Getting May Right!

Today's blog post comes from a good friend, Dr. Frank Buck.  He is a specialist in getting organized, and is the author of the book, Get Organized!, which is coming out at the start of the school year.  I highly recommend it! Enjoy his recommendations for finishing the year right.

Getting May Right

One of my vivid memories from junior high is the first ride on the “Scream Machine” at Six Flags, a wooden roller coaster towering over 100 feet traveling downhill at almost 60 miles per hour. The ascent up the tall incline was slow and deliberate. But when the coaster crested that hill, the bottom fell out. All around me, smiles turned to looks of panic. Laughter turned to screams as my comrades and I were thrown from side to side and jerked up and down.

Ninety seconds later, the coaster came to a stop just as quickly as the thrill had begun. We had survived! Nothing had prepared us for the sudden transition from calm to panic.

The next time I would experience something similar was also in junior high—only this time, I was a first-year teacher experiencing my first May. Nothing had prepared me for what was about to happen.

What about you? Do you find the final month of school to be overwhelming? On the other hand, are you in your first year as a teacher or principal and have no idea what is about to hit?

Here are five tips to help you navigate May productively:

1.     Make two lists. Tasks arrive at warp speed during this final month. Get really good at recognizing which ones must be handled before students scatter for the summer and which ones can wait until the “roller coast ride” is over and the pace is less hectic. Begin every day with a list of pre-defined work. Keep that list front-and-center throughout the day. Whittle it down during every spare minute. Other good ideas will surface. Trap those on a second list, one that you can work on at your leisure during the summer.

2.     Work ahead of deadlines. If the frantic pace of year’s end has not yet hit, do yourself a favor. Look ahead to the tasks which have May deadlines but you could work on now. The more tasks you can tackle while things are relatively calm, the easier the final week becomes.

3.     Expect the unexpected. On April 1, your agenda for May doesn’t look that crowded. Just wait. Other people procrastinate, and their failure to plan means work gets dumped on you at the last minute. If your dance card is already full, get ready for long days and lots of stress. But, if you are working ahead of headlines and judiciously postponing non-urgent tasks until the summer, you leave yourself breathing room.

4.     Trap repeating tasks. We close school every year, and the tasks which lead up to the final day repeat themselves every single spring. When one of these repeating tasks lands on your radar, you should never have to think about it again. Any good digital task list will allow you to specify that a task needs to be done on a certain date each year. My favorite is Toodledo.

5.     Enjoy the ride. The groundwork you have laid all year long is coming to fruition. First-graders are reading well. The French I class has an unbelievable mastery of the language. Those shy students in Drama now take the stage like champions. Savor the moment as the coaster speeds down the hill and roars around the curves. Experience the thrill of a job well-done. Relish in all of the end-of-year celebrations.

  

When the roller coaster comes to its sudden halt, some exit the cars physically and mentally exhausted. Others exclaim, “Wow! Can we do that again?” For those who are in the profession for the long-haul, you will do May again, and again, and again. Getting May right is a gift to both you and your students.

Frank Buck served as a middle-level band director, principal, and central office administrator during a career of almost 30 years. He now speaks and writes on the subject of organization and time management. He is the author of Get Organized!: Time Management for School Leaders and Organization Made Easy!: Tools for Today’s Teachers, both published by Routledge. You can read more of Dr. Buck’s work at FrankBuck.org.

Using Symbols for Praise, Part Two

Monday we looked at a classroom-based symbol to praise students.  Today, Frank Buck, former principal at Graham School in Alabama, tells of a school-wide effort to recognize students:

The need for a student recognition program is clear. On the other hand, the paperwork associated with them can be enough to make one think twice. The system we have used is called the “Recognition Log,” which consists of a 3-ring binder with lined paper.  There are three columns:  Name, Teacher Who Recognized Me, and What I Did.

The notebook is housed on a stand in the main office so that it is easily accessible to students who need to sign it or visitors who would like to view it. The process is very simple. When a staff member or volunteer witnesses a student doing something worthy of positive recognition, he or she directs the student to go to the office and sign the Recognition Log. That’s it! There are no special forms to distribute to staff members. Any adult, [whether] a teacher, a lunchroom worker, a custodian, an aide, or a parent volunteer, has the authority to send a student to sign the log.

About once a week, I select a name at random from the Recognition Log for inclusion on our morning intercom announcements. I read the student’s name, why the student is being recognized, and the name of the adult who sent [the student] to sign the log. The student gets to come to the office to select a prize [which is usually one of those] free promotional items we all receive in the mail or pick up at conventions. I really believe our Recognition Log has impacted the culture of our school. Children routinely bring to the office money they have found, because being able to sign the Recognition Log is more meaningful than the dollar they find on the ground. They are also quick to pick up paper dropped carelessly by someone else or stop to help a student who has dropped her books all over the hallway. For a system that takes virtually no time to administer and pays such large rewards in terms of student behavior, we could not be happier with the Recognition Log.

What a great way to work with students on a school-wide basis to reinforce positive behavior and achievement!

Using Symbols for Praise, Part One

We've spent the last couple of weeks discussing praise.  Praise should not be limited to verbal comments. Sometimes the nonverbal reinforcers, such as a smile or a look, are much more effective. Additionally, students react positively to a symbol.  Karl Kosko, a former math teacher at Sullivan Middle School, found that his students responded to a new “member” of his classroom:

I introduced Pythagorus the Goose [a stuffed animal who] loves math. He likes to watch people who are really working hard on math. So, if a group of students is working hard he might land

and watch them a while. However, if they stop working hard then he might get bored and fly off somewhere else. The reaction today was something one could see. A number of students decided they wanted the goose to come over at their table. Also, the table that ended up with the goose had some of the members encouraging others to keep working so the goose wouldn’t “get bored.”

What a great motivator for his students!

Praising Ability or Effort?

Monday, I talked about the importance of reinforcing effort with students.  I'd like to continue that discussion by focusing on effort vs. ability.  Carol Dweck and Claudia Mueller, researchers from Columbia University, found that if students are praised only for their ability (You are so smart!), over time their effort, and their achievement, goes down.  On the other hand, students who are praised for their effort increase their effort, and over time, their achievement goes up.  This doesn't mean you

can't reinforce ability, but don't do so at the expense of praising effort.  I thought about one of my students when I read this research.  She was quite smart, and her parents made that clear to her.  She just assumed that since she was smart, she could do anything without working hard.  One day, she hit a roadblock with an assignment, and because it took extra effort, she gave up.  That's the danger of overpraising ability.

Praising Effort Makes a Difference

A teacher recently asked me, "What should I praise, achievement or effort?"  Realistically, you should praise both, but in appropriate ways.  For example, if you only praise those students who score at a certain point, some students never receive positive attention for their work.  It's important to praise and reinforce quality work, but we do need to consider those who do their best, and still don't "make an A".

I balanced my praise, making sure I always commented on effort, regardless of the grade (even those who score high grades need to be reminded they had to work to make that happen).  Robert Marzano, a well-known researcher, points out that effort can be increased in students if we reinforce it in positive ways.  In other words, students pay attention to what we pay attention to.  What are you reinforcing with your students? 

5 Characteristics of Effective Praise

In the last few posts, we've been talking about creating a climate in your classroom that is motivating.  We've also looked at how negative and positive words make a difference.  Today, let's discuss the role of praise in your classroom.  It's one of the most visible shift you can make in your classroom. However, this doesn’t mean to make random affirmative comments. I was in one classroom where the teacher said, “Good job!” every three seconds. Her students rolled their eyes and made faces each time. Saying good things just to say them is like doing 50 practice problems just so you can say you did them. The kids see right through you. There’s a huge difference between mere catch phrases and true praise.  Effective praise has five characteristics.

  

PRAISE

P	Personally meaningful
R	Respectful of the individual
A	Authentic
I	Immediate
S	Specific
E	Encouraging

Think about your praise.  How does it match these characteristics?   

New Podcast on #Rigor

My newest podcast, Rigor Made Easy, is out.  We talk about the myths of rigor, what rigor really is, how it relates to students with special needs, and what it looks like in the classroom.  My thanks to Dr. Steven Milletto for hosting--I had a great time.  Enjoy!