ACT Prep: joys and challenges.

I am just over a week into a class that I teach for the UW-Madison PEOPLE Program. A little background to this part of my educational career: the PEOPLE Program recruits and supports promising students in middle school and early high school who are from low-income families, students of color and/or will be the first in their families to attend college. I believe in the mission and goals of the PEOPLE Program and am proud to work with the students each summer. My role in the program has been to teach an ACT Prep course to students during the summer at UW- Madison. Teaching this class always brings up mixed feelings for me. I got into the PEOPLE Program through my cooperating teacher, Rob, who used to coordinate the ACT Prep classes. Rob used to say that the ACT was built to keep people out of college and that preparing students to jump over the hurdle that the ACT presents was an act of social justice. Inspired by "St. Junior" by Sherman Alexie, Rob would tell students that in doing well on the test they could kill Custer. Every day I teach for the program, I take this revolutionary attitude with me. With this class, as is with every class, there are some highs and lows that offer both questions and insight.

In case it wasn't already, I want to be clear and say that I don't think the ACT is a good test of student intelligence or ability. Knowing the test as well as I do, I would never want education to focus on preparing students for such a biased, short-sided, and time-centric measurement. That being said, as long as colleges still use this as a tool for evaluating prospective students, I believe it is only fair to prepare students to do well on the test. One of the challenges I face with my students building connections that foster a strong teaching and learning experience. I have fourteen students who are between their sophomore and junior year. We meet five days a week for three weeks, for 75 minutes a day and use a canned curriculum to prepare for the test. I didn't know my students before this class and I don't have a lot of time to get to know them now. While I come to class with an understanding of the challenge of the test and its significance in their lives, my students come to class kind of tired and not too interested. In my school-year classroom, I have a little more street cred with my students and can use my connection with them to help motivate and focus. I have a handful of students in ACT Prep who always come ready to learn, but the majority don't seem to grasp the challenge of the test and the need to prepare. The test is incrediably high stakes and many have never taken anything like it before. When I can't engage them, they miss the opportunity to take steps towards college acceptance. At the root of it all, I am coming to realize that to teach or learn in a meaningful way, building a connection between teacher and learner is vital. Because the material is difficult and rather boring and because many of the students don't know me enough to trust me with their time and energy, they end up missing out on a chance to help them over this roadblock between themselves and their college aspirations.

On a positive note, there have been some lovely things that have happened in our class. Yesterday we were working on preparing for the writing portion of the test wherein students have 30 minutes to attempt to write a five-paragraph persuasive essay. In reviewing the strategy with my students, I could tell immediatly we were not speaking the same language regarding essay organization. I stopped the lesson to go over some essay diagrams and basic definitions. As we concluded these clarifications, one student asked where I had learned this informaiton and if I teach it to my students. I didn't remember where I learned it, but I have always been very clear with my students as to what they need to do in their writing. My ACT student was amazed, it was like I had unlocked the puzzle of what an essay and a thesis statement were supposed to look like. This interaction made me realize how important it is to be clear with students; achieving success shouldn't be a mystery challenge. I know that for this student her ACT essay and every other essay she writes will be better because form and organization were made clear for her.

At the end of this week, the students will take their first full length practice ACT test, and I have a feeling, reality will hit them hard. We will have one more week after this to re-group and keep practicing and then they will return home for the remainder of the summer. Next summer I will hopefully have the opportunity to work with a fresh batch of kiddos; I am sure many of the joys and frustrations will be the same, but I feel lucky every year that I have opportunity to help deserving students find their way into college.

summer.

In recognition of the summer solstice today, I went to a yoga class that celebrated the transition to summer. Many who practice yoga complete 108 traditional sun salutations on both the summer and winter solstice. I did 12 salutes in class, which will have to do for now. Someday, I hope to be one of the many yogis on the banks of the Ganges completing the 108 salutations, but that will be another solstice, another year.

As my summer begins, I thought I would report a little bit about what I will be doing and what (if you continue reading :) will be happening on my blog. For the past several years, including this year, I have been teaching an ACT prep class for the University of Wisconsin - Madison, PEOPLE Program. I just finished my second day of class and was happy that I remembered all of my students names. Teaching this class always challenges me to think about the nature of such high-stakes tests in a new way. More insights to come on this.

As ACT Prep comes to an end, I will be participating in the first summer institute of the Greater Madison Writing Project. I am so honored and excited to be a part of this organization; I know that my head will be exploding with ideas, questions, inquiries and plans throughout the entire experience. The GWMP summer institute will take up most of my July, but I get to go to school for free, which for me, is one of the best things ever.

My final teaching related summer endeavor will be participation in a class called "Lakefronts and Backstories" put together by the Wisconsin Teachers of Local Culture. A friend and colleague of mine recommended this class and I am currently very interested in placed-based learning opportunities.

When I started this blog, I thought I may have made a mistake starting a blog about teaching at the end of the school year. While I will make lots of time for relaxing, reading, yoga, dog walking and napping, I am excited to have such amazing teaching and learning experiences ahead of me this summer.

In yoga, the heart is known as the inner sun; so on our longest day of sunshine, I wish you both a light heart and a happy summer.

my classroom.

I wanted to share with you my classroom before I pack it all up for the summer. These are some pictures of my favorite things and places in my room. I am super sensitive to my surroundings, so I like my room to look pretty. I also had a student tell me once that when he was not listening to me, he looked around the room and read all the stuff on the wall. So, the room is really just another way for me to get my kiddos thinking positively.


This is the front of my classroom. This past school year we decided to focus on respect, responsibility and reflection. Being present is a constant challenge for me, so I decided the kids and myself could make use of a reminder.




This is the door to my office. The rainbow sticker is the one I referenced in my last blog post. I bought it when I got my first job. As far as I am concerned it will always hang in my classroom. Additionally, I do love books.




At my school we often joke (but are actually quite serious) about needing a "peace corner" where you can go to pull yourself back together whenever you seem to have lost your mind. Below is a photo of my "peace bulletin board". I have a collection of post cards, pictures, stickers, etc. from my travels that allow me to escape when necessary.




This is a mural that a group of students painted a few years ago. It was a lovely team effort and I can still see each student's hand in the finished product. It is surrounded by several of my favorite student book projects.




The final shot of my classroom is also from my office door. I reference this quote regularly in my classes as it is truly why I come to school every day. If my students learn nothing else in their time with me, I hope that they learn to see/feel/understand how connected they are to each other and their world.

making it better.

There are a few stories that intersect to (hopefully) make the point I am going for in this post. My husband says that I jump around a lot when telling stories (which is true), so I am going to number and label each story for your reading enjoyment.

Story #1: Rainbow Hope
When I was a senior in high school, one of my best friends, Lesley, came out to me. We attended a private Catholic high school, and there were not any students or teachers there who were openly gay. While there were many good things about our school, to explain it simply: it was not a safe environment for anyone who was gay.

I am fortunate to have maintained a friendship with Lesley since high school. She once told me that there was one guidance counselor at our school who had a small rainbow sticker in his office; she took solace in knowing that there was one person in our school who would accept her. I never want any student to go through what Lesley went through in high school and as a teacher I have the ability to make it better for all of my students.

Story #2: Mind Freak
This year, I partnered with the University of Wisconsin - Madison School of Education Common Read committee to bring James St. James, the author of Freak Show, to my Literary Analysis class. The students and teachers who read his book spent one rainy, but exciting morning in my classroom with this amazing individual and cultural icon. One of the students asked James to comment on the It Gets Better Project wherein individuals create testimonial videos encouraging gay youth (or anyone struggling for that matter) to keep in mind that living an openly gay life will get easier in the future. James told the kids that he did not believe the It Gets Better Project was a good thing for the gay youth community. He said that it was unfair for adults to tell youth that they needed to wait for life to get easier. The idea challenged me to think more about how I relate to and support my LGBTQ students.

Story #3: Celebrate
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend the Gay Straight Alliance Celebration of Leadership in Madison. One of my coworkers was a founding member of this group which has grown into an a truly powerful organization. The theme of the evening was: Make It Better. Listening to student, teacher, administrative and community leaders speak about their work and experiences was both beautiful and empowering. The evening found a balance between the pride and strength of the LGBTQ community, and the serious and immediate need to create safe and supportive environments for all students.

Teaching to make it better...
Since I have had my own classroom, I have had a rainbow sticker. It is in honor of Lesley, her struggle and her pride, and all of my LGBTQ students. Hearing James St. James encourage my students to be the freaks that they are, and celebrating those who work to make life better for LGBTQ students made me realize that as a teacher, what I do in my classroom is powerful beyond words. I can play the role of many of my high school teachers, who heard hateful statements and looked the other way, or I can make it better for my students now by addressing and condemning hate in all its forms. I realized that teaching to make it better doesn't tell LGBTQ youth to wait until they are older to have safe and happy lives, it creates the world they deserve to live in now. It cultivates tolerance and understanding; it eradicates ignorance and hate. I am proud of the work I have done in my classroom to support and celebrate LGBTQ individuals; but I am challenged to do more every day. Every student deserves to be safe at school; I hope for the day where I can say that is true, but until it is, I will work to make it better.

how I got here.

I decided to become a teacher because of my mom and also because of my high school English teachers. My mom has worked as a teacher and school social worker in a variety of settings over the course of her career. When I was little, she would get Christmas cards from former students thanking her for benefiting and sometimes saving their lives. I couldn't figure out exactly what this meant at the time, but I knew that other adults didn't get the same kinds of Christmas cards that my mom did.

I remember two of my high school English teachers very clearly: Ms. Noe and Mr. Burke. Ms. Noe taught my freshman Humanities class. She was hilarious in the classroom using voices to tell stories to high school students. What I remember the most was that in discussion of whatever we had been reading, she would ask questions of us that exploded in my mind. She pushed the boundaries of my freshman mind into analysis and critical thinking. I marveled at her ability to come up with questions like that.

Mr. Burke taught A.P. English which I took during my senior year. Most of his students loved him thinking he was straight out of Dead Poets Society, but we quickly figured out that he was just totally crazy. It took me a little while longer to figure out that he was totally crazy in a good way. Mr. Burke's assignments were so challenging that I often didn't try very hard so that I wouldn't have to face failure. Over the course of the year, he challenged me to work hard so that he could help me become a better reader, writer, and thinker. I came around and he did as promised. I was surprised to find that in my first college English class, I was way ahead of many of my peers when it came to writing. I emailed Mr. Burke to thank him.

When I started teaching, I had a lot of ideas of how to "do it right". These were met with frustration and failure. I now know that the only way for me to be effective as a teacher is to be myself in my classroom. I am, however, always mindful of the people who inspired me to do this job. Every day, I try to show compassion for people at challenging times as my mom did , ask mind-blowing questions like Ms. Noe, and challenge my students to be more than they ever thought they could be like Mr. Burke did for me.