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October 12, 2010

another peek into the 5th grade mind

Well, here is another installment of 5th grade insight. I've been going through a "would you like to be" phase these days. Also, I don't have anything more substantial to talk about at the moment, though I have some thoughts currently growing through their fetal state. I suppose we'll see where they go.

If I had to be an animal for one day, I would be...

..."a dog because dogs are super cute and they are cool."

..."a cheetah because they are very fast."

..."a bald eagle so that I could fly."

..."a zebra because I love zebras. They are awesome because they have cool fur."

..."a polar bear because they are pretty and fuzzy."

..."an albatross because I have always wanted to fly and be the biggest bird around. I would also have an amazing view."

..."a giraffe. Giraffes are really cool...[they] hang out and just walk around and have fun."

..."a leopard so I could roam the savannah hunting for prey and get plenty of exercise."

..."a tiger in the jungle."

..."an alligator because I could be fierce and finally have peace and quiet time to myself underwater."

..."a horse because I love them. Plus, horses kick very well."

..."a dog because I could be lazy."

..."a monkey. I would climb tress all say and eat bananas."

..."a cheetah because a cheetah is very fast, and I can catch food very quickly."


I would not want to be president because...

...I do not know about politics. I might like speaking in front of big crowds. I think my father should run.

...being president means you are in a place of high honor.

...I don't think I have the responsibility. [Also,] I don't want to do work, [or] deal with being famous.

...I don't like being in front of that many people. If I were...I would need to be fair. I should try to think of what other people would want.

...I would not know what to do all the time, and I would not know how to do things. I would try to make everybody happy.

...they have to sign bills and make treaties. They have to talk to the whole nation.

...I do not like working all day. I do not know anything about being president. It would probably be boring.

...that is very big job. I would not want to be president because if someone does not like me they might try to assassinate me as president. If I were president, I make this country a better place.

...I wouldn't know what to do. I would be missed by my family.

...it is too big of a responsibility, and I'm not equipped for the job. I also wouldn't want to be president because it is too mind tiring.

...there would be too many responsibilities, like paying bills, important stuff, writing laws. I'm not very responsible. I have ADHD.

...it's too much of a responsibility. I also wouldn't want to have so much stress if I do the wrong thing. I also wouldn't want to be a president because I do not want to be talked about.

...I know whoever is voting, they're not going to vote for a girl. Mostly people want a man for president. I think that just for once we should have a girl for president.

...it would be very confusing, and you would have to sign many papers.

...I would never be able to handle it. I would get too pressured and throw everything everywhere. But if I was president, it would be important to me for everyone to get a pet license to have a pet.

...that's too big of a responsibility for me. The most important thing for me to do would be taxes. I would also also do shorter weeks at school. You don't need to go to school that much. [No, I don't know what she would need to do with the taxes.]


I would like to be president because...

...I can make some good changes. I would add more laws. When I do become president, I just want to make people happy.

...I can make and change laws. I can raise taxes except for my family, and I can pay bills for my mom and dad, and get my parents a new home.

...I could help anybody that needed help.

...I could make this country a better place, so everybody would be happy.

...I could be the first woman president. I would encourage people to donate to the fight against diabetes and cancer by donating money to every clinic making a cure.

...I would try to make the world a better place. I would try to make our country fight less wars. But the most important thing to do if I was president is guard my country. [so interesting as this kid is my resident military buff.]

...I would say "No School!" and "Give me all the candy in the world!" [:-P]

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October 07, 2010

politics in a 5th grade classroom

A bit of an impromptu blog today based on something that happened in class that I've been mulling over all afternoon: how to handle real-world political discussion with 5th graders. It's a tricky situation, and one for which I admit being woefully unprepared. It happened in Language class this morning.

Now, I'm not particularly a stranger to quelling and smoothing over politically charged discussion in a school classroom, even an elementary class. The thing is that I have yet to feel completely satisfied with any situation that's come up. Dealing with it in the context of a small group of 10 and 11 year olds presents a much more complex situation. In class this morning, we were going through a review over common and proper nouns. The students had a list of nouns and needed to label them as "c" or "p" and capitalize the proper ones. The first class went without a hitch other than inspiring one student to remark that their book must be pretty new. It was the second class which required a quelling. The noun was "President Obama." I'll be honest, I was actually surprised I needed to quell a flurry of reaction. I mean, really, where's the conflict there? Label it as a proper noun, capitalize it and move on to "continent." Instead, a rumble began developing of both approval and disapproval, quickly followed by a ridiculous negative hyperbole pronounced loudly to the class by one student. Seeing the retort forming on the face of the student behind him, I quickly moved to announce that we were not going to have a political discussion in Language. I continued by emphasizing that people had many different ideas about the best ways to run a country, but that those different ideas weren't necessarily "good" vs. "evil," nor were they inherently moral or immoral (in 5th grade words, of course). I summed it up by joking that they weren't old enough to have their own political opinions yet, anyway, as they were still learning how to form those kinds of opinions. Okay. I was largely serious on that one, but I offered it as mildly teasing to lighten suddenly pensive mood in the room. One student quietly offered up that "he isn't a Communist like some people say. I want to say that." Nevertheless, I had to quell that one, too, as the situation called for equal-opportunity quelling. But still remains the dilemma: had it been a high school class, I would have immediately organized the class into a polite, objective discussion time, guiding the process with some well-placed comments ad questions for both sides. The problem is, these are 5th graders.

Normally, I'm all about stretching my kids, letting them find their individuality and person-hood. When it comes to politics, though, things get sketchy. Honestly, 5th graders don't have the ability to form their own political opinions since all the information they have comes directly from the their parents and their parents' sources. That isn't necessarily a terrible thing, it's merely a narrowing one. Can that foundation lead to a healthy and challenging discussion? But the real sticking point comes here: the difficulty of guiding discussion of minds so young without influencing them. I firmly see my role not as one of telling students what to think but showing them how to think. I'm completely unsure of how to manage that in such a sensitive area with this age group. The line between guiding and pushing is a very thin one when your students are at the age that owning earring purchased in Scotland makes you awesome and "so cool." It's a weighty thing to offer personal opinions to them. I would love to be able to wade more deeply into the discussion waters than "People have different ideas, and usually those ideas are equally moral/ethical/etc." Can it be done? Usually I feel that most adults underestimate the ability of upper elementary kids to think, to plan, to analyze, to apply, to function, to be an individual with tastes and preferences. Am I falling into that trap when I squelch such a touchy and potentially volatile are of discussion? Could it be an opportunity to teach them to see the other side, to question and determine? Or are they truly too young to separate from their intellectual and political context/environment? Would it merely result in wounded feelings and bitter divisions of friendships for no good or lasting reason? Perhaps quelling is the best response. Somehow, I still feel there is a wasted opportunity here somewhere. I just wish I knew the best way to capture and use it.

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October 02, 2010

thoughts from the 5th grade side of things

So I thought I would share a selection of sentences from my students with you. Every day I put a writing prompt on the board for them to respond to. Their answers are really interesting windows into the minds of 5th graders and how they see the world.

Prompt: The pledge talks about "justice for all." What is justice? What does it mean when it says "for all"? Can you think of any examples of justice applies to everyone?

"Justice is like freedom because if you have justice, you will also have freedom."

(It was interesting how at least half of my kids in some way equated justice with freedom or liberty.)

"I think justice means it has respect. Everyone has justice in America because they are all treated equally."

"Justice is
1. Not being mean to someone just because they're a different color, race, age, etc.
2. Not having segregation for blacks.
3. Not have blacks as slaves....
'For all' means that everyone has a say so in one thing or another."

"Justice is fairness. Some ways that everyone has justice are everyone has to obey the same laws. Also, everyone has to have a driver's license to drive. 'For all' means for everyone. It does not mean for one person."

"Justice is freedom. Everyone is free. There is no slavery in America."

(If you're wondering why the references to slavery and not to the Civil Rights Movement, that's because they haven't learned about it, yet. This will change in February. :-D Most of my students are genuinely shocked to learn about segregation, and thankfully, cannot comprehend how anyone thought it was a reasonable or good idea.)

****

Prompt: The Sumerians invented the first form of writing using symbols. This allowed their scribes to write about things in everyday life. What if writing had never been invented? How would your life be different? How would history be different?

"If writing was never invented no one would be able to read. No one would have a good education. History would be different because we would not know how people in the old days lived....There would be no history."

"It definitely would be different without writing. You wouldn't be able to write your friends and family notes....History would be very different. there would be documents that hadn't been written. That could effect things even now."

"History would be different because there would be no famous writers or poets."

(There was an interesting (and slightly unsurprising) divide between students who mentioned that without writing there would be no important books or writers and students who mentioned there would be less/no school and less/no schoolwork. haha

At least 10 of my students mentioned the Declaration of Independence when mentioning the negative consequences of the Sumerians never inventing writing. It might have helped that we had recently read a story set in the colonies. :-P)

"My life would be different because I couldn't write about how I feel as the days come and go....I wouldn't be writing this assignment [clever child]."

****

Prompt: What is the most important thing a person can do in life? Why is that thing important?

"The most important thing is that everyone tells the truth. If people don't tell the truth, it complicates things."

"The most important thing a person could do in their life is probably being kind."

"The most important thing a person can do with their life is they can be kind to others. They can help people. They can do things for other people."

"I think the most important thing a person can do is recycle."

"The most important thing a person can do in their life is to get a good education so they can take care of their family."

(Of course, as I teach at a Christian school, there were a number of responses that discussed salvation or trusting God or telling others about God as the most important thing. I didn't mention them because, well, that is the "expected answer." I'm sure the students are sincere, but it isn't an interesting or particularly informative answer. I found these others more intriguing. What I found interesting was that almost every response had to do with others rather than self. I can only hope to encourage that type of thinking.)

****

Last one for today:
Do you think parents should have to have a license to have children? Why or why not? What kind of requirements do you think a "parent license" might have?


Requirements:
"To be safe and know what you're doing."

"They are over a certain age, ...that you will take care of the child,...you must have the money or supplies to take care of your child."

"I think you should have a parent license when you are 20. Some teenagers are having babies already. So you should get it when you are 20. If you have babies when are a teenager, you will not know what to do."

"Some requirements for a parent license might be a test to see if you can handle a child."

Two students said "to be kind and gentle" might be requirements.

(These answers were interesting as several children were unable to completely divorce the idea of "license" from driving a car, and answered the question in that light. It is also telling that every one that did felt having a car was vital to the rearing of children. That definitely speaks to ubiquity of the car-ownership paradigm here. I did have one child mention the bus and walking, but knowing her parents, that isn't surprising. I have never seen the child or her siblings with anything other than a reusable water bottle. +1 At any rate, the results were rather split, though everyone was concerned about parents having the ability and capability to properly care for children.)

And there's your day's lesson on the 5th grade mind. :-D They really are an interesting lot.

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