Gwendolyn Calleo

Reading the Classroom 

I was excited to enter an elementary classroom where you could tell the teacher was prepared for the substitute. The instructions were typed and detailed, worksheets setup on a side table and sorted by subject. The walls were beautifully arranged with the proper balance of commercial to teacher-made educational material. Any parent or educator would be impressed.

Many posters appointed offered encouraging words to the students. One of my favorites was the plaque that read

“Teachers affect eternity. They can never tell where their influence stops.”

Then I looked over to the opposite wall. It had a poster of the Presidents of the United States. The last president on the poster was George Bush.

Knowing that classrooms are setup every year, it is obvious this oversight was deliberate. The only United States President in these children’s life so far, is Barack Obama, and he is not displayed anywhere in the classroom. Nor was there any mention (or display) of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on this Friday before the holiday.

With one poster, this teacher not only robbed the black children of a positive image that they could visibly identify with but with this same action she denied the white children the option of seeing blacks as authority figures.

Do you think that was the “affect” she was going for?

As an licensed educator and black business owner, I agree that we need to create programs for our children that not only focus on the strong academics needed to ensure high test scores, but we also need to strengthen the soft skills (self-esteem, positive self-image, etc.) that allows one to easily move through many communities and cultures without losing pride and/or identity.

PreK-3 Solutions

Making Connections in Education

Real-Life Science

This morning, I have positioned myself in the vestibule, with the door open watching a chrysalis. It is a Monarch Butterfly chrysalis. I know that because it is the classis chrysalis color and shape used in most science books. I am extremely excited that this butterfly decided to wait until the weekend to emerge because I missed the others due to a job assignment.

I first noticed the chrysalises (I counted seven) coming in from work just over a week ago. This was mid-September, so I was a little confused. All of my science book learning told me Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico in the fall and return in the spring. Which is why I planted milkweed in the garden this year - to attract and feed the migrating butterflies. My science books also told me butterflies emerge in the spring. This thinking is the focus of one of my favorite projects – hummingbirds and butterflies. Now I am seeing chrysalis and caterpillars in the fall. Did I mention I was confused?

Before this week, if a student had selected fall as the season butterflies emerged, I would have marked his answer incorrect. However, although it is not be the case for all butterflies, I can say that Monarchs create and emerge from chrysalis (not cocoons) in the fall. Think of all of the harm being done to many students when teachers teach science using only worksheets or readers.

While many school gardens focus on agri-business (which is a good thing, I love to eat) there is so much teaching and learning that can happen in a flower garden. Just last week as I watched a teacher reading with a group of students about earthworms, I reflected on previous classes in which my students examined dirt and worms, up close and personal. I would love for all schools to have a garden they could use as an outside classroom.

It’s not just science you can teach from the garden. The vines from the pumpkins and gourds yell “Jack and the Beanstalk”. The stories my students would tell if they could hold a living vine.

As I sit and wait for the butterfly to break free, I think about how awesome it would be to teach from this spot and discuss with my students the life cycle of the butterfly. You cannot teach this science from a worksheet.

PreK-3 Solutions

Making Connections in Education

Color, Culture, and Self-Identification

I am a witness to a major transformation, in just a year, regarding culture, color, and self-identification.

One of the colors of a school I work in is red. Red was also the color, in previous years, used to denote the most negative of school behaviors. As I sat in pre-service with the new principal last year, she asked about the behavior chart. A legacy teacher spoke up and shared the color-coded structure. A new teacher asked, “Why was red BAD if one of the school colors was red”? The legacy teacher’s response was, “That’s the way it’s always been”. The principal reversed the behavior chart, making red the top. There was a lot of resistance from the legacy teachers.

My first year with this school I saw quite a bit of negative behaviors from both students and teachers. Think about the confusing message the students received. Every day they wore a uniform in school colors, a red shirt and black or khaki pants. Every day, before last year, if you did wrong, you took home a red mark. When you believe the narrative, positive or negative, it becomes the reality. In this case, red is bad.

Most of that legacy team has left the building. This year, what I hear a lot is “I got a red today!” as the students proudly walk around in those red shirts. Culture shift, in one year, by a person not afraid to change the system.

While this essay is about a culture shift, it could have just as easily have been about courage or commitment. For a person willing to make a change to what has always been and stay the course when there was so much push back says a lot about the principal’s character. This principal has the type of courage and commitment that is missing from many of the schools I visit.

If you want to see a change in education, you need to install more educators willing to change the culture. Then you will see the positive change in the data.

PreK-3 Solutions

Making Connections in Education

What We See, is What We Get

Today, as I was perusing Facebook, I noticed an advertisement for children science activities. The inspirational scientists were all white males. The families enjoying science together were white. Not sure if this was the intent but the message I received was this was not for everyone.

I messaged the company to share that I got my first chemistry set when I was 8. I wanted them to see an image, my photo.

As a teacher, I am cognizant of the images I share with my students. Especially after I subbed in schools during 2014 – 2015 that were proud to display the American flag but not display a picture of the president, Barack Obama.

My students reflect the diversity of the city. I never want any of them to feel they cannot achieve their dream.

Parents, as you enter your child’s classroom (physically or virtually) look at the images your children will see most of his/her day. What are these images saying to your children?

Thanks, momma, for the chemistry set. Although I did not become a scientist, I grew up believing that it was possible. And that is what is important.

PreK-3 Solutions

Making Connections in Education

No Worksheet Required

Recently while weeding, I came across what I hoped was a very colorful hair band. Not so. It was a garter snake, recently deceased. Another challenge for this certified naturalist. A couple of weeks before I discovered a garden spider near my morning meeting bench. Cue Ray Steven’s song “I don’t like spiders and snakes”.

Seizing this as an opportunity to make a connection in education, I researched the spider. This variety, sometimes known as a zigzag spider, was E.B. White’s inspiration for “Charlotte’s Web”. Now I had another story to share with Ava on our next backyard safari. We got our exploration kit and went on a tour.

Later we went to the nature center. Ava talked about the spider, creating a story with other characters. Now “Charlotte” will be the main feature of our scarecrow project for the contest. We went to the store for supplies – plastic spiders, web-making material, and other accessories. Along the way, Ava explained to everyone who paused to listen about the spider named Charlotte in our backyard and the scarecrow project.

What began as a teachable moment for me, evolved into a STEAM project that I will enjoy with my granddaughter. Ava was able to add new information to prior knowledge, and combine curiosity with critical thinking to design an original piece of art. She demonstrated understanding by explaining to her mom what we had done that day. No worksheet required.

PreK-3 Solutions

Making Connections in Education