Study Skill O’ The Week: Dingers!

Back in the 20th century, when I was in high school, I had this social studies teacher who would give away all the test answers the day before the test in a game called “Dingers.” We would line up in two groups and when it was your turn, you sat face to face with a classmate, game-show style, and in between you was one of those Dinger things that you ring for service. He would read out the question and whoever got their hand practically punctured by the other person’s hand slapping on top of yours slapping on top of the Dinger got to answer the question and earn points for the team. There was no delicate plucking of the bell, as pictured. Years later, I realized he wasn’t giving away the answers, he was teaching us how to study for the test. Curses! Tricked into learning again! So with full props to my 10th grade social studies teacher, here is the game, modified for the 21st Century.



1) Obtain a Staples “That Was Easy!” button. In today’s litigious world, one wants to avoid the “How did my son puncture his hand again?” conversation. The button is nice and soft, and has the added bonus of saying, “That Was Easy!” every time you push it.*

2) Line people up, Family Feud style, with half the class in a line and half the class in another. The two people in the front of the line sit down at a table, place their thumbs under the table and 4 fingers on the table to have an equal start.

3) Teacher reads out a question and whoever hits the “That Was Easy!” button gets to guess. If the person gets it right, they get 2 points: one point for getting it right, and one point for being correct that it was indeed “Easy.” If the person gets it wrong, the other team automatically gets 1 point because the other team misjudged the difficulty of the question.**

4) At this point, the other team can accept the 1 point and walk away, or choose to “steal” for an additional point by hitting the “Easy” button and getting it correct. If they get it wrong, they walk away with zero points.

5) Please expect a classroom full of students screaming, “It’s easy! It’s easy! Do it! Dude!” when there is a stealing opportunity. So if you are opposed to that, set up a ground rule in the beginning that teams lose points if someone yells out. I think the yelling out is kind of fun for them, but everyone has their own tolerance for noise.

6) Also, if you have a particularly aggressive student who you feel cannot handle the controlled slapping of button, put him/her in charge of keeping points on the whiteboard or reading the questions with you.

7) If your test questions are better in written form (say, like doing a math problem) then you can have two baby whiteboards and dry erase markers at the Dingers station and they can work out the problem on their individual boards, then hit the Easy button.

8) Try it out, and let me know if “That was Easy!”


*So annoying after a while. Kids of all ages love it though. Also, I do not endorse any particular office supply store. But if Staples wants to throw me a kick-back, feel free!

** This is in place so that our more impulsive friends (read: ADHD, those with Executive Functioning deficits) can evaluate the difficulty of task first, which is an important study skill. We’ve all seen the kid who rushes through something, thinking it’s easy, and does it all wrong. This is a good inhibition (“stop and think”) practice for test taking.

My Kingdom for a Printer

I’ve been following the saga of Mrs. Mimi, and her battle for basic needs in her school, such as a parking spot, in My Kingdom for a Parking Space. While hers takes the cake for wackness in education, I have to report that it’s pathetic that I can’t get a working printer in the public school on the cusp of 2009, especially when my job entails writing lengthy reports on whether or not kids have learning disabilities, Autism, ADHD, Emotional Disabilities, etc. etc. Not to toot my own horn, but I think it’s important for parents and schools to have a written copy of such things.

I wont go into boring detail, but on Tuesday, I almost lost it, in manner of the movie Office Space in which the guy freaks out because the printer keeps saying “PC Letter Load” and he ends up smashing the thing with a bat in a field after work. Since I have a nonviolent temperament, I will use an “I message” instead. *

Printer, I feel frustrated when things that should take 5 minutes, like printing a report, takes days because I have a laptop with no Internet or printer connector so I can’t print at school.** I feel sad that I have to drive 10 miles away to use the one printer that we have for the 40 psychologists. I feel angry when the printer wasn’t working, then it was, but then there was no white paper. I need A WORKING PRINTER.

The funny part of this story is that I used Twitter to voice my frustration, writing, “All I want for Christmas is a working printer in my school” and this morning, I received a notice that Riso Printers, Inc. was now following me on Twitter. Stay tuned, Riso.

*For those of you who don't hang around the yoots, educators are big fans of the "I Message" in which you tell someone how you are feeling and what you need. Some of my little ones don't quite get the concept yet, and say, "I hate you." We're working on it.

**Don't say flashdrive. I forgot it that day.

Giving Thanks

Judge each day not by the harvest, but by the seeds you plant…
[anonymous]

As I’m trying to collect stories about The Teachable Moment*, I have noticed a trend. First, the teachers I know say, “What a great idea!” and then, “Um, I don’t have any teachable moments.” “Sure you do!” I exclaim, and then they say, “I’ll think about it,” morph into the teacher-version of Eeyeore, trudge away, possibly racking their brains for a time when they made a huge difference in a kid’s life. So maybe “The Teachable Moment” sounds a bit too Hollywood, like all, “Carpe Diem! Stand on your chair and salute me in the name of literacy!” I am just looking for stories in which teachers connect with students, and teachers know they made a difference.

Turns out, that’s hard to come by, especially for new teachers. Most of my stories have been from veteran teachers who had a kid come back 20 years later and thank them. TWENTY YEARS?!? We have to wait twenty years for positive feedback? No wonder there’s a teacher shortage! That is some delayed gratification. One teacher put it to me this way: “Some days I feel like I’m pouring all my energy into sand.” I said, hopefully, “Maybe you’re pouring it into soil, and you have to wait for it to grow?” I was sort of trying to convince myself, I think.

With these new ideas rattling around in my head, I spent some of this Thanksgiving thinking of when I had given thanks to my teachers. Sheepishly, I admit, I have only explicitly thanked one of them. Shame on me! So, after my pumpkin pie-fest, I scoured Facebook, People Finders, Google, etc, for my favorite teacher from 2nd grade, Ms. Laurie Baumunk, so I could thank her.**

Ms. Baumunk was probably all of age 21 when she taught 8 year old me, fresh from Australia with a funny little accent and all. I think back to the most memorable times, and have few moments when I can think of things she taught me explicitly, but my memories are mostly an an amorphous feeling of love--Love for learning, love for my school, love for my classmates. As my blog title states, I. Loved. School. I love everything down to the the little zippers on my Kangaroo shoes that could hold my lunch ticket. I loved sorting my work into little folders. I loved writing. I loved it all.

But most of all, I loved being around Ms. Baumunk. She was warm and kind, and in my memory, angelic and softspoken. She made me want to be a teacher. I’m sure she had her bad days, and state standards and curriculum to follow, but I don’t remember any of that. I only have the visceral appreciation of her kindness. The one thing that does stand out was probably not in a state standard you could measure, but I remember her taking us all to the National Western Stock Show, which for non-Midwesterners, is like a rodeo and a place to view (or buy?) livestock. We had our own little mock-Stock Show in the class in which my drawing of a pig roped in 3rd place. Oh how I wish that were a state standard for that lesson:

Standard 27.2. Students will understand that the world’s premier livestock will be at the Denver Coliseum this weekend! Yeeeeee Haw!

I digress. What I remember about the show was that I bought a little Rabbit’s Foot and then cried on the bus home when I found out they had to kill the rabbit to get it’s foot. Ms. Baumunk comforted me and I survived my first “circle of life” discussion. I’m certain that they didn’t teach that in preservice teaching classes, and I’m certain Ms. Baumunk has no idea that I still remember her kindness decades later.

So for those teachers who don’t think they have any teachable moments, think back on your own teachers who made a difference for you in some small way, and think again.

*It’s not too late! Email me at studentsgrow@gmail.com for details on how to submit a story. It’s paid!

**I didn’t find her. I can only hope she googles her name someday and finds this. I’ll try to help it along in case I spelled her name wrong: Laurie Baumunk, Lori Baumunk, Laurie Baumonk, Lori Baumonk! Google, don’t fail me now.

Study Skill O’ the Week: Swatters!

“If it’s not fun, they won’t learn!” – 5th grade teacher, Inner City Elementary

I overheard this teacher say this the other day, and I must say, her classroom does seem to be pretty fun. Whenever I go in there, the kids are smiling and on-task. Almost every day in her class is a total Learning Party. Wheeeeee!* I don’t know how she does it, working in the inner city, and every day she is so excited about teaching. I wonder if this teacher wakes up on Monday, jolts out of bed, claps her hands together, and exclaims, “TGIM!”

Anyway, with full credit to this teacher, I want to share a technique she uses to help her students memorize facts. I incorporate this in my study skill coaching repertoire, because it really is more fun than traditional “Drill and Kill” techniques with flashcards. It’s called “Swatters” and I thought I’d pass it on as a way to make memorization fun. Do let me know how it goes.

1) Obtain two fly swatters.

2) Explain to the class that they are not to be used for swatting flies. Very important, as I forgot to do this once and had to go buy a new swatter because I was too grossed out to use it again. Bleeh. Fly Guts.

3) Have the students put the answers to certain memorization questions on flash cards. I have used vocabulary words, possible test questions, and math facts. Place the answers on the blackboard in a random array.

4) Have the class line up in two parallel lines, facing the board, with about 6-10 feet in between the board and the first two kids. I’d put a masking tape line there as a start line so you avoid the “He’s cheating!” conversation.

5) Explain the rules. If anyone swats a fly or a classmate, they are disqualified. If anyone pushes anyone, they are disqualified. Whoever hits the flashcard first wins—in the event that both kids hit the correct card, this is determined by whose swatter is on the bottom.

6) Teacher calls out the question, such as “When was the constitution signed?” or “What’s 2 X 5?” and the first two in the rows run up to the board and swat the correct answer. The team with the swatter on the correct card gets a point, and the two return to the back of the line.

7) Proceed until you, or the kids, are bored, or you run out of questions. I have found that even the most ADHD kids ever want to do this game for like 45 minutes, only because they finally get to use that energy.

*Baffling, I know. I want what she has for breakfast.

Hug Your School Psychologist Today

If you can locate your school psychologist today, as s/he probably has several school from which s/he flits back and forth, do take a moment to recognize that it's...

NATIONAL SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST AWARENESS WEEK!!!

*party blowers go off, a few balloons fall from ceiling*

Just like last year, I totally spaced it out until today, Friday. I even had a reminder this year from Tracy, a reader who sent me virtual flowers.

On the heels of week in which I had Tuesday off and missed a whole day of seeing kids, I had an "advocate" at a meeting try to argue with me about whether or not I should be using the term "Dyslexia" or "Learning Disability," misquoting the Educational Code in a rage,* tried to test a kid three times and he was absent, and all around derailment of plans, I really appreciated my V-flowers.

Now I realize this is BAD PR for School Psychology Awareness week to describe all the derailment, so go on and read a warm fuzzy post. There are days in which it's all worth it. I promise.

The Little Engine that Could

*They're the same thing, different lexicon. Simmer down, lady.

Sign of the Times: Obama in Education

As I walked to my school in the heart of the inner city the day after the election, I saw a sign that the day before, had GUNZ tagged on it, and it had been painted over to read OBAMA! Today, I saw a billboard that had previously been completely defaced with graffiti, covered over with posters of Obama, with “Change” written in three different languages. I don’t even have to explain the symbolism.

Recently, I did a post about how the gang graffiti at my school has been replaced by support for Obama. A spirited discussion ensued. My take was that I was excited that my students were getting involved in the political process, and I saw the hope they had for their future expand in a way I'd never seen before. In a town where there has already been over 100 murders this year, seeing any movement toward a positive change was, to me, encouraging.

Others fixated on the fact that there was graffiti, and assumed that because my students were excited for Obama, there was a pro-Obama lesson plan distributed to all teachers. Of all the messages in my post, I found it so shocking that the theme pulled out of my posting was “Graffiti is bad and gone unchecked, turns kids into juvenile delinquents!” If anyone has actually read my blog, they would know that I try to turn graffiti into positive art, and disdain the graffiti in my school so much that I made my boys group paint over it as their group project. The point I was making is that despite the manner in which they expressed their excitement, they were expressing excitement about a positive change.

The day after the election, one of my young counselees, a 10-year old African American boy who has told me he doesn’t think he’ll live past age 18 because of the violence in his community, came bounding in my office with a huge grin on his face. He said, “Dr. Bell! Dr. Bell! Do you know who won the election?” I played dumb and said, “No, tell me!” At that point he stuck his ears out with his hands and said, “I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message!” He burst into giggles, something I had never seen before. Then, he earnestly asked, “Do you think I could be Barack Obama someday?” For a kid who has been so depressed he doesn’t think he needs to do homework because he’s just going to get shot and killed, it was so moving to see him have hope.

Whether or not you endorsed McCain or Obama, and whether or not Obama comes through on all his promises or not, it is a hard argument to make that our children of color do not benefit from having a high status role model like Obama. He has already changed the collective unconscious of our students, and inspired engagement in learning and participating in civics. I encourage everyone to watch this little boy talk about Obama and tell me that’s not powerful.

I Believe You Have My Stapler.

You know that scene in Office Space in which Milton, the mumbling guy who has to move his desk all the time, has to move again, and all he has to hold on to is a red stapler? That stapler is HIS and it’s all he has. He has no dignity, but he’s got his stapler. And he’s gonna cling to it.



Unlike Milton, I am so blessed to have an actual 3X6 foot office WITH A DOOR at my public middle school. I am not being sarcastic, for once. Space is a commodity at schools, and private space is unheard of. As many of you know, it took me over 8 months to get an actual key to this office, due to bureaucratic nonsense.* Prior to that, I had to lug my bags into the main office, get a key, lug my bags into the office, run the key back to the office, pray all day that no one came in to take my stuff from an unlocked office, then get the key at the end of the day to lock up again. So you can imagine my territorial reaction to the following note, placed upon my desk last week:

Hi. This is Judy and I am the new speech pathologist. I need you to clean out one of your file drawers for my files and I will need to get your key to share.

Oh no she di’nt! Who does she think she is? I earned that key! I earned that drawer! That’s MY stapler! She will have to pry that key out of my tiny, angry, shaking fist of fury on the day I leave this job! *deep breath* I’m okay now. I am not opposed to sharing. I will behave. I just resent the tone of the note. Maybe she comes from a school where it is normal to have an office and a key, no problems. So I cleaned out a drawer for her, like a good coworker.

But she’s not getting my key. She will have to earn it, just like I did. I am officially Miltina.

*I do not yet have a key to the building to get into said office, so every morning I get to hunt down a janitor whilst holding five million bags of stuff, wielding large coffee about. Someday I will have paid my dues long enough to earn that key…*wistfully stares into future*