Sharon Doyle - March/April - The Final Post

     As I selected the topic for my final post for this course, it seemed to end where I began.  Earlier, I wrote from Debbie Miller's Is There Enough Time?.  To end, I looked to Routman in Chapter 12, You Only Have So Much Time.  I clearly see the word 'time' as a four-letter word.  I have yet to find a single teacher as we approach the final nine weeks of the year facing so many interruptions with testing, holidays, and general spring and summer fever, looking for additional curriculum at their grade level because all has been taught.  Instead, March Madness to me is equated with high anxiety, stress, and a general mood that describes one of guarded desperation.

    Routman brings me back to a more centered approach while I can almost hear her yelling, "Take a breath, people!"  She brings me back to those strategies that I know work: use your experience to plan well and embrace the craziness in your plans, remember to think about your goals and the necessities within the curriculum, ask yourself frequently 'why' and if you can't answer this with integrity, move on.  Also, at this time of year, it is important for students to feel satisfaction and success.  We don't want them to give up now, this is a critical time for them to feel empowered.  Engagement and encouragement sprinkled with genuine fun will go so much further than complicated skill and drill activities.  Students also need a sense of closure and recognition of just what they have accomplished.  Reviews that look like games that demonstrate to students a visible measure of what they have accomplished and recognition of what they may not have yet truly mastered provides the teacher and students with valuable information for this time of year. 

     Sometimes, I must remind myself that it is me, not them that has become fatigued.  As each assignment, checklist, and job bombards me, I become less capable of handling the mess.  Routman reminds us that when students are in the room, make every minute count.  This is a time to revisit the lesson plans, assess what has been accomplished and what is needed to lead them into the new year and close this year with a feeling of accomplishment.  This is also a time to evaluate, not so much the students, we know there is enough of that already required, but ourselves.  This is a time I ask my students how I have done for them.  Do they feel that I as a teacher have provided them the support they needed.  At the beginning of the year, I chart with students their expectations through interest surveys for me as their teacher.  I remind them of these ideas and we take a pulse of which have been fulfilled and what is left.  I also ask them if they as students have met their commitments to the class.  I find that this helps students to refocus as to why they are in the classroom and find it easier to maintain attention to the very end. 

      Finally, Routman reminds us of the need to maintain and create structure to maximize participation.  This time of year, we must structure every moment or our students fill the moments with their most creative ideas, not necessarily productive, but definitely creative.  Varying group dynamics with individual, small group, and whole group activities provides variety and interest.  Rubrics that are given at the beginning of the lesson help students maintain focus and holds students accountable.  Assessments that help me recognize 'strugglers' are also important allowing me to provide additional support for students who may not necessarily feel successful.  I want students to leave the year feeling successful and as stated earlier 'time' is the dreaded constant.