OK, I've done it again. I'll explain that later.
This year I teach science and writing. It is a combination that works and it suits me perfectly. From what I can gather, my students (3 classes of about 26 each) love the science part and tolerate the writing part. Many hate the spelling part.
My philosophy on spelling is that words are very important, and understanding them unlocks many doors to meaning and experience. My spelling program is a combination of spelling, vocabulary and word study. 10 words are selected from relevant curriculum vocabulary and include understanding the definitions, and 10 others are selected as a theme -such as with a spelling rule, prefix/root/suffix, or language origin.
I have done this for the past 15 years or so (with appropriate modifications here and there) and have seen great results from the students on a whole.
But this year I have seen some of the worst results ever.
I have been quite discouraged by many of the students who continually do poorly (I mean awful) on these tests. Parents tell me how they struggle with their kids for hours and how much mental anguish it causes only to have them get a 4 out of 30 possible points. I've had meetings with parents and colleagues about this with no appreciable change.
My first class would get usually get a respectable 80% A's, while my second and third classes would get 75% less than C's and class averages in the 40's and 50's. I tried many strategies to help them, but again, often with no change.
Completely frustrated, I laid down a challenge: If everyone who takes the spelling test gets a 100% on their test, I will dye my hair blond. If at least everyone gets an A, I would throw them some sort of party (I wasn't too specific about that one).
You would have thought that I was offering them a million dollars! That is all they talked about all week. About mid-week, I noticed that kids were studying during recess and helping others who generally don't make the effort. They told me they finished their homework. They told me they took practice tests. They asked me if the definitions they had was what I was looking for.
It was amazing.
Even the students who gave up years ago were into it.
Well, I am happy to say, that all of the students who took the test got a 100% on this test! Even students who never passed the test before!
I asked the students, especially the ones who never or rarely seem to lift a finger, how they felt when they got the 100%. All of them loved it. I told them to savor the feeling; to hold on to it and remember how it felt and what they did to get it.
I asked them if they could do it again.
Most of them raised their hands.
I told them they should be proud of their accomplishment and that now there is no excuse for doing poorly again - and that if any of them needed some support, they should ask -- either from each other or from me.
I told them that while I won't volunteer any more extreme challenges like this one, but if everyone can maintain an A average, I will recognize them with some sort of (non-specific) reward.
And in the meantime, I will be making an appointment in the next few weeks to get my hair dyed blond.
Like Jack Black.
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