13 Life Lessons Sixth Graders Learned

A week ago today, I gave a 3-2-1 summary to my students. I first asked students to write three things they learned about "math or attitude/character." Here were thirteen responses taken directly from the students journals. 

1. "How to be persistent."
2. "I have learned to never give up."
3. "I have learned it's not that I'm so smart...I just stay with problems longer."
4. "To listen to what other people have to say about a problem."
5. "It's better to do something that you really like than to do something for the money."
6. "Never take the easy way out, always go full out."
7. "Just take it step by step. To get to Mount Olympus just make sure every step you take is toward Mount Olympus."
8. "I have the ability to be a leader and I enjoy helping others learn."
9. "In order to teach someone something they should first be confused and have questions to truly learn."
10. "To always try to make math enjoyable for yourself." Or put another way by a different student "Make the most of math class - even if it's not your favorite class."
11. "We must learn from the mistakes of others."
12. "As long as you can practice you can get better."
13. "It's not about the results, it's about the process."   

It was even more powerful hearing the students share their responses out loud because they elaborated and there was such a variety of students who responded. How did these attitudes get shaped in this way? I don't have a quick or easy answer, but there are a few things that stick out.

The Quote of the Day. I believe in all of these philosophies and make them known to the students. By sacrificing some class time everyday to read and explain a quote of the day from a book that I've read, I demonstrated my belief in these philosophies. Some quotes worked better than others and some would have more meaning to certain students than others, but I usually tried my best to make them universal. One student clearly remembered the quote about the young citizen who asked Aristotle how to get to Mount Olympus. For a sixth grade student who has probably never heard of Aristotle or Mount Olympus, it's easy to doubt this would work. Nonetheless as the student wrote, the message was clearly to take your goals in one step at a time, and that message was received and remembered more than a month later.

The Star Student. This was new to this year. I'm not even sure what inspired the idea other than the knowledge of positive and specific feedback was the ultimate means to improvement according to research. Everyday I recognized one to three students who had done something the day before that enforced one of the core qualities listed above. These students were not just recognized in their own class, but in other classes too. And it became a tradition which I actually stole from Allie G (though the students were clueless to this) that we would say "Big Ups" and give a fist bump to the star student. The kid in Block A who was Star Student for instance would be bothered in the hall and in the caf all day by other students saying, "hey I heard what you did in math - Big Ups!" It was funny and a little over the top, but in giving a reason for these students to be stars everyday the message got out about how practice is done, what persistence is, and how to be a team player. Since the students that were stars were in our midst these philosophies did not come across as unrealistic ideals to meet. They were attainable and at some point everyone was recognized.

The Einstein Poster. In the back of my room there is a poster that says the quote that is given in number three. I tell the kids from day one that the word smart is a swear in this classroom after reading what Carol Dweck said about praising intelligence in Mindset. This quote has become my mission statement the last couple of years. Some colleagues and I discussed what our legacies would be as teachers a few months ago (it's a powerful activity to do with three other teachers and nobody watching your every move). I said that I wanted students to leave my class with the idea that they need to stay with problems longer. I revisit this quote with students who come up to me asking for help or with students that praise my own intelligence at least weekly. If I started the statement, It's not that I'm so smart, I'm confident any student that had me as a teacher could finish the statement.

All of this is very nice to brag about on the surface, but in reality I know I came up short in many ways. The responses I got back were gratifying, but also a reminder that there were students, lessons, and moments throughout this year that I was not reaching my potential in helping students recognize their potential. For instance, the majority of students would tell you that they have learned to never give up, but saying it and acting on it were not the same thing. I think the first way in which I will bring these takeaways from this year into the students I meet next year is by introducing them in September. As students start to see these quotes from people only a year older, my hope is that they will commit these ideals to practice earlier and more consistently.