"Try not to use bias" in your writing...

I am all about writers and authors not showing bias in their writing. I believe that it is important to teach students to tell facts when reporting on facts. However, I do NOT believe you can tell this to a seven year old.


Here's the story.


I sit down to look through graded papers that have been sent home in Kathryn's folder that comes home from school each day. There are lots of smiley faces :) and number grades. There are also standards based grades (Meets, Exceeds, etc...), but there is this one comment that continues to stick with me.


On a timeline report of the changes of the bicycle over time, Kathryn has drawn an early 1900s bicycle. You know the ones that look like this:

She also drew a mid 1900s bicycle and her bicycle that is a couple years old. I'm thinking this is a pretty neat assignment. Under each of her drawings, she has written a caption. The first caption reads, "It looks funny. This bike is from a long time ago and has a big front wheel." Sweet, right?

Wrong. This is what I see instead:

It looks funny.

"Try not to use bias in your writing."

Um... she's 7, and it does look funny! 

Love the Children

Err on the side of compassion and love is my teaching and learning philosophy. I want to cry when I hear stories like this... 


 A 3rd grade student, let's call her Sally, brought home her word study test with a 95 splashed in red ink across the top. "Wow, great job , honey" would be many parent's reactions. Sally was upset because she felt that she spelled the word, stalking, correctly. After showing her mom and dad the test, they determined the word was spelled correctly. 


Sally returned the test to school and tried to talk to her teacher. Here is the epic fail of the teacher, "You erased the word and rewrote it correctly." Sally said, "But I didn't. I wouldn't do that." The teacher replied, "Well, I don't know that. Your grade stays the same." 


Later that same day with tears sliding down her face, this little third grader decided school was not the place for her; she would stay home from now on. 


 Here's my soapbox: 


1. Teachers you must know your children.  Paulo Freire’s (1992) critical statement, “Content must be delivered up to the cognitive curiosity of teacher and pupils. The former teach, and in doing so, learn. The latter learn, and in doing so teach” (p. 96) has been the catalyst to transform my teaching. The fact that there is no teaching without learning and no learning without teaching can serve as the basis for a creative and successful way to reclaim the power of teaching     


 2. Err on he side of love and compassion for ALL students. If you don't love children, get out of the classroom! Children love you and want more than anything for you to love them back. Love and respect the children and so many of the things that make teaching hard will be easier... I promise.