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Understanding the Past, Creating the Present, Imagining the Future
Understanding the Past, Creating the Present, Imagining the Future
“F*** you! F*** this class! F*** math! And f*** your 100% policy!” A student stood up in class and shouted. Sometimes the school year doesn’t really start out the way you want it.
My first assignment as a first-year teacher was easy (add sarcasm)—develop a project-based curriculum that will integrate different subject areas and use it to inspire a bunch of ninth grade students who do not like math. Oh, and by the way, I had to learn how to manage my classrooms, contact parents regularly, collaborate with other teachers, avoid using textbooks, update grades often, give feedback on homework and assessments within 48 hours, and maintain sanity. Working at a progressive charter school for my first assignment was not easy. I was thrown into the deep end with an anvil, and I was expected to swim.
I was lucky to start out my career in schools that allowed me to have autonomy. Most importantly, it was a safe environment to make mistakes; you can’t promote ingenuity without allowing people to make mistakes along the way. Testing out ideas that challenged the current paradigm of thinking was both fun and scary. When I got them right, they became ideas that lasted forever!
One project that stood out most was a project I developed with an art teacher. The project required students to design a piece of artwork using only straight lines (linear equations) while using colors (warm and cool) to create depth in their artwork. In math class, I taught them how to graph and develop equations to create their design. In art class, the art teacher taught them how to use different colors to create depth. The final project consisted of a sheet of graph paper with their graphed artwork accompanied by a long list of equations. In addition, students used colored threading to create their image an image on a large black foam-cored board.
The results were astounding! In fact, a local art gallery installed all the students’ work for several days, showcasing them to the public. Two of my students were offered $500 and $250 for their artwork. They accepted it!
Not only were the artistic results astounding, the retention of mathematical skills was better than any other years I taught linear equations. Students were able to demonstrate, months later, how to graph and create linear equations without any review. These students often wrote back from high school how the project helped prepare them for later math courses. You couldn’t ask for anything better as a teacher!
Teaching is a profession that should be full of creativity and innovation because those are essential parts of learning. If we program teachers to teach like robots, then we have taught them to teach students to be robots.
I started noticing schools lowering their expectations and standards to pass more students. Administrators from different schools asked inane rhetorical questions such as, “do you understand what type of students we have,” “do you really think these students will go anywhere?” When the leaders in education give up on the vision and mission of the school, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for disaster. The ones who get hurt the most are the students.
As all the schools were lowering their standards, I started doing the opposite. I had two policies in my class: you have to complete 100% of your work in my class to receive a passing grade, and any work turned in late is worth zero credit. Work turned in on time must earn a score of at least 70% or it is returned and considered late. Work turned in late must be 100% correct.
These policies reflected three expectations I noticed were common among everyone (including students): everything to be completed, completed on time, and to a certain standard.
The student who gave the "F-bomb" about me, my class, math, and the 100% policy settled down.
“I understand you’re upset,” I responded to the outburst. “You can go outside and take a break if you want.” The student left and went to his counselor.
Later that week, my student and I had a chat. He was stressed out about my class, especially my expectations. Our chat went as follows:
“I understand you’re upset about my policy. Tell me, what do you want to do when you leave high school?”
“I want to be a tattoo artist.”
“That’s awesome! Tattoo art can be amazing. I don’t have any tattoos but I can appreciate it. Imagine this. Suppose I ask you to tattoo a dragon down my arm. You inked about 95% of the dragon—it’s missing a part of its tail. 95% is an A in school, right?”
“Yes,” he responded.
“Shouldn’t that be enough in real life then?”
He shook his head while beginning to see my point.
“At what point do you think I’m going to pay you for your service?”
“When I complete it.”
“So, 100%! Now imagine if someone serves you a burger you ordered. What if they took a knife and sliced off 10%. 90% is an excellent grade in school! You’d probably look at them funny, right?”
He nodded.
“What do you expect when you order and pay for something? You expect 100%! This is exactly what I’m trying to get you into the habit of doing here. The world expects this of you no matter what profession you choose. You expect the same of the rest of the world!”
A couple weeks after the conversation, I saw my student in my class before school, during lunch, and after school to work on all of his assignments. In fact, during the end-of-the year award ceremony after someone received “Most Improved Student Award,” my student turned to the teacher next to him and said, “I want to get that award next year!”
I told my students I will do everything I can to help them reach 100%. They just have to meet me half way! I tell my students one more thing. Your brain learns with targeted practice. The practice I give you when you complete that 100% will stay with you, deepen your understanding and save you from last minute cramming sessions that won’t work anyway.
Despite having a successful track record, I was told I was doing the wrong thing. The bureaucracy and politics of education took a toll on me and I left teaching. I needed to reset and reflect. This was a setback, but I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. Mr. T, from the A-TEAM, once said, “To have a comeback, you have to have a setback.”
I have had time to reflect, ideate, and strategize. The dragon tattoo down my arm is 100% complete (not literally), and it is ready to come alive!
To be continued…
