Making Connections with My Students

Now that the school year is over and I have had time to reflect, I realize that in the end what really matters are the connections I make with my students. Getting to know each one of my students on an individual basis and talking to them about their interests has been very meaningful.
As my students left school on the last day, they left knowing that I truly care about them and that I want the best for them as they head off to middle school in the fall. Even my most challenging behavioral student gave me a look that said, "thanks for everything." He even promised me that he would try hard to make good choices next year and come back to tell me. I will miss them all. My appreciation for them comes from all that I learned from them. I learned what I need to do to be a more effective teacher, how to listen to them when they need me to, how to take their home life into consideration and how to remind myself that I must behave the same way that I expect my students to behave.
In addition to making connections, the reflection journals I created in my class are an essential part of who I am as a teacher. My hopes are that they force the student to reflect and to maybe live more in the moment on any given day.
I appreciate all that I learned this school year and hope to continue learning and inspiring new students in the fall.

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What are Students Missing?

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What are students missing? What do students bring to the table?

By the time students get to my class in 6th grade, at the age of 10, 11, or even 12 going on 13, most are very well set in their ways of thinking. Set in their ways, the students find it frustrating at times, hard work, and shocking when I don't answer their questions. Some students will look at me in disbelief and will wait to see if I am going to answer their questions.

At times I feel as though I am expecting too much out of them.

Wondering if they think I am a terrible teacher with no answers, only more questions.

In my short time teaching, it appears that most students are missing the ability, or drive, to "figure things out." Most want the answer. Now!

No time for thinking, no time to problem solve.

Even though I continue to practice my method of forcing students to think on their own, I have come to realize several factors.

First, I have learned that students need to be provided with classroom and life experiences that force them to think and problem solve on their own. Experiences where parents, teachers, or even peers asking questions to spark thinking and ideas that help individuals answer their own questions.

Secondly, I believe that if it is not part of the educational process as a "whole," then students will not truly be thinkers.

We want our children and students to learn how to and want to think on their own.

This process needs to begin early.

Otherwise, our students will be missing more out of life than they realize.

"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think."

~Socrates (BC 469-BC 399)

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Thinking on My Own?

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What has the challenge of being forced to answer most of their own questions asked in my class actually been like for my students? What are my students feeling? What are they learning? Is their confidence changing? Is their problem solving skills improving?

Reflecting on one’s progress in life to make themselves a better person, internally and externally, is vital to keep making positive changes.

A recent set of reflection journal questions were posed to cause students to evaluate this process of learning to think on their own, to answer their own questions. Not only do the students reflect on their progress, but these types of questions offer me feedback. Using this feedback is important as the teacher to see what needs to be adjusted, clarified, or reinforced. It is a two way street for learning about ourselves.

The questions were:

1. How do you feel when I tell you that you are asking me a question that you can answer yourself?
2. What are you learning when I do this?
3. Do you think you will become more confident in your abilities to solve problems on your own?

I would like to share some of my students’ thoughts.

The following are responses to the first question.

Student A: “I feel good because you won’t always have someone around you to ask questions so we will have to learn to answer our own questions.”

Student B: “I feel smart because I can answer it on my own.”

Student C: “I had the answer right in front of me, all I had to do was to take my time and find it, figure it out!’

Student D: “I feel that I’m not thinking before I ask, and not giving me a chance to answer the question.”

Student E: “I feel silly because if I thought about it, I could figure it out on my own.”

The following are responses to the second question.

Student A: “I learn that some questions you ask you don’t always need help finding the answer. You can answer your own question without anyone helping you.”

Student B: “I’m learning to answer my own questions because I am capable of doing it.”

Student C: “Try to answer it myself and I when I exhausted all strategies, ask a question.”

Student D: “I learn that we answer our own question. We will be able to be better growing up.”

The following are responses to the third question.

Student A: I will be more confident to solve my own problems. This means I will try harder to think my own questions over.”

Student B: “Yes, because if I practice this a lot I will sharpen my thinking skills.”

Student C: “Yes I will feel confident because I will answer my own questions.”

As always, I write back to each student. I reminded all of them that it is all right to ask questions, especially when you are learning something new. The lesson to be learned is to give themselves credit and a chance to figure out things that they are more than capable of.

Empowerment.

Intrinsically thinking.

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In What Ways has Your Thinking Changed?

A major goal for me as a teacher this year has been to wake up my students’ ability to think. To think about what they are capable of, about their surroundings, about others’ feelings, about what kind of student they want to be and about how their behavior and choices they make now are shaping who they will become as an adult.

Most importantly, and the foundation for influencing all of the others, is to change their thinking regarding what they are actually capable of.

As previously written about, many students like to ask questions that they can very well figure out on their own. Most are so conditioned to just blurt out their question and are used to getting an answer. Either by a parent, friend, sibling, or teacher, most questions are just answered because that is what is easy to do or what they are used to doing.

Related to my post about intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, most students are not only extrinsically motivated but they are also externally conditioned to rely on others to answer their own questions. The more and more this goes on the less and less they can rely on themselves to figure things out on their own. Is it even relying on others or more of a way of figuring things out, as if it is what is normal? In other words, is this their construct way of problem solving? Just ask someone else!

Intertwined within my purpose of this goal, is to force students to think on their own in certain situations and to consistently have them reflect on their thinking and how or if it is changing.

Recently, as part of my reflection journal prompts, I asked the students the following question: “In what ways has your thinking changed since you’ve been in sixth grade?”

The following are two of my students’ thoughtful responses:

The first student wrote, “I know I’m capable of many good things, I will just have to try. I also think I can be very successful by doing my absolute best. Also, to think before I ask something.”

The second student wrote, “In many ways, I learned how to be more responsible and think before I do things. 6th grade has been very good so far and not hard if you think and believe in yourself.”

These are two affirmations that my hard work is paying off.

It is like anything in life, being aware of something is half of your potential success. The second half is following through with what you know to be the right thing to do.

Nature vs Nurture? How about Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation?

When understand human behavior, the debate about nature vs nurture has been around for a long time.

The definition of nature: by nature, as a result of inborn or inherent qualities; innately.


The definition of nurture: the sum of environmental influences and conditions acting on an organism.


The earliest philosophers, and the psychologists that followed, have talked about human behavior in relation to how one's nature is relevant and/or more influential than one's nurture (environment); and vice versa. We still debate this today, but this will not be the topic of this post.

As a species, here on earth, there shall be a greater debate to be had. In time we evolve as a species. We are rapidly changing as a species, especially our behavior. Nevertheless, we are still an animal, a living thing that interacts with the biotic and abiotic factors found in its environment. Above and beyond these important factors, we will soon have a catastrophic phenomenon called "Intrinsic" versus "Extrinsic" source of motivation of our race.


The definition of intrinsic: belonging to a thing by its very nature.




The definition of extrinsic: being outside a thing; outward or external; operating or coming from without: extrinsic influences.


Believe it or not, there was a time when Homo sapiens were not extrinsically rewarded for "doing the right thing" or for doing what they were supposed to do. The prefrontal lobes in our brains maintain the intrinsic motivation that we have and which is developed over time. It is this archaic characteristic of internal responses and self rewarding behavior that is evolving.

As a social organism, homo sapiens are evolving from an intrinsically motivated species to an extrinsically motivated species. Can you picture a cave man or cave woman gathering food or killing an animal with the thoughts that he or she would get an external reward for providing himself or family? What about a female homo sapiens from about 5000 years ago thinking that if she holds her offspring to keep it safe and warm, she will get some social reward?

Let's take it one step further since we are animals. Have you ever seen an animal such as a lion or wolf hunting its prey to provide food for its pride or pack and then it comes back and a member gives it a ribbon or sticker?

As a member of this species, I see how we are overly extrinsically motivated as a whole to "do the right thing." What's in it for me? Do I get a bonus? Do I get a sticker?

As a teacher, I see first hand how, overall, students are extrinsically motivated to learn. Often there is a, "What is in it for me?" attitude. What about the fact that you are learning and bettering yourself?

Where and when was this lost? Why is it that there is such an emphasis on external rewards?

Where will this evolving characteristic lead us? What kind of interactive species will we become?

What can we do as progressive thinkers, as parents, as educators to change this?