The Beauty and Dignity of All Students

By Bruce J. Stewart

“Yet the child, like all human beings, has personality of his own.  He carries within himself the beauty and dignity of a creativity that can never be erased and for which his spirit, pure and sensitive, exacts from us a most delicate kind of care.” –Maria Montessori

This key, Making Connections, is the foundation of all we, as teachers, do.  It gives the students a sense of belonging to the class; engages them, motivates them.  As teachers, we are compelled to listen to their stories, discover their strengths, and maintain respect for student rights, always.

A Sense of Belonging: Jason

On the fourth day of my new career as a middle school English teacher, I met Jason.  The first three days of the school year, Jason was absent.  As I would soon learn, Jason was typical of many of the students at Traner Middle School, Reno’s only at-risk middle school.  He was bi-racial, lived in a single parent home, actually a motel room, with his mother.  Jason’s older brother was in prison, and in only three months’ time, Jason’s mother, and Jason, would suddenly leave Traner Middle School and move to a new motel.

I invited Jason to sit in the front row in a desk that had been assigned to him during his absence.  Jason’s hair and smile reminded me of Harpo Marx, the silent and energetic clown of the famous Marx Brothers.  His curly brown hair, like Harpo’s, was his trademark; and his engaging and innocent smile was expressive and disarming.  However, from the moment class began, Jason tested me.  By sitting in the front row, Jason had clear access to me.  His view and access were unimpeded.  I began the class by reading aloud an opening story which was printed on a sheet of copy paper.  As I began to read, Jason pulled a large rubber band from his pocket, and stretched it to its capacity while aiming it squarely at the paper.  Fighting back the urge to stop reading and demand that Jason relinquish the rubber band, I took a small step toward him, continued reading, and held out my hand, thereby asking him for the rubber band.  Jason ignored my request, and maintained his aim at the paper.  I took another small step toward him, continued reading, and kept my palm open.  Jason relaxed the rubber band, but instead of putting it in my hand, he placed it back in his pocket.  I took two small steps away from him and continued to read.  At this point, Jason reached into his pocket, retrieved the rubber band along with a large paper clip.  Now, Jason used his thumb and index finger to form a sling shot, and using the paper clip as ammunition, pulled the rubber band back, again stretching it to its capacity.  My next move was, as before, one small step toward Jason with the palm of my hand open while I continued to read aloud.  When Jason did not relax his aim, I moved toward him again with another small step, keeping my palm open.  As I continued to read, there was a sudden, loud pop, almost like a firecracker.  The paper clip, which was launched from Jason’s sling shot, had ripped through the paper.  Although I was slightly startled, but not surprised that the paper clip was launched at me, I continued reading.  As I read, I glanced at Jason and saw a look of complete shock on his face.  I kept reading, kept my palm open, and took another small step toward Jason who then quietly put the rubber band in my hand.  I continued reading the opening story and proceeded with class as if nothing unusual had occurred.  Jason became quite attentive and did not produce any more rubber bands.

Here is what I learned during the first three weeks of school regarding Jason.  Jason was absent as many days as he was present.  Jason was the main topic of conversation among all of his teachers.  Within the first three weeks of school, Jason had been labeled as a trouble-maker and a troubled student.  When teachers asked me if I was having problems with Jason, I responded honestly, and I told them that he does quite well in my class.  It was true.  My primary objective for Jason was to ensure for him a sense of belonging in my classroom; and by making a connection with Jason, his engagement as a student and a positive contributor to the class would be facilitated.

I had also learned that Jason was excellent at spelling.  I assigned weekly spelling tests and the result of Jason’s first test was a perfect score.  I could not have been more surprised.  While he had missed three days of school during the first week, his test was the only perfect score, except for a few students who attempted to use cheating devices.  I surmised that perhaps Jason was adept at cheating.  The following week, as I gave the spelling test, I studied Jason’s movements closely while at the same time watching the entire class.  The results matched the previous week.  Jason had a perfect score, the only perfect score in a class of 29 students.  Still, I was not yet convinced of his proficiency at spelling.  During the third week, I adjusted my routine as I gave the test.  Rather than walk up and down the aisles studying all students, I read the words while seated at a stool which was positioned directly in front of Jason.  I also started a new routine for the spelling tests.  If the students were completely silent during the test I gave them two bonus words of my choosing.  The use of the bonus words was, at first, designed to assess Jason’s abilities.  Jason spelled both bonus words correctly and I was finally convinced of his proficiency for spelling, and perhaps a gift for reading.

I learned three important lessons during those first three weeks.  Firstly, I learned the importance of recognizing each of the unique gifts with which students have been blessed.  Secondly, I learned not to listen to my teaching colleagues who insisted on applying labels to students as they had done with Jason.  Most importantly, I learned the importance of making genuine and sincere connections with students.

Jason felt accepted and he felt a sense of belonging in my English class.  I believe that Jason gained a unique feeling of acceptance because he responded to my questions and observations.  For example, I told him that he must “really enjoy spelling because of the nice job he did on his spelling tests.”  He smiled and responded as most fourteen year old boys do, “sort of.”  I asked him what kind of books he enjoyed reading and he told me several book titles, but then he also said, “but we don’t have many books at home.”  Unfortunately, after three months of attending Traner Middle School, Jason’s mother moved again and he was on his way to another school.  I also learned that during the short time Jason was a student at Traner Middle School, his mother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and the prognosis was not hopeful.

Maintaining Interest and Engagement: Maria Sleeps

It was also during my first year of teaching that I met Maria.  Maria, a very attractive Latina girl, was a fourteen year old eighth grade student with an eighteen year old boyfriend.  Beginning with the first day of school, Maria’s presence dominated the classroom and she immediately became the emotional leader of the class.  My success with this class depended upon maintaining Maria’s interest and ensuring she was engaged in every lesson.  A significant component of the eighth grade curriculum was the Junior Great Books Program, an inquiry based approach to teaching which uses the Socratic Method as its foundation.  A key element in this program is the class discussion which follows several days of studying a short story.  The students read the selected short story twice, once as a class, and then again as a class or in pairs while they wrote specific notes on key concepts of the story.  Knowing the importance of Maria’s involvement in each class discussion, my task as a teacher was to keep her and the entire class attentive as they listened to the audio tape of the story while following along with the text.  However, during the first month of the school year as the class listened to each new story, Maria was determined to sleep.  Following a tap on her shoulder, Maria would glance at me with a tired look, and then reluctantly resume reading the story with the class.  A few minutes later, the process repeated itself.  Maria would return to sleeping; then, I would tap her on the shoulder.

As I had expected, the vitality of the class discussions depended upon maintaining Maria’s interest and engagement.  She was a strong critical thinker whose insight into the story was relevant and honest.  In addition, she did not attempt to dominate the discussion which made it easy for me to bring more students into the discussion.  Maria’s academic ability, like her maturity, far exceeded the majority of her classmates.  It was obvious that she was street smart and she also demonstrated a unique ability to fight.  During a passing period, she had warned a boy to stop harassing her.  She had told him to stop his harassment otherwise she would “beat him down.”  When he continued, she hit him with three very quick punches and sent him to the floor with blood pouring from his nose.  Her response to him as he was lying on the hallway floor was, “I warned you” and she walked into the classroom as if nothing unusual had happened.

While Maria could be abrupt and rough with her classmates, she was always polite and respectful with me.  At the conclusion of a class period in which Maria was sleeping, I spoke privately with her.  I began our conversation by telling her that it was obvious she enjoyed participating in the class discussions and she agreed.  I gave Maria feedback with a positive assessment of her strengths, helping establish the connection to me and the classroom.  I commented that she displayed a strong writing voice and that her essays, based upon the critical questions of the stories, were well written. I then asked her about sleeping during class.  I expected her to evade the question or to respond vaguely that she was visiting with her boyfriend.  Rather, I was surprised by her honesty.  “Mr. Stewart,” she began, “I am so tired during school.  My mother works the night shift and I must care for my little sister who is only eight months old.  Sometimes I don’t get to sleep until so late, you know, two or three in the morning.”  I realized how difficult this must be for Maria, yet she was not complaining.  I told her that she had been entrusted with a significant responsibility and the care she provided for her baby sister must be her primary responsibility.  “School homework,” I told her, “should not be your primary concern.”  She seemed somewhat surprised by my comments and a little more surprised by my following response.  “Maria,” I said, “you are a very strong reader so what I would like you to do when we are listening to the story is to read ahead.  After you finish reading, you may put your head down on the desk until the class has completed the story.”  During the next reading of a story, Maria did just that.  She finished the story about fifteen minutes prior to the conclusion of the audio and then rested.  During the next class discussion, Maria continued with her articulate commentary, followed by another well-written essay.

As the school year progressed, Maria continued to read the stories ahead of the class and then put her head down on the desk to rest.  However, one day she changed her routine.  Rather than resting, Maria began reading a new story.  Soon, she had completed the reading of all stories in the anthology, and I then gave her another anthology to read.  Maria continued to read throughout the school year; she continued to care for her baby sister, and she maintained her tough demeanor.  Most significantly, because of the connection, the change in Maria was that she began to believe in herself as a student.

Listening to Your “Customers”

Through Jason and Maria, I was beginning to learn the necessity of making connections with students.  These were lessons that I could not find in the text books, and I trusted my instincts to guide me. My experience as a baseball coach had taught me the value of being prepared, providing individual as well as group instruction, and the importance of building skills and always seeking improvement.  However, it was my eighteen years of sales, marketing, and entrepreneurship in the computer industry that taught me to learn and understand the needs of customers through listening.  It has been said that the greatest sales people “lead with their ears.”  While in the computer business, listening to customers describe their business and their business problems, then analyzing the problems prior to demonstrating possible solutions, was vital to my success.  Similarly, listening to Maria had allowed me to suggest a solution that was appropriate for both her and for me.  Had I forced my control over Maria as a superior and demanded, without any discussion, that she stop sleeping, I would have distanced myself from her.  By making a connection with Maria, her position as a positive leader in the class was solidified.

With Jason and his paper clip projectile, I took the opportunity to meet with him in private immediately after class.  Jason’s body language indicated anxiety and nervousness.  He looked away from me, obviously avoiding eye contact and he was fidgeting as he approached me.  I told him how much I appreciated his attentiveness in class and that it appeared to me that he enjoyed the lesson.  Jason’s eyes began to look up at me but he remained silent expecting me to continue speaking.  I paused, and then said to him, “that’s why I know it really must have an accident and the paper clip slipped out of your hand.”  He remained silent for a few seconds before responding, and said, ‘yes Mr. Stewart I didn’t mean to.”  Jason’s body immediately relaxed, and I told him that I would enjoy having him as a student.  Jason smiled before walking away.  “Thank you Mr. Stewart,” he said.

Hospitality in the Classroom: Inviting the Student to Learn and Share Insights

Creating an environment of respect and trust became the highest priority for me as I began each school year.  If this foundation was established beginning with the first day, it was easy to maintain and build upon this environment throughout the entire school year.  Students need and deserve a true sense of belonging in the classroom.  Parker J. Palmer, in his book, The Courage to Teach, defines this sense of belonging as hospitality, and describes it as “hospitality in the classroom requires not only that we treat our students with civility and compassion but also that we invite our students and their insights into the conversation.  The good host is not merely polite to the guest – the good host assumes that the guest has stories to tell.”  As a host, it was my responsibility to allow all students a voice in the classroom while simultaneously maintaining a positive atmosphere.  And being a good host certainly went against a popular adage still prevalent among teachers that you should never smile before the Christmas vacation.  I found that advice peculiar, because I always stood at the door prior to each period and welcomed each student to class with a smile and addressing each student by their name.

I would always begin each school year by telling my students how important they were and how important my responsibility was as their teacher.  And, I also explained to my students that I would always, each and every class, do the best job I could as a teacher.  My enthusiasm for teaching was genuine and a smile was certainly the best method for each student to feel a true sense of belonging in my classroom.  I committed to learn every student’s name within the first two days of school.  As a good teacher-host, I needed to demonstrate that each student was important and that all students had important ideas to share with the class.  By doing this, I could earn the respect of my students.  After creating an environment of respect, I could then motivate students through a curriculum that emphasized the following:

• Relevance of material – relevant to the lives of students and their world, especially students from low socio-economic families;

• An expectation of quality work;

• Choices for students — to create a sense of ownership;

• An emphasis and a demand for critical thinking;

• Engagement through Socratic Dialogue – asking students to share their opinions, learning, and experiences through dialogue and writing.

By establishing an expectation of myself that I would need to earn the respect of all students, allowed me to “sell” my curriculum and my daily lessons with enthusiasm and honesty.  I welcomed the question “why do we have to learn this?”  Students, like adult learners, can be quite skeptical, as they should be, if they are to learn to be critical thinkers.  Therefore, the “why” questions were always taken seriously, and were answered without sarcasm.  When the students trusted my sincerity when responding to their “why” questions, these questions diminished and their engagement shifted from reluctance to a subtle eagerness.  I also knew it was imperative that I approach each day with the same level of preparation, openness, and respect, to maintain a high level of commitment from my students.  By teaching to the best of my ability, then and only then, could I expect the same of my students.

True Acceptance, Respect, and Encouragement: Thomas, “He barks like a dog.”

After my first day of teaching at Traner Middle School, another first year English teacher, DeMarcus Clear, who I had recently met during our Junior Great Books training, came to visit with me to ask my advice.

“I have this student, his name is Thomas,” DeMarcus said. “He doesn’t talk, he barks.  Honestly, he barks like a dog.  And he acts like a dog.”  DeMarcus continued to explain that during classroom instruction, Thomas had left his seat and began to walk on his hands and knees sniffing the floor and barking. DeMarcus asked me if I had ever heard of such a thing.  Even without years of experience, DeMarcus had special qualities that would help him help this remarkable student.

DeMarcus and I quickly became friends during our trip to Salt Lake City for the Junior Great Books training, and as roommates on this trip, we had the opportunity to share many stories.  DeMarcus, a young African-American, had grown up with a single mother in Southern California.  After graduating high school, he went to a small college in Billings, Montana, to play football and study education.  As the oldest son in a family of four children, DeMarcus was determined to be the first child in his family to earn a college degree.  While DeMarcus was twenty years my junior, we also shared many common interests, including athletics, coaching, and a love of teaching.

During a driving trip from Billings, Montana, to Southern California, DeMarcus and his wife, Theresa, had stopped in Reno to spend the night.  DeMarcus had also taken this opportunity to visit the Washoe County School District Human Resources office and inquire about teaching positions.  The human resources manager immediately directed DeMarcus to visit Dr. Feemster, the principal at Traner Middle School.  Dr. Feemster, who had worked her way through the WCSD system to become the first African-American woman principal, and only the second African-American principal in the Reno-Sparks area, immediately recognized the potential of a young Black male who had a passion for teaching, and the enthusiasm and energy to succeed in a low income school with a strong Black population.  DeMarcus had found a home in Reno.

After DeMarcus and I had discussed some strategies for working with Thomas, he visited the counselors to ask their advice.  The next morning, DeMarcus introduced me to Thomas and after shaking his hand, Thomas greeted me with a short bark.  DeMarcus immediately told Thomas that he could only communicate using words; no barking.  With his mouth closed tightly, Thomas looked at DeMarcus and without speaking or barking, quickly walked away.  Thomas’ behavior continued in this manner through the first month of school.  DeMarcus, at the recommendation of the counselors, continued to insist to Thomas that if he barked, he could not be recognized.  Each day, DeMarcus continued to greet Thomas with the same enthusiasm he gave to all of his students, and each day, Thomas tried to bark.  DeMarcus remained insistent, and optimistic that one day Thomas would speak.  Efforts to contact Thomas’ parents proved fruitless, which, as we learned, was the norm at Traner Middle School.  DeMarcus met with all of Thomas’ seventh grade teachers to ensure a unified approach in dealing with Thomas.  Several of the teachers had not noticed Thomas’ unusual behavior; they just assumed he was a quiet student who had nothing to say.  After a month of school, Thomas stopped barking but would not say a word.  While the counseling staff had recommended Thomas for an evaluation, it was determined that he was not a threat to himself or to others and the best course of action was to continue the recommended strategies.  As frustrated as some teachers had become, DeMarcus believed his positive energy would soon connect with Thomas.

DeMarcus’ positive attitude and energy was abundant.  Every day he would hand me a lesson plan, or some information he found on the web, and told me that I had to try this in class.  He was constantly asking me questions about my lessons, what was working for me, and about the literature we were teaching.  Every day was a new adventure for him, and most importantly he made every day special for his students.  I also admired his ability to connect with the students.  DeMarcus quickly learned the extended family members of his students – their brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, step brothers, step sisters and parents.  DeMarcus knew the dynamics of families from poverty and how the families blended after second marriages and divorces, or after a parent had run away with another lover; or after a parent was sent to prison.  DeMarcus made connections with all students effortlessly, even the students who were not in his class, and he became well respected among his colleagues.

Thomas Speaks

DeMarcus was never frustrated with Thomas and maintained his consistency with him until one day, midway through the second quarter, Thomas spoke.  He responded to DeMarcus’ good morning greeting, with a barely audible “hi.”  But it was unmistakable, and it was a start.  Thomas began to speak more.  He added yes and no to his vocabulary within a week.  While he remained withdrawn, DeMarcus knew Thomas was making significant progress.  DeMarcus embraced Thomas as if he was his own child, and he had made Thomas, a skinny, withdrawn white seventh grader, feel a sense of belonging in his class.  It was a class comprised of students of every ethnic background, yet all students welcomed Thomas because DeMarcus had demonstrated a true acceptance of every human being in his class.

DeMarcus continued to work with Thomas throughout the school year.  DeMarcus continued to demand that Thomas speak to him every day, which was certainly not a problem as Thomas was drawn to DeMarcus as if he was a big brother.  By the conclusion of the school year, Thomas had grown in confidence and was beginning to believe in himself as a student.  A confident Thomas was now able to speak with his teachers and to participate in class.

Summary

Jason and Maria taught me the importance of establishing a strong teacher-student relationship that is based upon mutual respect.  I learned the importance of allowing the students to speak for themselves, to create their own identity through their actions as students and as contributing members of the school rather than allow me to be influenced by the negative biases of colleagues.  Thomas taught me the power of love and acceptance.  DeMarcus fostered an atmosphere of respect, acceptance, and encouragement in his classroom which fostered his success with his students.  His enthusiasm and love of teaching inspired me and affirmed my belief in the positive potential of all students regardless of their previous educational experiences.  By adopting the basic philosophy of always listening to students and allowing them to express their needs, allowed me to welcome them, and their identity, into a safe environment.  By creating a sense of belonging and safety in the classroom, students began to believe in themselves as learners.

The Hospitable Teacher:

• Welcomes all questions, especially the questions that begin with why;

• Greets all students with a warm and genuine welcome;

• Listens to the students, always;

• Recognizes the need for all students to have a voice in class;

• Always seeks to understand the unique talents of every student;

• Understands the need to earn the respect of all students;

• Displays genuine enthusiasm for their subject;

• Displays genuine enthusiasm for the success of the students;

• Is honest and caring toward all students;

• Gives positive recognition to every student, every day;

• Understands the power of a smile;

• Adopts a sales philosophy of “leading with their ears.”

Discussion Questions

1. Are there other methods you could use to manage Jason’s behavior?  How would you have handled the situation with the rubber band?

2. How would you have handled the situation with Maria?  Would you have allowed her to sleep in your class if she had finished her work?  Why or why not?

3. How do you ensure that all students feel welcome in your classroom?

4. How would you have handled the situation with Thomas and his refusal to speak but rather to bark?

5. How important is a dysfunctional student’s diagnosis to the solutions good teachers provide?