Project based learning as a performance final

At my high school, we're required to give written and spoken performance finals in addition to our objective multiple-choice finals. I'm a huge advocate for authentic assessment and have never loved the idea of kids recording into a void on what they call 'mind-control devices' (the language lab). I think the lab absolutely has its place, but when it comes to spoken assessment, I want them to have interaction, encouragement, be able to ask questions, and show off to whatever extent they can. I also want it to be fluid, low-pressure, fun, and forgiving - and most of all, authentic.

On Fidget Tools

I have a small basket of fidget tools - a couple of cubes with various sides (one that clicks, one that rolls, etc), some tubes with marbles in, some metal interconnected rings, a plastic twisty thing, a silicon thing you can stick your fingers in, and a couple spinners. They were all pretty cheap (so's the quality, if we're going to be honest) - I got them for a dollar each at wish.com, which means it took thirty years for them to get here, but that's okay. I'm doing a dry run.

See, I think the fidget tools are actually really important. A few years ago, I let a kid borrow my kombaloi beads I got in Greece because he could. not. focus. unless he was playing with something, and when he had those, his attention span got longer, his participation level went up, and his grades went through the roof. He just had too much body to deal with, so once he chilled his body out, his mind could work. It was great.

And then the fidget toys happened. I say toys intentionally, because although they are tools, I have a lot of kids who just like playing with them (which I get - so do I), but they became a huge distraction in class. Kids passing them around, throwing them, getting up in the middle of class to show them to other people.

So I put my basket of fidget tools out last week, and my classes and I had a very serious conversation, and they seem to be respecting it so far. We'll see how it goes next year with the new crop of children coming in. But here is the gist of it, and why it is so important to me (it is important to note that focus issues/mental illness/etc and physical disabilities should not be equated, but in this circumstance, I think it's helpful for students who have trouble conceptualizing what a real focus issue might be to give them a disability they can immediately imagine):

I said, guys, imagine that one of your legs is much shorter than the other, and so every time you stand, your hip hurts and you cannot run and play, and you also cannot do things the same way other people do. You are at a real disadvantage, and that is not your fault. It's just that you're in pain, and you are unable to get around it to do the other things you have to.

But then someone hands you a cube, and you can put your foot on that cube, strap it right on, and then your hip doesn't hurt anymore. You can suddenly do things that you could not before.

But then everyone likes your cube, so then everyone has a cube, which is great until they start throwing them or playing with them or getting shiny ones with flashing lights. Teachers get fed up with this, and they start taking them away, because classroom distractions don't help. Eventually, there's a classroom-wide and maybe school-wide ban on them because they're so distracting. And this is fine - kids might be annoyed that they can't play with the thing, but they'll get over it. It isn't a big deal.

Except you. Because you needed that block to be able to do things like anyone else does, and now the only real tool that was helping you do that is something you can't have anymore, so you'll go back to being in pain and two steps behind.

There are students who actually need the fidget tools, people who have trouble focusing their minds or controlling their behavior without something to focus their physical energy into. When you disrespect the tools they use to help them with that and appropriate them as your toys, you put their very real coping tools at risk. If you are disrespecting those tools and using them such that they are a distraction, you are part of the possible outcome that they get taken away, and then that the people who need them lose a tool that's very important to them and their success. Please don't jeopardize someone else's success.

Anyone who wishes to use the fidgets may. Even people who don't need them can benefit from them, and I'm a fan of that. I am not going to restrict access to them. But if I catch you disrespecting them, you will personally lose access to them so that the people who need them don't. Thank you for contributing to the community of this classroom by making sure that everyone has access to all the tools they might need to succeed in their learning and in their lives.

The Latin iPad

My colleague Natalie and I came into the windfall of an iPad when my grandmother decided to update hers. She was going to get rid of it, so we asked for it so we could have a dedicated Latin department iPad.

And we have made great and joyous use of it.

Some things so far this year that I highly recommend: