When I graduated from Western and entered my first teaching job in
the Marysville School District at Tulalip Elementary (a school I hold near and
dear to my heart) I had a very clear vision of what I thought my classroom and
students should look like. I had a hippy dippy idea that my students would be
able to come into my first grade classroom and choose a spot, any spot to sit
down to learn. There was no teaching on my part but an assumption that all
students would exhibit the same behavior. As my classroom quickly fell apart, I
slapped name tags on the tables and watched the chaos finally calm down
to the level of learning I envisioned. Each child had a desk, their supplies
and their name tag nicely laminated and taped to their space.
Phew! Problem solved, right? Yes, my adult problem was
solved. Yet, it still didn't feel right. I had swung to the opposite end of the
pendulum to make things easier for myself. As a type A person, it felt good to
have things in order but eventually I questioned my motives
and beliefs. What teaching was I missing by slapping a name tag on the desk? I
realized I needed to reevaluate what I wanted my students to be able to do
independently at the end of the year. I
wanted them to be:
- problem solvers
- independent thinkers
- self managers
- respectful choice makers
- flexible learners
Okay,
so if these are what I want my outcomes to be,
then what are the ways in which I can get my students there? Surprisingly
enough, it all started with that dang name tag. Let's think for a second. Is someone always there telling us where to play on
the playground? Who to
sit next to in the lunchroom? Where to sit in a college class? Where to stand
in line at the supermarket? What parking spot to choose? Life is full of
choices that we need to make as adults. If that is the case, why are we not teaching our
youngest learners, our most malleable minded students, to make positive choices independently
in our classrooms?
In
my first year, I wasn't going to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I
didn't want to rip the bandaid off right away, I wanted to transition students
into becoming problem solvers, independent thinkers, self-managers, etc. So, I
conducted a few morning meetings based around name tags so that my students
were "in the know" about the changes occurring in our classroom.
I
removed the name tags. Kids were able to work anywhere around the room that
they felt they could learn best. I was explicit when teaching this -- because
it is a strategy -- how to be able to choose a spot where you'll work best.
However, they were able to work at their "table space." I did this
because I noticed that there were children who needed a space to call
"their own" and I wanted to meet the needs of ALL my students.
However, during ANY work time, I never mandated them to work there. There were
no names anywhere, just a whole class understanding that we needed to be
respectful of each other and where we wanted/needed to work to do our best
thinking.
Of
course, there were bumps and bruises along the way. We used classroom meeting
time to figure out what
to do if a student wanted to work at their own "table space,"
how do we ask politely to work there? We also talked about friends who were
great recess friends vs. friends who were great learning partners. We learned
about how loud the classroom should be at different times. Of course, this was
not me barking orders and rules, but rather the students having meaningful
conversations about how their classroom should run. The only "rule" I
had in place was, "If you couldn't manage
yourself in that moment, then it had to be my job to manage you." Students
became independent learners, problem solvers, and self managers very quickly
and owned the work they were doing in the room.
As
the years have gone on, I feel more comfortable in this decision. It goes along
with the early childhood notion: you hold out a red shirt and green shirt for
Johnny and ask him to choose. He chooses the red shirt. BAM! You just got a 3
year old to wear a shirt. Your bottom line is that he wears a shirt - it
doesn't matter what color it is. The same thing can go for learning. Students can work anywhere because your bottom line is
that they're learning. What power a child has if they have the freedom of
choice.
Let's
reflect on together on how your room looks now. Is there something that can be
taught by not using a name tag?
Happy
reflecting!
~
Nina
