Features:
1. Teaching the person, not the test-taker 2. Tools of the Trade: Three research-rich articles with links 3. A brand new concept called HoomKids … with screen-free autonomy (what’s that??)
My A.P. English teacher handed me a written hall pass abruptly in the middle of class. It was from my science teacher.
“See me in the office,” it read (or something just like that).
*Gulp.* I definitely swallowed hard and likely got some heavy-duty butterflies in my stomach. Being a “good kid,” I had never been called to the office before, but here it was happening in my junior year of high school … & by my science teacher for some reason?
Science was not one of my better subjects. I was an average student in any subject that wasn’t taught through storytelling (though at the time, I believed I was only “good at” English & other languages). I knew my grades were taking their usual annual dip——what I had long-ago dubbed “my third nine weeks burnout” to denote the seasonal depression I silently suffered and yet did not understand as being what it was. Maybe I was doing worse than I realized and failing my class?
I was pleasantly surprised when Mr. Nelson greeted me in the office. We found a quiet spot away from the main desk. And he asked me what was going on in my life.
I had no idea how to reply!
“Your grades are going down,” he told me. “You’ve had a pretty steady average through the year, but you aren’t getting the same grades you were. I checked your records & noticed you are having the same dip in every single one of your classes except English: 6 of your 7 classes have dropped an entire letter grade!”
I laughed & explained that happened every year; it had been happening since first grade.
“Really?” he said, surprised. “This is normal for you?”
I assured him that I’d recover after “my third nine weeks burnout.” We chatted about some things I could do to find my motivation again. He told me when I was older, I could prioritize some late-winter travel away from the Midwest to find some sunshine. I bookmarked that tidbit & have absolutely used it in my life. He also told me I could reach out if I needed any study support. Then we headed back to our respective classrooms.
Little changed for me as an immediate, direct result of that conversation. … But you can find that hall pass pasted into the pages of my high school scrapbook, an act I went home & did directly & immediately.
Because I felt seen. And I knew someone——a teacher——cared.
New research is flooding the resource marketplace that proves what so many have been saying for years: Each student is more than a test score. (The headline of this University of Chicago Press Journals article says it all: What Do Test Scores Miss? The Importance of Teacher Effects on Non–Test Score Outcomes.) Follow @teachfortheculture on IG for teaching resources, inspo quotes & ideas for centering your own classroom or group in the authentic joy of respectful connection, particularly for students of African descent. Like this:
“are you affirming your students in who #they are or in who #you want them to be?” –S. Brown, @teachfortheculture
Three more research-rich articles take up the thread & construct the case for what happens in the best & worst scenarios when teachers either relate to their students as people or simply teach them as test-takers.
Edutopia shares that “The Research is in: … Fostering skills like self-regulation does more to improve students’ future outcomes than helping them raise their test scores.” (Author Youki Terada also shares the evidence that “A well-trained teacher is likely to send more students to college, and can boost a class’s lifetime income by $250,000.”)
Dr. Jane R. Shore from Substack’s School of Thought newsletter also dives into the research when she asks in her most recent issue, “What Makes a Good School?” (Her answers include this quote: “A student at last night's amazing community forum in Molokai shared the following, ‘I've spent four years getting good grades, prepping for standardized tests, and developing a great college resume. I have no idea who I am, what my values are, or who I want to become. Something is wrong.’”)
Nick Woolfe of SEL in 5 also cites research, this issue, when he reminds us that “Family-school partnerships are a two-way street” (& that “Research shows that SEL is more effective when parents and guardians model the same skills and behaviors that students are mastering in the classroom”).
“In 2017, when we asked our readers to describe the traits of a life-changing teacher, very few of the responses were about test scores or academics. People overwhelmingly said that great teachers make their students feel safe and loved, believe in their students, model patience, and help their students reach their full potential——all qualities that remain largely unmeasured.”
–Youki Terada in Edutopia
(Paid subscribers, look for an added bonus resource at the end of this issue! It’s all about the transferable skills businesses are looking to hire in, in 2023 & beyond.)
A “new emotional toolbox” for kids ages 3–10 promises to help teach these critical soft skills to developing children at home & on the go——without giving parents one more thing to micro-manage. Promising autonomy without a reliance on screens (is that even a thing anymore??), HoomKid is an analogue storyteller device that teaches SEL lessons in emotion management. The IndieGoGo/Kickstarter campaign has just launched. Beta-test & support it today!
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