When I created our classroom belief statements āOur words have
powerā and āThe responsibility is oursā I could not have predicted how true
these statements would be in my classroom. Over the course of 8 weeks, I have
fallen in love with my 5th graders ā the smell and all. I find them
absolutely hilarious, so capable, and full of little āquirksā. I am very honest
with my kids. They know why I enjoy and like them so much. They also know when
I am disappointed in and frustrated with their decisions. One of the topics we
repeatedly go back to is the idea that words have tremendous power. They are a
tool we have as human beings. Words are a tool we can choose to use in a
variety of ways – to encourage, to belittle, to teach, to upset, to change, to
love, to devastate, to educate, and the list goes on.
powerā and āThe responsibility is oursā I could not have predicted how true
these statements would be in my classroom. Over the course of 8 weeks, I have
fallen in love with my 5th graders ā the smell and all. I find them
absolutely hilarious, so capable, and full of little āquirksā. I am very honest
with my kids. They know why I enjoy and like them so much. They also know when
I am disappointed in and frustrated with their decisions. One of the topics we
repeatedly go back to is the idea that words have tremendous power. They are a
tool we have as human beings. Words are a tool we can choose to use in a
variety of ways – to encourage, to belittle, to teach, to upset, to change, to
love, to devastate, to educate, and the list goes on.
My kids know I have the highest
expectations of them, and that the ways they choose to exercise their words and
actions are a reflection of them and me. I routinely share with my students that
I want any person in our school to be able to look at them and say, āThose must
be Ms. Wās students.ā {and ONLY in the best meaning of the phrase}
expectations of them, and that the ways they choose to exercise their words and
actions are a reflection of them and me. I routinely share with my students that
I want any person in our school to be able to look at them and say, āThose must
be Ms. Wās students.ā {and ONLY in the best meaning of the phrase}
Therefore, when my students choose to
use their power {words and responsibility} to destroy others, I am devastated. Since
October is bullying prevention month, I decided to gather a collection of books
that center around bullies, bullying, and bystanders to showcase in our
classroom library.
use their power {words and responsibility} to destroy others, I am devastated. Since
October is bullying prevention month, I decided to gather a collection of books
that center around bullies, bullying, and bystanders to showcase in our
classroom library.
The only book Iāll talk about
individually is Wonder. Using it as a class read aloud, these 15 minutes
are now the most important minutes of my day. Granted, my read-aloud time is
actually 5 minutes (on paper), but as a human being and a teacher, spending
time reading such a powerful text is something I will never regret doing. While
I do not believe in crying in public, there have been a few moments when my
voice has trembled and my eyes watered. Talk about a story that reaches my
students where they are, and shows how bullying evolves. The author does a
wonderful job of showing bullying from multiple perspectives ā the bullies, the
bullied, the bystanders, the family. If you have not read this book, buy it. I
have 3 copies in my classroom, and they are not enough.
individually is Wonder. Using it as a class read aloud, these 15 minutes
are now the most important minutes of my day. Granted, my read-aloud time is
actually 5 minutes (on paper), but as a human being and a teacher, spending
time reading such a powerful text is something I will never regret doing. While
I do not believe in crying in public, there have been a few moments when my
voice has trembled and my eyes watered. Talk about a story that reaches my
students where they are, and shows how bullying evolves. The author does a
wonderful job of showing bullying from multiple perspectives ā the bullies, the
bullied, the bystanders, the family. If you have not read this book, buy it. I
have 3 copies in my classroom, and they are not enough.
This weekend, I tied all of these books
together with a display. Recent statistics show that 1 out of 3 of our kids are
being or have been bullied. Friends, thatās crazy. That means, out of my 90
kiddos, 30 of them have been or are being broken down because another
individual is choosing to use his/her words and actions to wield power in a
negative way. My 15 minutes a day just got more important.
together with a display. Recent statistics show that 1 out of 3 of our kids are
being or have been bullied. Friends, thatās crazy. That means, out of my 90
kiddos, 30 of them have been or are being broken down because another
individual is choosing to use his/her words and actions to wield power in a
negative way. My 15 minutes a day just got more important.
Throughout the weeks, I will pull
chapters from these different books as we practice making inferences, and weāll
continue reading Wonder. Any time, I put together a display, the
displayed books ALWAYS fly off the shelf. Literally, my kids turn into book
ninjas deciding how they can get to a book before some else. Last month when I
put together my banned book display, all the books were
gone within 3 hoursā¦and they actually
read them ā say what?!? Here is a list of nine of my choices for this monthās
display.
chapters from these different books as we practice making inferences, and weāll
continue reading Wonder. Any time, I put together a display, the
displayed books ALWAYS fly off the shelf. Literally, my kids turn into book
ninjas deciding how they can get to a book before some else. Last month when I
put together my banned book display, all the books were
gone within 3 hoursā¦and they actually
read them ā say what?!? Here is a list of nine of my choices for this monthās
display.
Great post! I wish our school observed this month with some sort of focus. My kiddos totally need it. Love the new blog design, too.
Catherine –
I love how you talk about your students! I feel the same way about mine. We have the CHARACTER COUNTS! program at our school and just finished CHARACTER COUNTS! week. It is great, but what I don't ever understand with my kids, is that we always talk about being a person of good character, making good choices – whether people are around to see or not – and they all talk a great talk. BUT, so often that student will then say something demeaning to another student in PE or on the playground. I just don't understand! We of course talk about it and decide what choice could we make next time and saying sorry doesn't remove what's been said. It's an ongoing struggle, but I have to say that I love how you talk about them being a reflection on you. I think I'll have to add that to my discussion with them. Overall they're really great – it's just that one or two that seem to continuously struggle with this type of behavior.
Thanks so much for sharing this!
~Janie
Are We There Yet?
I love your statistics display! I have the picture books Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon and Don't Laugh at Me (also a song) you could add to your collection. I'm reading Wonder too, and I'm loving every minute of it! I'm sending you a goodie-check your inbox!!!
Great post Catherine!
Joanne
Head Over Heels For Teaching
Hello, I just wanted to drop in and leave a few words telling you how much I appreciate the time you take to write your blog. I find myself returning to your page over and over for ideas and inspiration. You make me wish I could only teach LA instead of all the subjects.
I’m going into my 3rd year of teaching and really working on my library this year. I hope to implement some of the many ideas you’ve provided.
Thanks again, you school and students are lucky to have you.