Month: March 2019

Dear Students,

With Spring Break fast approaching, it means that it will soon be testing time.  I know that no one relishes standardized tests, but here’s what I am asking of you:  take the week of Spring Break to rejuvenate yourselves.  When you come back, be ready to kick the PSAT’s butt!

Happy Spring Break!

Love,

Ms. Sabbagh

P.S.  For those of you who want may want to prepare yourselves, you can practice for the SAT on Khan Academy, and always use your strategies while reading your independent novel (we visited the library today to get a new book for SSR).

 

 

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From the desk of Ms. Rumler, Social Worker:

The Anti–Bullying Club and Active Minds have paired together for a joint project aimed at building community where all are seen, heard and loved.  Our aim is to share visually what individuals feel makes them matter.

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When I was approached and asked to help my students participate in this endeavor, I had to pause.  On the one hand, it should be obvious that everyone matters – because, well, everyone matters. On the other hand, was I able to articulate why I matter?  And if I couldn’t put it into words, then how could I expect my students to?

To help us out, I enlisted Angela Maiers, an education and technology consultant, by sharing her TED Talk “You Matter‘ with my students.

Maiers said something that really resonated with me.  She shared, “People do not walk around with a sign that says, ‘Do I matter to you?’ They do not have a tattoo that says, ‘Let me know you see me. Let me know you value my presence. Let me know how I can help you because I want to. I want to give you what I have. I am just dying for you to ask me.’

Here’s the thing – human beings are pretty basic people.  For all the thingsmakes us “complicated” we have needs, and aside from having BASIC needs met, we have emotional and psychological needs which need to be met as well.

And when they are not, that’s when the breakdown occurs.

Students spend a lot of time in school.  Students spend a lot of time surrounded by people who have a significant impact on their lives – whether it be their classmates, their friends, their teachers, etc.

Everyone NEEDS to feel like they matter – or else what would be the point? (I can only hope that I am successful in making my students feel like THEY matter.)

Their thoughts, their hopes, their dreams, their fears…. it all matters.

When trying to help my students and myself come up with our “I matter because…” statment, I asked them a simple question.  I asked them – what is it that you offer the world, that no one else does?  Why does it matter that YOU are here?

Of course, with any thought-provoking question, the responses ran the gamut.

Most students were able to share that they matter because:

• they make their family happy
• they make their friends laugh
• they are helpful to those in need

I was in a colleague’s classroom the other day, and her students had completed this exercise also.  The response which stood out to me the most was this one, “I matter because even though I struggle, I help people to see there is hope that tomorrow will be better.”

Even after a day of completing this exercise, I still struggle with putting into words why I matter.

Of course, my students were quick to exclaim ‘Wallah, I hope you know you matter to us Ms. Sabbagh.’

But why?

And I think that was Maier’s point.  It’s not enough to say YOU MATTER (even though those two words in and of themselves are extremely powerful), it’s the WHY. Why do you matter?

And I think that I could tell you why you matter – but until it comes from you – until YOU know that you matter, you won’t believe it.

So, here it goes: my best I matter because… statement:

I matter because despite the fact that life is hard, I believe we are here for a reason – and I can only hope *fingers crossed* that who I am, as I am, makes a difference (in a positive way) in the lives of those around me.

So, thatś my why.  Whatś yours?

Thanks for reading. ~ Ms. Sabbagh

My second year teaching, I had this student, let’s call him James (after one of his favorite basketball players).  James struggled in school.  No matter how earnestly James tried to understand what he was trying to learn, it was like he was in a rudderless boat, failing to get anywhere.  But, the great thing about James, something that I laud even to this day, is how hard he worked.  James did not allow his learning disability to limit what he was determined to learn.  While there were many people in his corner eager to help him, James’ success was primarily attributed to one person… HIMSELF!

It reminds me of a quote I’ve used earlier this year, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always gotten.” Here’s the thing… 

You can do the work, to get it done, and still not make progress. 

It would be the equivalent of me showing up at the gym, and not actually exercising, picking up a musical instrument, but not actually playing, going to basketball practice, but not actually practicing.

And I know it sounds hokey, but you can’t do it for anyone else but for yourself. 

My mom desperately wants me to lose weight.  She is worried about my health, and any long-term effects associated with being morbidly obese.  I could lose weight for my mom, just like you could do your homework for your teacher… but until YOU pick up the baton, both literally and figuratively, you will not be inspired to change. 

This blog post is brought to you by an assignment my AP Lang students recently completed.  They were asked to make connections to the themes presented in Barbara Ehrenreich’s social experiment Nickel and Dimed. Below are two student samples: 

Student Sample #A: 

Barbra had met Pele when working at the nursing home. He mentioned having a lot of money but not being able to stay at home because he would go crazy.this reminded me about the article “Income Inequality” where it talked about the rich having therapy. It mentioned that the rich don’t feel safe about talking about their money to others. That and Barbra suspicions had me thinking he was lying along with Barbra.

 

Student Sample #B: 

The experiment conducted by Barbara Ehrenreich in Nickel and Dimed was very similar to the experiment conducted by John Howard Griffin in Black Like Me. However, Griffin’s experiment was far more extreme and controversial since his ultimate goal was to show compassion towards, and to provide a microphone to, the black race during a time in which a white man showing any empathy towards blacks was deemed traitorous. Through dying his skin and leaving his family to move deep into the South for months, Griffin did everything possible to simulate the life of a black man in America in the 60’s. From being exposed to the perversion of white men while hitchhiking, to being rendered vulnerable to the violence of – once again – white men while walking alone late at night, there were many things “Black” Griffin experienced that “White” Griffin had never known or worried about. He was constantly threatened by people who looked just like him prior to his transformation. Yet, while Ehrenreich’s experiment may not be nearly as controversial or treacherous, it still encompasses the same goal and is still a great feat. Ultimately, both authors are putting themselves in someone else’s shoes in order to fully empathize and educate themselves to their best ability about another group’s day-to-day struggles. The end goal is to disclose their findings to the public and provide the matches to help spark change for the suppressed group. However, a big flaw in Griffin’s experiment, which he acknowledged in the epilogue, was that he would never be able to fully simulate the decades of racism that blacks have endured. Therefore, he realized he was in no position to lecture blacks on what they should do. Consequently, he concluded that his experiment was pointless. Therefore, I wonder if Ehrenreich will conclude the same thing in her experiment and realize that she could’ve just asked people about their experiences instead of invalidating their voices. This was not an option that Griffin had because black people would never tell a white man about their experiences because at the time there would’ve been a lot of suspicion, and subsequently, fear towards Griffin’s motives. Since simply asking low wage workers about their experiences was an option for Ehrenreich, it makes me question if she will also conclude that her experiment was pointless – just like Griffin’s.

Let me begin by stating that it is not fair to compare these two samples.  The fact of the matter is, no two students have the same education background and/or opportunities provided to them.  The truth is, the inequity which exists in education is staggering. With that having been said, both students received the same instructions – and, as you can see, produced startling different results. And it’s not about the length of their responses, it’s about the depth of thinking which is obviously happening in one post, and glaringly absent in another.

 As long as students’ focus is on the wrong thing, checking a box, they will not get as much out of their educational experience.  To many, school is a holding place for eight hours of their day, a prison of sorts that continues to punish and demean them.  I can’t help but wonder if/how much student ownership plays a role in making learning more meaningful to them. But, at the end of the day,  I can be the “best” teacher ever, if students are still just “checking in” they aren’t getting the maximum they can out of their time in mine, or any other teacher’s classroom. 

I wish I had a solution.  I have often polled other intrinsically motivated students, asking them what their secret is.  But, it’s just like me and my weight.  At the end of the day, the decision NEEDS to come from within, from them.  They can’t do it for you, for me, or any other well-intentioned person in their life.  That’s just how it goes. 

At the end of the day, I will keep doing my best to convince them that this is the CHOICE that will change their lives indelibly. Choose wisely.   

Thank you for reading. – Ms. Sabbagh