So Everyone Shines...

So Everyone Shines...

 

So Everyone Shines...

It's a strange thing about we human creatures. Tell us what we need to improve, and our faults seem to magnify. But when you tell us what we do well, we get better at it...and our faults are less pronounced.

When I started SCORE, I interviewed 600 students who were attending 10 nearby high schools. All 600 were struggling students...some labeled gifted, some learning disabled, but most in that allusive "middle."

The solution to their underachievement was, of course, very complex. One of the major factors, though, dealt with the way they approached learning and how their style interacted or conflicted with that of their teachers. We label it their "personality style." It is another dimension from their learning modality, with subtle differences.

From that difference, in SCORE classes, we learn to "teach so everyone shines 1/4 of the time."

The Melancholy personality is detail-oriented. Since over half of our teachers learn that way, we do a pretty good job teaching to these students (roughly 38%), but they sometimes struggle after they leave us because they haven't adequately learned application principles.

The Phlegmatic personality is relationship-oriented. Approximately 1/3 of our teachers learn this way, and 12% of our students fall into this category. They need to feel valued in order to learn. They struggle if there is conflict of any kind in the classroom. They are best at the gestalt of learning, and many will become our social workers or guidance counselors. They do struggle, however, with details and goals.

The Choleric personality is goal-oriented. Few teachers (approximately 6%) think this way naturally (which could explain why we struggle so with outcome objectives and testing). These students (about 12%) love a good debate and may take an unpopular side to an issue just for the energy the conflict generates. They will work hard for a teacher they respect; they will sabotage a teacher they believe is incompetent.

The Sanguine personality is process-oriented. These students make up 38% of the classroom, but only 2% of our teachers. We don't always do a good job teaching to them; but once we get these students through the system, they become good workers. They are naturally gifted in practical application.

SCORE trains teachers to vary teaching methodology so "everyone shines 1/4 of the time." Every day, in every class, do something that is detailed to energize the Melancholy; something that is relational and reflective to energize the Phlegmatic; something that is goal oriented and allows for decision-making for the Choleric; and something that is interactive and allows for movement and spontaneity for the Sanguine.

When student needs are met, they are more likely to master content. When student needs are met, they are able to adapt their behavior to function as they need to in the classroom.

We study this concept in greater detail in our Study Skills workshop. Why not join us for the next one! Better yet, sponsor your own.  Visit our web site to learn how.

When You Can’t Change Things

When You Can’t Change Things

 

When Nothing Can Be Done...

In times of loss, the holidays can hurt. Our students’ behavior may deteriorate, partly because the holidays bring their own sense of fun...and partly because they are a reminder that someone or something is missing from our own lives.  And...our behavior can change if we have had a tough year.  Instinctively, we want to close our eyes and make the reminders of our circumstances go away. Unfortunately, we can't; the holidays will happen with or without our permission.

Since you can't really forget, plan to remember. There are things you can do when nothing can be done. There are things you can choose not to do if they would be hurtful.

Remember:

• Something from your childhood.
• Something from your adult years.
• Something since your loss.

Do:

• Find a way to remember
• Be good to yourself.
• Spend time with family or friends.
• Spend some time alone.
• Create a new memory or tradition.
• Hold on to an old memory or tradition.
• Give to someone in need.
• Find a way to love your kids/grandkids.
• Laugh
• Cry.
• Ask, “What Would He/She Want Me To Do?
• Give Yourself Permission to Grieve
• Give Yourself Permission to Enjoy!

Don't:

• Don’t spend time with toxic people.
• Don’t forget the “reason for the season.”
• Don’t allow yourself to wallow in the cynical.
• Don’t be “Super-Mom/Dad.”
• Don’t forget to dream.

Oh...and Remember:

1. •“This, too, shall pass.”

Enjoy your holiday season.  January begins another year.

Join us on LiveStream at 9:00 AM PST on November 11 to discuss getting through the holidays.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

 

 

Content or Relationship? Both!

Content or Relationship?  Both!

 

Cover content or build relationships? That is the question.

Both. That is the answer.

Schools of the past were charged with teaching content. Still today, most of our teaching is high content and low relationship. This approach works for between 1/3 and 1/2 of our students. But a 30% to 50% success rate is not acceptable. We must change.

High relationship and low content? No, no, a thousand times no! We have no business doing anything on a school campus that doesn't impact content. Content is what we get paid to do.

What, then? High content, high relationship! We pick up the remaining 50% of our students when we learn to infuse the two. SCORE...and every other effective reform initiative...builds on this concept. It is the only thing that works in today's busy world.

Here are SCORE's "Top Ten" strategies for building productive classroom relationships:

1. 1.Share a personal learning struggle with your students. Strange as it seems, some of our students don't know learning was ever difficult for their teachers.
2. 2.Stand at the door and greet each student by name.
3. 3.Walk around the room to collect homework, one student at a time. That way they can't get through a day without facing you if they didn't do it.
4. 4.Write your own tests, and include student names in the examples or prompts.
5. 5.Tell them you miss them...and what you miss about them...when they're absent.
6. 6.Discuss your observations and concerns with students when you see a behavior change. They're often begging someone to care enough to notice.
7. 7.Share a personal strategy with them. For example, my favorite teaching web site is http://www.free.ed.gov. I find a wealth of information and links to resources there. Hope it helps you!
8. 8.Share a weakness with them. Sometimes, for example, I'll draw something on the board. The problem is I can't draw. After they finish laughing at my feeble attempts, they're more willing to take a risk.
9. 9.Peek over their shoulders as they work and validate something they've done. Too often, we mention only their mistakes. SCORE is successful because we try to catch them in what they do well. When they feel good about their strengths, they have the self esteem power to compensate for their weaknesses.
10. 10.Be their surrogate parent. SCORE's Parent Component motto is "Every child deserves a pushy parent. If they don't have one, you're it!"

 

Study Skills Summer Institute, 2011

Hear what participants have to say about the SCORE Study Skills curriculum and in-service! This great training can come to you. http://www.lockettlearning.com

Ode to Ridiculous Beginnings

I visited a classroom where all students were engaged in learning and using high-level skills.  They arrived on time and participated both enthusiastically and actively.  The bell rang, and I tailed six of the students to their next class.  Amazingly, in second period, none of them could read and they didn't have time to walk from one class to another without being tardy.

One of my schools ran a semester SCORE class.  First semester was marvelous.  The students that joined second semester, however, in the words of their teacher, "were already jaded." 

I struggled with discipline as a student teacher.  My master teacher taught me about respect.  Yes, I want the students to like me...but not at the expense of having them respect me.  Respect pays dividends, and the liking will come.  Liking without respect is a lose-lose way to teach.

So here we go...

Ode to Ridiculous Beginnings

Ode to all teachers who have learned how

To keep their students engaged in the "now."

They come in on time, and they're ready to learn.

They find class exciting and sometimes absurd.

Ode to beginnings that cause every class

To foster a school culture that celebrates en masse

They know from day one that it's good to succeed

And that they will be rewarded in word and in deed.

Ode to respect for all teachers and kids.

May each day find them challenged with knowledge and fizz.

May they know that their efforts will bring them true praise

And find themselves learning to conquer school's maze.

Ode to expectations ridiculously high.

Ode to achieve them and learn to ask why.

To creativity and energy that cause us to yearn

To do greater and better and ridiculously learn.

Need help?  Check us out!  http://www.lockettlearning.com

Study Skills

http://www.score-ed.com Teach study skills, create and develop good study habits, and turn your classroom into a rich learning environment. Study skills equals student success. Students earn high test scores, participate actively in class, and use effective strategies. When students are successful, you enjoy teaching. Find great curriculum and in-service education. Validated by the United States Department of Education.

The SCORE Story

SCORE is effective in getting high-risk students turned on to learning, achieving, graduating, and eligible to enter the college or career of their choice. SCORE is validated for effectiveness by the United States Department of Education. Your school can become a SCORE school. Visit www.Score-Ed.com to find out how.
http://www.LockettLearningSystems.com; http://www.HomeSweetHomework.com; http://www.Score-Ed.com

A Future and a Hope

Hope for the Future 

 

Often I sit in meetings to hear educators bemoan the recent data.  They ask, "What can be done," but they ask it with a resignation that makes them powerless to bring about change. 

Fortunately, we know exactly what students need to find success.  It involves both rich content and holistic support.  When they find success, they stay in school.  When they stay in school, they graduate.

SCORE endorses a comprehensive, holistic approach to educational reform, based on the following plan of action:

1. •For students to be eligible for their chosen college or career by the time they graduate from high school, they must participate in a rich core curriculum leading to appropriate content mastery. SCORE students are placed in rigorous academic classes that enable them to enter the college or career of their choice upon high school graduation.  College and career eligibility involves being able to read, write, think and calculate at a level of content mastery; to be able to communicate effectively and work on a team toward a goal. 
2. •If students are to be successful in these classes, they need to learn effective study skills. SCORE students use powerful study skills. Study skills are both taught formally and reinforced across the curriculum and in tutorials.
3. •If students are to be successfully up-placed in the curriculum, they will need academic support. Academic support is available through SCORE classes, tutorials, and group study sessions.
4. •If high-risk students are to be successful in a rich common core curriculum, teachers must use whole-brain, state-of-the-art, multiple modality teaching techniques. SCORE teachers, with study skills as a basis, use strategies that empower students and state-of-the-art methodologies.
5. •If students are to be successful in a rich academic curriculum, they must eliminate negative factors in their lives that would detract from their success. SCORE programs mentor students and enlist appropriate support networks when a student has a need that is negatively impacting academics.
6. •In order to be successful academically, students need support at all levels: family, community, peer, and education. SCORE programs foster positive peer pressure, family communication, community support, and teacher mentorship.

If any of these elements are missing from a program, the end result will be diminished. When these elements support one another toward a common goal, the results in student achievement are dramatic.