the most influential.

1. Connect your objective to your daily assessments, including your Do Nows and Exit Slips. As you frame your lesson, make your objectives a part of your assessments at the beginning and end of class. You can reinforce what you are teaching to your students, and you can also continue your objective from the previous lesson if your students did not demonstrate mastery. While I always select my Exit Slip based on what I have just taught that day, the Do Now can serve as a "hook" for a lesson, development of background knowledge, or assessment from the previous lesson.

2. Engage students by having them read the objective aloud. (I write my objectives on my board so that all my students can do this easily.) When you Control the Game (another technique from Teach Like A Champion), you cold call students for a guided reading session. This dramatically increases your ratio, or the amount of learning that is occurring in your classroom at a specific point in time. You can cold call students to read the objective aloud. This way they are focused on paying attention on the lesson, what they need to be able to demonstrate, and the skills/strategies/content you will be teaching. Here's an example of what it may look like in a classroom:

Teacher: "Scholars, what does SWBAT stand for?"
Class (simultaneously): "Students will be able to!"
Teacher: "And what will you be able to do today (pause for cold call) Giselle?"
Student (reading the objective on the board): "Provide evidence for evolution and analyze branching trees."
Teacher: "Great job, Giselle. Let's give her some snaps." (Students snap fingers together.)

In addition to being a pacing technique, giving students "props", and just adding some energy to your room, this technique is a reminder to students of they will be assessed on. The students reading the objective is a way for them to take ownership; it's no longer the students being told what to do- they are now an integral component of creating a scenario of what the lesson will look like.

3. Use Bloom's Taxonomy verbs in your objective, and/or discuss what students will be able to know and do. (I use the caveat because I believe in using language that is comfortable to students, which I discuss next.) This has been the focus of debate in the past couple of years. I do not think that for the objectives posted in the front of the classroom it is necessary to add how students will be assessed. That can make your objectives long and cumbersome to understand for students' sake, especially depending on the method of assessment. You could write those on your lesson plan. Personally, I still love Bloom's Taxonomy verbs and think that beginning your objectives with them is a simple, concise way to help students not only understand what you are asking them do know, but the level of complexity required in their thinking. I have used a Bloom's question board in the back of my classroom for the past few years, but I am going to switch to a CCSS question stem board next. Regardless of how you use Bloom's in your room, it is a great way to create and focus your vision of your lesson.

4. Write your objectives in student-friendly language, not necessarily explicitly mentioning CCSS. Students may not be able to comprehend what you are trying to get them to do if you say that they should "cite textual evidence and make logical inferences." This should be done if you are reading the objective aloud. For your lesson plans, you can directly mention the standards, but I recommend that if you read your objective out loud, phrase it in a way so that students can understand. Again, your students should be able to comprehend what you are asking them to do, in addition to how you will be asking them to show mastery.

Yes, you could use the word "tantamount" in writing an objective, but is it necessary? No, and vocabulary that is far outside their Zone of Proximal Development may confuse them further.

5. Embed your objective continually throughout your lesson. In addition to the Do Nows and Exit Slips, use informal assessments such as cold calling and dipsticking to see if students are meeting your objective. This way you can be flexible and adjust your instruction as necessary. If you are teaching your students literary elements and they still cannot properly identify the difference between rising action and climax, you will need to adjust your instruction. You may need to change your objective if your students do not demonstrate background knowledge and skills that are required for what you intended to teach.

While I believe in embedding elements of UbD throughout units, I do not believe that it is necessary to write Enduring Understandings or Essential Questions on your board, although in the past I have done so with the latter. I would suggest only doing this if you are continually returning to these components of UbD and want to explicitly show your students that you are doing so. Having said that, embedding these elements into your units and lessons is essential, but I do not believe that writing them on the board for students is required.

6. Use CHAMP or a strong behavioral management system to remind students of your expectations to meet your objective. The vast majority of classroom management problems occur because students are not clear and what they are expected to do. I love CHAMP because it helps prevent these problems before they occur. Additionally, discipline is ineffective when it is punitive and students do not know why they are being disciplined, especially if the instructor did not make expectations clear from the beginning. I have heard several acronyms for CHAMP, but I use Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, Product.

CHAMP poster for small-group work

CHAMP poster for independent work

Discipline should be pragmatic; every action and expectation is for a purpose. When students understand this, classrooms can run flawlessly. If you reinforce that your behavioral expectations are for helping students meet and exceed the objective, students will have a better grasp of why they are doing what they are required to do. For example, entering the classroom silently and beginning the Do Now immediately will not only earn them a "class point" (for a group reward system) but will also save time, and the more efficient the classroom is, the more instruction, guided practice, and assessment can occur. All of these factors will help students meet the objective.

7. Maximize best practices to meet your objective. Forget your teaching "methods"; think about techniques that will not only help your classroom run smoothly, but will also help you meet your objective. Cold Call, Normalize Error, Positive Framing, Right Means Right, 100%, No Opt Out, Right Means Right, Stretch It, First Five/Last Five (also referred to as Entry Routine), and frequent checks for understanding can all help your students meet and exceed your expectations.

8. Avoid misinterpretations of the Gradual Release of Responsibility. I discussed this in my first post about teaching To Kill A Mockingbird. While the "I do/We do/You do" method is great, it should be noted that it is nonlinear. Lessons often do not go in this formation. For example, every class period I begin with a Do Now. This is independent work. I do not begin in each class with modeling how to complete a Do Now effectively. This should be modeled in the beginning of the year through teaching procedures; that instance would be a good example of I/We/You. But if you begin each day with a Do Now, you are starting with a You Do. and it becomes clear that the destination to student mastery may have multiple paths.

I misinterpreted these methods a lot during my first year teaching when I taught only science. I thought that I should model how to complete a specific experiment, then students do certain components of the experiment with me (We Do), and then students complete the experiment in their groups. The reality is that this was not only non-productive but also could be confusing to students. When we do experiments today, I model the procedures (or at least parts of them without spoiling what will occur during the process of an experiment), and then students complete the experiment in their groups. What could be practical for a science classroom is using I/We/You to show students how to correctly answer analysis questions after an experiment. Essentially, a correct execution of the Gradual Release of Responsibility can help immensely in having your students meet their objectives. In juxtaposition, doing so incorrectly can prevent or hinder students from meeting what you are expecting them to know and do.

Objectives are essential- units, weeks, lessons, components of lessons. Understanding by Design revolutionized education and shows us that backwards design is not a way to teach, it is the way to teach. By using the techniques and strategies described above, you can help your students meet and exceed your expectations and help them realize their full potential.

Confronting Privilege and Building a Culturally Relevant Classroom

There is no achievement gap at birth.

-Lisa Delpit

I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group. 

-Peggy McIntosh

When was the last time you read something life changing? It is rare, even if you are a vivacious reader.

I remember one time very clearly. In January 2007 I read Peggy McIntosh's "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack". I was speechless. It put into words what my friends of color had said to me, and my own experiences in trying to discern uncomfortable feelings. I knew at times that what I was viewing and participating in was wrong, but I could not verbalize it. Maybe it was fear, maybe it was ignorance, but it was definitely privilege. 

Two years later I read Lisa Delpit's "The Silenced Dialogue". This was another game changer. It absolutely floored me. I realized that I had unintentionally participated in similar behaviors in not only working with my students of color, but teachers of color as well. 

I had always thought of myself as "progressive". But labels can be meaningless. While our words carry linguistic power, our actions are much more definitive of our character. Despite my intentions, I had failed at implementing culturally relevant pedagogy into my classroom. 

Recently, there has been a reactionary movement against the notion of white privilege. Many, conservatives and liberals alike, have reacted harshly to the notion that white people benefit from a system that is set up to disproportionately target people of color. Consider the following letter from a Princeton student which was picked up by Time:

Perhaps it’s the privilege my grandfather and his brother had to flee their home as teenagers when the Nazis invaded Poland, leaving their mother and five younger siblings behind, running and running until they reached a Displaced Persons camp in Siberia, where they would do years of hard labor in the bitter cold until World War II ended. Maybe it was the privilege my grandfather had of taking on the local Rabbi’s work in that DP camp, telling him that the spiritual leader shouldn’t do hard work, but should save his energy to pass Jewish tradition along to those who might survive. Perhaps it was the privilege my great-grandmother and those five great-aunts and uncles I never knew had of being shot into an open grave outside their hometown. Maybe that’s my privilege. 

The author, Tal Fortgang, while meaning well, has completely missed the point. After all, desires to do good are simply not enough. Many argued that the police officers who are responsible for Mike Brown and Eric Garner's deaths had "good intentions". Obviously intent is insufficient. 

As a descendant of Holocaust Survivors, I get it. My grandmother escaped Hitler's invasion of Prague by three days. Her cousin was on a kindertransport. Many of her extended family was killed in concentration camps. Those who did escape were ridiculed in America.

While all of these facts are horrible, my grandmother will be the first to tell you that black people have had it infinitely worse than Jews. She will assert that while the Holocaust was horrendous, it is insulting and ridiculous to try to compare it to slavery or Jim Crow. What she will not tell you is how she is routinely pulled over by police, how her ancestors were lynched, or how her coworkers and peers have asked her for the Jewish "experience" as if she represents all Jews. 

She also will not tell you about how she walked in on coworkers who were about to utter the n-word but then paused when she entered the room. She will not tell you about her family members who have been groped by police officers.

She will not tell you these things because she is not black, and they have not happened to her.  

To assert that Jews do not somehow benefit from being white is negating centuries of genocide and terrorism to African Americans. It is not only insulting, but it is blatantly false. Ironically, Fortgang is upholding his privilege by denying it; by ignoring what people of color experience regularly, he is not only absolving his possible guilt, but also ignoring the systematic racism that plagues the United States, and has for centuries. 

Briana Payton, another Princeton student, responded with simple facts:

While Fortgang is not responsible for white male dominance in society, he should at least recognize that this social hierarchy is not a mere coincidence, nor is it a testament to the power of hard work. Such a micro-level explanation, when applied to our country’s current state, would imply that white males have by and large outworked most women and minorities in the many fields in which they dominate.

Exactly. Is education an exception? Not at all. In fact, as Delpit asserts, we often see scenarios of privilege played out extensively when we have white teachers working in classrooms of color.

Before I can begin to implement any elements of culturally relevant pedagogy into my own classroom, I need to accept these objective truths. If I refuse to acknowledge these realities, I will not only be ineffective in an urban classroom, but as an educator, regardless of my environment.

While ignorance is bliss, as teachers, we cannot afford to be ignorant, and our students cannot afford it either.

Having said that, let's begin to build our culturally relevant classroom. Here are a few things that we can do to help our students succeed:

1) Use codeswitching and contrastive analysis strategies in writing, reading, and listening. As I mentioned in my previous post. In addition to Gloria Ladson-Billings and Lisa Delpit, I strongly recommend Code-Switching: Teaching Standard English in Urban Classrooms by Rebecca Wheeler and Rachel Swords. In short, pedagogy based in these methods not only helps validate students' culture(s), but is also proven to help students learn and use Standard English, even though they do not belong to the culture of power, in the words of Delpit.

2) Base your classroom management with cultural backgrounds in mind. One of the most inspiring lectures I have ever heard was from a former boss at a local community center. She was white and grew up in Apartheid era South Africa. She was not only raised to believe in Apartheid, but she wrote an article defending it as a teenager in a local newspaper. As she grew to see her confusions, privilege, and misconceptions, she began to repudiate her previous philosophy. She closed her speech to our staff with the following statement: "We are told to believe in the golden rule, but I believe in the platinum rule; treat others as they want to be treated." I will never forget that.

This was a good model for someone not only acknowledging their privilege, but reflecting on it and how we deal with our students. One common mistake that I have executed previously in my classroom language involved language usage. I spoke to students the way I had been spoken to by my white mother- not acknowledging that my students had difficulty understanding my words because there was a language barrier of sorts. It was as if I had been speaking to them in a language that they were not fluent in and yet expecting them to understand. Again, this is essentially what Delpit refers to as the culture of power. I have access to the culture of power, but my students do not. It is important to accept this if I want my classroom to function successfully. 

In short, many parents of students of color speak with a clarity that is different from those heard in the homes of white teachers. It is paramount that we speak to students with this lucidity so that they can "hear" our words in the way we intend. The misconception that lies amongst many white "progressive" teachers is that this means we have to yell at students. This is false. We can still use positive framing and simultaneously make clear our distinct directions.  In addition to making my rules understandable, I also use CHAMP in my classroom to guide student expectations. (I strongly recommend CHAMP to all teachers.)

3) Use bilingual instruction when appropriate. I add this caveat because there are times when it is appropriate and others when it is not, especially based on your student audience. I have often translated my Do Nows and Exit Slips into Spanish. It's important to do this without drawing unwanted attention to these students. If you have a Promethean Board, you can project your translated Do Nows, or you can print out the translations (this could be for the entire week) and have them ready at the students' desks. 

You can also do some small group "pull out" instruction. My students who are new to English often feel more comfortable in this environment. Even a simple check for understanding in their native language ("Tu entiende o no?") can help validate their culture and heritage.

Lastly, it is fairly obvious that cold calling an English Language Learner or a Special Education students to read a difficult passage would be inappropriate, but I strongly recommend doing so for text with lower lexicality or a a passage with less complex text. Doing this can really help create "buy in", build classroom texture, and also help students' know that they are successful and capable.

4) Codeswitch when speaking to help build comprehension. This is where many teachers stumble. As I noted in my previous post, we do not want to codeswitch in an effort to lower rigor. Tenth graders should not be reading The Bluford Series simply because they are black teenagers. It is not only too innapropriate, but simultaneously patronizing to those students, because the implied message is that they cannot meet high expectations. 

My eighth graders are currently reading To Kill A Mockingbird. They were having some difficulty understanding Aunt Alexandra as a character. During our read aloud we paused to talk about her. I codeswitched and said, "Yeah, she all hashtag sorry/not sorry, I'm the queen, wassup?" My students laughed, but after viewing their comprehension questions, it was clear that it helped them to understand Lee's complex matriarch. 

Our students still must be able to understand words from the text such as edification, acquiescence, and tactful. Discussing formal and informal language is important, and students need to realize that there are appropriate and inappropriate times for using both. 

5) Post signs in your classroom representing your students' cultures(s). Let me first emphasize that actions speak louder than words.  Your behavior carries more weight than a poster or sign. Simultaneously, words and images still have power. Using bilingual anchor charts or posters celebrating achievements by people of color (or powerful timeless quotes emphasizing social justice) sends a clear message to our students; you matter, your culture matters, your language matters, and I value these things, and as your teacher, I want you and your families to feel welcome in my classroom. 

These images probably all fit the discussion of culturally-relevant pedagogy obviously- with the exception of the Scout character web. I decided to add this one because of the complexities of racial dynamics, in addition to it helping students understand Maycomb, as well as Scout as a character. We made this chart as a class, and we spent a lot of time discussing how someone who could use the n-word could also not be racist. I will leave this debate up to you, but I think most teachers would agree that Scout is a product of Maycomb. She is not inherently racist, especially given her relationship with Calpurnia. This is where culturally relevant pedagogy can lead to fascinating discussion and incredibly deep comprehension and inferential thinking.

A point of caution: putting up a poster of Frederick Douglas while not changing our behaviors and practices is tantamount to trying to lose weight and eating french fries everyday. Yes, you did one thing correctly, but you are still not making progress.

This is by no means a complete checklist. In order to be culturally relevant educators, we must be continually reflective on best practices, pedagogy, and the world in which our students live. The days of social studies class where teachers and students simply talk about ethnic cuisine are no more. If we cant to successfully educate our students, we have got to do better. Our students deserve it.

Normalize Error and Culturally-Relevant Pedagogy

"Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes." -John Dewey

I did not intend to write another piece on a Teach Like A Champion technique, but I was so honored and humbled by Doug Lemov sharing my previous one that I decided to take a go at it.

In order for our classrooms to be successful, cultural relevant pedagogy must not be an option, but the norm. Too often we see teachers telling students that they are wrong when the instructor has not taught them codeswitching and contrastive analysis strategies. Students of color are often shamed and put down, when they are simply speaking another "language", also known as Nonstandard English, African American Vernacular English, or Home Speech.

It is also lucid that students of color have often not felt empowered in their urban schools. Many students are afraid of being publicly shamed for their syntax (such as use of "habitual be") and then become increasingly afraid to speak up, due to their own fears. (The scholar in the picture above is Gloria Ladson-Billings, author of The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children. I would highly recommend the mentioned text, as she is much better versed in this subject as I. Dr. Ladson-Billings writes a lot about this subject and the dis-empowerment of urban youth.) If we want to end the "achievement gap", AKA "access gap", we must empower our students, families, and the communities in which we teach.

Finally, it is also clear that successful urban classrooms can succeed, and immensely so, when the instructor puts best practices into action. In doing so, we need not confuse culturally-relevant teaching with low expectations. Take for example, using hip-hop to teach figurative language and poetic devices. I personally grew up on New York hip-hop from the mid 90's and still love it to this day. Can rap passages be used to teach these skills? Yes- but they are the means and not the end. Instructors often try to pull a "Freedom Writers"-style classroom that attempt to be culturally-relevant (and often do not succeed) and yet sacrifice rigor in the process. Could you use A Tribe Called Quest lyrics to teach rhyme scheme and poetic devices in an urban classroom? Certainly. Should those same students be expected to analyze Shakespearean sonnets? Absolutely.

Thus comes into play Normalize Error. Lemov defines the technique as the following:

Getting it wrong and then getting is right is one of the fundamental processes for schooling. Respond to both parts of this sequence, the wrong and the right, as completely normal.

Like Cold Call, this is an incredibly simple technique that carries profound implications. Unlike Cold Call, there is much less written in the text, which may lead to teachers believing (incorrectly) that it is less important. I do not think that was the author's intent. The terseness of the passage is due to the fact of the technique's simplicity (which is not a bad thing), in addition to the fact that it has very different implications than Cold Call.

I teach Science in addition to Language Arts. Currently I am teaching a unit on evolution to my seventh grade class. Here is a "menu" of text-dependent questions that I gave to my class after Stage Two of our close read on "The Fossil Record" from our Cells and Heredity textbook:

“The Fossil Record”- Close read and analysis questions “menu”

Your group must answer four questions in total from “The Fossil Record” (pages 151-158)- one from Section A, one from Section B, one from Section C, and one from Section D. Choose one question from each “menu” to create your analysis for all four questions. Reporters will report at the end of class. Answer your questions on either the back of this paper or a separate piece.

Section A (p 151-153)

1. Show me in the text the best sentence that summarizes the concept of relative dating. Give evidence to explain why this sentence best illustrates the main idea.
2. You are an archaeologist and you need to find dinosaur fossils for a museum. Explain which forms of fossils would give you the best evidence to form a complete dinosaur skeleton- sedimentary rock, molds, casts, or preserved remains.

Section B (based on pages 154- 155)

1. You are a scientist trying to determine the exact age of specific fossils. Which method would you use- absolute dating or relative dating? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
2. Is the “fossil record” complete, or are there some possible missing pieces? Explain what your group can infer about the fossil record. Use the information on page 158 comparing the two theories of evolution to explain why you believe the fossil record is either complete or not.

Section C (based on pages 156-157)

1. Infer which period of the Paleozoic era (Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, or Permian) best supports the theory of gradualism. Give evidence from this chart to explain how you know.
2. Infer approximately when dinosaurs became extinct based on the chart and give evidence of how you know.

Section D (based on page 158)

1. Which theory of evolution has better evidence to support it- gradualism or punctuated equilibria? Explain which one you believe, and why it has stronger evidence.
2. What is the text structure used in this section (p 158). Explain why you know. (Hint: It is not problem/solution.)

Here's where Normalize Error comes into play. These questions are pretty rigorous for my students and they will inevitably make mistakes. First, this is not "low expectations" in any way. If students do not make mistakes, we know the content is not appropriate for their schema and must be adjusted.

Before we even begin to teach content, skills, or strategies, we need to develop a "culture of error", as Lemov asserts. Here is my codeswitching poster from my own classroom:

Students' culture(s) must not be invalidated. We need to acknowledge that our students not only have different ways of speaking in contexts, but there are also multiple situations in which multiple dialects are not only acceptable but necessary. It should be noted that incredible authors such as Alice Walker and Toni Morrison have multiple examples of "home speech" in their award-winning novels. It should also be noted that, as teachers, we are living examples of professionalism. I have frequently given the example to my students of my job interview for the school in which I teach. I arrived early, ironed my clothes, dressed formally, sat up, listened, asked and answered questions, tracked the speakers, spoke with clarity, and used academic vocabulary. It becomes clear to them that if I had worn jeans and a t-shirt that I would not have gotten the position. Simultaneously, it would be inappropriate to wear a suit to a family barbecue.

Normalizing error is great for codeswitching. If you ask a student why some evolutionists support gradualism over punctuated equilibria and a student begins their response with, "They be thinking...", you have an opportunity to normalize error. Some teachers talk about "switching it up". You could have a nonverbal correction such as a hand signal to let students know that it is time for them to codeswitch, or on their assessments you could write something to remind them about audience appropriate language- "Time to switch!" The importance here is not to shame students for their culture(s). Teachers too often make these mistakes, invalidating students' personal beliefs and identities. This leads to many negative consequences, including lower self-esteem amongst students, feelings of cultural insecurity, and increasing withdrawn behavior in the classroom. If we Normalize Error, students are aware that it is not only ok to make a mistake, but it is expected. They buy in; the effort is more important than whether they are correct or not. Students begin to see the value in pushing themselves.

Juxtaposed, when a student responds correctly, were need not  lavish the student with unnecessary praise. The best classroom managers I have seen exhibit strong Emotional Constancy, another term from Teach Like A Champion. Part of this is normalizing error. If we do not use Precise Praise, it can actually hurt students' self-esteem, because when they answer a follow up question (AKA Stretch It) they may feel disappointment in themselves when they do not get it correct. Of course we complement a student on their ability to push themselves and master the skill we are teaching; we simply do not want to send the message that this is the end of their journey. If we want to push students to academic rigor, normalizing error will help them reach for new schema and push the limits of their Zone of Proximal Development.

Let's briefly discuss the science questions mentioned previously. As students are writing their responses (I suggested in groups but it could be individually depending on your class), you can circulate and check for understanding. If your students are new to close reading (as mine are), they may have difficulty with the rigor you are requiring. They may likely be used to simple comprehension questions. There will be mistakes. With normalizing error, students know that effort is what counts.

Below are some sample responses based on the questions I created. You could also Cold Call students for responses to increase your Ratio.

Teacher: What text structure was used on page 158 (pause) Yasmin?
Student: I believe this is spatial because the author describes the different theories of evolution.
Teacher: OK, I see how you got there, but do we see descriptive words in that passage that would show us that text structure?
Student: I don't think so.
Teacher: We are seeing two different periods and the similarities and differences highlighted here. So which text structure is the author using?
Student: Compare and contrast.
Teacher: Yes, you got it!

Teacher: Which method would scientists trying to determine the exact dates of fossils would use (pause) Jamarel? 
Student: They be usin' absolute dating because it gives them the most accurate results.
Teacher: You're almost there but don't forget to codeswitch.
Student: They would use absolute dating because it gives them the most accurate results.
Teacher: Great job!

Teacher: After looking at our evidence and the fossils in class, can we say for certainty that the fossil record is complete (pause) Alex?
Student: Well yes (pausing, confused)... I'm actually not sure.
Teacher: OK, let's get a definite answer. Let me give you some time to think and check over your notes. (Use wait time)
Student: Oh! I don't think it's complete because it would not support the theory of punctuated equilibria, and scientists are still trying to identify organisms from species that have been extinct.
Teacher: Much better! I love your confidence.

With culturally-relevant teaching and normalizing error, we can show students that it is not only acceptable to make a mistake, but it is inevitable. What matters is effort, and the more our students see this, the further success they will achieve.

Cold Call- The Only Technique You Will Ever Need

In the rapidly-changing world of education, there is a myriad of books, resources, programs, and techniques. But forget the trends and false research for a second, because there is only one thing you need for a successful classroom- cold calling.

Ok, you need a lot of things to be a great teacher, but cold call can help you integrate all of those elements successfully to create an incredible classroom.

Cold calling is the simple act of calling on a student to respond to a question, whether they have raised their hand or not.

Cold calling was not developed by Doug Lemov, but it has been very popularized by one of his books, Teach Like A Champion, which is a best-seller, in addition to being extremely controversial. I am going to stay out of this debate for the sake of objectivity. I will say that many of the criticisms of his books are incredibly valid. But if you can put those aside, you can find some life-changing techniques that will change the way you teach.

Yes, life-changing. Those are extremely strong words. But they are also true. I learned more from Lemov's book than from four years of college, and while I disagree with some of his assertions and implications, I believe that he has written the best teaching book ever.

Having said that, cold call is not originally a teaching term. It is used in business. Here is Lemov's definition:

In order to make engaged participation the expectation, call on students regardless of whether they have raised their hands.

That's it? That's going to change my entire classroom? You might be asking yourself those questions, and you would not be wrong to do so. One of the paradoxes of the techniques in Teach Like A Champion is that while being extremely effective, they are simultaneously incredible simple. While teachers are often overwhelmed by new programs, books, ideas, research, and resources, cold call is a timeless technique that teachers have been executing for years. If you want to see it in action, take a look at the clip below.

I love watching this clip. It has helped me model how to integrate the technique into my own classroom. Cold Calling can be used for any subject and at any grade level. I have never cold-called students while they were standing, ironically, although I am considering it now. Here are some benefits to this amazing technique:

1) It's fun! You can use it as a game for extra credit points by keeping track of groups, individuals, or boys vs. girls. (The latter seems to generate the most excitement in my classroom.

2) It is fantastic for guided reading! Yesterday in my classroom we concluded the Tom Robinson trial in To Kill A Mockingbird. My students were enthralled. Cold calling for reading brief passages can help build suspense and keep students on their toes, especially for engaging text. Students want to be successful. It can build intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation in the point system described above. Lemov refers to Control The Game in his book, which is essentially cold-calling guided reading. I use this technique constantly.

3) It builds "ratio". Ratio is another Lemov term, which is essentially how much learning and active schema is being created in your classroom in a certain period of time. The higher your ratio, the more your students are learning. I observed a teacher doing a "read aloud" for their classroom. The teacher had the book, but no students did. Many students put their heads down and were not even paying attention. Here, the ratio is low. An effective teacher will have copies of the text (even if they are short passages) for all students so they can follow along, and can also cold call higher-level students to read. This can model fluency and even decoding strategies, especially for English Language Learners. Here the ratio is dramatically increased, especially with cold-calling text-dependent questions and Common Core question stems.

4) It build rigor. When I cold-call students I think a lot about Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. What is a question that they can realistically answer, but will also stretch their intellectual capabilities? If all students know that they can expect a question, you are building ratio, while having your students push themselves and their metacognition. 

5) It provides great opportunity for differentiated instruction and scaffolding. In Atticus' closing speech of To Kill A Mockingbird, you could ask several different questions based on student abilities:

A) How is Atticus trying to prove Tom Robinson's innocence?

B) Which repeated words and phrases help convey Atticus' tone and his attitudes towards Mayella Ewell?

C) Why does Harper Lee have Scout enter the court room and only hear parts of the trial, such as this one? What does that suggest about her purpose for writing the text, especially her tone and the audience she wrote for?

D) What is the effect of Calpurnia entering the courtroom at the end? How does it affect the mood of the story?

E) If you could rate each character from 1-10 based on their level of courage, how would you rate Mayella Ewell? Cite textual evidence to explain.

F) If you were to make a plot diagram for the text so far, what would it look like? Would the trial or the verdict itself be the climax? Explain why.

I particularly love this last question, because Lee's book is very atypical in terms of plot. You could argue that one might even have to create two separate plot diagrams- one for the Tom Robinson trial and one for Scout and Boo Radley. All of these questions have different levels of rigor and help challenge students in different ways based on their abilities and reading comprehension and inferring skills.

The second to last question is also great. I got it from my coworker. Depending on how much detail you want to go into, that question could be an entire lesson where students give a rating to each character in the trial.

6) It can help builds students' confidence. For students that have difficulties with a given skill or particular content, you can cold-call them with less rigorous questions. This can help build their self-esteem, in addition to building a strong classroom environment. When I call on English Language Learners to read, students often clap afterwards on their own volition. This helps struggling readers (including special education students) to build confidence in their own abilities.

7) It is fantastic for close reading. If you practice creating questions using Common Core Question Stems, you can quickly have students responds with their own questions or answers based on whatever text(s) you are reading in class.

8) It is a great assessment tool. This is its best merit and most critical attribute. A popular term in education is "checking for understanding". Assessments, formal or informal, are essential to a successful classroom, and cold call is a great way to see if your students are achieving mastery. Do Nows and Exit Slips are great, but a quick cold call can give you instant feedback and you can see if your teaching is effective.

9) It is a great way to defend evidence! You can ask a student what they think about a response, dipstick with your remaining students, and then ask a student to defend why they agree or disagree with their peer's claim.

10) It rocks for pacing! Instead of waiting for students to raise their hands, you can simply call on students to move along the pace of your lesson. Again, the questions should be appropriate for the students. You can also integrate other of Lemov's techniques such as No Opt Out, Stretch It, and 100% to maintain the fluidity of your lesson.

11) It is an effective classroom management tool. It conveys to the students that the instructor has the authority. Students can no longer "choose" to participate in various activities; they are now all participants. This is great for teacher direction so that the instructor can establish clear expectations such as CHAMP.

These are a few simple reasons why Cold Calling has revolutionized my classroom; I hope that it can help yours as well. Feel free to comment on your successes and challenges with this incredible technique.