Category Archives: Teaching

Causes and Friends, Communication, Mental Health, Mental Hygiene, Personal Growth, Teaching

Numb

July 25, 2020 Walter Leave a comment

A short film by Liv McNeil

Watch. Think. Since this will appear on Mr. Boomsma’s Facebook Page I’ll request that you watch and think. It takes three minutes to watch. You’ll want to think about it longer than that before commenting. You might also want to read Liv’s explanation on YouTube.

Liv also posted an important resource in her comments: “This is a COVID-19 youth mental health resource hub if you’ve been negatively affected by isolation, https://jack.org/covid.”

After watching, thinking, and commenting, share it. If you have children, consider watching it together and asking them what they are thinking and feeling.

Congratulations, Liv… on the completion of this important, helpful, and extremely well-done project.

Learning, Personal Growth, School Programs, Teaching

Dear Parent…

April 8, 2020 Walter Leave a comment

One of the educational forums I visit regularly has a recently started thread asking teachers to share the letter to homeschooling parents they wish they could write. Needless to say, there are some funny ones… and some that have quite an edge on them. After all, it’s somewhat normal to criticize teachers and blame them for behavioral issues and any lack of learning. Right now, the shoe is on the other foot.

Social media has also given rise to some funny stuff that acknowledges homeschooling may prove that the business of teaching and learning is not so easy. “If you drive by and see the kids outside and the doors locked, it’s because we’re having a fire drill.”

And the cartoons! Since Dad sometimes fills the role of “principal” I also liked the one where it’s apparent the Mom Teacher has threatened the Child Student with being sent to the Dad Principal. The child points out that the principal is sitting on the couch in his underwear.

It’s great that we’re having fun with this… and it may turn out that parents end up with a greater appreciation for teachers and the school environment. I hope so because I don’t think we fully appreciate some of the advantages the school environment provides.

One of the big ones is that schools are designed as a learning environment–learning is the norm and it’s an obvious expectation. Everything from the furniture to what’s hanging on the walls in the classroom is about learning. When you walk into a school building there is no doubt over what is going on inside

If I were writing to parents about the current situation, I’d be tempted to ask a question, particularly to those who are finding homeschooling a challenge. Is your home a learning environment?

I’m not suggesting that homes should look like a school, although for homeschooling there should be some specific physical learning areas if that’s possible. I am asking whether or not learning–and the value and fun of learning come through clearly.

A downside of “school,” is that some kids come to “hate” it. I wrote a piece a while back about an adult student who advised that she was “sick of learning.” (.) I sincerely hoped she was sick of being taught–that’s fundamentally different. There’s a difference. Learning is a natural process that we instinctively embrace. One of my classroom rules is that we are going to enjoy learning. Or at least try!

Learning should be about curiosity, exploration, and fun. Those are things that shouldn’t be limited to a classroom. In fact, the classroom has a disadvantage on this point. Due to the need for assessments and grades, it’s easy to lose sight of the fun.

When I’m teaching adults one of the more fun things is when parents share stories about how their kids view the parent’s learning. There’s a connection that can lead to some funny things. Sharing is important because it makes learning natural. I will always remember the Mom who arrived for a class starting with a quiz. She said that her young son warned her before she left, “Mom if you don’t pass today, there will be no electronics for the week.” He was quite serious. While it was funny, it also means that quizzes and tests are part of the family environment. And so are the consequences! Creating a learning environment can be as simple as a kid who sees Mom or Dad reading. Learning becomes a way of life.

I remember once being behind a woman towing a toddler through a store. The toddler was in the “why?” stage which can be very tiring. When he asked his question, Mom replied with her own question, “What do you think?”

There’s a lot to like about that response. It reflects that thinking is valued. It acknowledges that curiosity and exploration are a way of life. A child being raised in that environment will learn.

So if homeschooling is a current challenge, remember to teach the joy of learning–don’t just do worksheets and follow schedules. Kids may not want to sit down and complete worksheets and other tasks but they are curious and they will enjoy learning if we give them the chance.

School Programs, Substitute Teaching, Teaching

A Rose by Any Other Name?

January 19, 2020 Walter 2 Comments

For the unfamiliar, the title of this post is a quote from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The full quote is “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” It is often quoted to make the point that what something is called does not change its characteristics or attributes.

I thought of it because I received a message that suggested I should stop referring to “Substitute Teachers” and instead call them “Guest Teachers.” The suggestion included the observation that ” when kids hear “substitute,” they don’t always have respect because you’re “just a sub.”

I also remembered an incident I experienced while subbing (not guesting) in a second-grade classroom. I was surrounded by a cluster of kids, one of whom was examining the badge I wear on a lanyard around my neck. After a fairly lengthy examination, he said, “Mr. Boomsma, your badge is wrong.” Thinking this might be a teachable moment, I examined it myself. All that was on it was “Mr. Boomsma” and “Substitute Teacher.”

So we studied it together until I admitted I couldn’t find the mistake. He said, quite matter-of-factly, “It says you’re a substitute teacher. That’s wrong. You’re a real teacher.”

I floated through the rest of the day and announced at the office they could keep my pay for the day. (They didn’t.)

The problem kids sometimes have with subs–and subs have with those kids–is not the title. It’s the kids’ past experience with subs in general.

I recall one day when for some reason we had a lot of subs at school, including some who hadn’t yet learned routines and a few who were clearly “out of their element.” At recess, I realized every adult on duty with me was a sub. When I left that day, I joked at the office that having subs was a real pain and challenge! And I also left with an appreciation for why kids might “dread” having a sub.

Calling the sub a “Guest Teacher” isn’t likely to change that. In fact, I don’t want to be a guest at school. I am not a guest. I’m a member of the faculty/staff. I don’t want to hear the kids say, “You’re just a guest.” I’d rather be thought of as a teacher who is substituting for another teacher.

I do participate in several national forums and hear some districts are adopting this approach–I truly do not understand what they think they are accomplishing, other than some subs seem to think it is more dignified. Fortunately, the districts in this area are still hiring subs. I hope they continue.

Of course in the grand scheme of things what those of us who substitute are called won’t matter as much as what we do while we’re there. I think I’ll worry more about that than what I’m called.

A substitute teacher by any other name would smell just as sweet and teach just as much.
Mr. Boomsma, a teacher who subs

Classes and Courses, Learning, Teaching

About Learning Engagement and being cute

November 22, 2019 Walter Leave a comment

I wish I could tell you it was intentional… I recently spent some time “catching up” on some reading of blog posts and e-newsletters. I found that several of the items were very connected even though they came from widely diverse sources.

Dearborn Real Estate Education’s “Strategies for Creating Unforgettable Student Experiences in the Classroom” did a reassuringly good job of “selling” the fact that classroom education has some distinct advantages and will provide an edge over low-cost on-line only education.

Edutopia’s Students Think Lectures Are Best, But Research Suggests They’re Wrong isn’t new news, but it does raise an interesting point: “…students don’t invest in high-effort strategies they think are ineffective.” At first, that sounds like a keen grasp of the obvious until you read and realize “It can be difficult for students to gauge their own understanding of a topic.”

Last but not least (human nature likes three’s) Seth Godin’s Break the Lecture completed this package. He makes an interesting comparison of listening to music versus listening to lectures. Spoiler alert: His last sentence nails it. “If we’re going to do it (lecture) live, then let’s actually do it live.” Reminds me a bit of the Harvard Review article that suggested the point of most lectures in the college setting is to “get the material from the instructor’s notes into the student’s notebook without passing through the brains of either.”

If you are teaching (and who isn’t really?), I commend these articles to you. When the very logical Kahn University model took off, lecturing as a teaching method again came under attack. So we’re caught in a zero-sum game. Any teaching method used poorly or exclusively becomes ineffective.

I have participated in (and I’d like to think given) some very effective lectures. The discussion might just be about how to lecture effectively and, most importantly, engage the students in learning. How do we engage our learners?

I spent some time at school this week and a second-grader tugged on my sleeve because she wanted to tell me a secret. After I leaned down, she whispered the name of one of her classmates who “wants to read with you because she thinks you’re really cute.” Hey, if it makes her excited about reading, I can live with it!