How to Help and Educate Homeless Students in Grades K-12

According to basic statistics - Talk Poverty: http://talkpoverty.org/basics/, as of 2012-2013 there are approximately 1.2 million homeless students in U.S. K-12 public schools. A homeless person is defined as one who does not have a "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence," according to the McKinney-Vento Act at a glance. 

When thinking about educating youth who do not have a stable home to go to at night nor a safe consistent place to rest or eat, how can you expect them to be alert, fresh, aware, or even know the subject matter during the day.  When teaching homeless youth, a teacher must plan for students not able to prepare or have background knowledge in subject matter.  The classroom is where learning takes place and should not be expected to happen outside the school building or day.  This may seem like an odd thing for an educator to say, but when a student and their family is more concerned with where they are going to sleep tonight, how can the teacher expect the student to complete homework. What can be done in a classroom to help guide, educate, and develop homeless students?  The chain is only as strong as its weakest link is true in schools too.  If our weakest students are deficient because of environments or actions out of their control, what can we help them control?  How can we offer supportive, caring, safe environment while teaching topics that may not mean anything to them?
First and foremost, students need to feel loved.  When a connection can be made between student and teacher, students are more willing to work hard, even if they don't like it.  A simple question or comment about the child, offering an insight showing you notice them can help students to feel safe.  
Second, structure in necessary.  When everything else around them is unknown, it is nice to have one thing that is constant and consistent in their lives. Maintaining a structured yet flexible, when needed, classroom can help students to be prepared for what is next. Students need to know the rules and when the rules are broken, what the consequences are.  Some students will break rules to get out of class, others my break rules to get attention, whatever the reason be prepared for it.  It may be better to have "no tolerance" as opposed to "zero tolerance."  As a teacher you have the ability to make things fair, but that does not always mean same.  No tolerance allows you the ability to make decisions based on the problem and circumstances as opposed to zero tolerance which paints you into a corner with only one consequence for the actions.
Third, patience and empathy.  Understanding that everyone has different experiences, that is what makes our world great. In a classroom that can be difficult to teach to.  Through patience you will be able to learn where the student is starting at and what they are able to do.  Through empathy you will be able to comfort and reassure the student(s) of their abilities great and small.  
Lastly, differentiation of instruction, topics, reading, math, etc can make all the difference.  Is it important that everyone does the same thing the same way?  No, but it is important that everyone learns the topics being studied.  Centers, individual work, book work, activity based learning, etc can reach different students in different ways.  Some students will be more comfortable working alone whereas others may blossom in a group.  It is not necessary that every child be good in every situation, but it is necessary that every student show they are able to learn.  
When working with students who bring baggage to your classroom, show them love, give them structure, be empathetic, and patient.  Then watch your students grow into amazing young adults!

Legacy

I have been thinking all day about my legacy.  What exactly does that mean?  We are traveling as a family to Nashville, TN for a business trip.  As my kids and I are looking for things to do while Daddy is working, we came across the Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame, and lots of others.  Those two in particular bring memories of my great Aunt Ardis.  She died two years ago, but she played at the Grand Ole Opry and was inducted in to the MN country music hall of fame.  All of this got my very complex thinking pattern cranking.  Ardis left a legacy of music and entertainment that will most likely die with my family.  There are not many who will sit down and search out the Yodeling Sweetheart of the 1950's and The Flame in downtown Minneapolis. 

This was all a passing thought earlier today, but as I sit waiting for my boys at AWANA and youth group, I am listening to music.  Two songs, back to back, none the less, were about leaving a legacy!  Even on shuffle!!!  God wants me to think about this, what does it mean to leave a legacy for my kids?  When I die, what is left?  What have I done that will be forever remembered?  My children of course!  What I show, share, teach, engage, with my kids will forever be my legacy.  

God gave us rules to abide by and share in the Bible, these tell us the difference between right and wrong.  Man doesn't decide that, God does.  God gave us a way to be with Him in Heaven, Jesus.  It is only by Jesus that we are no longer separated from God, who is a righteous judge.  We are all sinners and have fallen short of Christ.   This is how my legacy will be left.  Did I share the love of Christ with those I came in contact with?  Did I teach my children to do the same?  Have I prayed for others?  Have I shared my time, gifts, and finances with those God has led me to?  Have I helped to bring as many with me to Heaven as I can?  As my kids move on, find and marry a Christian woman that God has prepared for them, they will begin to share the legacy I am building every moment, both the good and the bad.  

If I died tonight, have I done, said, shown, shared, and loved all I can?  Right now my answer would be, no, I haven't!  I was short with my boys today, I yelled, I rolled my eyes instead of showing compassion.  God has impressed this upon my heart.  I need to change how I talk my body language, my sarcasm, my demeanor for my children.  This is a difficult task when children can be like fingernails on a chalkboard!  Philippians 4:13 says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  This is true!  Have I been running to Him or from Him?

Where are you at today?  Take up the full armor of God and run to Him!

Big Lake Man’s Robot Turns Winter Into Art « CBS Minnesota

Big Lake Man’s Robot Turns Winter Into Art « CBS Minnesota

This is just an amazing sight and creation of ice in Minnesota!  Roger Hanson is a computer programmer who has designed a program to spray water to create an ice tower!!

You have got to see it to believe it!

To Donate or Not to Donate

We have spent the last ten years managing Type I Diabetes in our family.  Imagine how frightening it would be to have a three year old boy and a doctor telling us, "Your son needs to go to St. Paul Childrens, IMMEDIATELY!  They are expecting you, we have already called!"  We had no idea what to expect or how we would manage.  Grandmas and Grandpas were frightened of hurting him by testing blood sugar or administering shots.  Mom and Dad were sleep deprived, emotionally drained, and son was managing as best as we could expect any three year old child to do.  As we grew into the disease, we learned more, understood more, and tried to do more.  I still find myself depending upon the doctors, even after ten years.  Understanding what insulin does in our son's body and what his blood sugars need to be is one thing, but making changes that could drop his numbers dangerously low, is another.

We use an Animus Ping insulin pump and it works well for our active, now thirteen, year old.  He plays football in the fall and has played baseball and soccer in the past.  We encourage him to always be active as it tends to help his blood sugars.  He is passionate about fishing and if he could do that all day every day of the year, he would!  Just check out the team shirt below!

I still find there are days where I am dragging from waking up every two hours to test his blood sugar, trying to gain insight as to how to change the basal and bolus rates.  I look at my sleeping baby and stare at his pin-pricked, calloused, discolored fingertips to find a good spot to poke for a test.  I maintain my composure but know in my heart that I would take this on for him if I could!  As we move into this weekend, we as a family, as for your support in finding both advanced treatments and a cure for Type I Diabetes.  Below is a link to our Team Zoubek page for the MOA Walk for a Cure.

Thank you for your support!

Team Zoubek Walk for a Cure

Common Assessments

Schools struggle with how to assess the students that walk through their doors. Many districts use tests such as NWEA or MAP testing.  This test is an adaptive test that moves up and down with the answers of the student, eventually leveling out their "grade level" score.  For many students this doesn't really show what they are capable of or how well they understand a topic.  Now, for teachers, there are ways to utilize the scores and build bridges for students, if they have honestly tried.  Many teachers become frustrated with the amount of testing that needs to be done.  Not only are there the regular quizzes, tests, and daily formative assessments but there are the summative assessments that are supposed to show growth, such as MAP.  In Minnesota there are also state tests called the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment  (MCA) that are taken in the spring.  Minnesota is now offering a online math test prep called the Optional Local Purpose Assessment (OLPA) to prepare for the MCA math test.  The results are only for the school/student and are to prepare for the spring MCA.
I would contend that if districts really wanted to see benefits of their teaching, they need to create common assessments that each grade level, course, and school will use.  These assessments would be used to see what is working in a classroom and what adjustments need to be made.  Teachers may continue to teach how they teach, but it will be telling if one class out performs another.  I would say changes would need to be made at that point.  The goal of this for teachers is collaboration.  Sharing what works, what doesn't, and how to become better teachers.  This in turn affects the performance of the students.
I encourage each parent, teacher, student, community member to become involved in making change at each level.  Our youth is too important to leave behind!

The Ice Project

The Ice Project

We have nearby neighbors that have a geo-thermal system heating their house.  Roger Hanson is his name and he is a computer programmer gone wild!  Check out the photos!!  

He has an amazing system for creating this and is working on getting this up on Facebook   As far as education is concerned, we are talking math, science, computer, language, marketing...the list goes on!  I have linked the title to his website showing more photos over time.  If you haven't been by his house to see this in person, this is the next best thing!
Enjoy!!

Money, time, and organizational savings

As I was adding my "Coke Rewards" points into my account this morning, I got to looking at all my school collections items and thought I would share this. My sons' schools collect all the food labels, milk tops, etc for extra supplies. It became overwhelming to keep track of all the small tokens. I have a small wall space tucked away behind some cupboards so I decided to use this as my collection area. I use push pins and sandwich bags to hang on the wall. After finishing, opening, cutting, etc each savable item I place it in the appropriate bag. After I have a full bag, I send it to school with one of the boys. This works out great when Grandma sends more in the mail as well! Remember every dime counts when everyone's dimes are counted together!! Don't forget that many schools have an inkjet cartridge recycling program that earns them money too! If you don't use your "Coke Rewards" donate them to your local school, if they don't have a program, email the principal to get one. Every little bit helps!

Ready...get set...go!

When, in your life, are you told "You have 45 minutes, begin!"  Only in school.  In the world of work, time is your own, each of us have our strengths and weaknesses.  We work towards deadlines, but at a pace that works for us.  Think about your colleagues; the one who takes a little longer to process, the one who is filled with anxiety due to pressure, the one who cannot finish a project in one sitting.  Our students are no different.  We are each designed in a special way.  We each have gifts that lend themselves to benefit the community in one way or another.  Does a time limit squash the strengths because it lends itself to the weaknesses instead?
How do we accommodate for the differences when testing?  Do we say you all must finish in this amount of time?  Do we send home tests every once and a while?  Do we give computerized tests?  Do we differentiate?  The hardest part as an educator is typically classroom management  and that, unfortunately, doesn't always lend itself to extended testing periods. In what ways are you meeting the needs of your students to show learning?  In what ways do you test; projects, reports, verbal assessments?  What about those students who have technology, how is the school accommodating to allow the use of technology?  How is the teacher accommodating technology?  School is a way to educate youth and ready them for the world, whether it be more school or work.
Think about how the world operates; interview, survey, collaborate with the community to truly get a picture of what it is like.  Just as we used to say of our college professors, "You haven't been in the classroom in years, how can you tell me how to teach!"  The same applies for K-12 teachers.  We live in a world where everything revolves around our classroom.  How many times do you stop to think how does this apply in the real world?  How can students make the connection between what I am teaching and what they will need to use?
What about the question of how many other classes a student has?  Most schools have seven hours a day.  If every teacher gave homework on the same day, how do you think that student will feel?  Of course, rarely does this happen, but I will say on most days the four core classes assign homework.
There are many questions asked in this blog, the answers are up to each individual.  It is the responsibility of the teacher to become the best at what they do by reaching out, researching best practices, meeting the needs of students in any way possible, and knowing what works with their students.
The sole purpose of this writing was to discuss what benefit or hindrance time constraints have on testing and if they are needed.  However, the more processing that took place, the more questions that arose regarding how you work as a teacher to benefit the student.  The next time a test comes up, think about how an alternative assessment can take place.  A project showing understanding, check points, study groups, etc.  The list is only as confined as your thoughts!


Off the Clock: Giving Students More Time to Demonstrate Learning

The Warm Fuzzies of Education

In the process of working on a mission statement today, I have read several articles on working with at-risk youth.  There are several interesting details I came across.

1. Despite research, schools tend to stick to the "old" way of teaching.
Why is that?  200 hundred years ago, heck 50 years ago, what students needed to be prepared for is not what our students need now.  Most of our kids are not going to be farmers or working in an assembly line, as that work is few and far between with Mexico and China.  Our youth needs to be prepared to sell what our American companies farm out to other countries.  Our youth needs to be prepared to work with other cultures, languages, traditions.  Our youth needs to be prepared to make little and to work hard to make more.

2. Worksheet education forced by standardized testing does not provide enough provocation or depth.
Of course not but it is easy...wait a minute, is that how we should teach?  Easy?  I will admit, I am guilty of it.  I am short on time and money, so what is easiest, plus it makes good notes?  Worksheets!!  Let's rethink this, kids have Siri, she can answer pretty much anything.  Kids have smart phones with internet access and unlimited data (for now), why do they need worksheets?  How can we teach a deeper level of understanding and thinking by giving worksheets?  What is the best way to answer the infamous question "When am I ever going to use this?"  Relate what they are doing to life, create scenarios that make sense to use while teaching the skills they must be tested on.  Force communication between youths, ask them to critically think about what they are doing.  This may sound time intensive, and initially it may be, but if you ask the right questions, assign the proper type of work, the students will reap the benefits and your room will be come that much brighter with all the light bulbs going off!

3. "Assume nothing.  Often if you have a troublesome kid, you have a story.  Trouble is usually a symptom, not a problem.  Trouble doesn't come from a vacuum, it comes from life."  Jocelyn Pinkerton
Wow!  She hit the nail on the head!  How many educators assume that when they hear that kid coming down the hall they automatically conclude the kid is trouble.  Get to the root of the problem.  Why does the student act out in class?  Why does he bully others in the hall?  Why doesn't she hand in her work on time?  Have you ever stopped to think, what is life like at home for this child?  Are the parents home?  Is there an older sibling picking on them?  Are they being accosted by an Aunt/Uncle/close friend?  Do they have to babysit their younger siblings?  What happens when the siblings are sick, who takes care of them?  Are there drugs involved?  The list goes on and on.

4. Large classes a young ages
The Federal Class Size Reduction Study (CSR) found that small classes could benefit students.  Who knew, right? The Tennessee STAR program (student-teacher achievement ratio) found students randomly assigned to 13-17 students in a class outperformed their peers.  This shouldn't surprise anyone.  Smaller groups foster better discussion and deeper understanding.  The purpose of smaller classes isn't that they cover more material, but that the material covered is about understanding, delving deeper, answering the question of "why" it works.  Giving the teacher and students a chance to communicate more effectively also offers other benefits such as: communication skills, higher order thinking skills, teamwork, etc.

As a society, we are growing and developing, but our educational system is remaining the same.  What kinds of jobs will be available for our youth?  The sky's the limit!  Technology will allow people to work from where ever they are, doing virtually anything!  Give your students the benefit of a quality education   Ultimately, as educators, we direct our youth where to go.  If they are failing, who is partially at fault?  If they are dropping out, who could have intervened?   If they are struggling and no one is there to help, what will happen?  It is time we change the educational system to best meet the needs of our students, before it is too late!

Cup Stacking, Really?

The link below takes you to an article regarding how cup stacking helps students perform better in academics.  How can this be??  Activity...it helps kids learn?  Honestly, this shouldn't surprise anyone.  Think of the times when you were sitting in a meeting and you were twirling or tapping a pencil, day dreaming, moving your leg, spinning your chair, etc.   You get the point.  We are created to be active.  We were not made to sit still, but to work hard all our lives.  This is one more point to keeping physical education every day for all students.  Even if kids "don't like to change" they still need to move.  Most children do not think of the long term consequences on their bodies by being stagnant, that is why as adults, we need to make those important decisions for them, whether they like it or not.
The other piece to this is what about games like Chess, Checkers, and Jenga?  The brain teasers that force you to move your hands in coordination with your brain?  All of these things have a place in school, whether it be before, during, or after. As educators, we need to find time to work kids out physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Challenge students, giving them the opportunities to be successful.
The saying goes that teachers make the worst students.  Think about this...what is the worst part of meetings?  Lecture?  Sitting still?  Other things on your mind?  How do you think our students feel?  They have just as much going on!  As multitasking increases, the brain will become more flighty and almost random, as there are so many pieces to the puzzle of life.  This is seen daily in the eyes, actions, and behaviours of our students and parents!  We need to look in the mirror and take inventory of ourselves as well.  As educators, the community, parents, and students look to us for the answers.  It is OK to admit you don't know, but be sure it is followed up with "I will work hard to figure it out!"
Life is not going to slow down, but the educational system has stopped.  What can be done to move forward with the resources we have and offer the highest quality education for all?  This school in Missouri has found one outlet to help students perform better.  What are your ideas?

Wentzville Students Stack up to the competition

State of Education Today

As I think back to my career as a student and my transformation to a teacher then administrator, I wonder what has happened to education. I spent many a day listening to my teachers, learning from them in a boring uneventful way, most of the time. I walked away with the knowledge of how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide as well as read, process,synthesis, etc. You get the picture, I was prepared for the future, what ever that may bring. The problems I faced verses the problems my sons' face are much different. Now they are up against the NCLB, Minnesota State Standards, and Common Core wall and teachers are focusing on how to make their teaching better by spending more time in meetings and less time with students...how this makes sense, I am not sure, but to the district, it does. Gone are the days of coming in early or staying late to give additional help. Now it is, I have a meeting and the district says I have to go. This is by no means restricted to only the district I live in, but is a virus spreading through out the state of Minnesota. Charter schools are popping up with themed programming, enticing the parents and teachers into their school.  The goal of a charter is to out-perform the local district.  The question is are they?  If not, what needs to happen to get the schools to begin to not just out-perform, but to share, collaborate, make it better across the state!!??  It is not about one being better than another, though competition naturally breeds that, but it is about the state of education today. How do we get the "entire" student population to care about learning instead of asking, "when am I ever going to use this?"  How do we teach relevant topics, skills, and citizenship in a way that will make sense to our children and involve the community as well.