Fiddles, Guitars, Ukuleles and Martens

“Remember: everyone in the classroom has a story that leads to misbehavior or defiance. 9 times out of 10, the story behind the misbehavior won’t make you angry. It will break your heart.” ~ Annette Breaux

This week was hard.

Over the past month and half, Philip and I have worked tirelessly to establish routines and structure that both provide responsive flexibility and safe boundaries for our students. That is a very delicate balance that is so hard to strike. And during our time here, I would say overall, things are trending in the right direction. However, one of the hallmarks of the district, for which we work, is both a highlight and a detriment to that very balance. There are so many programs and resources available for students out here, all designed to provide them a means of being successful post-high school. Sometimes, these opportunities allow students to travel away from the village, to participate in week-long camps where they can receive training that actually certifies them in a trade, or teaches them foundational skills leading up to that milestone. Other times, it means various district personnel coming into the village to teach their skill sets to the students on campus.

This week, we had two programs simultaneously happening on our campus. The first was called Dancing with the Spirit, a musical program that aimed to teach kids how to play guitar, ukulele, and violin using a combination of folk songs, Christmas songs, and Native songs. The second program was CTE based, with an experienced trapper teaching kids how to trap and skin martens. The original plan was not for these two programs to happen during the same week, but because of bad travel weather, the music program was here on a reschedule.

Let me discuss the "hard" of this week. We knew the music program was coming. We were emailed a schedule, from our principal, of their plans the weekend prior, and so we planned our instructional days around that schedule. We knew the routine was going to be disrupted, and we expected the kids to get a little off because of that. But we also know that posting a plan for our students helps the day go so much more smoothly, because it provides that element of stability that they are growing accustomed to with us. In fact, any teacher knows the crucial importance of having a plan for the day, both for your own sanity, as well as behavior management for your class. And yet.....

Monday morning, we learned during Morning Circle time, that the trapper guy was coming for the week as well.

Tuesday morning, we learned that the schedule we had been sent for Dancing with the Spirit was in fact, not the schedule the music program would be following.

In fact, no master schedule had been set at all. The motto was, "Whatever works for the teachers. We're flexible." But we had no information on how long their lessons or presentations would take, no information on how it would affect lunch or gym time, no information on where in the building any of this would actually take place... In short, we had nothing to go on, and students were already in the building, ready to start the day. I literally had to write on my board, for the day's schedule, "We're going to be flexible today, and go with the flow."

Another layer of complication was the fact that now, instead of the focus being on one program, there was a competition for time and engagement between two. And my class was all about the trapping class. The music, not so much. As you know, especially with younger children, focus is limited, and when there are competing elements, the one more favored makes the one less desired seem that much worse. The music lessons quickly became the thing they "had" to do, versus the trapping, which is what they wanted to do. It didn't help that the music teachers bit off way more than our kids could chew. I've mentioned before that our students' mental stamina is extremely low, and they have a tendency to bail the moment they encounter a challenge. Sure enough, Tuesday's first music lesson involved my 5th and 6th graders attempting to learn how to play guitar chords (D, A and G to be exact) to songs they verbally stated that they hated. And when they couldn't figure out the finger positions, they checked out. But it never stops with them just choosing not to participate. With the students who reach that point of frustration, it usually transitions into them disrupting others, in an attempt to mask their own perceived failure. Which is exactly what happened. My quitters began strumming and banging loudly on the guitars, especially whenever the teachers tried to talk, and there was no successful encouragement to get them to reengage. I let it get just shy of what I could tell was going to be the boiling point, and then I finally removed the two causing the disruption. I already knew it was going to be a move that would exacerbate their anger, but I also had to protect the opportunity for the remainder of my students who were actually interested in learning.

I headed back to my classroom, with the two in tow, and we began what turned into an hour of the battle of the wills; engaging in philosophical debate with emotions being drawn out, logical fallacies challenged, and levels of stubbornness being gauged. Yet through it all, my emotional demeanor remained calm. It was highly interesting to watch these two students use every psychological weapon in their arsenal to try to tear at my armor, tools that have probably worked for them in the past. When one didn't work, they pulled out another. It was like rapid fire. And yet, I checked each one, and remained unphased. The whole time, I was torn between anger at the lack of planning by others that had brought us to this point, as well as thankfulness that more was being learned in this moment by the three of us in that classroom. They were learning what I'm made of, and I was learning more about their past journeys. When they finally tired, I once again repeated my refrain that they could join the group whenever they were ready to try again. I knew it had to be their idea, not mine.

Eventually, they rejoined the class, but they didn't touch another instrument that day. On the contrary, I had 100% engagement from my class with the trapping presentation. Of course, there were several notable differences with this program.

1. The subject matter was highly relevant to the students' everyday life.

2. The teacher's demeanor was authentic, and it was obvious he had experience teaching his craft to beginners.

3. The teacher was open to questions, and really was flexible to the needs of the teachers and the students.

4. The teacher was open to questions, and really was flexible to the needs of the teachers and students.

Yes, I meant to repeat #3 twice. The main frustration with the music program was that the presenters led with their flexibility, and yet it was clear that they believed their agenda was more important than anything else. They also successfully demonstrated that they knew very little about how to work with kids or how to pace their material. They completely ignored the unique skill set of some of the students, and instead chose to plow ahead with their own schedule. In this case, I'm talking about our Crosby kids. Obviously, all four of our kids have experience playing string instruments, since all of them were in orchestra for several years back in Texas. It got to the point where they were trying to help show their classmates basic things that had been bypassed, like how to hold the bow, or properly hold the instrument under the chin, to make playing easier. Yet they were shut down by the music teachers, who communicated that, "they were the teachers," and that they didn't need their instruction to be interrupted. Let me contrast that with the CTE teacher. I told him ahead of time that I had three students in my class who are already have experience in snaring and marten trapping. During his lessons, he would always utilize their experience, asking them for input periodically, to provide an alternative method, or let them speak a little about their techniques. He would let them help others in some of the hands-on components, really empowering them to shine at something they were good at. Low and behold, that made them more open to learning from him.

There was also the element of follow-through. With the trapping class, students were taught the skills, allowed to practice the skills, and then given tools and materials that they could keep, to do their own personal trapping. With the music, what followthrough were the students going to have? Only three instruments were left behind, two of which had been found in the school's attic, and there is no teacher to continue regular instruction. Unless you count our kids, I suppose. It made the entire week's musical program superficial and out of touch at best.

After we all suffered through the chaos of Tuesday's lack of communal planning, Wednesday morning, Philip put together a master schedule for the three classrooms, using input from teachers' daily schedules and preferences, and input from the presenters on how much time they actually needed. Like I said before, the trapping presenter was truly open and flexible, easygoing about his time on our campus. The music presenters, not so much. They went with our proposed schedule for the day, and sure enough, our students had a much better day, but the instructors were notably put off. However, we had clear schedules to post on the board, and the ability to frame for our students the expectations for the day. And yet...despite the success of the day, the following morning, we were presented with a different schedule constructed by the music presenters, because the schedule we came up with, "didn't really work for them."

Which brings me to the crux of our frustration with all of this. The district seeks out program opportunities to expose its students, particularly in the rural locations, to skills and knowledge beyond what they can attain in their respective locations. Great. But rarely are the intricate campus dynamics considered in the execution of these programs. I know it's only been a month and half for us, but we, the teachers, know our students better than the presenters who come out here. What we recognize as successful moments for them are completely missed by outsiders because those moments don't align with their agendas. It also isn't clear as to whether or not we are meant to cater to outside presenters, or whether they are meant to cater to the campus. This lack of clarity adds volatility to what on our campus, is already a fragile state of being. I tried explaining this to one of the music teachers, over what ended up being my lack of a lunch break, but I don't think it made much of a difference. I tried supplying a bit of information about the dynamic of my class, and breaking down their responses, highlighting what were actually positives, and explaining the tendencies that set my students off. But I didn't see any of that transfer into their lessons.

By the end of the week, despite a better engagement rate from our students pertaining to music, the 5th-12th graders were ready to see the music teachers go. I even resorted to awarding points for participation, because I knew how much effort it took some of my students to choose to engage in something that was so irrelevant or challenging for them. They were also showing a level of respect that I know they would not have given, had this program showed up a month ago. The program culminated in an evening performance for family members and the community at the school, where students were to showcase their learning. If you follow the school's facebook page, you may have seen the pictures from that evening. I can tell you right now: the age of social media has allowed for events to come out looking a lot better than their reality. It was clear to anyone paying attention, that very little of the learning that was advertised actually happened during the week, relating to instrument playing or singing songs. I think the best thing that came out of that program was just in allowing the kids to have fun exploring different musical instruments.

The trapping class, however, was much more successful. On Thursday, the kids were able to go outside, and learn how to set up a trap for martens, and on Friday, they were able to finish their trap boxes that will house the snares and traps they had received, and learned how to operate, earlier in the week. Overall, the presentation outline and pacing of this class was clear, logical, and in bite-sized chunks that the kids could follow. There was also enough background knowledge and relevance that the kids could tap into, before learning something new. The two programs happening simultaneously, although not ideal, once again demonstrated the importance of striking the balance between structure and open exploration. It put the spotlight on the importance of paying attention to the small details that clue you in to the uniqueness of the human condition, and how learning will only happen if those details are accounted for.

All that to say, by Friday afternoon, the teachers were exhausted. We met together after school to both plan for the remaining two weeks, as well as reflect on how the past week had gone. Moving forward, we decided to take more initiative in providing our schedules upfront, and leading with the importance of maintaining routines as much as possible. Our feedback to the district will include the highs and lows of each program, as well as the need for more heads up before guests arrive on our campus. We hear the refrain, "That's village life," so often, and to an extent, I get that. But I think we can all do better than 24 hours notice, and we can begin to teach the importance to our students and their families of the need for established expectations. Too much flexibility communicates a lack of importance, and if something isn't that important, then why invest so much in it, whether that be time, money or effort?

This week, though exhausting, was once again, informative. We are continuing to learn about the capacity and potential of our students, and remembering that what we see is only the tip of the iceberg. Our students' home life stories are heartbreaking, and their actions are manifestations of their pain and distrust. Keeping that in the forefront helps keep those frustrating moments with them in perspective. Of course, it increases the disdain we have for those in education who are oblivious to that reality. After this week, we know that the next two weeks will require some extra energy in reestablishing norms to finish out the quarter. But Christmas is right around the corner, and our family is enjoying our family time watching Christmas movies, eating a few more sweets than normal (mostly in the form of hot chocolate), and counting down the remaining days before Christmas vacation. We are all still doing well, and are still enjoying the ever increasing snow on the ground.

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*It seems I have maximized our storage for photos on our free Wix account. As such, all photos and videos for our adventures can be found in our Google photo album, which you can access here. I will also post this link in the Media tab on our homepage.