A new day...

OK, I always say, "I am seriously going to post. Really. I mean it this time." However, it never seems to happen. But,  today is a new day. Today is about not being so serious. I have a new job, a new home, a new business, and a new degree.

Life is challenging to say the least. I am excited about this new journey, and if no one reads this but me, then so be it. I am doing what I feel I need to do to be me. I will figure this thing out along the way.

Testing is done...stick a fork in it.

We are now at the time of year when testing is finished, spring is in the air, prom is around the corner, students and teachers alike are restless, and graduation is almost a certainty. What now? Some of us begin preparation for vacations, some for summer school...I am preparing for all of the above. I wish I had some words of wisdom, but I feel like the duck calm on the surface and paddling below water like crazy. What I do know is I love my job. I love my students. I love the people I work with (OK, most of them), and I count my blessings every day. I have a roof over my head, food on my table, and love in my heart. I am lucky, and I know it, and it is my job to provide this future for every student's path I cross. 

Rejoice that we survived another year.

End of School Year Morale Boost

I know I do not post nearly as often as I should, but my new short term goal is to post at least once a week. This week is coming to an end, and I read a post on Facebook that hit home for me. Almost all teachers hit a point, sometimes after February or spring break, and sometimes not until May where they are exhausted and "done." Some teachers hit it sooner than others. 

I love my job, and weekly, I think, "Wow! Someone pays me to do this job!" I rebelled during my 20s and most of my 30s to my mom telling me, "you should be a teacher. You would be good at it." I use to play school as a child in my grandparent's office on family visits home to Louisiana, and I would make all my cousins participate. Sufficed to say, some of them dreaded my visits home. Lol!

Teaching was the last career I thought I wanted. But, like good parents, both of my parents stood by me on my journey of self-discovery. And finally, at 37 years old, I became a teacher. I would not change my profession for all of the money in the world. I love what I do, and I have seen the impact first hand that teachers have on students. 

We live in an increasingly complex world, and kids today need role models to guide them and educate them for the obstacles they will navigate to find their true self. So with that, and the end of the year fast approaching, read on for motivation to know teachers matter.

The following is from "Petals of Joy"

I get it. I had a student hurt my feelings today. Words that cut deep and wounded because there is always an element of truth perceived by the one being sarcastic.
And I’ve been icing my bruises all afternoon.

The school year is winding down, and I’m tired. I know you’re tired, too. Exhaustion is seeping in. We’re wondering if we’re going to end better than we began, or if our students will be dragging our limp bodies across the finish line.

My seniors may have three weeks left, but they checked out a month ago. Some days I wonder why I even bother to have a lesson. I could just assign a reading passage and the questions to answer from the end for the next fifteen school days.
There are teachers out there who do that…

I understand why.

I spend days and weeks begging and pleading, attempting to try anything that might, just might, get my students to read the books I assign.

I craft lessons and talk about stories and show video clips in every attempt to get my teens to think outside of themselves—to see the world and its nuances. Then I spend lunch wiping the tears of the one bullied and outcast.

I stay up to grade essays and comment on ways to improve their writing. Hours spent away from my family only to wonder if it makes any sort of difference when I see those same essays in the trash.
So by this time of year, I’m ready to call it quits. Every year wondering if I can do it again.
I know you understand. I know you feel the same. I know you have nights you wonder why you chose this profession, this teaching, this pouring out of your life into hearts day after day after day.
But really? You didn’t choose teaching.

It chose you.

For me, college was spent denying the very thought of teaching. It was only a far-in-the-background safety net if the writing thing didn’t work out.
The only job I could get right out of college?

Yep. Teaching.

By Christmas that first year I said never again.

I’ve been teaching thirteen of the last seventeen years, and now there’s no other job I’d enjoy more. _{(Unless being a travel writer for Condé Nast was an option…Are they hiring? Tahiti sounds like heaven right now.)}
It is my calling. It is my purpose.

But here’s the thing about calling. God doesn’t call us to the easy. He invites us to the hard. The get-your-hands-dirty difficult. We are not promised perfect just because we are fulfilling our life’s purpose.

Because that kid with the bitter sarcasm? He or she may still need your smile that you might not want to give.

And your class after lunch with 20 big teenage boys and only five girls, all hyped-up with sugar, dyes, and processed foods and IEPs and 504s? They need to know they’re worth the effort even when they themselves show none.

And those children from broken homes with parents who shatter each other with words or fists? They need a quiet heart to stand beside them, even though you know politicians only see their test scores and not their homes.

And those students with apathy so thick you fear they will never feel anything? For anyone? They need to see that transparency breathes a beautiful life. They need to see it in you, even when the see-through heart leaves you an easy target.

Teaching was never about us. If this profession has called your name, you’re only ever in it for the students.

That’s why it hurts so much when they act like they don’t care or when the disrespect slaps us hard across the face, and the sting burns for days.

I know you’re tired. You’re battle weary with wounds seeping and scarring. But they still need you.
They need to see your fight.

Don’t give up, my friend. You can’t. I can’t. The stakes are too high. This calling, this profession, this teaching—it changes the future.

Our students are worth starting new tomorrow. They are worth giving it all we have one more day again and again and again.

Because there are students listening. There are students learning. There are students caring. We must refuse to allow the loud voices of a few to drown out the soft voices of teachable spirits.

Let’s fight together, friends. Let’s end this year better than we began. Let’s cheer each other on tomorrow and the next day and the next until we hear that final bell ring.

This is our calling. These are our students.

They deserve our fight.

Petals of Joy

Acton Research Conclusions

ABSTRACT

 INQUIRING MINDS: INCREASING STUDENT MOTIVATION FOR SUCCESS

By

Stephany York

Student apathy is at an all-time high while motivation is at an all-time low.  This generation of students is the first generation to grow up completely with technology at the tip of their fingers. Even those among the poorest have access to it.  Today’s students are more knowledgeable, and more easily bored, and more apathetic than the generations that came before them. Whether the cause is parenting, poverty, technology, or language barriers, it is imperative that educators find a motivating factor to ensure success for public education.  Student apathy has increased in public schools over the past five to ten years showing a decline in student participation and state mandated test scores. Several projects were implemented in an effort to increase student motivation at Dimmitt High School in Dimmit, Texas. A study by Próspero et al. (2012) proved that short-term rewards will yield short-term effects, and this appears to be the case with this study. However, there were successes with the overall population of students just not with the failing quarter of English I EOC Reading and Writing students retesting. Some students are showing an increase in performance due to implementation of student activities and rewards, but the numbers are not large enough to be considered a success in alleviating apathy and increasing motivation. The desire to get out of EOC accelerated learning classes to regain electives is present with a small population of students, but overall, this does not show a large enough increase in passing rates to suggest it could be a motivating factor. Nevertheless, with that said, two factors has shown success: student voice and caring teachers.

                                         Concluding Remarks

If school stakeholders want to eradicate student apathy, it begins with good instructional leadership on the part of the principal and assistant principal, good teachers who are highly qualified and care about the individual student as well as his/her education, and parents who are willing to invest in their child’s future. The last part, the parent, is the one aspect that, as educators, is beyond our control, so we must do what is necessary to get our students to buy in to their own education and know they have a future beyond those of a school building.  Goldberg et al. (2001) defines motivation as “provide[ing] someone with an incentive to so [sic] something. . . . Personal goals determine why people do what they do, and the content of these goals direct them.  Unfortunately, far too many students are refusing to work for goals that have a far too distant payoff (Glasser, 1998) or incentive.  Ultimately, if we can learn to help students self-motivate and find the desire to succeed within; these students show much higher rates in success.  Próspero et al. (2012) states, “an individual’s attempt to find challenges that are suited to his or her competencies and are carried out for the pleasure of the activity itself, absent of external rewards.”  

For a copy of the complete study, you may contact me by email.

Stephany York

Action Research Update

It was determined during CEIC that it would serve as the committee to weight data and determine what would best increase student motivation for success. The committee first met October 18, 2012. After examining DMAC data from the March 2012 EOC administration, the December 2012 EOC administration, and the February 2013 EOC benchmark, there has been no increase in student performance with the group of students that failed to meet minimum state requirements. The determination can’t be made, yet, whether students are showing an increase in performance due to implementation of student activities and rewards or desire to get out of EOC classes and regain electives. Fifty percent of the students retested out of the original thirty-four percent that failed the first EOC test in March 2012 passed on the December retest administration. The next test day will take place on April 1 and 2, 2013. A student meeting and informal canvassing has not been held as of yet due to scheduling and preparations for the EOC tests beginning April 1, 2013. If possible, a meeting will be held before the end of the year to determine next year’s needs and to try to establish new incentives. Data and time have not been readily available due to inconsistent benchmarks and lack of DMAC data to formulate an accurate assessment per six weeks as originally planned. One incentive program that has gained popularity and appears to have interested the students is a “Student of the Month.” The idea was ridiculed by students at first, but it has gained interest as the program continues. Announcements are made during the breakfast period, rewards are handed out, and the student’s picture is placed on the wall. The perfect attendance reward for off-campus lunch has also been implemented with students showing less apathy, but more data is needed to determine if there is an increase in grade point averages and test scores. Three things have proven to be of interest to students: elective classes, off-campus lunch, and public recognition.

Student Motivation Action Planning Template

Action Planning Template
Goal: Improve Grades and State Mandated Student Assessment Scores for Students in the 2nd and 3rd Quartile by Increasing Student Motivation.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Form a committee of teachers to determine needs and target students	Committee Members Present: Various faculty member from almost every discipline including myself (two members were not present)	Start Date: October 18, 2012	School grade point average	Compare 9th and 10th grade data from 2011-2012 school year
Committee meets to identify potential student incentives that will motivate students to succeed		End Date: Summer 2013, Reevaluate data to make changes before 2013-2014 school year for NCLB	disaggregate data from benchmark testing, the first six weeks of school, and the 2011-2012 EOC exam	Examine student EOC scores from 2011-2012 with scores from December 2012 data for students retesting and data for current 9th and 10th grade students testing for the first time spring 2013 EOC
Two committee members meet with the principal to begin implementation of idea	One other faculty member, the principal, and I will meet to decide and begin implementation.		volunteer students to form SEIC	Gain insight from students themselves on a committee representing the target groups of students (2nd and 3rd quartile)
Teachers will meet on a weekly basis to determine which students are deserving of the “students of the month”	The school is divided in to halls: A, B, and C. Teachers will meet weekly and offer suggestions to the hall that will be awarding “students of the month.” The halls will rotate, so no one group of teachers influences the students awarded.	November 1, 2012. Eight students (a boy and a girl from each grade) will be awarded every month throughout the school year.	The community is donating items. Additional supplies will be purchased as needed and as determined by monthly meetings.	Incentive program will be evaluated every six weeks.
Classroom teachers will give awards every reporting period.	Every classroom teacher.	Awards will start at the beginning of the third six weeks reporting period.	Items to be determined, but they will be uniform so no one teacher has an advantage or disadvantage over another teacher.	Program will be evaluated after every six weeks to determine if there is an increase in grades and motivation.
Perfect attendance tickets will be awarded every six weeks. Annual perfect attendance will receive additional tickets.	Attendance clerk, principal, and I will run reports to determine which students will receive tickets.	Program will be effective retroactively beginning with August 27, 2012 ending at the end of the school year.	A drawing will be held from the tickets earned and an IPad will be awarded to the students whose name is drawn.	Attendance will be compared to that of last year to determine if any gains were made.
Lay the ground work for SEIC (Student Education Improvement Committee) and present goals and objectives to the principal.	I will be solely responsible for this with guidance from the principal.	Fall 2012 (before winter break at the end of December) through the current school year ending in May 2013	Volunteer students, facility to meet, basic supplies, precautions will be implemented to keep data specific to student achievement and success confidential	To be Determined after meeting with students.