A Puzzle about my Classroom

Ungrading/Student Projects; Attention/Reflection; Poetry; Piano

I’m working on improving my classroom/pedagogical philosophy. Some pillars of my philosophy are kindness, relevance, and agency. I want the work we do in class to be relevant to my students' lives. I loathe busy work.

Agency refers to my students' ability and opportunity to take ownership of their learning to make something of themselves. I want them to chart a course and pursue their interests.

I've been reading books to enrich my views as a teacher. Last newsletter, I mentioned principles from Ungrading. Because of this book, I've realized I need to learn more about effective self-assessments and student driven projects. I've added another book to my reading shelf: Project Based Learning.

The current puzzle is as follows:

1. Students are habituated to optimize their grades.

2. Grades don't lead to learning.

3. Ungrading and moving to project based learning enables students to flourish and learn.

4. Yet: ungrading/project based learning can also enable students to kick back and do minimal work.

5. The question: How do I encourage rigor without prescribing work that feeds the I-have-to-do-this-for-a-grade mentality?

Success as a teacher depends not on doing everything right (this is impossible) but on actively reflecting on one's craft, disposition, and philosophies.

I'm trying to develop a reflective disposition.

Quotes on Attention and Reflection

Placing quotes out of context alters (likely decreases) their impact, yet here are a few:

“The person who consumes from better sources, gets better thoughts. The person who asks better questions, gets better answers. The person who builds better habits, gets better results. It's not the outcomes. It's the inputs.” -  James Clear

“If you want to win the war for attention, don’t try to say ‘no’ to the trivial distractions you find on the information smorgasbord; try to say ‘yes’ to the subject that arouses a terrifying longing, and let the terrifying longing crowd out everything else.” - David Brooks

“It is our capacity to see unfamiliar situations as familiar ones...that enables us to bring our past experiences to bear on the unique case... The artistry of a practitioner...hinges on the range and variety of the repertoire that he brings to the unfamiliar situations... Moreover, each new experience of reflection...enriches his repertoire.” - Donald A. Schön

Creative Writing

I start my classes with 15 minutes of reading/writing time. I try to read and write with my students. Here’s an entry from this week that I’m happy about.

Self-induced mini-migraine in my brain 
because I try to do so much with my head: 
taking stride with the words you said, 
writing notes, so I don't forget. 

I'm hesitant to let go 
of my need to hold on
to silence. 
It keeps my heart safe, and
the way my head aches 
just from thinking about it 
convinces me more and 
more to stay closed. 
Bar entry. Block exits. 
Because if my head hurts from so little, 
imagine what the heart would feel.

From School

• “Mr. Merrill, I have a huge brain idea. What if we just worked 2290 hours a day and then we didn't have to work for the rest of the year.”

• Student 1: “This is like hippie girl music.”
  Student 2: “That’s perfect because Merrill is kinda like a hippie girl.”

• “Insurance fraud is the way to go.”

• “I woke up feeling like a crusty chip.”

• “Mr. Merrill, where do you find these videos? Cringe.com??”

• My anti-social student after I “force” her to interact in a group: “Can I go back to my habitat in the corner?”

• Student with a very ponderous face: “Will we still be alive in 2028...? Wait. That's a stupid question.”

• “Mr. Merrill, isn't this the most scrumptious bag of snacks you've ever seen?” *holds up a bag of carrots and snap peas*

World Piano Day

A piece I composed on World Piano Day (March 29th). The first 45 seconds exist for the last 35.

Goodies

Two Acoustic Covers ☞ Hunter’s vocal flips in “Easy On Me” are so nice.

Carefulwords.com ☞ Thesaurus meets quote curation.

In Praise of the Gods ☞ A well-written, interesting critique of rationality. Simon Sarris is the author (he’s also the man behind carefulwords.com).

Cheers!

p.s. I want to buy a new camera.