Why Are We So Quick To Label Students?

This week we got our class lists! Which was exciting for me for two reasons. One, it meant I could start labeling things! Two, it was my first look into the names that I will be spending the rest of the school year with. (However, if I haven't expressed it on here before, I loved my last class and I'm not ready to let them go!) I'm excited to start my third year teaching! For one, I never thought I would make it here. I had to overcome so much I wasn't totally convinced I would ever reach my dream of being a teacher. I thought I would have to resign myself to the fact that I would make do with the corporate world and training in lieu of teaching. For another, it means I'm at a point where I feel a little more comfortable to try some new things while still keeping the things that have worked for me in the past couple years. So why the title of this post? Yesterday, I was having lunch with some coworkers and a couple of retired teachers from our school. As with most teacher conversations, the talk turned to the new year and some of the students we will be seeing this year. As talk turned to one student in particular, one of the ladies immediately began to voice the fact that she considered this student ADHD. When I asked her why she felt that way, she mentioned that he liked to move around. I in turn told her I had interacted with the child before and didn't feel as if he had ADHD at all! Now, I haven't had him in class so I can't be for certain but I can tell you that I have my experiences with ADHD and I am pretty good at spotting genuine cases rather than any child who can't sit in their seat for an hour. By the way, WHO WANTS TO SIT FOR AN HOUR?? Not me! I can't sit still without being engaged for more than 20-30 minutes before I turn to other forms of entertainment. My motto for the beginning of the year is to not ask other teachers what they think about their former students because I want to get a good non-jaded opinion of them. Now, I'm not claiming that I'm the best and can solve any student's issues with my magical ways, but sometimes the dynamic between myself and a student may be different than a former teacher and student. I will at some point within the first month consult a former teacher if I'm having trouble getting to the bottom of something with a student, but maybe I can find what best engages them before that point. Again, not claiming I'm all knowing, but shouldn't every student have the chance at a fresh start at the beginning of the school year? Last year, I read the student profiles a couple weeks into school and scoffed when I saw that one child was prone to throwing fits when he didn't get his way. The same child I already shared a love of reading with? I came to realize that this student was bored with regular school because he functioned at a much higher level than most students and didn't see the point in mundane tasks. Um, who can blame him? I gave this student alternative lessons and had him tested for gifted; wouldn't you know I never saw him melt down as indicated in his profile? Again, it comes down to the dynamic between the teacher and student. He probably won't always mesh with his teachers the way he did with me, but I hope I gave him enough tools to be successful in the future. So as we start the new year, stop labeling students before you get to know them! Find out what makes them tick and see if you can help bring that into their learning. I'm not saying we can't ever label students because sometimes it's necessary to label them to get them the help they need in their learning, but sometimes we just need to know out students better rather than slap a label on them. Creating engaging environments isn't always easy but school shouldn't be like it was when we were there. The jobs these students will have won't be the same ones that are available to us today. They're going to see a different future and we need to prepare them for it!

Buncee!

So I'm really excited to share Buncee with my PLN! I learned about Buncee from an awesome abassador in Andover, KS during EdCampKS. It is a presentation tool for teachers and students and it is going to be one of my favorites and an easy go-to! One of my favorite features is that you can easily search in the app for pictures and stickers without having to worry about copying, pasting, and copyright.

Here is the Buncee I created for my students for the first day of school:


One of the things they are going to do is create a Buncee to introduce themselves. They will have the option of sharing it with everyone in front of the class, but all of them will be turned into QR codes for a bulletin board in our classroom.

I also love the Teacher Dashboard where you can assign Buncees and have them turned in on the website. Really great! I think I'm going to use Buncee for student book reviews, a quick and easy way to share what they think about a book with their fellow students.

Click here if you want to give Buncee a try! You can also comment or tweet me if you want more information!