cold cards and startin' fresh

Alright, so this past Thursday in class we implemented the use of cold cards to try and change it up a bit. Now the original purpose of having a strategy like this is to force kids to be attentive and on task. The only problem we ran in to was the fact that our kids usually rank pretty high on the participation side of class. I think I might have mentioned in an earlier blog that for the most part they are all friends and love to participate. So when we threw in a different strategy it almost had the feel of "we're trying a gimmick". They have been consistantly getting feedback from myself and the other teachers on how good of a job they've been doing, so to try something new after two weeks felt like a waste of time. I do, however, feel that it would be an extremely effective classroom method if you are experiencing a lot problems with participation.

Now, in class about a week ago our professor had uttered a very simple statement that one could totally let slide by if not careful. It's a statement that one may actually describe as "cliche" or "cheesy". But if you allow your brain to marinate on the words of wisdom echoing from Lookout Mt. in Chat-Tn., "we start fresh everyday" will change your classroom's mindset forever. I was skeptical at first; but with a little help from the endless string of analagies and metaphors provided by my roommate (j. drake), I'm on the "startin' fresh" bandwagon. I was even able to see the phrase used effectively on a parent in my roommate's class. It was this past Friday, and I was offered the opportunity to witness (or Nowitness) his first phone call home to the mother of a trouble-making student. It started off typical with the usual strings of a critique followed by a compliment. Then it took a turn for the worse when the volume shot up a few notches. At first he thought it was directed at him, and I could see the panic sweep his face. However, he soon realized it was being directed at the student in a very harsh manner, and for a second I thought he was going to freeze up and just try to get off the phone as fast as possible. That's where I messed up in my thought process, because all this time my roommate knew he had the ace of spades in his back pocket waiting for the opportune time to lay it down and take back control of the conversation. Without much hesitation at all, he quickly got the mom's attention with, "Ma'am we both know she's a smart girl and that's why it's so frustrating." My thoughts....good, good. Now for the money statement. "But, hey, WE START FRESH EVERYDAY, so I'm looking forward to seeing her improvement." Conversation ended....two points to the roommate. I'm sold.