A little note on reading instruction

"Oh my goodness, we gotta read a paragraph??"

"Yooooo, I DONT FEEL LIKE READING THIS PARAGRAPH!!! You drawlin!!"

"ugghhhh!!!"

"You do the most!"

"I ain't readin' this *&@^#!!!"

These were some of the responses I received this past week for what really was one paragraph my students had to read along with the 5 questions they had to answer. The paragraph was taken from a chapter in a book, that we're reading and that most of us are enjoying.  We had already read this particular chapter, by the time of the quiz, so it wasn't new. But even if it was...

This book has already generated a great deal of in-depth conversations about self-esteem, acceptance, and colorism. The book is The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake. After completing a multiple choice section about some of the vocabulary, the students had to read a single paragraph and respond to 5 multiple choice questions. But what the students saw was that they had to *read* and they were having none of it!

BUT, before you judge them too harshly, I firmly believe that the test-prep, data-laden (or did I mean 'driven'?), mundane approach we take to reading instruction from kindergarten on up has created an aversion to any type of reading outside of Instagram posts and 140 (or is it 280?) characters. I believe that creating an overall culture where reading is a subject 'done' in school and a task that we have to do and for which they receive a grade instead of it being a relaxing, engaging, or informational activity 'done' at home, on the bus, on in the park, churns the disdain for it. Many kids hate the very idea of it.

That's. Not. Good.

We've test-prepped them straight into a hatred for the idea of picking up a book or magazine and reading . We've assessed them right into running in the opposite direction when faced with a single paragraph. That we read already. In a single chapter. In a book we're reading together. And enjoying.

Normally, I wouldn't be giving them something like that before creating a culture in our classroom where WE enjoy reading. I believe in starting off my reading/English classes with 15 minutes or so of students reading whatever they want. I believe in a well-stocked, robust, diverse, and welcoming classroom library and that a classroom library isn't for decoration or checklist purposes. I believe in school libraries and school librarians/teacher-librarians. I believe in carpeted areas, pillows, book shelves, plants, pet fish (or Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches...don't ask). I believe in us discussing what they read; in them drawing about what they read in an illustrative summary; in them writing about what they read; in them speaking to each other about what they read; in building up that "reading trust", so that when I must go into the stuff that I'm supposed to do, we can do so with a little less contempt. This approach works, even by the inappropriate measure of standardized testing scores. This approach has worked. That's not to say I haven't had to tweak the process depending on the class, but overall, it has worked.

However...

I was told one year that these first 15-25 minutes were "a waste of instructional time." Another year I was told that I needed to "assess" them on what they're reading during this time. Another time I was told that I needed to use only the books that the school district purchased. For a long time I pushed back because of the results that I've seen. I've seen students go from hating the idea of picking up books and reading to them LOVING it! I've seen those beloved test scores (*cough*) go up year over year as a group. I've heard the comments they'd make when they thought I wasn't paying attention; the smirk at something they just read; the intensity with which they are turning the pages; the "Mr. Flemming, 5 more minutes!". I've seen them RUN into the classroom to grab a book before someone else did. 6th graders!! I've seen them HIDE books so that they knew where it was for the next time. A colleague noticed that students were sneaking to read in her math class. We speak of it to this day. Years after I had one student, he approached me on the street and said, "You still the best English teacher I ever had."

But after being observed incessantly, both formally and informally; after three visits from a higher power above my administrator at the time; after all of the comments on the observations; after all of the heated conversations behind closed doors about my teaching philosophy being antithetical to the compliance cultures that are created in our schools, I threw up the white flag. Not because I wanted to, but because I'm working on other goals and need my mind free (Carter G. Woodson would say 'enslaved'). I need my mind enslaved. My sister says that I'm just "taking a nap"; chillin' in the cut; recalibrating to fight differently. 

So, I resolved to enter this school year being a compliant teacher. This time, however, it's a "do over" at a different school. Sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day, but I try to do everything that I'm asked to do. I apologize. (To whom do you think I'm apologizing?) One year I asked an administrator if they wanted me to teach or do what I'm told because they aren't necessarily synonymous activities. And speaking of that Carter G. Woodson, he would call me a "miseducated negro" (his words) this school year and the majority of this previous school year. Might he have a point? Judge ye. As quoted in Brown (2009) Woodson writes, "Taught from books of the same bias, trained by Caucasians of the same prejudices or by Negroes of enslaved minds, one generation of Negro teachers after another have served for no higher purpose than to do what they are told to do" (p. 420).

So, how is my resolution working out for the kids?
Well...

"Oh my goodness, we gotta read a paragraph??"

"Yooooo, I DONT FEEL LIKE READING THIS PARAGRAPH!!! You drawlin!!"

"ugghhhh!!!"

"You do the most!"

"I ain't readin' this *&@^#!!!"



Reference
Brown, A. L. (2009). “Brothers gonna work it out:” Understanding the pedagogic performance of African American male teachers working with African American male students. Urban Review, 41(5), 416-435. doi:10.1007/s11256-008-0116-8

Random Musings of a Black male teacher

Just some random thoughts on a Wednesday afternoon...

I’ve long held the belief that as a Black male teacher in Philadelphia’s public schools, my presence represents quite a bit.

To some of my students I represent the father, big brother, uncle, step-father, older cousin they never had but wished they had.

I also was the teacher they never had.

“Mr. Flemming, can you be my dad?”

“No baby girl, but I promise to be the best teacher I can possibly be!”
"Ok!" {Smiles and heads home}

To some, I’m hated and the very bane of their existence, drawlin’. To them I represent everything wrong with teachers these days (I've heard it said, lol). I’m the one they take all of their frustrations out on.

I also was the teacher they never had.

“Mr. Flemming can be so retarted sometimes.”

“Mr. Flemmings is crazy!! His mean and…”

“I f****n hate Mr. Flemming”

To some of my students, they don’t know how to read me, take me, accept me, or reject me. What to do? Who is this guy? Why are you here? Are you going to be like all the rest? By my behavior, I’m going to see how much you can take! I don’t like you and I’m too young to really know how to articulate why, I just don’t. And what’s your name again? Flemming? Like Flamingo? Like Flemit? Flemmings with an ‘s’? Flemy?
I also was the teacher they never had.

"You mean, but you nice too. I don't know how to put it!"

“If I were you, I’d quit!”

“Oh is that what you’re used to?!? You’re used to people just quitting on you when things get hard? No sir! No me! I’m here and I’m here to stay!”

{Years later, during a chance encounter in the neighborhood} “You still the best English teacher I ever had!”

To some, I’m the cool teacher; the first male teacher, the first…how did she write it…”boy teacher”…and in many cases, the first Black "boy teacher." And he’s from Philly? And he went to public schools in Philly? And he went to college in Philly? And he’s teaching in Philly? And I’d see him on SEPTA in Philly? Hopping on the XH or the H back to Broad and Erie. Popeye's where the McDonald's used to be? Nah, he don’t do Popeye’s. He jumpin’ on the sub, getting off at City Hall to get on the 13 headed to 60^th and Kingsessing. Yooo! He said he originally from West and parts of Southwest, too. Is he a thug? But he talk so proper and whatnot but then the next minute, he talk in a way like he really from the hood. He wear a shirt and tie, but then he standing on top the desk wit a snapback, swag on a bean, corny rappin, but it's funny. He talkin' bout some "the main idea is...".  Who is this teacher and where he come from? This teacher I never had...

Snap by student HC, c/o 2017
I was tagged on social media

“Happy Birthday to the best reading teacher ever. And ur the smartest thug. Just know that I love you”

“I aint never had no teacher like you, Mr. Flemming”

“Ayo, this teacher thurl”
"I used to act up because I knew she'd send me to your class. I wanted to be in your class."

To some kids, I'm the school parent who reinforces what the birth parents at home represent. They know they can't get away with "it" here, either!

"My mom be saying the same thing!"

"He act just like my uncle!"

"You sound like my grandpop!"

"Mr. Flemming, you old school just like my {insert a relative}"

To others, I’ve been the one who kept it real and told it like it needed to be told; the one who would shut the door when the conversation really needed to get deep.

Whether it was about life…

“You are NOT stupid! You are NOT failures! You WILL succeed and you WILL work hard to get there! And I'm here to help! Point blank, period!!”

Whether it was a chat man-to-younger-man…

“Listen, when I come in here sagging, you can sag! If you see ya teacher wit his pants saggin’ low, you got my permission to do the same. But, until then…And if you wanna sag and show ya drawz, do it the minute you step out this school. But while you here, pull ‘em up!”

Or whether it was about fighting,

“My rule for fighting is this, you gotta fight and whoop me first! You whoop me, then y’all can have at it! I’m six-foot, 220, by the way”

Still yet for others, I represent the last bit of hope. If this don’t work out, the future is uncertain. Life has not thrown lemons, but the moldy rinds!

Crying agonizingly, “Please don’t tell my uncle!! He gonna send me away!”

“Mr. Flemming, you the last one I got left to look up to!”

Me, “You can join your class, I’ll come get y’all in a second.” Dismissed him. Went to a corner of my classroom and bawled like a baby after listening to a 2-minute read of an apology letter he chose to write for something he had done the day before; a letter that detailed the enigma for him called “life”.

To some parents and others I represent, "Finally!" or "I was sure hoping she'd have you!" or "I'm so grateful, Mr. Flemming!" or what was I called, a "miserable, evil teacher" who had "one lonely depressed child[hood] growing up." #Memories lol

There are many other examples, countless other anecdotes, and myriad other experiences on which I could dwell and enumerate, but for now, I will not. There are so many feel good moments, moments of triumph over adversity, moments of joy and pure ecstasy, moments of “We got this” moments where real, authentic, and meaningful teaching and learning experiences were occurring! Man oh man! Too many to mention! Moments when they had their teacher’s back in the midst of adversity that was not so well hidden! There are also moments of profound sorrow and disappointment. The loss of life. The incarceration of kids who look like me! Yet there remains an unexplainable hope, a sense of what can be, and the possibility of a rose growing out of concrete (Shakur, 1999). As I transition from the public neighborhood elementary school I've called home for a decade to the public neighborhood high school, I have a feeling there’s more to come.

I’m not perfect, I just keep trying.

[The quotes are actual quotes from me or students over the years, preserved in notes, my memory, social media posts, my notebooks, etc.]

"There is such a thing as 'free lunch'"

When people casually or irreverently speak of or address certain subjects, it will offend me. A lover of words and language, I tend to listen carefully. So when a local reporter, when reporting on the Wawa Welcome America celebrations, particularly today's Free Hoagie Day here in Philly said, "it turns out there is a such thing as free lunch", I got perturbed.

Excuse me Miss, you're a reporter. In Philly. On TV.

You don't have to tell the kids in this city that "there is a such thing as free lunch." WE know it!

YOU may speak of free lunch lightly while reporting on the free hoagies that Wawa gave out today, and you may even take a joking tone. However, free lunch for many children in our public schools is a serious thing. Many depend on the free breakfast and lunch that their neighborhood public school provides. For many households, these are the only meals they receive.

Lessons from "A Bug's Life"

"Silence gives consent." No doubt you've heard it, albeit not always true. But silence can provide the fodder of false assumption to principals, policy makers, law makers, and district officials that all is well. It can also solidify fear!

Sometimes the onus is on a few individuals and organizations to speak up, be the voice of many, and risk distorted classroom observations, censure (whatever that means...ha), daily classroom visits, ludicrous write-ups, etc. etc. etc. to say what is often spoken of behind closed doors, at dinner tables, in cafes, at the copier, and other private/not-so-private places. {Except that I/we cannot say what you can say, how you can say it and from the place and experience through which it is said. As a black man, I have particular experiences and places from which I speak. Your experience is not mine.}*

(Although I must say, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia voters have CLEARLY made their voices heard during the past two elections!!!!!!!!)

I understand (sometimes) people's desire to remain quiet. There are families to think about. They don't want to make waves. They don't want the principal hovering over them all the time. In some minds, we're all better off leaving well enough alone.

Well, if no one ever spoke up, I'd still be in chains, women still wouldn't be able to vote, neither would African Americans. We wouldn't have the Americans with Disabilities Act. There'd be no teachers of color. It would still be illegal to teach black kids how to read and write and THE LIST GOES ON AND ON AND ON!!

As advocates, we can all stand to improve in our efforts and to encourage others to join us!!

Here to help us, "A Bug's Life!!" This from the desk of Ed-Deformers everywhere...a behind the scenes conversation in board rooms, offices, state capital AND capitol corridors across the country, DC, etc:

*Added hours after the original post as I pondered, staring into the night, consuming my blueberry water ice

$40M Plymouth Whitemarsh High School face-lift

I chose not to play around with the "Whitemarsh" part of the school's name....ahem...

Schools deserve facade-lifts, renovations, improvements and the like! ALL schools deserve that!

No shade thrown at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School out in the Philly 'burbs, but why can't kids who look like me also have buildings that are modernized, comfortable, clean, bright, and welcoming!! There are some buildings I vowed never to teach in because they were so dark and ominous. If I as an undergrad felt that way, I can only imagine how the children and staff who must walk into those buildings feel. (But here comes Charter Man to the rescue, taking money away from said schools. Money that could be used for improvements.)

Folks in Harrisburg, City Hall, and 440 love to put the onus on teachers and our union and love to lay a world of problems at our feet as if we're the cause for all of this city's educational woes. We're not.

Let's try something different, BILLION dollar investments in public education and our schools (modern buildings, technology, real PD by teachers/colleges profs, modern libraries, clean & green spaces to read, study, eat and whatever, etc. etc. etc.)

Here's the thing. All we're asking for at this moment here in Philly, a nurse in every school every day, librarians and counselors in our schools, keeping our guest teachers, and music/art teachers in every school. Of course we have a longer list, but at the moment, these are just some of the basic ticket items that every school should have....now.

I have a feeling Plymouth-Whitemarsh (which I happened to drive by this past Saturday) has all of these items and having them isn't considered a luxury.

Outsourcing our guest teachers...

This morning I received a text message from a guest teacher, a wonderful COworker I haven't seen in a few years! She informed me that she was on her way to see me. I was like a kid at Christmas, the thought of seeing such a great person and colleague!!!

In the few minutes in between the text and her coming to my new....scratch that...changed location (207), I thought about her and the other wonderful guest teachers who come to help us out here at the school and how they are VERY MUCH a part of the faculty here. The children respect them. The staff respects them. They teach. They call parents. They hold detentions. They ARE teachers!!!!

I'm not naive enough to believe that this is the case everywhere, but I love the dynamics here! I believe it's because the staff here, overall, work very well together and embrace the guest teachers who pitch right in!!

Then, I think about how the school district wants to outsource guest teacher services. I can only wonder what that will mean for the climate of the school building. I can only wonder...

Roaches?!?

As I sit and reflect, I'm glad I went beyond your typical science lessons and ventured into entomology a bit. Even though I did indeed move on to other topics in science, we found ourselves constantly returning to bugs.

Our first Madagascar Hissing Cockroach died. We purchased him from the Insectarium here in Philly. 207's own Visiting Entomologist, Ms. Megan (Ph.D Candidate) came to the school to present other insects to us and left behind 4 additional Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. Our other Visiting Entomologist, Mr. Ian, Google "Hung Out" with us earlier in the year.

Google Hanging Out with our own Visiting Entomologist, Mr. Ian (Ph.D candidate)

Learning from our very own Visiting Entomologist, Ms. Megan (Ph.D candidate)

Recently, I purchased a newer, more transparent container and that breathed fresher life into the kids (and me) at the end of the school year! We're excited to view our insects differently! We're excited about picking dandelions (a food the cockroaches love and a fact we learned on our own via Instagram videos and pictures)! We're excited to just watch the insects go about their business.

Certified School Nurses

Today, the entire 3rd grade class took a trip to a local park, our last big "thing" for the school year as an entire class. One of my students was bitten by some insect and starting having a reaction that was "irritating and hurting", according to her.

I literally had to pause and think about what day it was and whether or not our school nurse was at our school on this particular day! Wednesday? YES!! "Baby girl, let's walk back to the school and get you some help." As we were walking, I called ahead to let our certified school nurse know what had transpired, how the patient...I mean student was feeling/reacting (I got carried away), and that we were on the way. ETA? 20 minutes. All was calm, but her mark was reddening.

I stayed with the child as our certified school nurse worked to ease her discomfort and treat the area that was giving my student trouble.

I took the time to again express my gratitude to her, our certified school nurse, for being at our school and that I believe in the idea of a (at least one) certified school nurse at every school, every day of the school week, no matter the size of the building or student population!

The School District of Philadelphia wants to outsource school health services.
Why not? Here are just four quick answers and reasons!

1.  We know that our certified school nurses are well trained and prepared to provide highly skilled services to students in public school populations, which often times means not only meeting the students' heath needs but also working closely with the counselor (if there is one, smh) to service the child's emotional, mental, and academic needs.

2.  Most, if not all of the school nurses we have left in the School District of Philadelphia, have the qualifications that could land them better paying and highly respected positions elsewhere! They choose to stay! That says a lot.

3.  You get what you pay for! The school district want to go cheap! Cheap almost always ends up costing! Contracting out health services? Suppose for whatever reason, they want out? Then what? Suppose for whatever reason, the company tanks? Then what? Suppose building principals have issues with these outside contractors and the level of care they provide? Then what?

4. The district approved 5 new charter schools!

Children deserve...

Outsource school nursing services!
Outsource guest teachers!
Layoffs!
School closings!
Limited music/arts education or no music/arts education!
EC clubs? Only if the primary goal is to increase scores!!! No dilly dally!
Reading is only to be assessed, not enjoyed!

I've long held the belief that our children are worth BILLION dollar investments!
We invest millions/billions in everything else! Stadiums, war, entertainment, why not education?!?

Children deserve highly qualified, certified, knowledgeable, capable, culturally competent, and caring teachers and faculty! Said faculty who are partly responsible (parents/guardians having a major part) for the education of the future of this country and world deserve to be adequately compensated!

Children deserve bright, attractive, up-to-date, clean, and therefore inviting school buildings! Safe learning and play spaces! Comfortable eating and study places! Green, peaceful, and calm spaces!

Children deserve a wide range of quality social and health services, ESPECIALLY, NOT EXCEPT, children who live in areas where there are higher concentrations of poverty and crime!

Children deserve a curriculum rich in English/Language Arts, Mathematics, History, the Arts, Geography, Science, Technology, Kinesthetics, Foreign Language, and more!

Children deserve a chance at hoping, at dreaming, at wondering, at exploring, at possible!
That takes resources, both financial and human!!

Instead we....I mean...THEY, many (not all) in Harrisburg, City Hall, and 440 N. Broad...send them the message that my children aren't worth it! That children who look like me aren't worth those investments, aren't worth a chance at hoping, at dreaming, at wondering, at exploring, at possible.

They send that message by gutting school buildings of everything that makes public schools, school! They want to cut costs, save money, go cheap! Everyone knows that cheap ends up costing!

A Reading Teacher's Confession

So, I'm about to confess here.
I assigned a book recommended by another 3rd grade teacher for the kids to read the other day, this while I really needed to work with others one-on-one. The confession part, I hadn't read the book. My colleague had a class set of books and until now, hadn't gotten around to using them.

The kids LOVE the book and can't put it down. Sooooo, do you know what I'M going to do? Read it! Their excitement has made my a bit jealous and I want to know what it is about the book that makes it so interesting!!

I'm actually excited that *this* is my confession because they are LOVING the book and are letting me know that. They're boasting about what chapter they are on. The are sneaking and talking about it (I say sneak because there are times when we should enjoy relative silence when reading....but sometimes I pretend I don't hear them). One girl said to me as I was collecting them to put away for tomorrow, "Mr. Flemming, this is a really good book. I'm on chapter {whatever it was}." All I could do was smile!

Here's to taking the book home tonight and reading it for myself! lol

On ART class at our school...

Recently, I asked my students to write an essay on whether they believe our school should have an art class five days a week instead of just one day a week. (Tuesday is the day we have an art teacher in our school.) Ummm, sure, I guess!

One of my resident art students on art class five days a week:
"Yes, I think John B. Kelly should have an art class five days a week. I love art and I can teach Mr. Flemming art. The End."

I'll take it!

#ReclaimMLKPHL

Today I chose to rally and march with a few thousand other Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians on this Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. This march for many social justice agenda items brought together many groups, faiths, creeds, cultures...people!

The pictures and tweets under the hashtag #ReclaimMLKPHL tell many of the countless stories and experiences.

While there are quite a few causes that I support, two of the main reasons that I walked, #BlackLivesMatter and public education, particularly in Philadelphia.

While I'm too young to have experienced the marches and fights of the 1960s, I'm old enough to appreciate the victories as a result! Unfortunately, I'm also old enough to see, experience, and fight against regression! To that end, here's to the marches and fights of the 21st century!!

"What do we want?"
"Justice!!"
"When do we want it?"
"NOW!!"
"IF. WE. DON'T. GET. IT."
"SHUT. IT. DOWN!!!!"

Photo Credit (below): Philadelphia Student Union

Black Male Teachers...Why? and What?

Why am I ardent in my belief that our public schools need more black male teachers?
Why shouldn't I be?

One, the worldview of a black male is vastly different from that of a female, even our African American sisters and from those of males of other races. It's not superior, it's different. And since it's all but guaranteed that any child in the United States will have a white female teacher most of the time, having a black male teacher will add depth and variety to worldview from which students are taught.

Just recently, I retweeted this:

"I've had all white teachers and they taught me well, but there wasn't that connectivity." #educolor #OurLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/DQfjqlfnpP
— Melinda D. Anderson (@mdawriter) January 17, 2015

The context of this quote? The need for more black male teachers. As this young man alludes to, there isn't necessarily a deficiency in the quality of instruction he received, but he wishes he had the "connectivity" that comes with having a black male teacher at some point. We can connect with our young black men in ways that others cannot. That is just as important as the content!

I could go on and on on this topic and include arguments for why schools with populations that are majority white and wealthy should also have a diversified faculty that includes black males. I could, again, mention U.S. Department of Education statistics. And so on and so forth!

But what? What am I doing to help?
One, I'm continuing to teach!
Two, I sat one night and thought of who I could speak with and would be most likely to heed the clarion call to go back to school and consider teaching. My brother! BINGO!!! I shot him a detailed text of my thoughts about him going back for his M.Ed and aim for a Social Studies cert since he was a Poli-Sci major and enjoys politics, history, and engaging in conversations about both.

His word to me? "Confirmation" We were born and raised in a Christian household and were taught to reverence the attributes that make God, God. So, "confirmation" implies just that. That the Lord was already working on my brother with this idea and that his big brother just came by and confirmed the word.

Who next?
Hmmm, let me think...