The Teachers of the Classroom

Today I handed over the control of the course curriculum to my IB Biology students.  Did I feel compelled to justify my decision?  Of course I did.  After listening to my 90 minute lectures and/or participating in laboratory experiments or tutorials every period the entire school year, attending a 6 hour LAB DAY on a Saturday as well as evening and weekend tutorials, submitting their lab portfolios for internal assessment in a timely manner, and surviving a two day IB exam, I felt that they had proven themselves as dedicated students.  Now it was time to give them some autonomy.  I know that I stand in the minority in my way of thinking, but I contend that we underestimate the ability of our students to self-regulate.   Clearly students are not accustomed to the teacher saying, “Go ahead, you figure this out.”  It then leads to some uncertainty.  But within minutes the tone of the group changed and I sat back while my students became the teachers of the classroom.

The group quickly agreed that they would like to do presentations on scientific areas of interest during the remainder of the semester.  This could have gotten tricky since there are a limited number of periods remaining in which we will meet, and one is only two days away.  Collaborators that they are, however, one bright student immediately offered to take that early slot.  Another followed suit.  Amazing.  I wish I had been videotaping this scenario play out.  Corporate America could learn some valuable insights from my I.S. teens. 

The issue of grades was then brought to the table.  Again, I told my students that I entrusted them to define this aspect of the assignment.  Two students volunteered to create a rubric for the class and post it on Facebook (as well as send it to me).  Expectations.  They understand the importance of knowing that the standards should be clearly set from the onset so that everyone will have the maximum opportunity for success.  They can perceive what it means to be fair, and that their grades cannot be gifted, but must be earned.

What purpose does this approach to learning serve?  My students are savvy and will know exactly how much work to do in order to earn the maximum allotted points.  But in researching an area of interest, knowing that their “A” is basically guaranteed, some may find that they enjoy learning more when the work isn’t thrust upon them.  Some will figure out how to connect Biology to other academic disciplines, such as History or Psychology.  Some will decide to make their presentations fun and/or funny to please their peers.  And if for even one student, this is his/her finest memory of IB Biology, then this decision will have been worth it.  The intrinsic value of learning was lost for most students somewhere along with their days of hopscotch.  I look forward to seeing what they come up with when empowered to become the teachers of the classroom.

Recess

Written by Ms. Berman
Dedicated to the Class of 2013

Sometimes I give my high school science students a five minute break during the 90 minute class period.  I call it “recess.”  Every time I say this, someone chuckles.  I choose this word intentionally, as it defines the mood I am trying to capture… a time in their lives when things were more carefree, when play was a natural part of their day, when they didn’t sit in classrooms for three consecutive 90 minute periods.  As an I.S. alumnus currently attending Yale recently said, “If a college student were to sign up for three classes back to back, everyone would think they were crazy!  I can’t believe I used to do this!”  And yet, of course, she did… just one year ago.  So if I feel that my students need/deserve a brief break in the monotony of the day, I am going to give it to them.

However, this is what I have observed…. Before recess, the students are lethargic, sometimes disengaged, and exhibiting a loss of enthusiasm.  After all, it is almost the end of the school year and everyone is exhausted.  Afterwards, however, after the students have either gotten out of their seats to chat with their peers or gone outside to toss a ball or blow bubbles, they return to their work energized and more on task.  As much as they hate to see recess come to an end, I only have to ask them once to get back to work.  Despite what one might expect, they do not take advantage of this opportunity, but rather are just grateful to have it at all.  They are undoubtedly more efficient. 

So that leads me to the following questions: Why don’t we have more time for play built into the daily curriculum, even at the high school level?  When did we decide that school could no longer be fun?  Who is making these rules that are impacting the lives of millions of teenagers across the nation and why am I caving to them? 

As an educator I do have a professional responsibility to complete mandated standards and assure that my students are prepared for future courses of instruction.  I then ask myself what is my moral responsibility to see that my students are prepared for life, and how can I best assure their success in that?  As simplistic as it may sound, unstructured playtime is one of the biggest gifts that I can offer them.  Many students were stripped of this way too early in their development and are thus craving the simple pleasures and activities associated with early childhood education, such as coloring, tossing a rubber ball, and making silly putty.  But my contention is that it is never too late to enjoy “playtime” and that I am equally obligated to offer my students a well-rounded classroom experience in order to slow down the societal accelerated push to adulthood.  With overwhelmingly large class sizes and the constant flux of the district that has tainted this academic year, I haven’t had sufficient time to focus upon this issue.  Regardless, I believe that every educator should aim to improve his/her teaching style each year, or quit the profession. 

Thus, I will return next fall renewed.  I will think of new ways to integrate fun activities into my lessons.  I will draw from the creative minds of my students.  Standards will be taught, but life will be experienced.  This is my commitment to my students.  My classes will still be rigorous.  Tests will be administered.  Labs write ups will be done in the IB format. Simultaneously, however, I will emphasize the importance of play, exploration, creativity, and just having fun.  I will continue to offer my students recess.

Attitude is like a Virus

Written by Ms. Berman

Attitude is like a virus.  Just as a virus cannot exist without hijacking a host cell and taking over its machinery, attitude cannot exist without entering a person’s mind and becoming a part of his or her thought processes.  Some viruses are innocuous and don’t have a significant impact on our immune system, just as some thoughts have little effect on our way of thinking.  In addition, some viruses remain dormant within the body for years before rapidly invading a multitude of host cells and increasing at an exponential rate.  These viruses, the ones left unchecked, are often the most serious, just as the negative messages cast into a person’s mind can crop up years later, creating an outburst of insecurity and self-doubt. 

All of us hear negative messages spoken on a daily basis.  The decision we have to make is how to respond to such messages.  Useful questions to ask are “What are the odds that there is validity to this information?” and “How does this information benefit me?”  It is critical to take the emotion out of the intellectual processing of such situations in order to properly assess the value of the many incoming messages that are flung upon us each day.  We, as humans with the ability to reason, get to choose which statements we are willing to process and integrate as a part of our stream of consciousness (or subconscious mind).  In addition, we choose which messages we will reinforce by either repeating such messages to our peers or ignoring them.   The relatively recent emergence of the internet and smartphones has made it easier for “attitude networking” to occur.  Thus, a simple statement, initially based upon opinion, can quickly start to appear as a fact as it is transmitted through a network of people in a short period of time.  As humans, it is easy to forgo control over our cognitive processing center, and react on an emotional level to such statements as they typically elicit such a response. 

The old clichés “thick-skinned” and “let that roll off your back” are applicable to the concept of attitudinal responses.  Those who tend to be less reactive to the attitude networking that typically occurs in any group environment, will usually end up with fewer negative messages cluttering their brain.  This requires filtering fact from fiction, but enhances autonomy and self-empowerment when it comes to decision-making down the road.  There are enough things in life that are beyond our control.  Attitude, however, is within our control and drives everything that we do in life.  In fact, self-esteem and attitude have been proven to be more essential than raw intelligence when evaluating whether an individual will achieve success, happiness, and contentment in life.  At the very least, if we listen with discretion and take control over what we are willing to internalize, then we can aim to develop more positive thought processes.  Over time, the mind will be freed up of the influx of negative messages, just as the aim for a healthy body is to be virus-free.

Change. Try to Embrace It.

Written by Ms. Berman

Change.  Some fear it.  Some fight it.  Some challenge it.  Some judge it.  And some, such as myself, try to embrace it.  I like to think of change as a new chapter, a part of growth, and that no matter how old we are, we should continue learning and improving our life's work.   A student recently said to me that "all hell has broken loose at IS."  This is how things may appear at the moment, as we await in anticipation of Mr. Ankeney securing his position as principal of our school.  In a close-knit community such as IS, once one essential component is threatened, it throws the entire community off kilter.  No one likes it when things are out of his/her control.  With the eminent budget cuts, parents are anxious about losing the integrity of the programs at IS.  Students are wondering how the upcoming year will be different in terms of school pairings, course selection, and class sizes.  Teachers are questioning whether they can work any harder than they are already doing now.  But it is important to remember that times such as these bring about self-reflection, as each person is thinking about what he/she values most and how their pivotal goals can be attained. 

Taking the time to think, really think, about the roles that we play in life is critical in order to continue evolving as human beings.  Sometimes the conclusions that we come to will surprise, disappoint, or alter other people's perception of us, but it is essential that we know what we want to achieve and how to go about doing so.  And that brings me to pathways.  I have often stated that there are many different pathways to get to the same place.  As a wise colleague of mine once said, "there would be no need for maps of New York City if everyone took the same route to the same location."  Not only do people need to take different paths, but they need to move at different paces.  So when you find yourself on a path that doesn't feel as if you are going in the right direction or at the correct pace, you probably aren't.  It is time to think about how you function best, and be open to taking an alternative route.  These are patterns that are being established for the rest of your life.  Although change can cause some angst, it can also allow for new opportunities.  For it is often the very things that we fervently resist in life that bring us the most satisfaction in the end.  Change.  Try to embrace it.

One Essential Question

Written by Ms. Berman

Dedicated to the Class of 2012

I am swimming up steam against a formidable current.  I can hear my support team cheering from the  distance, providing me with sustenance, but for right now I am alone with my mind.  Life is so grand, and that is not something I can tell anyone else… it has to be felt.  And this current of which I speak is growing at an exponential rate, as more and more data is being cast upon Gen Y-Not?, most of which is skewed to appear incredibly dismal.  “Ms. Berman, I am worried because I haven’t studied enough for the SAT and the ACT,” L. said to me yesterday.  “Not all students have to take a prep course,” I replied, “just sit down with a review book and take a couple of practice tests and see how you do.  You are busy on the weekends pursuing the arts… Do you really want to attend a college that wouldn’t accept you because you made this a priority?”  Over and over again, I am having these conversations, trying to convince students that how they spend their time should be driven by their passion… but the societal supposition is prevailing, and I often feel as if I am the sole dissenter.

My assertion is not a qualitative assumption, but is based upon the understanding that life is not just about getting into college, but the experience therein and thereafter.  This realization manifested at a cost, and remains a poignant and painful memory associated with my early teaching years… 

Alex (not his real name) came from a family of 3 children, all of whom were fathered by different men who then abandoned their children.  His mother did sewing/mending to support the family.  Alex desperately wanted to attend the UC Santa Barbara Summer Pre-College Program, and thus I rallied the staff together to raise the money so he could live in the college dorms and attend classes for six weeks.  His older brother had just joined an East LA gang and Alex needed an escape.  Fast.  Alex excelled in all of his coursework at UCSB.  More important, he met other college-bound students from all over the country who filled his head with new ideas about the possibilities of the future.  Upon his return, Alex decided his “reach” school would be Harvard University.  For the sake of brevity, suffice it to say that Alex landed a full ride to Harvard, graduated four years later with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and then moved to Oakland to pursue his graduate studies at UC Berkeley.  Looking back on this period in my life, as a new teacher in my twenties, I made a cardinal error.  As I communicated with Alex during his college years, I would ask him about his coursework, his family, his health and goals, but I failed to ask a pivotal question: “Are you happy?”

After Alex began his studies at Berkeley, we lost touch.  Years later, when I heard his story from his former high school guidance counselor, I realized, regardless of our intentions, we had all misguided Alex in our collective quest for his success… In the midst of his graduate research in Engineering at UC Berkeley, after he was married to the love of his life, Alex had an emotional breakdown.  You see, Alex never wanted to be an engineer.  He had taken a class at UCSB because I had suggested he try it out, and he had been successful in the course.  He then continued in that field because he knew it would provide him an income that would enable him to later care for his family, would make the high school teaching staff proud after all we had done for him, and he would finally achieve his ultimate dream of success.  But there was a kink in his plan.  It was never his dream.

Alex wanted to be an artist.  Four years at Harvard.  Two years at Berkeley. A wife who adored him.  Six months in bed.  Alex learned to look within himself to find his passion. 

Today I know that whether a student is aiming for Santa Barbara City College or Stanford University, there is only one essential question educators should be asking: “What is your passion?”   I was young and naïve when I was mentoring Alex, caught up in the hype of doing what everyone had told me was “the thing to do” in education.  Push kids to reach their potential.  Get them into college.  Tell them to make their parents and teachers proud.  Period.  But an adolescent is much more complex than this.  It is not my role to push, get, nor tell, but rather to provide support.  It is obvious to anyone who truly knows me that I live my life with passion, and that is precisely why I view it as grand.  Students should be afforded the same opportunity.   And thus, no matter how formidable this current grows, I will just have to be a stronger swimmer… for all of my students, but today I am swimming in honor of Alex.

Alex is currently living in San Francisco, working in the field of graphic design.

A Collective Cry of "ANKENEY!"

Written by Spencer Cunningham c/o 2013

The first day of school for any freshman is terribly difficult, especially when you know so few people. My first day in the summer of 2009 at San Diego High School of International Studies was no different. I was the little fish in the ocean, ignorant and scared. I remember getting in line with 50 or more other students to get my schedule for first semester. I remember getting to the front of the line and having a man ask me what my name was; I told him. He then proceeded to ask me from what middle school I had come from and if I was nervous for high school, even though he could easily tell that I was. Then later, perhaps lunch or nutrition break, he approached me again. He asked how my day was going so far; I told him “good”.  He then smiled, an expression that would always be on his face for the next two years, and even now, even in the light that he has received a pink slip. It took me several more weeks to discover that he was, in fact the principal, Mr. Ankeney, and he was just as nervous as I, as it was his first year as well at SDHS IS.

Several weeks later, I had made a close group of friends. They were familiar with my family, and they realized that, according to them, Mr. Ankeney looked like my dad. Of course, in the haste of the usual teen contradictoriness, I said no. But they pressed on, and I would continue to deny it . However, even if Mr. Ankeney did not look like my father (truthfully, if my dad still had a beard, they would have a slight resemblance), his compassion and caring for all of his students could be compared to the best father’s compassion and caring for his children. Mr. Ankeney is a father figure for IS, and as a student body, we are his children. He cares for each and every one of us, and we all have the same feelings towards him as well.

Mr. Ankeney is the best principal I have ever had. Fact. In my years of elementary and middle schools, I have had a numerous amount of principals, but none of them would do the things that Mr. Ankeney does. Every day, whenever he walks by, you can always count on hearing a collective cry of “ANKENEY!” from a large group of students. We respect and care for him. There aren’t enough adjectives in the world to describe how awesome, amazing, cool, great he is. And when we heard that he might not be returning to us in the next school year, of course we were outraged. I urge the people responsible for his pink slip to greatly reconsider the position you have put him in. There will never be another principal ever like him. Ever.

Mr. Ankeney: The Foundation of I.S.

Written by Kalvin Payne c/o 2012

I.S.Benefit Showcase
http://is.sdhs.sandi.net/images/2011/IS%20Benefit%20Showcase%203-25-11/IS%20Benefit%20Showcase.htm

There is so much to say about the wonderful night we all had at I.S. Benefit Showcase. It was a great turnout and it couldn’t have been done without the amazing students and faculty at I.S.

Everyone who participated on stage performed amazingly. There were such a variety of performances, from dancing and live entertainment to acting and much more, that no one can deny I.S. is a unique school that stands together as a big family. The environment was so rich with students, parents, and teachers who care about our well-being so much so that they all contributed to help us raise this money.

This was the first event of its kind at I.S., but will not be the last. Although there are too many people to thank, I believe Mr. Ankeney should be praised for his huge effort in this event because, without him, none of this would have been possible. He allowed us to enjoy the wonderful talent of our students while in the presence of our family and friends. Words can’t even express the amount of appreciation I feel for Mr. Ankeney’s  effort in ensuring that this wonderful event was a success. He has been there every step of the way for our school and gives so much of his time and effort. He leads us all with his unwavering faith and keeps us looking forward.  Mr. Ankeney is the foundation for our school and keeps us all together. Whenever we need anything from him, he isn’t far behind to help us achieve it.

Words can’t even express the amount of gratitude our school feels for Mr. Ankeney. He is faithful, caring, hard-working, and responsible. I don’t even believe these words can sum up the amount of how great a leader Mr. Ankeney is to our school. He leads our school like no other principal and to lose Mr. Ankeney would be like losing the heart and soul of our community.

For those of you that came to the event, and even those that didn’t, I’d like to ask that you take a bit of your time and thank Mr. Ankeney for his huge effort, because without him this event and more importantly, our community, would not be possible. Thank you, Mr. Ankeney, for all that you give to your students and faculty, and how much you care about our community.