Ms. Tolliver Dr. Wong

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One of the strategies Mr. Wong covers in his speech is to purposely introduce procedures as they go. Only model procedures are necessary to have a smooth opening in the classroom. One of my coworkers this academic school year began by introducing her students to the outside area even before they could play on the playground. She started with the tour of the jungle gym, then they went over to the basketball court, she covered the entire space outside while explaining to them the do's and don't. After a week of seeing them walk around in a line on the field she let them play on the jungle gyms. No fuss getting there and no crying to leave after. I was genuinely impressed. The other point Mr. Wong states is that the only way you can have responsible students is if you have procedures and routines which the students can be responsible for. Through his lengthy story of Ms. Suzannes class. The idea is that a well- practiced routine within the classroom ensures that no matter who shows up behind the desk the students know what to do. It becomes second nature to the child and there's a sense of importance in completing these tasks. Aside from just having your schedule posted on the board as an educator you should go over the times, the tasks and how it transitions throughout the day. The last strategy Mr. Wong covers that seemed too obvious, but I had never thought about before was how he has the students pass on papers. Typically, I do not set up my desks to be in rows. I prefer setting them up as a U facing the smart board and leaving a few desks inside the middle for students who lose focus easily or have trouble seeing from a far. Mr. Wong explained the procedure for students to hand papers from right to left versus passing the papers up. It's true when you have the students pass the papers up there's always one who hits the other on the head since they're not facing each other. Immediately, I am drawn into Miss Toliver's video more than Mr. Wong. Having been a student in Title I schools my whole life, it was something I can relate to. The comments the students made were words that I'm sure some other adult had said to them in their lifetime. One student said at the beginning of the video, I want to have a good life, I don't want to be on drug or drinking wine at six in the morning asking for a handout. Only a child who has lived that rough lifestyle speaks like that. Aside from Ms. Toliver's enthusiasm, the next thing that draws students in is her approach to problem solving. She emphasizes to the students that there is more than one right answer. Which is hard for a lot of educators to say considering we have been trained to follow an answer key to the dot. Her strategy is the old school cold look. A firm look can quiet down an auditorium if done with respect. Miss Toliver called it discipline with love. The last thing she did which I loved but I know with new restrictions and laws we can't do as often; is she took her class into the neighborhood to apply real life math scenarios. I can't even remember when's the last time my students took an off-campus field trip. Don't get me wrong, the digital field trips and on campus trips are nice but the kids get tired of the same four walls every day, me included. It would give them such a nice sense of community pride to do trips in our area. Overall, I can tell Miss Toliver was ahead of her time and her students were lucky to have her.
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