we were supposed to be implementing. We did everything in small groups. We set up this system and bought seventy Tupperware tubs, one for each student. The kids filled the tubs with their notebooks, pencils, books, and other supplies, then slid them under their chairs. They moved from station to station with their tubs. I would set an egg timer. Ten minutes . . . boom. Once the students heard the egg timer go off, they knew they had thirty seconds to grab their tubs and go to the next station.
Each station had a table, and the group of tables was arrayed in an oval in the large classroom. Each table had ten chairs. One station was devoted to journal writing. Every Monday, they would respond to the journal prompt. That night, Michele and I would read the drafts and correct every paper, and the next day return it to the student for a rewrite. It was immediate and time-intensive for usâno chance to slack off if we werenât feeling like correcting seventy papersâbut it worked. The children understood and followed the writing process and became good little authors.
At the listening station, students could hear chapters of books they were reading. Michele would follow at another station where the students would read from their assigned books, and she would instruct them in specific reading skills. At another, I would use flash cards to teach phonics.
It ran like clockwork. Students who were way behind made quick progress; decent readers got better. Even after just the first semester, every student was reading at a higher level, and by the end of the year, they were far ahead of their peers.
I had added reading to math in my instructional expertise the summer after my second year. The folks at Teach For America had gotten wind of my success at Harlem Park, and they invited me to be an instructor for new corps members in Texas. While I was in Houston, I met Kevin Huffman, who gave me pointers on reading. He also won my head and heart. We started dating and knew from early on that we would get married. Kevin taught me how to teach reading through a program called Direct Instruction. I photocopied all of his materials, brought them back to Baltimore, and put them to use. I created small, flexible groups. If a student was in one group and started doing really well, he could move up to another group. Things were very fluid. Thatâs how we did everything; we were able to tailor instruction for each student. Some were learning how to spell rat ; some were knocking out meticulous . Some could read picture books, and others could read James and the Giant Peach , by Roald Dahl.
It worked. We could see improvement immediately.
E DUCATION A LTERNATIVES I NC., THE private education company Mayor Kurt Schmoke had brought in to improve Harlem Park, offered seminars on new teaching tools it had developed. Because I attended some of the seminars and used a few of their methods, which most of the veteran teachers scoffed at, I became a poster child.
When word got around that I was having success, Education Alternative executives started showing up to observe my classes. They liked what they saw and asked if I would accompany them to speak with teachers at public schools on the East Coast about their model. Why not? We gave presentations in Hartford, Connecticut, where Education Alternatives was trying to contract with the public schools. The presentations went well. Then we traveled to Washington, D.C., for a community meeting with teachers.
I remember pulling up to Clark Elementary School, a low-slung building on Kansas Avenue in a middle-class, African American neighborhood. The parking lot was jammed. The auditorium was filled, mostly with teachers. The Washington Teachersâ Union had packed the hall. Jimmie Jackson, union president at the time, had primed her teachers to pounce.
When I got up to describe how I had used the math tools to improve my studentsâ skills, Jackson stood up and accused me of buying
Each station had a table, and the group of tables was arrayed in an oval in the large classroom. Each table had ten chairs. One station was devoted to journal writing. Every Monday, they would respond to the journal prompt. That night, Michele and I would read the drafts and correct every paper, and the next day return it to the student for a rewrite. It was immediate and time-intensive for usâno chance to slack off if we werenât feeling like correcting seventy papersâbut it worked. The children understood and followed the writing process and became good little authors.
At the listening station, students could hear chapters of books they were reading. Michele would follow at another station where the students would read from their assigned books, and she would instruct them in specific reading skills. At another, I would use flash cards to teach phonics.
It ran like clockwork. Students who were way behind made quick progress; decent readers got better. Even after just the first semester, every student was reading at a higher level, and by the end of the year, they were far ahead of their peers.
I had added reading to math in my instructional expertise the summer after my second year. The folks at Teach For America had gotten wind of my success at Harlem Park, and they invited me to be an instructor for new corps members in Texas. While I was in Houston, I met Kevin Huffman, who gave me pointers on reading. He also won my head and heart. We started dating and knew from early on that we would get married. Kevin taught me how to teach reading through a program called Direct Instruction. I photocopied all of his materials, brought them back to Baltimore, and put them to use. I created small, flexible groups. If a student was in one group and started doing really well, he could move up to another group. Things were very fluid. Thatâs how we did everything; we were able to tailor instruction for each student. Some were learning how to spell rat ; some were knocking out meticulous . Some could read picture books, and others could read James and the Giant Peach , by Roald Dahl.
It worked. We could see improvement immediately.
E DUCATION A LTERNATIVES I NC., THE private education company Mayor Kurt Schmoke had brought in to improve Harlem Park, offered seminars on new teaching tools it had developed. Because I attended some of the seminars and used a few of their methods, which most of the veteran teachers scoffed at, I became a poster child.
When word got around that I was having success, Education Alternative executives started showing up to observe my classes. They liked what they saw and asked if I would accompany them to speak with teachers at public schools on the East Coast about their model. Why not? We gave presentations in Hartford, Connecticut, where Education Alternatives was trying to contract with the public schools. The presentations went well. Then we traveled to Washington, D.C., for a community meeting with teachers.
I remember pulling up to Clark Elementary School, a low-slung building on Kansas Avenue in a middle-class, African American neighborhood. The parking lot was jammed. The auditorium was filled, mostly with teachers. The Washington Teachersâ Union had packed the hall. Jimmie Jackson, union president at the time, had primed her teachers to pounce.
When I got up to describe how I had used the math tools to improve my studentsâ skills, Jackson stood up and accused me of buying
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