Felons Love Macbeth??

You know that saying "when you expect it, they will bring it" (or something like that, it is Friday, so please bear  with me) well, my guys, ages 18-65, felons, some in there for 40+ life for all types of crimes, came into my English class on Monday not understanding what they were getting into and opening Macbeth. 

See, I had had most of them in the semester before and over time, they grew to trust me. They knew that I wasn't going to let them flail about and drown so they took a chance and requested my class again. (BTW: this doesn't happen very often) I front loaded a ton of info about the life of Shakespeare, the language, the feeling of the society, the background of King James I of Scotland and his love of witches- basically if I thought they would benefit from it, I was going to give them the information. 

But today, as I was looking around the room, hearing them analyze Act I, Scene 7, and snicker at Lady Macbeth's over manipulation and her way of stripping away Macbeth's masculinity, I knew that I had done my job, not only as an educator, but as a person that they can still count on to explain, show, answer, create analogies- they wouldn't drown even when it got a little harder and even when it was something they would never consider doing on the outside. It was an awesome feeling...

Writing Guides: Providing Useful Organization for the ADHD and Learning Disabled Student

"Utter fear- that is what went through my head when my teacher assigned an essay for homework. First off, I am a crappy writer and then, I had to write about something I didn't understand, something that wasn't clear. It wasn't clear for a number of reasons- the topic wasn't explained well enough and getting to the point of actual writing a five paragraph essay was taught with the assumption that my previous teachers had taught me correctly EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. Except, here is the funny thing- since each teacher assumed the PREVIOUS teacher taught it to me, I never learned how to do it! Also, when you tell a dyslexic kid with ADHD to just 'write a hook sentence, include sentences about what the next body paragraphs are going to be about and follow your notes to write a thesis sentence' you basically set me up for failure."

I have talked extensively with my husband about why he wasn't successful in school until I met him during his Junior year of college. It always comes back to the same thing- he never learned how to write an effective sentence or paragraph or essay.

This is just a complete waste of time for students with ADHD.

My husband is an incredibly smart person. I am not kidding- he can take a multi-level, extremely difficult condominium project from blueprints to complete build. He sees this stuff in his mind as already completed, putting it into a 3D version as he reviews the plans, mentally going in and out of the rooms and seeing everything internally. The guy, as smart as he is though, simply can't write. He can just barely write a legible email and anything more complex leaves him very nervous and self-conscious. When I met him, he was earning just barely a C- in his college level courses that depended on papers and essays for grades. All other classes that were project based or test based, he was earning a B+ or better.

When he met me, I was in the middle of taking classes for a History major and double minors in English and Anthropology. I should have switched it around and worked for an English major but at the time I was feeling like I needed a challenge and History was harder for me than English. My husband would get so angry at me because I would have a paper due on Friday that I wouldn't start on until 7 pm on Thursday night, then I'd bang out 10-12 pages in two hours, go to the bar that night and still earn an A on it. He would spend 10-12 DAYS writing the same amount of pages and only come back with a D.

Writing always came pretty easy to me. In elementary school, I had fantastic teachers that modeled proper writing organization for me and would correct and critique my writing attempts, helping me learn how to self-edit my work as I went along and showed me the proper way to build on a proper sentence, then paragraph, then essay. It fit together for me like a giant puzzle and I loved the challenge. In my high school years, I had a teacher in my Honors English class that tore me apart and broke down my writing style until I was laid bare and learned how to say exactly what needed to be said and no more. After I mastered that skill, he helped me create the writer I wanted to be, eloquent and expressive, without being overly confident and self-indulgent.

When I became a teacher, I realized that writing in an organized fashion simply isn't natural to most people and by the time they reached high school, most students were so perplexed by the writing process, they put in the minimal amount of energy, doing what they needed to do to complete it, but not

caring about what they wrote or how it sounded. They were simply overwhelmed and too frustrated with the entire process because they were either taught by (well-meaning) people who used those tried and true statements such as "the hook sentence needs to come first in your introductory paragraph" or "write the thesis statement so it connects with your three body paragraphs" or better yet "you need to analyze the quote from the book in this paragraph." These people were simply parroting what they learned and how they understood writing. However, these statements don't take into account those kids who don't understand what those words mean or how to organize the essay. When these students hear statements like this, it is the same as the teacher saying to them "now, put your foot behind your head and hop in a counterclockwise direction chanting the ancient Navaho request for rain". It simply does not make sense.

So how are they supposed to know what to do, how to do it, and feel confident in the process? Answer: They simply can't.

I hate to see these students feel bad about their writing ability and I resolved to find a way to help them. I started at the beginning, remembering how I helped my husband organize his essay with simple verbal questions asking him to say what he wanted to say in his paper. Then, I used a very straightforward, linear organizer that had the components of each paragraph outlined with sentences and prompts that told him exactly what he needed to include in each sentence, eliminating the uncertainty of what goes where.

This seemed to help them "see" how to construct the essay and also what elements were included and why they were important. Originally, I designed the organizer without any breaks in between the paragraphs and I found that students were still feeling overwhelmed by the idea that there was SO MUCH to write! So, I separated each paragraph to be on its own page, eliminating the "wall of lines" and allowing them to focus on just finishing that paragraph instead of being daunted by "what comes next." To say I saw an improvement was an understatement!! Their essays were organized, included all the components of a correct essay such as a thesis statement, quote, analysis, transition sentence, and a correct conclusion that DIDN'T simply re-state the argument!

I have now expanded my Original writing guide to include one for a Compare/Contrast essay, a literary analysis essay, and "How To" guides for writing a Murder Mystery, an interesting biography and just recently, reflective journals. Some of the these writing guides are included in the units I designed them for, but I have been debating whether or not to make a large bundle with instructions on how to implement them for all levels and subject areas....still working on it though!

English IV is going to be a fun class!

I have a great group of boys in this class and they are all very interesting and dynamic but require a strong hand when getting into their work and producing some quality results. Most are ridiculously intelligent but lazy as they come so to inspire them, I decided to do a unit on the concept of insanity and who, what, or how insanity is determined. We are reading three books this semester, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.

All amazing books and I thoroughly enjoy teaching them and the subject matter. However, I let them know today that they are responsible for the way the class is going to be. If they don't do their homework, it will be a silent reading experience with everyone individually completing their work- OR they can complete their homework at home so we can have interesting and dynamic discussions about controversial topics and issues. Most of these students have had me before and appreciate my frank and honest explanations about everything we read or discuss so they know that in order for me to put in the effort to coordinate these discussions, they need to do their part, but I wonder how some of the new students will react.

It will be interesting to observe the different pressures from the students who want to discuss the book and topics on the students who just want to slack off. I told them it was all or nothing and I hope I didn't make a mistake by doing that because I know they want to slack off but also really want to talk about things that most other classes would never consider discussing. I think this will be my favorite class this year but it requires a ton of energy to teach and I have SO much on plate with the other 3 different levels of English I am simultaneously teaching IN ADDITION to being the College Counselor and Academic Counselor. I am already tired! But I love getting them inspired about great literature so I will give it all I got!

Creating the Perfect Differentiated Classroom

As educators, we have to be prepared to teach many different levels of kids in one class. This means we need to think about the kids who are gifted and the ones who need a LOT of extra time and assistance. But, I have some questions about this concept-How does this concept of a "Differentiated Classroom" translate into a working class where everyone, including the teacher, can benefit? How do teachers create a differentiated classroom so that each student is receiving the type of instruction they need to learn effectively while also creating a dynamic, engaging environment that promotes self-advocacy and applied learning techniques?

I don't know...I am still trying to figure it out. This year, I have a class with two students who, at 15, can barely create a working sentence and then three other students, ages 16, 17, and 18, who have the foundations down, but are not into seeing the world in anything other than "black and white" concepts and who lack deeper, analytical thinking processes. The difficulty I am currently facing is finding quality books to read with the class where I can teach the basics of themes, literary devices, and historical significance, but that will not be so hard where the lower level students can't follow along at all.

I was thinking of reading To Kill a Mockingbird, but I am afraid that I won't be able to get anyone engaged in the book because the complex racism will be over their heads and questions that should arise in a class in order to create discussion, won't occur. I was then thinking about The Hunger Games, but I have a student who has no concept of reality and can't differentiate between a story and truth, so something like this will be very difficult to understand. Night is was too heavy, they won't understand anything with Shakespeare, and Of Mice and Men will hit too close to home with these kids since they are typically the "Lenny's" of previous classes and have been ridiculed so much that they come into this school with shattered egos and very very low self-esteem.

I'm kind of lost here!! Anyone have any good ideas??

All About the Afternoon Meltdown...

"J is the most amazing kid I have ever met," Mrs. K, his Kindergarten teacher told me during our first parent-teacher conference. "I can't believe how helpful, empathetic, and sweet he is! If only every child was as great as he is, our world would be an amazingly calm place."

I just smiled and nodded, all the while re-creating his afternoon meltdown yesterday that lasted 2 hours, had our entire house in chaos, the dog shaking, and all of us on edge and ready to snap. For years I have never completely understood how my child can create such complete chaos at home after school but during school, he is this different child- full of compassion, sweet sentiments, and perfect behavior. However, after talking to some other parents whose ADHD kids also have afternoon meltdowns, I think I understand it a little bit better.

See, ADHD uses Serotonin and Dopamine faster than regular brains do. Even though some ADHD medications help increase these two chemicals, kids with ADHD have been shown to use these chemicals twice as fast as usual. These two chemicals are responsible for many different responses and reactions, including happiness and attentiveness and when these levels drop, kids can experience a multitude of reactions such as out of control emotions or "zoning out."

My kid's response is out of control emotions. This results in afternoons and evenings of crying and tantrums from different results than expectations, flailing arms and legs after saying "no" to what he wants, and screaming and hysteria over situations that are relatively minor. I always shook my head, convinced that this was simply a behavioral issue, but I think it is a response to low Serotonin and Dopamine levels in his brain. I don't think he can control these emotions any more than I can control the need to correct someone's grammar- is a compulsive activity that he needs to emote out or else lose control of himself completely.

 

The exception of such reactions is during school. During those 8 hours, he is such a great kid! He follows directions, cleans up after himself and other children, tries so hard to follow the rules and learn what he needs to in order to be on level with everyone else. I think that since he tries for eight hours straight, never letting himself break down over a disappointment or different results, he needs to let it go somewhere and what better place then at home where everyone will continue to love him regardless?? Unconditional love and a feeling of complete safety are apparently the necessary elements to complete breakdowns and chaotic evenings.

*Big long deep sigh* 

I love the kid. He is my life and my little boy, but man-oh-man, these nights are difficult to deal with day after day. Honestly, I am surprised my neighbors haven't called CPS yet with the way he screams sometimes. But I guess if it had to happen somewhere, at least it can happen here at home where, when it ends and he calms down, we can dry his tears, tell him that no matter what, we love him, and we hope tomorrow can be a better day...

Routines and Expectations

I am a routine person, almost to a fault. I like knowing what I can expect on a daily basis and what should come next. I actually prepare myself for the day by going through my routine, methodically checking off what I have already accomplished, what needs to be done, and what I can shift to tomorrow's schedule. It can be hard to live with me because I really depend on this routine to help me understand time and schedules since the actual concept of time does not make that much sense to me and when that routine is interrupted, I kinda freak out. I try really hard not to freak out and just go with the flow, but after many therapy sessions, I have realized that it is simply in my genetic makeup and there really isn't a lot I can do to change what happens. In order to deal with this, my incredibly go-with-the-flow husband has had to change some of his habits to help me deal a little better with the world around me.

For example, my husband has recently taken up bike riding as a hobby. A hobby that I support and am excited about (heck, I even bought the bike for Christmas!) but I have to know at least 18 hours ahead of time before he wants to ride. Does it really take away from anything? No, the kids are easy during this time of year and I can handle them  myself. Does it cost anything? No, not after the initial investment. Is it a GREAT thing? ABSOLUTELY!! He needs this outlet and I love seeing him enjoy something physical like this. But if just comes home and asks to go on a ride without previously letting me know, it completely throws me for a loop and I become irrationally angry. I shouldn't and there really isn't a reason to get angry, but I can't help it. It is a break in my routine, a change, something that I wasn't prepared for and that would mess what I have been planning for the past day in my head. For most people, it is just a slight inconvenience and not a big deal at all. For me, it is almost earth shattering- my heart rate increases, I start breathing heavy, I get frustrated and angry very quickly and lash out at him for no other reason than it wasn't in my routine.

I know it seems silly and very patronizing to submit oneself to the mental issues or quirks of another. I get how it seems like I need to "just get over it" and deal. Believe me, I have tried for 31 LONG years and I just can't seem to change that part of me. Bottom line- if you want to change my routine, you need to prep me and give me some time to rearrange my future to incorporate this new event. I can do it and I can do it well when given a head's up but without that little bit of foresight, I simply can't.

I want people who live with those with ADHD or anxiety to understand that if there is a freak out after a sudden shift of plans, it is not because of the event itself or the messenger about the change, it is because most ADHD kids don't understand time or they rely so much on their routine that any shift becomes a huge obstacle in their internal planning and they are scrambling to try and incorporate this new issue and process this new event. It isn't fair for you, the listener, or for them, but it is what it is and  most of the time, nothing can be done to re-organize their plans or routine. That is ok...but don't it expect it to be an easy transition!!