Conference Update – Community Support
Well, what a week. I hardly slept a wink Tuesday night then headed into conferences Wednesday and Thursday for 12 hour shifts each day. Because admin had questioned if the kids were learning anything, we had prepared portfolios of the kids’ work, on November 1-4:
1. Reading Assessment – I wrote a story for them and read it to them aloud in L2 and they wrote to summarize it in L1.
2. Listening Assessment – We told them a tale one day in class, à la Story Listening style, then the next day retold it in L2 in the library with no extra-linguistic supports, just retelling, and they wrote to summarize in L1.
3. Quickwrites – We wrote for ten minutes three times and kids shared their best one.
4. No speaking data, I explained to them the rationale for not assessing speaking and freaking the kids out. Parents and kids were grateful and relieved, and many said that speaking in language class was so stressful for them in their education that they are happy to have their kids spared that anxiety.
I had heard from the office that the community is not supportive of this new way of teaching, that they expect more flashcards and workbooks and the like. Well, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the families who came in (and about 50% of the families came) had extremely positive feedback on their kids’ learning. Many told me that they left Back to School Night (where I did a quick OWI with the parents) feeling jealous that they were not in the class. Many shared stories of my current students’ older siblings’ experiences in languages at the middle and high school. Many said they would do whatever it takes to keep this teaching in their kids’ lives.
Some said that their students were apprehensive about taking languages and now it is their favorite class. Some said that their kid is speaking, reading, and watching L2 at home. Some said that the first-year kids have more skills after one term than their older siblings after two to three years. Some said that my current students have more proficiency than they themselves did after years of taking grammar-based lessons in France. Some said that this class was all their child talked about from the whole school day, that this class was the only thing their child loves in school. One said that a group of moms was talking in the parking lot – like 20 moms, she said, and they were whispering about me, how they had heard a rumor that they might be asking us to change the program, and that they were all upset and all agreed that their kids loved class and are learning a ton and that nothing should change.
Seeing kids share their work with their parents was beautiful, too. The shy ones, the ones who just sit there and listen and watch with wide eyes and little careful smiles, they sat there and shared their writing and their ability to read and understand and listen and understand, and their faces shone with pride and their parents were visibly moved by their children’s abilities. One girl shared how she invented a job for herself (tidy points tallier). The “hoy boy” who is now called the “Joy Hoy Boy” because of the absolute verve with which he chirps out, “hoy hoy!” when I say “today”. Jota Jota I Griega, or JJY, who branched out from just “hoy hoy” to (of her own volition) also repeating “estoy estoy” and “soy soy” and “voy voy” (hence the addition of Y to her name) These kids are PROUD of class. They love the stories. They were cracking up retelling them to their families. I realized that the levity that stories bring is rare indeed in this life.
I asked each and every family to write a reflection on their child’s abilities and their thoughts on the program. I was up front with them about the principal’s “friendly offer” to bring the textbooks down. People gasped as if someone had asked to have a study session at a birthday party.
The feeling I had coming home last night at 8:30 was of incredible support, love, and gratitude for the families and kids. Also, honestly, it *was* cool to have been pushed by admin in that I decided to make those reading, writing, and listening portfolios…cause watching those parents see what their kids can do after ten short weeks was well worth it!