I suppose you can make certain psychological, adademic, and behavioral generalities, but in general, generalities are unfair.  I think we understand that social stereotypes can be misleading, but that's the same kind of idea that provides fodder for most national educational consultants.  To be fair, there are two sides, and both sides have valid points - which, incidentally, kind of proves what I'm writing about.

The consultants will tell us, they have research that proves their opinions/edicts/expertise are true.

Teachers will respond by declaring, "You don't know my kids.  You don't know my teaching style.  You don't know our needs."

And both are right.  See how that works?

I consider myself to be an eclectic teacher.  Understanding one's personal teaching personality and needs is important.  Knowing what works for me and the chemistry of my classroom is important.  That's why I always weigh what a consultant says, and gather all the bits that will work for me and my students.  The idea is to take a piece of a strategy, but not necessarily the whole thing.

That's how I have incorporated parts and pieces of Whole Brain Teaching, Positive Classroom Discipline and Instruction, Visible Learning, Student Team Learning, Cooperative Learning, Multiple Intelligences, and a host of other strategies into my teacher toolbox.

I really believe that every teacher needs to recognize this about himself.  To completely submit to a single process or program severely limits a teacher and very possibly does harm to the classroom.  I wish educational consultants would accept that fact, as well.  You see, they'll readily tell us that children learn differently, but they often refuse to believe in the art of teaching, instead focusing on a more scientific response based on student data.  In other words, they ignore the data that comes from the instructor's own data - that is, the teacher's strengths, skills, and personality.  Until a consultant agrees that the art is at least as important as the science, s/he fails to consider the facts.

More history was on the menu for the third day of our summer excursion.  This time, we drove to Sulphur, Oklahoma.  It had been years since my last visit to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area (formerly Platt National Park).  This amazing park begins with a stop at an unsuspecting fountain, including a separate spout from which visitors can drink the freshest, coldest water directly from the spring.  For a century, many people have sought the water as a healing spring.

Driving deeper into the park, one encounters a fantastic stream.  At various locations along the waterway, one may enjoy beautiful waterfalls, including one known as Little Niagra.  All along, people also enjoy jumping into this good old-fashioned swimmin' hole.

From here, it was just a short drive to the $40 million Chickasaw Culture Center.  Build in 2010, the museum features exhibits explaining the plight of the Chickasaw and Choctaw people.  I was happy to learn some things I had never known.  Most of us know about native peoples being "removed" to Indian Territory in the mid-1800s.  For years, I have known about the Cherokee people and their journey on the Trail of Tears.  Now I know more about the Chickasaw's and Choctaw's Trail of Tears, as well, how two brothers led the nation by standing a pole in the ground and following the direction in which it leaned (If it didn't lean, they would know that was the location in which they would remain.).  On one occasion, the brothers disagreed about which direction the pole leaned, and the people subsequently split into the two tribes.  Behind the center was also a living history village, set up to look like an original Chickasaw village.

In the second day of our short Oklahoma experience, we trekked to the northern part of the state.  There, we found the Great Salt Plains, where visitors are allowed to dig for treasures, namely selenite crystals.  Visitors are allowed to take out 10 pounds of the individual crystals, and a large collection of fused crystals (which, they say, can be up to 38 pounds.

These unique crystals have a brown hourglass shape inside them.  Surprisingly, we found many of them quite easily within the first foot of digging.  This area of the state was also the location of strafing during World War 2, with planes flying through to practice their shooting and bombing.  In fact, some the remains of some of those runs can still be found (As evidenced by the signage, however, anyone finding these things should retreat and call the authorities.).

Boy, does my back ache.

One of the things that makes a difference for our class is the attention we spend on shaking hands and expressing eye contact.  Additionally, I have stressed the importance of speaking to elders by respectfully calling them ma'am or sir.  Finally, Hoggatteers have learned to use those old-fashioned "magic" phrases:  thank you, you're welcome, excuse me, and I'm sorry.  Students have developed more confidence with the development of these seemingly simple skills.

For the 2015/6 school year, we will add a couple of "new" skills to the lineup.  In the first day, I will attempt to seriously present the importance of posture when in the presence of others.  While there is a time for slouching and relaxation (I'm doing that right now.), we need to be aware that it is disrespectful to do so when others are with us.

When I teach the art of shaking hands, I go into the details:

• Web touches web (referring to the skin between the thumb and pointer)
• The grip includes the engagement of all four fingers on bottom and the thumb on top.
• The grip is not too hard and not too limp.
• The grip lasts only a couple of seconds.
• Throughout the process, the shaker's eyes must remain on the second individual.

Now, we will focus on postures.  That means we need explicit instruction about how to sit, how to stand, and how to walk - not so I can micromanage my students, but to make them more engaging, more attentive, more attractive, more employable, and more confident.

We will also work on the proper etiquette of entering and exiting a room, and of receiving and addressing guests.  I have some ideas along this line - nothing earth shattering, mind you - that should help these simple acts become something that awes our visitors and administrators.  I want my gentlemen and ladies to stand out as polite and immensely respectful at all times.  I want it to come naturally to them, and the only way that can happen is to break down the steps and practice.  Adam Dovico, author, teacher, and visiting professor at Wake Forest University, created the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. acronym, which will assist us in achieving greatness in this area.  I've converted his explanation into this graphic:

Just as with a class full of fourth graders, I believe in providing my own children with experiences.  One thing we like to do is take them to unusual places.  Yes, we have been to Silver Dollar City and Disney World, but this summer we just returned from my home state of Oklahoma.

On our first day, we made my daughter happy by visiting the National Weather Center in Norman.  We were able to see spots where our national weather gurus predict, watch, and warn the lower 48 states.  Situated on the edge of the University of Oklahoma, the NWC constantly monitors all aspects of the atmosphere.  The facility is less than a decade old and was built with technology and strength in mind.

The central room, visible by every floor, has a unique centerpiece - a suspended, six-foot-diameter, fiberglass sphere on which is projected a representation of the earth and its current weather patterns.  Our guide was able to control the projection and spin the globe through the use of a tablet computer (She also turned it into a disco ball.).

Upstairs, are classrooms and rooms filled with computers and monitors.  The monitors are observed 24 hours a day, every day of the year.  These are the people, along with folks in local weather centers (Ours is in Springfield, Missouri.) are responsible for all kinds of weather watches and warnings.

With Day One of our summer excursion completed, we had to get to bed for an early departure the next day.  Stay tuned.

Looking at the traffic that comes to our website here, I found that a couple of hits came from Dan Haesler's site.  Haesler is an educational consultant from Australia, and he has a certain amount of insight about the things teachers and students face daily in the classroom.  As we recently interviewed prospective teachers for a couple of positions in our school, I found Haesler's graphic interesting...and a little bit funny.  There is something to be said here about the need to teach or state the obvious, as well.

The question he ponders is this:  "Do you feel kids need to earn your respect?"  If the answer is yes, Haesler's response is "This ain't the gig for you."

After some thought about it, I think this is related to my reluctance to know much about my students before they enter my classroom.  I realize my thinking is unconventional - that there is validity to knowing things ahead of time - but I would rather find out for myself.  In fact, I tell my students that it does not matter what you were in a previous grade or class, but that they can start fresh in my class.  They don't have to be bully, victim, mousy, chattery, or shy.  They don't have to be the kid who always "clips down" on a behavior chart, the kid with multiple office referrals, or the kid who always rats out others.  This year, their year as a Hoggatteer, can be the year they shine.  Why?  Because I haven't talked to their previous teachers about them.  Because I don't know about their behavior issues or their reading deficiencies.  Because I don't know about their truancy, or their nervous tics, or their tendency to smell bad.  I believe that many children can identify their own worst habits, but that they have often been pigeonholed by teachers and parents from the get-go.  In short, the expectation is X, so the result will always be Y.

Isn't that a shame?

So why not go into it blind, teacher?  Why must I take magnifying glass and tape measure in hand to analyze students' past performances?  Inevitably, when I do so, I will formulate my impressions before I ever know each student.  And that, dear teacher, seems wrong to me; it seems unfair.  In doing so, I rob my students of the chance to even make a first impression on me.  And first impressions, as wrong as they may be, really do display more of what an individual wants to be.

If I know more about what (or how) students want to be, I can better understand what (or how) they can be.  If given the chance to build on that, a student should be able to retain that reputation and dispose of past negativity.

That's not to imply that past performance does not matter, or that teachers shouldn't look back at data to determine needs or growth; I simply say this to recognize that, for several, it would have been a waste of time for me to do so before I need to. Previous teachers have often asked how a struggling student from their class is doing in mine, and my reply may be surprising:  perhaps the problem behaviors have miraculously remedied themselves during summer break, or perhaps the behaviors changed because I came to the classroom without expecting those behaviors.  I believe the latter to be true.  I've seen it work.

Students come to me with a blank slate.  In short, to return to the graphic above, I don't make my students earn my respect; they don't need to if I don't "disrespect" them went they walk into my door for the first time.

Two of the things I hope to instill in my students are passion and joy.  In this world, where we are faced with riots and racism, poverty and politics, and boredom and bullying, school may be a last bastion of peace and passion, joy and justice.  Is it possible for us to come together, one teacher and 25 students, to form a community or even a family.  On the first day of school, I make the statement that We are a family, but it's never clearer that whether the statement rang true than on the last day when students echo it.

When we develop  such a tightly-knit community in our classroom or in our school, we begin to realize that we are all in this together, that we should be there for each other through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, so to speak.  We realize that we are not only responsible for learning from our own mistakes, but that our mistakes may be beneficial for others to learn from, as well.  We understand that we can catch each other's falls, that we can guard one another from disaster, and that we can encourage each other through our applause and our positive demeanor.

In the past few days, I've written about the seriousness of our expectations.  I've written about the importance of learning the details involved in giving and receiving respect - something our world desperately needs in the 21st Century.  As we go through our "Boot Camp" and as we learn to "aggressively" address visitors to our classroom, we must also learn to balance those stringent and strict essential expectations with compassion, passion, gentleness, peace, and joy.  I realize I can be full of platitudes sometimes, but there you go; that's the passion I have for my career.  Every year, even after 25 of them, I envision the next year as being the perfect one.  At the same time, I fully realize how hard it can be to direct students onto a positive pathway, keep them there, and hopefully propel them forward in such a way that they will not veer from it.

While I emphasize those expectations and manners, at the same time I present lessons in new and innovative ways.  I tell my students that this year will not be like the rest, that my methods can be different - interesting, off-the-wall, and even experimental at times.  I present information to them in creative ways, hopefully instilling creativity in my students along the way.  I take advantage of our technology and integrate all the subjects into single, focused units.  Students do not expect to open textbooks and answer questions at the end of each chapter. They should not expect straight lectures.  Instead, I let them discover their own objectives and develop their own skills whenever possible.  They work cooperatively with their peers.

And they are allowed to talk and laugh, as long as things don't get out of control.  We sing and dance.  We high five and fist bump.  We tease and play.  And in the middle of it all, ideally, my fourth graders blossom and prosper, socially and academically.

As our district continues to focus on students' responsibility for their own education, the Hoggatteers should quickly become adeptly prepared to face those responsibilities.  In fact, in the past few posts we have focused on the importance of etiquette, manners (or whatever you want to call it), and this post should not veer very far from the same.

If there's one thing I've noticed, it is that educational supervisors are getting into our classrooms more to talk to students.  After all, as the educational leader of a school, that's the principals' primary job.  Now, however, these classroom visits are being expanded to include other people - learning coaches, supervisors from the district's central office, and other teachers.

They like to ask my students about what they are learning and why they are learning it.  They like to see if students know where they are on the road to success, and they try to find out if a student has his/her eyes on the road ahead.  They like to know that a class is properly engaged.  I know that my students will have the right answers to their questions, and make a surprising impression on our visitors when they know how to properly address our visitors.

We've been told for years that a supervisor doesn't want to interrupt the lesson.  They tell us not to pay attention to them when they breech our doorjambs.  They say to ignore them and continue what we are doing.  It's one thing to say that, but another to teach it to students.  Now though, I want to turn it around.  When adults knocks on or enters our door I want my students to address them.  If they knock, I want a student to answer the door and shake hands. I want that student to find out the intentions of visitors before welcoming them in.  Following that, depending on the desires of the visitors, students may quietly offer them seats from which they can observe the class.

If the class is diligently working, independently or in cooperative teams, and an adult observer approaches their table, I want the group to stand in recognition of their presence.  When they do so, rather than wait for the adults to start asking questions, ideally I would like for my pupils to initiate the conversation and engage the adults in the activity, quizzing them and including them in the action of our topic.  With this comes practice for my employable and professional students.  They will learn to express themselves with maturity and respect, perhaps even learning how to ask each other questions to ensure all are included in the conversation.

They would, however, admit to some very strict, and essential, principles and guidelines for school and for life. These students were perfectly comfortable addressing me in conversation.  They answered any questions I threw at them.  They articulated their ideas in full sentences, all the while looking me in the eye and making me feel comfortable.  In the admission of strict expectations for good manners, they and their teachers also expressed their appreciation for those guidelines.  They had complete buy-in, and their academic achievement showed the results.

For the first part of the school year, they were subjected to "Boot Camp" - a time when students were not permitted to speak and time in which they learned the expectations and consequences of a series of the school.  I have adopted some of the concepts displayed at RCA.  I have also set aside a period during our first three days of school for the purpose of "Boot Camp", but don't take that the wrong way:  I am very careful to encourage my pupils without pushing them to the breaking point.  There is a terrific balance of a strict call for manners and a passion-filled classroom.

That whole Don't-Smile-Until-Christmas concept is for the birds.  Parents, your children will come home on the first few days with smiles of exhaustion and expressions of respect (I hope).  They will have stories about the fun they had with their "crazy" new teacher (Only believe half of it, and in return I promise to only believe half of what they tell me about you.).  But, they will also widen their eyes a little when you ask about what they did.  I hope they will even appreciate the portion of the day we devote to "Boot Camp".

This will be a more serious period when we discuss essential expectations.  In the midst of getting to know each other with games and joking, this will be the time when I expect the full attention of my class.  As such, I will post the following message ahead of time:

Again, I'm not making them stand at attention and salute, and I don't expect students to live in fear that they fail to pass some kind of military inspection; rather, I just want to emphasize the seriousness of these expectations.  I will put every effort into getting my students to regulate their own behavior by following through with the expectations of our classroom, which by the way, thoroughly reinforce our schoolwide positive behavior system of S.O.A.R., which simply stands for Showing respect, Observing safety, Accepting responsibility, and Resolving conflict.

Whitney sang it:  "I believe the children are our future." I know she sang it, because I heard her with my own ears.  I was the manager of an outdoor recreation area in El Reno, Oklahoma, at the time.  One of my employees and I took to the big city for the Whitney Houston concert when she came through on tour. During the opening act, my buddy spotted some empty seats, much closer than ours, and we moved before Whitney came on stage.

In the past few years, our class has developed a statement of our belief about learning.  We call it our Declaration of Intelligence. Here is where you will find our desire to improve.  This year, I will be asking my students to memorize the declaration, and we will use parts of it to help us maintain focus through "call backs" in a lesson. Depending on the situation, I may expect students to recite or write the entire declaration as a demonstration of their understanding.

At the same time, students must understand their responsibility in the education of their peers.  If one is an obstruction to the other, the education process will continue to be hampered, and the declaration becomes moot. My students realize that they are not only responsible for themselves, but they are responsible for creating the proper atmosphere for their peers, as well.

It turns out I've been visiting the room once a week, taking advantage of our down time to do some spring cleaning (and yes, it is officially still spring).  I've created piles of trash for the dumpster and giveaways for any teachers who want the stuff (One man's trash...).  Most of my cabinets have been emptied and reorganized - under the sink, above the coat rack, beneath the tables, and in the closet.  There is still work to be done, but it feels good to get as far as I have after 25 years of accumulating.