Classroom Highs and Lows:
Conversely, certain signs also serve as stinging reminders of the significant amount of work that lies ahead of students and me. Repeated, direct instructions often go unabsorbed by students, and some simply choose to focus on other things happening around them in class. Reviewing homework assignments and quiz questions that require students to write complete sentences regarding their opinion on matters, tasks for which I assertively tell the youngsters that there exist no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers, but simply providing an opinion will suffice, sometimes troubles me.
I’ve noticed a pattern among some of my students who face the most significant challenges in the classroom. Years of falling behind vis-à-vis both what is expected of them and their classmates leads them to devote the bulk of their energies toward diverting my attention away from their academic needs and status. The result of this is behavioral problems. In other words, students are acting out, I think, to move attention away from their academic difficulties.
There are many problems with this. First, when students do not believe in their abilities to learn, they become disenchanted with the learning process. So, we already have students substantially behind the curve and with whom there exists tremendous inertia standing between them and devoting greater effort toward their studies. I try to, and will continue to do so, show them that working hard in the classroom can be both fun and fruitful. For instance, while sitting with Oliver, a student of mine for whom the issues I’ve just describe ring most true, we get into a discussion about horses, which, unlike most other topics into which we’ve so far delved, he speaks readily, excitedly, and confidently. I hope and believe that this will translate into Oliver’s being more willing and excited to write about the topic than he would be writing about another matter. However, from what I have seen so far, students who struggle academically often feel embarrassed about their trouble, which leaves them largely deterred from the learning process on a more general level. Combating this harmful and perpetuating process will be one of my main and most important efforts as a teacher.
A second issue with students who experience substantial trouble in the classroom is that behavioral issues they raise to detract attention from their problems learning can influence similar behavior in other students. This detracts from the overall learning environment of the classroom. For instance, sitting Irwin, a student who has trouble paying attention and completing assignments well and on time, next to Ethan, a student typically engaged in, and excited about lessons, often leads the former to distract the latter. Mixing up seating patters is helpful, but I have found distressing continuity in the desire of students who feel added pressure to perform to draw others into their escapades in misbehavior. The onus is on me, as their teacher, to draw out the natural talent and desire to learn inherent in each child from Oliver, Irwin, and others. They often dazzle me with creativity and enlightened perspective on topics in which they are interested. The key for me is to show them the importance of exploring these ideas within the context of our curriculum and striving to improve critical academic tools.
Learning about Myself: Adventures in Austerity and Routine
It becomes clearer to me by the day that I am very much a creature of habit. I enjoy so much the process of establishing routine in my day-to-day life, often working to nail down activities to the minute I do them each day. What might seem boring to others is enthralling to me. I enjoy hearing the alarm sound at 4:30 each morning. I look forward so much to that first lap around the track at Fort Canyon Park at 4:45, as my legs awaken and heart begins to pound in the cool, early morning air. By lap 25, I will have more energy and alertness than an extra hour of slumber could ever provide. NPR brings the BBC over the radio waves and into my humble ’92 Mazda MPV during the short trip from house to park. There is something strangely exciting and calming about listening to the financial analysts discuss market activity in Asian markets (recently incredibly unstable due, primarily, to the crumpling of the U.S. sub-prime home lending market), wherein the day has already come and gone. I think about the evening when the day will have come and gone for me, too. I never fail to find humor in the poorness of my tie-tying abilities as I apply the finishing touches to my daily ensemble around 5:40. I cherish the first sip of coffee and delight in taking in the opening words from the Albuquerque Journal as the sun makes its first headway over the horizon, shining brilliant light through our broad glass windows and into our front dining room. The crunch-crunch of morning cereal makes me feel like a kid again, filling my belly before scurrying off to elementary school. College required a hiatus from such activity, and returning to it has the double advantage of calming me before beginning the day and returning my mind to an earlier, simpler time in life.
The drive to work provides a daily treat. I usually leave the house around or just after 6:30, when the sun is slowly creeping over the horizon. Gallup sunrises are, in a word, amazing. Devoid of trees to block vision, one can see for miles and miles in all directions and study in great detail the wondrous process of sunrise of which we all to easily fail to take note and appreciate. Driving due east, the sun unveils itself before me. I feel like a parishioner, kneeling before a heavenly entity in church: humble, peaceful, and entirely calm. I’m not sure how many folks experience a similar daily commute, but were they more able to do so, road rage would certainly lose much of its thunder.
After arriving at school just before seven, I head directly to the computer lounge, to print out materials for the day before crossing the hall to make copies. I greet colleagues as they, one by one, make their way into the school (usually, my only companion upon entering Church Rock is janitor Fred, who, along with his two colleagues, Bobby and Tony, work harder and, arguably, better, than anyone at our school). Before reporting to my room to begin the day at 7:25, I fill up my coffee cup with some fresh brew from the pot Tony reliably prepares at 7 each morning. Walking out to portable 21, I wonder to myself how and why I have obtained such a relevant and rewarding environment in which to groom myself as an adult. The answer is unknown, but the appreciation strong.
Hikes, Navajo Culture, and the Majesty of New Mexico:
Come to New Mexico. That is my message to anyone reading this bog entry. Many have tried to describe the certain intangible quality that makes the ‘Land of Enchantment’ indisputably, powerfully true to its name. There is something about the sunlight bouncing off the hills and canyon walls that calm the soul. As I hiked Church Rock with two good friends yesterday, studying how millions of years of a sinking water level eroded the rocks, creating powerful and beautiful color variations, I engaged in a discussion about our growing fascination with Navajo culture and, more generally, the history of the Gallup area. Anyone who has read Rudolfo Anita’s ‘Bless Me, Ultima’ knows about the unique mosaic that constitutes New Mexico’s cultural makeup, and this truth manifests itself powerfully in Gallup, wherein the demographic of the town comprises a significant Native American, Latino, Caucasian, and even Palestinian population. Through the years, Gallupians have learned to interact and live in a peaceful and understanding manner that is at once progressive and respectful of the past.
Even as I write this entry, I watch Nathaniel Jesus make the rounds at Earl’s restaurant, working to interest diners in his hand crafted jewelry and trinkets. Nathaniel’s surname evidences the cultural combination so common in this area. Though a full-blooded Navajo, Nathaniel’s relatives adhere to the Christian faith, resulting in their adoption of ‘Jesus’ to serve as the family’s last name. Native American with traces of Latino in his name, Nathaniel is decidedly patriotic, serving honorably for six years in the U.S. Marine Corps, like so many of his fellow Native Americans here in Gallup, and across the country. Many take interest in the substantial role played by Navajo Codetalkers in helping the U.S. to victory in World War II. What is lost sometimes, I think, is the fact that Native American participation in the U.S. military remains a key component of that institution’s continued vitality. Codetalkers deserve significant praise for their contribution to this country, but the service of Nathaniel and his counterparts is no less worthy of similar accolades.
In Closing, an Element of Concern:
Last year, only one school in the Gallup-McKinley County District achieve ‘adequate yearly progress’, No Child Left Behind’s infamous benchmark for sufficient institutional progress. Last Monday, I attended the district’s board of education working session to review and discuss schools’ standardized testing results, which largely determine AYP. Much to my, and other present teachers’ dismay, only one of the Board’s five members were present. Not only did this result in the wasting of dinners that the district used to taxpayer money to purchase to keep board members happy during this extra session, but, more importantly, the officials’ inconspicuous absence has broader deleterious effects for the state of students performance in the district, more generally. If Gallup McKinley County Schools’ chief policymakers are not even interested enough to make an appearance at a meeting designed to lay out the substantial shortcomings of students’ performance in our schools, then how can they be entrusted to spearhead efforts necessary to improve achievement? What message, moreover, does it send to our children and parents, when the individuals whose jobs our taxpayer money continues to fund cannot take it upon themselves to show up for a session of critical importance to the financial resources that the Federal Government will make available for our district.
No Child Left Behind is deeply flawed and there will undoubtedly be much discussion among board members regarding the abysmal performance of our schools in meeting its benchmarks. The bottom line, however, is that a school’s achieving or not achieving AYP plays a great role in determining the type and extent of funding it receives from lawmakers in Washington. With this in mind, it is a slap in the face to the dedicated educators and other personnel across GMCS that those charged with the most critical decisions to our district could not sacrifice one hour of their Monday evening to discuss our schools’ performance in achieve AYP. The future of school performance in GMCS depends largely on policy that board members set to affect positive change at a macro level. To affect said change, they must be present. My message, then, to missing board members is that our students deserve more, much more.
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