CHAT TIME

Teachers have their own ideas for how to motivate students to learn. It is not uncommon to adjust and try new ideas every year. Classes of students have a personality, just like teachers have their own unique style and delivery. That is why an instructional program is bound to be different in its usage since teachers are individuals with their own strengths and talents. Uniformity only goes so far. I have had the experience in my career where scripted lessons and format did not allow for any deviation. Fidelity to the program was expected so that we could measure its effectiveness with our students.

Intervention programs often are designed in this way so that the academic concepts will be concrete and learned well. Then their academic progress can be monitored and charted. This is good, but challenging. A creative person such as I am, finds it difficult to rein in the copious ideas that formulate and beg for attention in the mind. A myriad of ways to teach a common instructional concept hover in the brain seeking entrance into the formative juices.

As a reading specialist with instructional programs driving the delivery, I had to let go of some of my “great” ideas that wanted to jump out. However, there are a few that I have been able sneak in and use to my advantage. One is my Monday morning Chat Time. The idea sort of just happened early in my career as a public school teacher. From that point on I would use it with every single group or classroom of students. It became one of the most well liked of student preferences.

The rules for Chat Time are simple. One person talks at a time. No one interrupts or asks questions. We simply listen. The teacher may ask questions to clarify. Everyone gets a turn. The option to pass is allowed. No negative or violent talk. No put-downs allowed. To begin Chat Time, I call on someone to chat right from the get-go after they sit down around the round table in my small reading room. From there we make a circuit around the room. As their teacher, I also share something.

Reading groups are only a few students so this works well. Students who “pass” on a consistent basis, I will ask an innocuous question to encourage them to talk. How was your weekend? Did you get to go anywhere? With larger classes I organize the Chat Time groups into a four week rotation. Through chatting and telling, the students and I learn a lot about each others worlds; family interests; the older brother in Germany in the military who would call his little brother; we learn who was at someone’s house for a birthday party; student’s first communions and baptisms; how their bedrooms are being decorated influenced by the latest teenage sensation; visits to Mexico; parents in job transitions; puppies and pets; grandma’s and grandpa’s coming to visit; new toys and video games, bounce houses; soccer and soft ball teams; tamales, molé, carne asada, the latest party and family gathering and much more.

Chat time is “sacred” in my room. It is never replaced. Students absent on Monday wish they had been there, they like it so much. The youngest students enjoy it as much as the older students. Chat Time’s success revolves around its ability to include all students without any form of exclusion. It gives students a voice. Opportunity to encourage language and oral expression come easily in this venue.

Most of all, Chat Time provides a powerful tool by validating and acknowledging the individual. Most schoolrooms are long on being quiet and short on times for talking. Students thrive on being noticed and feeling special. There are times when the chat time topic evolves into a rich discussion about world events or scientific discoveries. Historical events and geographical details are always of interest if we should stray down that trail.

I learn a lot about my students; their interests, fears, family dynamics, and joys. Some children will finish the conversation one-on-one with me after the others have left in the brief time before my next group will arrive. These are always the hard ones, comments like “I won’t be here tomorrow because we’re going to visit my dad in Susanville (where he is incarcerated)” or “Did you read the paper about my dad? We’re going to go after school to see him. Don’t tell anyone,” (a drug raid or other infraction including sexual assaults) and the most common, “My parents are getting a divorce, that’s why I’ve been so sad.”

It is my desire as a teacher to fan the flame in such a way that any child can learn. Students must know and believe that they are accepted and liked. Their understanding of their own worth and value is fundamental. Philosophy is important. When asked in interviews what my philosophy for teaching is, I always say the same answer. “I believe every child can learn. It is my job to help them do this.” It helps if the educational environment is safe and conducive to developing the whole child.

I remember my own fourth grade teacher. She noticed me and drew me out.  Miss Elliott made me work hard but she also noticed my strengths. Her personal comments made me feel good about myself. They were genuine. As a very shy child, this was rare. I was largely unnoticed by my teachers, one of those students who fall through the cracks and didn’t get the extra attention or privileges; I wasn’t on their radar. I still remember the words Miss Elliott spoke to me about my artwork (the large helicopter mural I drew for the Christmas program), my public speaking (a report on apricots with real life examples), and her delight with the homemade caramels I made for her birthday (from an old family recipe).
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This year I am not teaching. I miss hearing the students talk and getting to know them as people. I step on campus once in awhile. When I visit the school, the children run up to me to say hi. Happiness is on their faces. They tell me about what is happening at school or in their lives, chatting a mile a minute. I suppose their happiness in seeing me somewhat relates back to my interest in them. . . . and that’s a good thing!
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From A Quiet Grace by N. L. Brumbaugh

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