"Teachers waste a lot of class time talking about rules"

My first day back at Edison Middle School was a professional development day; it began with a presentation by an "expert" from the school district.  First she showed some data about the number of referrals teachers at Edison had written on kids so this year (well over 1,000, mostly for little things like "talking back" or "disrespecting teachers").  Then she presented a series of numbers about time "lost" in the classroom to things like "transitions", "breaks" and "behavior management".  She also made a big deal about how some ridiculous percentage of time was "lost" when students gave "incorrect answers" (as though making mistakes was a waste of time!).

Then it got even stranger.  She proceeded to lecture us--a room full of classroom teachers--about the most basic classroom management techniques and procedures (making goals and expectations clear; providing positive examples).  For two hours, we sat and listened to this "expert" (who was ph.d psychologist, not a classroom teacher) lecture us about things that I suspect everybody in the room either already did or chose not to do because we had methods that better matched our personalities.

Not once did she stop to ask us what we did in our classrooms or how we thought about or handled "discipline" or "behavior."  It was a little bit like what I imagine my students sometimes experience: teachers talking at them about things they already know or don't care about without ever asking them what they think.

Then Andrew led a presentation about class meetings.  A colleague had had two students throwing racially charged language around during class, and it had happened more than once.  The teacher was concerned about the climate of his classroom and, rather than merely reinforcing the "rule" about not saying hurtful things, decided to tackle the climate of the room.  So he sought out Andrew (who has been teaching at Edison for 27 years) for help in figuring out how to do that.  Andrew presented the format (essentially sit in a circle and have a civilized discussion), and then the faculty had a discussion about how we felt about how the school year was going.

I'm used to those kinds of conversations; they were the primary mode of engagement at the school I used to teach at.  Most of the faculty at Edison were not used to interacting with each other in this way, and, it turns out, most of them really enjoyed it.  I won't say too much about that conversation, because the point of this entry is that today we had a similar conversation with the students about how they feel about the culture of the school.  The faculty were so charged up about the conversation we had that we all unanimously agreed to have class meetings with all of the students in the school.

I led mine today with my 3rd period class, a group of 35 11-year-olds.  I had them move the desks around, forming a large circle, so we could all see each other and have a conversation.  And then we dove in.  They talked for almost 35 minutes.  And they had the following to say.  These are my notes, mostly direct quotes and paraphrases.

When asked: "How is the year going?"

too much HW
too much fighting
too many bad words
the classes are too long
the classes are boring
it feels like the teachers aren't even trying to make it fun
we want more pizza parties
too much work
too many school days
teachers are always talking over kids and yelling at us
teacher talk too much
teachers are going nuts with referrals
the teachers need to "give us a break"
I got a referral for chewing gum on the first day
teachers should stop lecturing us
we should be allowed to go outside for longer
a teacher cussed at me
it sucks when teachers hate you
teachers waste a lot of class time talking about rules
we need more breaks
less rules
it sucks that the teachers yell at us to be quiet when we're trying to take stupid standardized tests; it's like all we can hear is teachers yelling at us
too much writing
we need free-time
we want more time to talk to each other

When asked: "what is going well?"

Nothing
PE
the transition time between classes is long enough
the beginnings and endings of class have been pretty smooth
many of us like each other

[then the conversation pretty much died]

When asked: "what do you think new students think of us?"

depends on who they talk to; if they talk to the nice kids they will think we are nice; if they talked to the mean kids, well, they would think we are mean.
they would think it's terrible
they would be concerned about all the fighting
they would feel pressure about having to join the right clique
it would be frightening to have to fit into a category
it's boring
they would think we act weird
that they would rather go to [another school]
they might like it for two months until they get to know the teachers
if they get the right teachers they might be okay
[at this point the only new student in the room spoke up and said:] it's overwhelming; there are a lot of people here, and there are a lot of people who aren't polite or welcoming.

When asked: "What can you do to make the climate more welcoming?"

choose our words carefully
not seek revenge
be friendly

[And then the conversation just died...they had very little to say about what they could do]

Though it was clear they weren't entirely comfortable with talking to each other (of my 35, only about 15 spoke), I was impressed by how well they listened to each other.  It was the first time in my experience here at Edison that I have been in a class where the students spoke more--much more--than the teacher.  And, sure enough, though I had to speak with two young men about their behavior after class, I didn't have to resort to any of the "behavior management plans" that our "expert" presented on.

We just had to give the students questions they cared about and a structure in which to respond.  The next time we do it, I will be thinking about how to get the other 20 kids more involved in the conversation.