Conditions to Get What You Want or "Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls"

Our current topic is nutritional deficits and student behavior. We'll continue to hypothesize on that and pull some more information together for tomorrow's or the next day's blog. In the mean time, Peter has brought up a nagging issue (see his comment on the right) that is well worth considering, especially since the school year has just begun or is about to for most districts.

The bell, you know the bell, that conditioned response signal, that element that sets our profession apart from most others. Who else works from "bell to bell"? We're talking secondary school now. Strictly adhered to schedules of regulated instructional minutes are punctuated by bells allowing us to herd students in and herd students out. There are little passing periods in between the herding in and herding out and that means limited time to talk, text, and go to the restroom for the students or the teachers. It's a strange environment if you think about it for too long. We just accept it because it's been like that for so long. Face it, you, the teacher are set up to be either challenged, disappointed, or frustrated by student behavior under conditions like this.

Peter is not the first teacher to express some irritation over students rushing out at the bell (or preparing to ahead of time). You know the feeling, you have planned, prepared, and delivered what otherwise would be termed a work of art, then the bell ringing approaches. Student belongings are crammed into backpacks and 30 plus people bolt out of your classroom, lab, or physical ed. line-up area without so much as a, "Thanks, that class wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!"

Well, for heaven sake, you're the teacher, YOU dismiss those kids, not the bell! Yeah, right. Can you imagine what chaos would result if every teacher in a middle or high school determined when her/his class was over? I know, I know, thoughtful and well meaning administrators tell their faculty that teachers do the dismissing, not the bell. So, ah, why do we have the bells? We apparently need the bells. The conditions are set.

No, no you have not been set up to fail or feel badly. You simply have conditions that you need to mold into what you want. If you cannot change the "live by the bell, die by the bell" environment, make it YOUR bell. Make it YOUR signal, not theirs. I can actually remember when I taught high school science, saying things like, "Look, guys, I've got 7 minutes until that stinkin' bell, and I need you to collect two more data points, get on it!" The bell is not something for your students to look forward to, it is theirs to dread. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls! It tolls for thee!"

You see, it's not about me or anyone else telling you what to do about the bell and the results you get from silly things like bells. Putting people in a room and not letting them out until a bell rings is the same thing as lining up thoroughbreds at a starting gate, sounding the bell and watching them race off. It's normal because those are the conditions that are created when you bring together a confined space and a bell sounding to release those confined in that space.

So, bottom line, don't take "racing off" at the bell personally (since it's normal), be empathetic (I know you are), there really are limited passing period minutes, and finally YOU have the power to change the "conditions" of the bell. It's YOUR bell, make it your friend to help you drive those students. Drive 'em hard—it's good for them.

Until the next bell,

Stef