During the summer of 2007, Tom Coughlin, then head coach of the New York Giants, was looking for a way to gain the respect of his players. He knew he needed to change some things. The players had become averse to his coaching style and their performance had plateaued. The Players Leadership Council was formed. The group was made up of about 11 players who met with and discussed anything and everything that needed to happen for the team to perform as well as possible.
History Has a Funny Way of Repeating Itself
We are now about 2+ months into the school year and my AP Calculus class has struggled to gather momentum. What should be simple has become hard. What should be short is sometimes long. What should be understood has been misconstrued. Eerily, I am sometimes reminded of similar dynamics back in my 2007-2008 school year. That class went on to do some special things, but not without its share of challenges including a tragic, unexpected turn. I actually detail it all in my book, The Lessons They Taught Me. During that time, I was still relatively inexperienced, only about 10 years into my teaching career. Today, I have more insight on how to navigate these types of challenges.
Trust the Process
On the first day of school, I tried my best to relay the experience of almost 30 years of working AP students. I told this year’s class about future events that would most certainly take place:
- You will fail a test or quiz at some point
- You will question whether you belong in this class
- You will question whether I think you belong in this class
- You will want to quit (or drop the class)
The only thing that matters when this happens is the question, “How will you respond?” What do we do then? How do we move forward? The only wisdom I could offer in September, that still rings true today, and will all year, is that we all have to trust the process. That process is fluid and changes from class to class, year to year. Those doubts and fears are just small moments in a bigger picture. In time and with the proper response, those doubts and fears will fade away.
As luck would have it, I needed to reflect on this quicker in this school year than I had anticipated. I initiated some honest, open conversations with some of my AP students last week. The air in class has been heavy. The expectations were building – some my doing, some their doing, and some their parents doing. I started by acknowledging my shortcomings and simply asked what they were feeling. What did they need me to examine? How could I help them? Should I change something?
AP Calculus Advisory Group
Coughlin’s idea inspired me to form an “AP Calculus Advisory Group.” The group has one ultimatum: leverage the student-teacher relationship to put students in the best possible position to succeed in AP Calculus.
Period.
Nothing else matters.
It is still way too early to see if this idea will prove to be a worthy solution. However, we are already seeing dividends, simply by establishing trust among the group and myself. Some of the feedback I received and have acted upon includes changing the structure of our daily class, including the notes packets I create. Those have been overhauled. Assessments, small and large, will change. Student accountability will look different. None of this would be possible without making sure my students know that I hear them. I feel their frustration. I respect how this plays a role in their overall well-being. I also know that it doesn’t have to stay this way.
We just hit fall break. Here is the message I sent to my AP Calculus class last week.
“This is a special group. The talent in this room is varied and yet in some ways, you’re all underdogs. There isn’t one person in this building who is expecting 19 out of 19 of you to get a 3 or higher. SHOCK THE BUILDING! Have a great break! Love you all.”
This is how we are choosing to respond.
Stay tuned.