After writing "Good Teacher vs. Bad Teacher" I desperately hoped that what I was experiencing was merely a growing pain, a portion of reality, a temporary upset. Now, I know that there are certain cultural norms that myself or any other expat educator will not single handedly, or even with a concentrated group effort, be able to change. But as teachers we live for change. We breath to see light bulbs go off and character develop in our little ones. Because we all know it's not the paycheck that keeps us coming back! I had to do something. I was dying on the inside! Now the staff had gotten much better. Many more smiles and greetings. Although some will still not even turn their head in response to, "assalamu alaikum." I mean really...if me and you are the only two people in a room you could at the very least acknowledge my greeting! I digress... The staff has been much more friendly, we chat about fashion, food, the administrators, and of course our rowdy students. The students were making acceptable improvements. Many days still felt like pulling teeth and herding cats but we were making progress, baby steps. I was just glad to feel like we were moving! And then...
In January I attended a workshop where Jon Bergman, creator of 'the flipped classroom' was presenting. I'd previously heard of flipped classroom, but I didn't buy in. After his presentation I figured it was worth a try. Flipped Classroom is a teaching model in which the teacher uses a video platform to create video lessons that the students view at home and complete notes as homework, this would normally be classwork. In the classroom the students' classwork is now additional practice or projects that might normally have been assigned as homework. Hence, flip the classroom.
So as I began a new unit I got busy making video lessons, guided notes, and training my students on how to view and take notes from my videos. Initially it felt like we were on a roller coaster ride of 'who's doing their homework' and Miss Zenani going DMX on those who didn't complete their homework. It was a lot of extra work, making videos and writing guided notes, and once again I began to feel weary. The pre to post test results from the first unit were okay, higher than the prior unit with no flip. But I wasn't sure if it was even worth all of the additional effort. Then came the Matter Unit. Ohhhh boy!! I had never seen so many A's (yes 90% and above) from my girls! The growth in that unit was tremendous. I had to show them what hard work could do! After making it a point to return both the pre and post test and call attention to the increase in test scores, I saw almost 100% homework completion in the following units! I was wowed.
As the month of March marched on I didn't even know these girls anymore. Yes some were still lazy, but most were excited! They were collaborative, taking initiative, and some were doing legitimately well (no extra curve or puffed up grading scale). It's been a refreshing change. It's made me feel like I matter to them, because honestly every educator wants to matter.
Here's the icing on the cake! I had to shared my pre and post test results, the students had DOUBLED (yes doubled) their gains! They were making increases of over 50 percentage points! I shared my data with my Science Advisor and Principal. First, the science advisor shares with her colleagues, who are impressed. Exposure! Then she asks if I would share my videos with another school who lost their science teacher. Absolutely! Exposure! Then she puts me in contact with another advisor in our system, after sharing my data with him he tells me he's going to feature me/my flipped classroom in the next EMT newsletter! Bam! Resume builder! The principal shares my data with her supervisor, we know principals love when their staff makes them look good. Name drop! Then she asks me to present to the staff during our professional development week. Well of course I will; I love teaching teachers! Again, resume builder! Now if you know me well, you know I'm not bragging, just gushing. I've been so happy for this turn around. I've been praying earnestly for a new season. And don't we know that God always comes through! So am I boasting about myself? Nope. Not at all. But boasting about my God. Well yes yes! Because favor doesn't come from man. And it would be downright wrong for me to think I did anything or had any influence all on my own.
So the bad teacher gladly eats crow.
Thank you for partaking in this dose of 'A Journey Along the Journey'! I hope that you continue along the ride, until we meet again...be blessed!
I use an iPad app called ShowMe to create my videos, here's the link to my page to check out some of the lessons: http://www.showme.com/Zenani-Fogg
