The End

As you begin your journey into the lives of adolescents, remember this:  we were once that age - and we were just as bad.  Students these days have so much going on in their daily lives that it's hard to pay attention to any one thing.  It's nearly impossible for adolescents to see the repercussions of their actions nor the long lasting consequences.  We didn't either.  We do now, hopefully.  However, we were exactly like them at their age.  Please remember, too, their young brains do NOT care how many degrees we have, what we did when we were 'their' age, or how much money we make.  They will continue to make decisions in their lives same as we did.  But hopefully they will make the wise decision because they will have you, as their teacher, to be supportive, unwavering, and tough as nails...by any means necessary.

Parents

One of the biggest challenges I face in my daily job is having to deal with parents.  There are few parents in my line of work, that are 'normal'.  As Dolgin suggests, a lot of the issues that students deal with often stem from the family units.  Not often is it that I have a normally functioning family.  Typically, there are bitter divorces, absent fathers, siblings in prison, parent drug use, parent mental health issues or a combination of all of them. The apple doesn't fall far, sadly.  One needs to keep this in mind when trying to reach out to the family for support for their child.  Please don't get me wrong, there are some families who want nothing but the best for their child, however, there are those few that simply don't.  The parents I am referring to are those who get high with their kids, steal their medication for their own use, allow abuse by outsiders, or those who are just too busy to pay any attention.  I hope against hope you won't have to run into these kinds of parents; but I bet you will.  If you do, here's what I suggest:
1.  Keep calling the parent.  You never know what they are dealing with.
2.  As a mandated report, it is your obligation to contact the appropriate authorities when it is necessary.  That's a hard call to make but you must do it if it is in the best interest of the child.
3.  Remember, you're not the bad guy.  Hopefully you will have a supportive administration that will back your decisions.
4.  Find your own positive outlets.  Our job is not an easy one and we are constantly bombarded with issues that we, as children, may never have faced.  It's imperative that you maintain your own sanity.
5.  Don't give up.

Digital Natives

I love telling stories.  I always have.  Once I had a professor who gave us an assignment to “tell a story”.  Jackpot.  That professor believed that to be an effective teacher, you had to be a good story teller.  I loved that assignment.  I told about how the airport “O’Hare” got its name and how it was tied to Al Capone.  Fascinating.  I’ve never forgotten that story.  I tell it often.  Most people don’t know how it got its name or who O’Hare was.  He was a hero in WWII, and his dad was a hero too, although he was Al Capone’s lawyer.  Easy Eddie O’Hare ultimately gave information to the federal government that sent Capone to the slammer.   Then he was whacked.  Or so the story goes… I read an article that isn’t quite as violent or mysterious; however it is just as fascinating.  A young lady, Kim, a 6th grader, decided to do a digital story of her family and how they emigrated from rural China.  She digitized a picture of the family and their internal struggles between their work ethic and her need to assimilate to the United States way of life.  Then the fire came.  She memorialized a fire that destroyed her family’s home they had struggled so hard to build.  There were scanned before and after pictures.  There was somber and then uplifting music.  She created a digital symphony while all the while telling the story of not the fire but the realization that the perception of one another changed throughout their struggle and their rebuilding.  As did their house, they broke down and rebuilt their relationship.  I wonder if she would have been able to capture the story simply by using basic human language. The basis of this article is not Kim’s story but the fact that she created the story, first.  The author explains while digital media is powerful, the story itself must be composed first, much like a symphony.  Bach and Mozart didn’t simply sit down and play their masterpieces.  They were created, developed, erased, rewritten, and scripted.  This is the essences of the article.  The author states, “Writing is key.  Even though the students’ final products are media-based, the most important tool used in the creation of the digital story is writing scripts and story treatments.” (Ohler, 2005).  He also states, “Oral storytelling is a powerful way for students to develop their own voices and discover what events and details are essential to their story.” (Ohler, 2005).   What can an educator take from this?  Use what you have but don’t forget what’s important.  The story is what’s important; how it’s told is just a means to an end.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not opposed to technology.  In fact, I embrace it wholeheartedly.  I’m writing this on my laptop, using my mifi, while half-screening my own typing and viewing the internet at the same time, while my IPod plays music that I have downloaded onto my ITunes, and subsequently synced it to ICloud.  Prensky is right.  “It’s very serious, because the single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language.” (Prensky, 2001).   Imagine the same assignment being given by an inflexible digital immigrant.  The assignment would be an oral presentation in front of the class, first writing an outline using bullet points, then a graphic organizer, then a rough draft having to use the dictionary for definitions and spelling, then a final draft using your best penmanship.  Would Kim have told the same story?  Would her struggle and ultimate self-awareness have come across?  Maybe, maybe not. “Not-so-smart (or not-so-flexible) immigrants spend most of their time grousing about how good things were in the “old country.” (Prensky, 2001) I’m proud to be a digital native.  I’m not only skilled at the ways of the computer world for my own personal use, but I proudly use it and encourage it with my students.  How often do I hear about a student who is a ‘trouble maker’ because he is always texting in class?  Well, no kidding.  That’s what they do.  Why not harness that need for the technology instant gratification into something educational?  What about message boards for high school algebra?  What about instant messaging for communications class?  What about a type of Facebook for Physics?  I’m certain that I would post lots of questions on that board for physics!  Who says the teacher is the only person with the answer?  Peer coaching or tutoring is powerful. Both Prensky and Ohler are absolutely correct.  Media is powerful.  Learn it. Use it.  But don’t forget it’s the story that’s important.  Every student has a story.  Just give them the tools to create their own symphony. Let me tell you about a conversation I recently had.  “Hey, Mom!  Watch this!  Hey, Mom!  Can you tape this on your IPhone and then upload it to YouTube and then email it to Grandma?”  This conversation took place with my daughter…who is SIX.  My little six year old, princess in training who was dancing around in her Cinderella costume while doing her own version of ballet.   I may be a digital native, but I’m definitely a first generation native who will easily be outdated by my kids who are 5 and 6 and can navigate the internet almost as well as I can.   If digital immigrants don’t get on the digital media train, it’s going to run right over them.  Then they will be stuck waiting for letters on the Pony Express from their grandkids to come in the mail with a stamp while sitting in their retirement homes not knowing to how to work the remote for their DVR satellite cable box and romanticizing about the good ole’ days.  By the way, Grandma, that letter’s not coming.  Your grandkids are too busy creating the next generation IPad in the garage.     Ohler, J. (2005). The world of digital storytelling.Educational Leadership, 63(4), 44-47. Retrieved from http://imoberg.com/files/World_of_Digital_Storytelling Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On The Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.

Steve Update

In a previous post I wrote about Steve, a young man who I could not have been more proud of for graduating high school, which was no small feat for Steve.  I am heartbroken to report that Steve took his own life on Saturday, June 30...two weeks shy of his 18th birthday, 3 short weeks after his graduation.  While keeping the details private, there are several indications that it was intentional.  Sadly, there was one last Facebook posting.

I could easily get angry with his Facebook friends...Why didn't they do anything?  How come they didn't call someone?  Well, the fact is, Steve felt he didn't have any friends and his last posting, while riddled with despair, didn't specifically say what was about to happen.

What about his mom?  Steve's mom had, quite frankly, been a pain in my ass.  She called me often, for good or for bad.  She would call to thank me one day, and then complain about a teacher the next day.  She would call for advice, for guidance, or sometimes just to talk, it seemed.  You know what made her a unique parent?  She cared.  She tried.  She called for help, for advice, for guidance.  When Steve wouldn't want to come to school one day, she would call me to say "What am I supposed to do?  He won't get out of bed?".  In one of our many tear-filled conversations over the past few days, I told her that she can take comfort in knowing she tried everything she could.  Steve chose to continue to use drugs. 

One thing (of many) that I have learned over the past few days is this:  It is HARD to be the boss, when really all I want to be is a person.  I had to say out loud to myself, "Hold it together Lori.  You're the boss." before making the initial phone calls to the staff.  I had to remain as professional as possible when informing mom of the final Facebook post.  Mom has asked that I give a eulogy at the funeral.  Man, am I struggling with that.  I am doing it because I am humbled and honored that she would think so much of me.  I'm terrified that I won't due Steve or his mom justice in my speech.  I'll keep you posted.....as life does indeed go on.