Hell, it's about time. 

I got an unexpected call from a student and very much liked most of what I heard.

Ever meet a kid that thinks they make the uniform rules?

Ever taken points from the whole class because one kid won't get it together?

Now that everyone has gotten used to each other, it's time to see where the line is.

For quite some time success in large cities tend to be modeled elsewhere. Why would K-2 suspensions be any different?

Ever feel bad after kicking out a student even though you think it was the right move?

Consistency in enforcing policy and procedures can work. It requires positive reinforcement, not just punishment, to be successful.

Is there anything more infuriating than a kid blatantly turning in something they copied directly from the internet? What is cheating?

I hard a particularly unruly young lady that regularly disrupted my class second semester last year. Her situation is a difficult one: 5 sisters all with different fathers and her dad is the only one that wants nothing to do with her. That's tough. She gets to see all her sisters get visits and presents from their dads and she has to go without. Every we did free writing she'd mention something about wanting her dad in her life. Her mother is disabled so the girls are mostly on their own. 

The point of telling that story isn't to make you feel sorry for this girl. Make no mistake about it, I disliked this student. Still do actually. We don't say hi or smile in the halls. I'm just saying her behavior didn't come from nowhere and it made sense.

After trying to talk with her, give her choices, and enforce rules, I was still making very little progress with this girl.

Where's the positive? This girl got so out of hand one day that the class united to correct her behavior. "Shut the F**K up! All he wants is to help you learn. This is interesting. When you act like this, it only hurts all of us, your friends, not him."

I was shocked to hear this slightly profane, but very accurate comment. What came next was amazing. 4 of my boys walked over, picked this girls and her desk, walked her outside the class, took my keys, and locked her out until she was ready to learn. What a way to take agency over their education. Once they allowed her back in, she was with the program.

Sometimes good advice is better received from peers. Didn't need a referral or an admin, the students had it under control even when I didn't.

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​
Top Ten Positive and Negative Moments in Dallas Education 2015

Positive 02: Students Understanding Goals
Positive 03: Food Adventure                                  Negative 03: Mike Miles Quits and Nothing Changes
​Positive 04: Social and Emotional Health            Negative 04: Trouble with TEI
Positive 05: Trustees Stop By                                 Negative 05: Student Mother Kicked Out
Positive 06: Supportive Principal                           Negative 06: A Bad Spot Observation
Positive 07: Department Chair Respect               Negative 07: Principals Lying
Positive 08: DISD Student Has Her Baby            Negative 08: Parent thinks their child is stupid
Positive 09: Thanked by a Parent                         Negative 09: Blamed for a DISD Student Fight
Positive 10. Alex Hales and Retired Teacher     Negative 10. Promising DISD Student Gets Pregnant

This is a recently covered topic, but it was around the beginning of 2015 when I first realized the degree to which my principal was making things up. It was his first year, so I cut him a bit of slack with knowing exactly what was going on in the school. The thing is, it didn’t get better. Either he wasn’t learning or he wasn’t so concerned with the facts as he was with the numbers at the end of the year.

I started to get curious when he started to spin the climate survey data. Like he did this year, he told all of us that the climate survey was not the time to “air out dirty laundry” and that it impacted our pay. In addition to not being true, it made me feel bullied which I wasn’t a fan of.

It hit me when we all heard that the then superintendent Mike Miles was coming for a visit. The day before, I had a student walk in and say he just got suspended. Frequently in trouble, the student asked me why he was being suspended for 3 days for not having a uniform on when he never has his uniform on. This is true, the kid is always out of uniform but they never said anything until the superintendent comes around.

Throughout the day, more of these frequent troublemakers started to get suspended. Around 6th period I heard a commotion outside my classroom that was clearly a kid yelling at the principal. After much profanity from the student and quite a bit of yelling from this principal, the principal yells “get this trash out of my school” and proceeds to ridicule the student for being two grade levels behind.

Why did this strike me as dishonest? From a person that preaches school turnaround and changing school culture, this is not what I expected. No students are going to respect you if the only time they see you is when you’re threatening to cancel lunch and have sandwiches brought to the classrooms every day if students don’t stop being tardy. It became clear to me that for him it was less about the kids and more about his public appearance. Hey, the district loves him so I guess everything is fine on paper, but there are some things you just don’t say to kids no matter how frustrated you get. Calling them “trash” is out of line.

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Top Ten Positive and Negative Moments in Dallas Education 2015

Positive 07: Department Chair Respect               Negative 07: Principals Lying
Positive 08: DISD Student Has Her Baby            Negative 08: Parent thinks their child is stupid
Positive 09: Thanked by a Parent                         Negative 09: Blamed for a DISD Student Fight
Positive 10. Alex Hales and Retired Teacher     Negative 10. Promising DISD Student Gets Pregnant

One afternoon, in the middle of class, a former student walked in and started punching a current student in the face. Shocking, I know. Imagine being in the middle of teaching and seeing a kid run in and attack another student. Immediately I stopped, pushed the two boys into the hall, and started trying to separate them. We don’t have emergency buttons or intercoms. This was right after we just had two security guards put on leave for being inappropriate with students (gross) so there was nobody to call for help. My students were busy trying to film the whole thing and the other two teachers on my hall peaked out, saw the commotion, and closed their doors. No help was called for me.

Eventually I got the situation under control. It was tricky. Whenever I’d grab one boy, the other would use that opportunity to start punching the student I had restrained. I was able to get my former student to stop by yelling at him from in between both of them that whatever they were mad about was not that important and that they are better than this. I had no idea that it would work, but they stopped temporarily. I’m 90% sure they finished the fight after school.

The next day one of my assistant principals came to me and said on the camera they saw that I let my student go to the bathroom and that it was my fault the fight happened. I asked if I should just not let students go to the bathroom ever out of fear that they will incite violence and bring it into my classroom. I was particularly upset about this because it didn’t seem like nay effort was being made to address the root of the problem. The boys were suspended, but never talked to. The security guard issue never quite got resolved. The teacher who had the student that left his class WITHOUT permission to attack my current student was never talked to. It was me. It was my fault. I didn’t buy it then and I don’t buy it now.

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Top Ten Positive and Negative Moments in Dallas Education 2015

Positive 09: Thanked by a Parent                         Negative 9: Blamed for a DISD Student Fight
Positive 10. Alex Hales and Retired Teacher     Negative 10. Promising DISD Student Gets Pregnant

I hope everyone brought their walking shoes to school today because it's about that time! Active monitoring is so fun isn't?

One of the many countermeasures in place to halt student dishonesty, active monitoring is a band-aid solution to a larger issue with the way we use tests, talk about tests, and treat our students and teachers.

Instead of focusing on the school culture that encourages dishonesty to happen, we tighten down on teachers and students, increase the severity of penalties, and continue to ignore everything that cheating actually means.

Why do kids cheat? Low Self Esteem.

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There's a student I have that just NEEDS to be seen.

He is loud, disruptive, and animated. Very intelligent and capable, but more interested in the social aspect of school than the content.

Sound familiar? If so, it's probably no great surprise that his home life is less than ideal. Tons of family crammed into a small room, not a ton of resources, potentially some addiction, etc. The kid drives me nuts and is a distraction to everyone around him; however, I refuse to do what many of the other teachers and administrators do: make excuses for him.

I don't tolerate late work. I don't allow him to freely disrupt class. I don't let my knowledge of his struggles make me lazy as a teacher. 

Yesterday, he really got under my skin by talking during a test. I gave him the standard "talking = a zero" or something to that effect, and that was effective, but it was clear that he was well behaved, but not on the inside. I could see the restlessness under his performance of compliance. 

I had him wait after class and walked him to his next one. I told him that I can see him, that we can all sea and hear him. I told him I think he is smart and important. Sounds a little like that famous scene from The Help, but it's not Hollywood embellishment, telling kids they have value makes a difference, especially when home life isn't stable. 

He seemed to really appreciate it and took me up on the offer to talk out some of what's burdening him. This was just in a 5 minute walk to class. He asked for a follow up and I told him my door was always open. 

You have to care for the child and the student, not just one or the other.

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Yesterday, two of my girls from my first year teaching saw me walking the halls. They were visibly excited and asked their teacher if they could go outside the classroom and say hello to me. She said yes. 

One of these girls was a huge pain in class and the other was generally very pleasant, but easily excitable and distracted. They've grown quite a bit in maturity and are excitedly looking forward to college. They were in high spirits after our chat and went to go back to their desks. This is where our problem happens.

The teacher refuses them reentry into the classroom because "they left the room." What? Is this real life? Sure was. The teacher told them that she was being sarcastic and they should have known the difference. Really lady? You sit at your desk all day, kick out or refuse entry to the kids you don't like, and make up grades while you sit and watch youtube the whole class. I've never wanted to be unprofessional and fire up a teacher as bad as I did yesterday.

Besides the fact that most people on the planet struggle with sarcasm and the discernment of intent in general conversation, there is no reason to be this inflexible with these girls. Are you having a bad day? Do they generally get under your skin? Maybe. All of those are valid, but have a heart one time for me. I had them as students too, I get it, but it's not their fault you're disgruntled. Not entirely anyway. You were like this before they were on your roster.

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I got to listen to a teacher take a kid to the cleaners in a one on one discussion about a paper this morning. It was unreal.

The kid is sitting there with that dead look they get in their eyes sometimes while she is asking him why, despite the explicit instructions, did he write the one paragraph the instructions said not to write. I could tell both of them were deep in confusion about the entire thing.

Understanding why students get things wrong or don't follow instructions is something that, if it could be figured out completely, would make someone a billionaire. Frustration runs high in those situations. You get upset and feel like you clearly explained everything. When that's how you feel, it almost seems like the kid is doing it on purpose just to mess with you. It helps to keep in mind that, in addition to any mental or psychological things the kid might be dealing with, that they have 5+ classes other than yours. You get to focus on one subject and they have to split their attention between all of those and whatever they do outside of school.

Is that an excuse? No. I agree they should be responsible for their work and effort, but they are also kids and kids mess up. They're entitled to that just like we're entitled to being unhappy when they do. I liked that she was asking why instead of laying into the kid with the "I can't believe you could do something so stupid" talk.

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Yesterday I sprung a quiz on them. There was much wailing and rending of clothes over an unexpected quiz over a reading they should have done anyway. We were all yelling, laughing, preparing for the quiz, talking football, etc. This is the first five minutes of class and I tend to enjoy a bit of ordered chaos. Then in walks my principal. Smiles are on faces, except his of course. 

Here's the problem. Our fun was disrupting everyone around us. It was my fault. I got us all in trouble. They looked like they just got yelled at. They didn't, my principal was nothing but professional. He didn't reprimand me in front of the kids or "usurp my authority" or anything like that; however, he did remind all of us that we weren't the only ones in the school and that we could be heard down the hall.

Fair. Sorry class. Sorry other teachers. I apologize for being disruptive. I don't apologize for the enjoyment of the students though, just to be clear.

Yesterday we talked about two things related to Dallas Teachers. 1) Knowing why you're mad and directing that energy toward those truly at fault and 2) Working together with people to create the change you want to see instead of stewing in it.

Kids stew. Our students lash out because they haven't learned to process their emotions, identify the source of their unhappiness, or advocate for themselves in order to solve those problems. The reason many of our students lack those skills is because we as adults still struggle with doing the same thing.

I'm reminded of a time where I returned tests, starting going over it to help address the things that the majority of the classed missed, then assigned a correction assignment that allowed some points to be recovered for learning content they missed. Going around the room crowd sourcing answers and explantions, a young lady, when it was her turn to contribute, told me to "go f*** [myself]." Rather than speak to her like she was an adult, which I was tempted to do. Had the rest of class start the assignment and called her into the hall. The first thing I asked her was "what are you really upset about?" I told her that "I [knew] it couldn't be about that question." Turns out she had a ton going on at home with her family being unstable on top of her own self confidence issues and stress from the heaps of young children in her home. She told me that she didn't think she'd ever be able to do any of this stuff and that she just isn't good at it. 

She still got in trouble. I didn't write a referral (because those never really change anything) but she did lose the chance to earn points back that time. She still came to tutoring and passed her ACP. Maybe she would've done that anyway. Maybe it had nothing to do with that chat. I can say that she's happier now and is better at explaining how she's feeling. If you want to chalk it up to growing up, go for it, but in that year, I saw the change and never had another interaction like that going forward.

Reacting to force with force isn't always the best option. Try fighting fire with water instead of fire.

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Believe it or not, this is not the first time I have heard about students being pepper sprayed. I've seen it with my own eyes. With such a spotlight on the legitimacy of force by public safety officials, I think it's worth a discussion. I know of an officer or two that the kids complain about because they are a "spray first ask questions later" kind of officer. When you have 100 kids and they refuse to disperse I can understand.

A student came to me yesterday and said her niece was one of the kids who stayed home today because she was irritated by the pepper spray. My response to her was "i'm so sorry! That's terrible." My follow up was "also, why was there pepper spray in the classroom? I thought the fight was outside the classroom. Did the officer run by, spray into the classroom, then start spraying the fight?" She laughed and said "NO! she was out watching the fight."

Exactly. Why was she out there? Why wasn't she sitting in her desk and staying away from that mess outside? Are kids to blame for their group mentality? Can we put any responsibility on them for getting sprayed? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It's a complicated situation, but we also can't blame the teachers for not being able to stop a whole class from running out to be nosey. The Dade fight was a mess. What is the best procedure going forward?

Now that we've let the air clear a bit about the incident at Dade, I think it's time to have a little chat. The number 1 priority in DISD schools and classrooms should be to create a SAFE and productive learning environment for all students. That means no bullying, no harassment, and no physical violence. As teachers, we know that isn't always the case. I know I'm personally on Instagram a half dozen times trying to control crowds or pull students off of each other. One time a kid from another class walked into my classroom and punched one of my kids in the face. Who got the blame? Me.

Something very similar happened at Dade. Teachers got the blame for the lion's share of what happened. Why? Let's break it down. Kids out of class? Teacher's fault. They should have been engaged in a lesson. Kids fighting? Teacher should have had their LO and DOL up. Kids getting pepper sprayed? Why wasn't instruction bell to bell? Bullcorn. Bullcorn I say. 

I try to stay pretty even keeled about these things, but this really steams my noodles and not in a good way (huge ramen fan over here). Kids do have social emotional issues that preceede violence, but you can't put that on the teachers. What did the kids say when they got interviewed by the news? That this is no new occurrence. This is common place at Dade. Some kids need to be removed and put in a place equipped to handle their unique needs because they are a danger to themselves and others. Not giving up on them, just trying to get them the services they need.

Also, apparently the superintendent got cussed out by a kid and demanded the kid be removed. If this is true, did anyone ask him where was his documentation? Did anyone say he needed to build a relationship with the student? Did anyone say "sorry, we can't take them without a referral?" Should have. That would have been really funny. 

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Get ready for a wild day of blogs from this guy. It's been a short night because I only slept 3 hours. I've got a lot to say about the Dade fight Monday, but let's start with something a little lighter.

Tardies are a pain. We all know that. Some schools have systems where tardies are accrued and the administration takes various levels of action with them or has interventions that correct student behavior. Mine doesn't. I've got kids walking around with 50+ tardies and some that had as many the first week of the new 6 weeks. The system we use where they count the infractions and issue a consequence works. It says what the repercussion will be. Our admins just don't do anything so the kids don't care. That's another issue though. 

Missed time in class is missed knowledge. Being on time is an important skill to learn no matter what you end up doing in life, so why aren't we more insistent on that? There are a few excuses I hear fairly frequently that make me increasingly full of teacher rage. Here's my top 5:

5. "A teacher kept me late / I was finishing an assignment." - This is probably the most acceptable of all of them. Usually it isn't a problem. If a student needs to finish a test or a teacher is keeping them to have an intervention, I understand. Sometimes I cause this myself. The annoying part is the kids that are late for some reason every day with a pass from the same teacher. Stop letting them be late! Stop writing them passes! You don't need to talk to them that much! This is more of a nit pick, but it bothers me.

4. "I came from x location" - This excuse is also closer to valid, but most of the time is absolute BS. I understand passing periods are short. Sometimes I struggle with it too, but more times than not, I can make it anywhere on campus in under 4 minutes if I want to. Our campus is big and oddly shaped, but I can make it. I don't even have to run, and I'm a husky fellow. I've lost a few steps in my years as a teacher, put on a few dozen pounds, and am now only really quick over short distances, but I can get to class on time. These young, healthy students with strong backs and infinite energy from their soda and hot chips should be able to make it from next door in less than 5 minutes.

3. "I was walking my girlfriend to class" - Why? For what? Are you afraid of her being stolen? Are you worried she's going to run off with another student between Physics and the Algebra I class she's repeating because she never goes to class? If so, you probably need a new one anyway. Not the kind of young lady you want to spend your life with. Also, you're going to break up. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but you won't be together by graduation. Let's take a few steps back and look at reality. I know you can't because you're a child, but let this bitter old fogey give you some advice just this once.

2. "I just barely got here..." - i know. I know that because you weren't here when the bell rang and now you are. Go get a pass, this is a fake excuse. You can't just say I just got her late and then I'm going to accept that as an excuse for why you are late. Makes no sense. Oh you want to clarify? Please do...

1. "No, mister, I just got to school" - Really? You're going to double down on your terrible excuse? I KNOW THAT! I SAW YOU WALKING IN AT 10 FROM MY WINDOW! You didn't wake up on time, you were walking slow, maybe you had to get a younger sibling ready and that made you late, but if it was a legitimate excuse like that, you would've said it. Thanks for the clarification, but this isn't better. It actually makes me more unhappy. 

Have other excuses you hear? Let us know on twitter or in the comments.

Here's a bonus excuses I heard the other day that made me laugh: "Oh I could've been on time, but sometimes when I walk by I'm not ready to go in yet so I decided to walk around until I was ready." Gold.

In seconds I think of the students that teachers hate but are great in my class. The student that causes disruptions, will not do their work, will not listen and gets written up every day, but in your works hard and tries.  I can think of three kids at the top of my head that fit into this category.  Kids that are smart, capable and do well on my exams but need more encouragement because they have been told no, told they cause problems, and told they can't.    

If we start dividing kids into groups, these are probably the kids that would be put into the "extra needs" group.  We do not need to be dividing kids further and creating more separation in the school system.  We are already trying to overcome huge gaps that created lasting differences between student achievement.  We have least restrictive environment for a reason.  These students can and want to succeed, removing them to the "special" unit is not going to achieve this. Put all the disruptive kids in one class and what expectation are you setting for that period? What message are you telling the students, they can't learn? 

Is the goal to help those students or remove them so others can learn. Sure, other classes will run more smoothly, but these will fall far behind.  Yeah, it worked in the Wire, but schools are not Emmy nominated TV shows.  Who will teach these students? If teachers can't handle three at a time, how will the teacher handle 26 at a time? It is not about separating out the bad, it's about supporting teachers, additional resources and the bigger issues in schools to successfully instruct all students in a classroom.       
These kids do not need to be removed, they need positive motivation, encouragement and a school that believes in them.