First-day advice for students

[Ed Hitchcock]

It is a while yet until school starts, but I was pondering my first day back, and what advice I would give my students - particularly the grade 9's, who may be a little shell-shocked at the transition to high school. I'm sure most people are familiar with Syke's list from Dumbing Down our Kids (reprinted here: http://www.n0rm.net/LifeIsntFair.htm), and though it is a tad harsh, it is never too early for a bit of a wake-up call. I also think kids need an introduction to metacognition.
So I have begun compiling a list of suggestions, or rules for success. Please feel free to add to it:

Don't memorize everything. Understand the process, and you can figure it out. Memoriziing doesn't let you apply your knowledge in new ways. Also, I will not accept the textbook definition for an answer.

Getting a good mark in this class is not a right. It must be earned. But doing well is not that hard - read, review, understand, practice, pay attention, and take the assignments seriously.

Remember the difference between an amateur and a professional: the amateur practices until he gets it right, the professional practices until she cannot get it wrong.

If I give you praise for a half-assed job, it does not boost your self esteem. It just lowers your opinion of me, and ratchets your own standards down a notch.

Civility and politeness should be expected, respect is earned.

[Laura Gibbs]

Connie, that is so delightful! I notice that the word "grade" did not even appear in what you say here... with my students, college-age, the only thing they want to hear about is grades - so, I sneakily tie all the self-awareness and togetherness stuff into the promise that "this is how you get a good grade in this class..." - which does get their attention. Now, my motivation for designing the class in the way that I have is not about grading at all, but to help turn them into confident storytellers and webpublishers. At the beginning of the semester, though, the only word on their radar is "grade"... sad, but true. I wonder just when that starts - it sounds like your students - lucky people! - are not yet driven by the terrible tyranny of the grade! :-)

[Ken Messersmith]

Connie,
I wonder if Carol Dweck would be willing to join a conversation like this and help some of us to develop this active mindset curriculum. I just sent her an invitation to join firesidelearning.

[Connie Weber]

Hi Ken,

It would be supremely delightful to have Carol Dweck visit Fireside.

Thank you for the wonderful idea.

Here's another article by her that we've discussed on Fireside. Actually, she's been discussed here quite a lot.

I'm talking about her in my study group in Project Zero tomorrow... We're doing a quick book tour of Mindset and Self Theories.

[Connie Weber]

Hi Ken,
Carol Dweck has been referred to a lot in our studies at Project Zero and Future of Learning. Howard Gardner mentioned her today as he was comparing a traditional western view of intelligence (thinking of intelligence as "singular" and "fixed") with a traditional Asian view of intelligence, a view that places a greater value on effort.
Yes, it'd be great if Carol Dweck would sign on and join in on some of our evolving conversations. Have you heard from her?
(One problem I'm finding with inviting well-known people to join the network is that they don't know what a network is. They have no model. Facebook comes to many people's minds, but this sort of networking is vastly different. How to explain?)

[Janice Robertson]

This is in response to the first day advice that I give to students. I teach grade six in a middle school which means the students come to us for the first time in September. They're often so anxious to "get" another student before someone "gets" them, that they'll say mean things such as, "Oh man, why do I have to sit with HER? Why does SHE have to be at our table?" and things like that. So, I always start the year with this, or a variation of it. It's cute, it's young (and therefore not too threatening, and they understand it when I say that I don't want them "thumping" on anyone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGt9jAkWie4

[Ed Hitchcock]

I find Sykes tone rather negative, however there is some truth in his list.
And for the sake of humour here are some replies to Mike and Ken from Despair:

[Laura Gibbs]

Exactly - some of my students are really into the Demotivators from Despair.com, and include them in their blog posts for class, etc. I even have a Despair.com calendar on my desk - they are a hoot. And this morning I had started a discussion about cartoons and humor stuff - if anybody has cartoons to contribute that would be super!!!
Does anybody else collect cartoons?

Here's a cartoon in the spirit of optimism and pessimism, of which there is always a mix in every class. I'm definitely more on the optimistic side, although some of my students are consummate pessimists. :-)

[Linda]

Exactly. I am all for most of the words of wisdom that you all want to offer your students. However, it seems that for most people--kids and adults--having these quotes read (or preached) does little to actually inspire. Give me a humorous presentation of your words of wisdom every time. Yes, some kids will absorb all of your wisdom, but I think they are rare. I ask my library students to learn to use a dictionary of quotations by looking through the book and finding things that appeal to them. This seems somewhat more likely to inspire them. The rest of the time the most important thing is to teach these values and concerns by example and my jumping on those teachable moments.

[Ellen Pham]

I've enjoyed reading this conversation. Somehow it brings Kay Ryan's The Turtle to mind- a sideways glance towards the subject at hand.

Turtle
Kay Ryan

Who would be a turtle who could help it?
A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet,
She can ill afford the chances she must take
In rowing toward the grasses that she eats.
Her track is graceless, like dragging
A packing-case places, and almost any slope
Defeats her modest hopes. Even being practical,
She’s often stuck up to the axle on her way
To something edible. With everything optimal,
She skirts the ditch which would convert
Her shell into a serving dish. She lives
Below luck-level, never imagining some lottery
Will change her load of pottery to wings.
Her only levity is patience,
The sport of truly chastened things.

[Ellen Pham]

[Ed Hitchcock]

I took some of the ideas discussed in this forum and threw them together in a video for my first day:


Find more videos like this on Fireside Learning: Conversations about Education