The Wave

10/2/2022

As a teacher . . .
I made red/green flags, that is 1/4 sheets of of red and green construction paper, stapled together, one on every students desk. All day, but particularly during math practice (i.e. homework, but done in class) a red flag meant "I need help on a problem."
With some adult help (special needs para-educators, parents, the reading specialist dropped by during her free period) we roamed the room, flipping the flag from red to green when we arrived to help.
One youngster (fifth graders are 10 years old) required numerous visits, since when I got there I just helped with the next step, scaffolding, if you will.
One of my favorite moments of teaching was when I got to his desk yet one more time and he saw me walk up, he flipped his flag over to green and just waved me off with a flick of his hand. I loved that moment of "I don't need your help and I'm concentrating so go help someone else" moment - a little wave of his hand.
If you wouldn't love that moment, you probably shouldn't be a teacher. I loved my ten years of teaching. The standards based movement, and NCLB in particular, drove me out of teaching.
But I did go from there to graduate school at UO, which is why you get to call me . . .
Dr. P-J

9 Comments

Michael Jensen

10/2/2022 10:01:35 am

Such a lovely story. I had the opportunity to watch you teach and it was a delightful thing to see. Kind of like watching an Air Traffic Controller and 30 jets.. I am proud of you! You made o difference for the good!

Shell link

10/10/2022 08:50:38 am

Thank you, my love.

Jean Cory

10/5/2022 06:22:53 pm

I can relate to that story. I had a blond 3rd grader, the tallest kid in the class. His parents looked like hippies and they moved from place to place in a camper. His education had been hit or miss and he didn't make much effort. I wanted to show him he could succeed. I decided to try with the weekly spelling test. He stayed after school and we made flash cards together. He would try to write the word correctly, check the card and try again. He seemed to enjoy it. He got a perfect score when the class took the spelling test. The next week without any further help from me, he got a perfect score again. The week after that he missed almost all the words and from then on, he went back to failing the tests. But I was happy. I knew I'd taught him a secret he hadn't known before.

Dr. P-J link

10/8/2022 01:59:45 pm

I would imagine that he did remember the lesson - how to study, how to learn . . . something that would come up later relating to something about which he cared more than spelling.

Maryanne

10/6/2022 01:57:48 pm

Yes! Those small wins are what it is all about. They equalize numerous epic failures.

10/8/2022 02:00:58 pm

Yes, often, it is in the smaller moments that we make the greatest difference.

Noel

10/6/2022 06:38:36 pm

I would of been waved off for simply being me .I was better with the big kids . I thought I might have to return to the classroom as a substitute teacher to pay the astronomical P, G , & ,E electrical bill , from a solid month of plus 100 °F temperatures. Thankfully , I was able to sell off some items I wasn't using and didn't need , to prevent the sum of all fears .
I could teach Geology again to a group of individuals who wanted to learn about late miocene tsunami deposits representing 9plus earthquakes along the Cascadia Fault. But that's a really small group of people.

10/8/2022 02:02:06 pm

I think you should lead field trips. I will never forget the time you took me crystal hunting in the White Mountains.

Busty Escorts Dothan link

3/17/2025 06:57:24 pm

That's such an inspiring story about student growth.

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