The Classroom Magic of Dungeons and Dragons

After school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I work with a small group of students to help them build and strengthen literacy, critical thinking skills, and communication skills. The group was much larger before the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT), but now that they have written the test, most of the students have been choosing not to attend the extra class. I do, however, have a group of four that have continue to show up, and three of them that always participate in whatever literacy-based activity I have planned. I enjoy having the opportunity to interact with students in a more casual setting than a traditional class, however, planning engaging activities for four students can be a challenge. 

On Tuesday I was trying to think of something to do with this group as I updated my Dungeons and Dragons character sheet for a game that I was going to be attending later that evening. I sifted through my bag of D&D stuff -- players handbook, dice, binder for character sheets, miniature figurine to be placed on the map during combat scenes -- and as if I had been hit with Bardic Inspiration (that's a D&D joke), I decided that instead of grammar games and worksheets, I would lead my class through a mini-session of D&D!

The curriculum-oriented goals for using D&D in the classroom:

• listening skills
• reading comprehenion
• critical/creative thinking and problem-solving
• numeracy
• oral communication

The less formal goals:

• get the students engaged
• provide the opportunity for the students to have fun
• get the students to put down their phones
• share something about which I am enthusiastic

Luckily there are tons of D&D resources available online, and so I was able to come up with a basic story line, find some stats for the enemies that the students would be battling, and printed out some of the character sheets that are available online. 

I started by asking the students if they had heard of Dungeons and Dragons, and they said that they kind of knew what it was about, but not really. I presented them with the character sheets, and explained the characters' abilities and traits. The students each picked a character, gave them a name, and the adventure began.

You find yourselves in the town hall of a small village.

The mayor says to you: “A band of goblins has stolen our stash of supplies. Without it, we will not survive the winter, and we will all perish. Please help us! You will be rewarded for your efforts... Please take these healing potions to help you on your way."

One of the townspeople says: “The goblins are hiding out supplies in a cave on the other side of the clearing, just north of the village. Be careful on your way there. They have guards hiding out in the woods.” The townsperson points you in the right direction.

Since you haven't been a quest together before, this is where you can introduce yourselves.

And so one Hill dwarf Cleric, a Human Fighter, a High Elf Wizard, and a Lightfoot halfing Rogue set out to battle wolves and goblins in an effort to retrieve the stolen supplies.

The students loved it! It was just a short, hastily cobbled-together adventure, but they had such a good time. 

After killing one of the two wolves, the Cleric said, "I want to try and keep it as a pet."

"You want to tame the wolf?" I asked incredulously.

The student nodded, "Yes, I want to tame the wolf. Can I do that?"

I couldn't help but smile, "You can certainly try!"

One of the wonderful things about D&D is that creative problem-solving is encouraged, and often rewarded. So with a very lucky animal handling roll, the party gained a wolf ally. They unanimously decided to use a healing potion to help the wolf recover from its near-fatal battle wounds. They showed great compassion to their new wolf friend, and then went on to defeat the goblin bandits.

The best part of the game was that one of the students who was always reluctant to participate in any activities, who usually barely said anything, actually participated enthusiastically! It was incredible to watch him come out of his shell and actually interact with his peers. One of the other students asked if I could start a D&D club as an extracurricular (we already have a gaming club run by another teacher, but this one would just be D&D. I said yes, provided we can get the scheduling to work).

I'm so excited to plan some more adventures for this impromptu party, and I shared that excitement through a Reddit post on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning I woke up to a message from Limitless Adventures (http://limitless-adventures.com ) offering some free resources that I can use to plan quests for the students!

In addition to playing D&D, I would also like to lead them through some related activities to world-building and character creation. Now that a spark is lit, I am going to fan this flame and see what catches.

Here are some articles and videos about D&D:

- An educational assistant in Edmonton is using the game to help students develop social skills (The Toronto Star)

- Joe Manganiello on D&D as a creative outlet (NBC News)
- Mayim Bialik on D&D as family therapy (Youtube)
- Amazon Thinks Dungeons and Dragons Will Improve Your Health (Comicbook.com)
- When did Dungeons and Dragons suddenly become cool? (Toronto Star)  

Finally!

I haven't updated this blog for so long (4 years!) because, honestly, I was beginning to doubt that I would ever wade through the muck and mire of the Ontario teachers surplus. Working in sales for the tutoring company, although it was mostly paying the bills and was something I liked, was definitely not where I wanted to be for much longer.

At this time last year, I needed to take a leave of absence from the tutoring company so that I could deal with a situational depression and other difficulties caused in part by the fact that I kept getting overlooked for an interview when the supply teacher list had opened for new applicants. I'm qualified, I'm enthusiastic, I'm experienced; when would I get the opportunity to prove myself for longer than just the one month of summer school in July? Furthermore, if the board would hire me for summer school (which involves course design, planning, marking, report cards) why wouldn't they hire me for the supply list? I just needed an opportunity, a foot in.

Finally this September that opportunity presented itself. I saw a job posting at a nearby high school that needed to hire externally to fill a position in the English department. I put in my application and finally received an interview!

The interview as on a Thursday at 9:20am. At around 12:15pm I received a call from the principal telling me that the position was mine, and asking if I could start as soon as possible. From nothing to full-time in less than three hours (and about seven years). Once the contract is up, I will finally be on the supply teaching list.

I am finally heading in the direction of where I want to be.

And it feels amazing.

Critical Thinking, Social Media, and International Women's Day

March 8^th was International Women's Day. This is a day to celebrate the accomplishments of inspiring women, the on-going march towards fairness and gender equality, and to spread awareness about challenges and injustices suffered by women worldwide.

Is this the message consistent with the image below? The image was re-tweeted by one of my cousins. At first I thought, “Oh, that's nice!” But then I looked at it a second longer and felt a slight churn in my stomach. I realized that these images are not representative of the message of International Women's Day. The whole point is that girls and women acknowledge their own potential. When I showed the image to one of my friends, she said, “Oh look! Girls can be either a mom, or a grandma!” The more I shared the image with friends, the more I got the same reaction. One comment was, “It looks like it was made by Disney – and not in a good way.”

We will never be able to close the gaps in gender inequality without educating all people about the implications of the messages that are posted/shared/retweeted/favorited.

When I am teaching my grade 9s this summer, I will use this in a lesson for our media studies unit to include the importance of using one's critical thinking skills before sharing or re-tweeting. I encourage teachers, parents, and anyone who has young people in their life to have a meaningful conversation about the implications and intents of the messages that are posted and shared using social media. Critical thinking is not a skill that develops on its own; it requires practice and guidance.

I Care

         A friend of mine was talking to one of her friends who is a teacher. This teacher complained that her students are, "lazy and stupid, and they don't care". She went on to say that she doesn't really care either. She hates the job, but for whatever reason, has decided to stick with it. I find this to be profoundly disturbing. Teaching is not a job for those who face challenging students with apathy. We should work as not only messengers delivering textbook contents to our students, but also as mentors providing academic training, and transferable life skills. There is a teacher surplus in this province, and if one is a teacher in job title alone, then perhaps he or she should consider a change of careers and make way for those of us who actually want to teach.

I do not have the good fortune to be on an occasional teacher list because of the surplus, but for the past two years, during month of July, I have had the opportunity to teach summer school. My students come to summer school for a variety of reasons. Some are there to make up the credit; some are transitioning from the English as a Second Language stream; some are upgrading. Many of them are there because an educator who does not really care to be at the front of a classroom has dismissed them as lazy, stupid, and careless. In the five weeks that we have together, I have to motivate them, make them aware of their ability to learn, and show them that when they demonstrate a responsible and caring attitude, that they exceed their own expectations. This is not done in some surreptitious way, where I present them content in which a young person struggles to overcome their social circumstances and succeed and hope they get the point (although Robert Lipsyte's The Contender does provide that content). This is accomplished through patient, persistent encouragement and firm, consistent discipline.

At the beginning of the term, I give the students a talk to let them know that no matter what brought them to my summer school classroom, they are all there for the same reason: to earn their credit. The emphasis is on the word earn. Everyone gets a fresh start. You will get out of this course what you put into it. If you don't try, of course you won't be successful. But if you put in the necessary effort, and if you always produce your best work, then you're going to do well. It's up to you what happens here. Make good decisions.

Yes, there are students who try and avoid doing their work, and yes, there are some who need to have the concepts re-explained in several different ways. But they are by no means lazy or stupid. The ones who try to avoid working are the ones who expect that they will be written off as lazy and careless. My EA and I spend so much time giving pep talks to students who feel like they are incapable of doing anything because they have been dismissed as hopeless cases, and they are convinced that nobody cares anyway. Nobody cares, and nobody holds them accountable. That changes in my classroom. It has to.

Make good decisions -- that has become my catch phrase. And when a poor decision is made, there are consequences to be faced as well as a reminder: "That is the decision that you made. This is an opportunity to make a better one."

Last week when my class was analyzing news articles, the content provoked one of my students to ask for advice. I was equipped to answer his question, and after our conversation, he thanked me for talking to him and apologized for prompting what could have been an awkward conversation. I told him not to apologize because, "I care about all of my students, and I would like you to have the facts that you need to be able to make informed decisions."

His reply was, "For real, miss?"

"Yes."

He looked stunned, "No shit? I mean, no fooling?" He apologized for his inappropriate classroom language and continued, "No teacher's ever said that before... I didn't know that. I thought teachers just don't care."

"I care," I said. I do. I'm not a title-only teacher; I'm a teacher right down to my heart and soul. I'm not there just to fire definitions and analytical techniques at them. I'm there to help them on their journey to becoming the best people that they can be -- to help them discover that they have dignity, importance, and worth. That is what my best teachers instilled in me as a student, regardless of how poor my grades were. They never wrote me off. I found it heartbreaking and disturbing that this young man has not received that kind of support. I just said, "Yes, I care. I know that we only get five weeks to work together, and that odds are that we're not going to see each other again, but if we do meet again someday, it would be really great to know that you feel like you are successful and happy."

This is the "implicit curriculum", that is so often mentioned in teachers college. These are the life skills that accompany the academics. Each student must learn: you are capable, you can be responsible, you are accountable, and you can put in the necessary effort to produce the results that you want to see.

These are not the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed musings of a possibly inexperienced teacher; these are my core beliefs about my vocation, and the very reason why people who are in it for the summers off need to step aside and make room for those of us who genuinely care. Yes, it is difficult to give all students the support that they deserve, and there will be those who slip through the cracks, but hopefully not one of those students will feel like they are not worth anybody’s time and attention.

My students are all capable. They can be responsible. The can be held accountable. They can put in the necessary effort to produce their desired results.

They need the support of educators who believe that too. Teachers are in a position to help correct and change undesirable behaviours. We have the privilege of training, guiding, and supporting the future leaders of the world. We are in the business of caring.

My students are not lazy, stupid, and careless. But some of the teachers they have had probably are.

Summer School

I recently taught a grade nine applied-level English class in summer school. They were a diverse bunch of students with a variety of educational needs. Some of the students were there because they stopped caring during the school year and chose not to show up. Some were transitioning from ESL to applied level courses so that they could eventually upgrade to college/university classes. There were a few students with learning differences, or behavioural issues. I was lucky in that the students with special needs were openly communicative about their needs. Much of the theory I encountered in my special ed course was applicable in this class; a welcome change from the gap between the educational theory learned in teachers college and “real life” teaching experiences. Also, I was fortunate to have an Educational Assistant in my classroom who was both eager to learn, and to help the students learn. Her help was invaluable, especially to some of the students who required more individual attention than others. I started off with a full class of 35 students, and by midterm (only two weeks into the course), I ended up with about 25 students.

Some chose not to be there because the attendance policy was too strict. Some dropped the course because they expected summer school to be easy. I learned that many students needed not to be taught concepts and skills (because they are all familiar with the basics), but to be reminded that they are capable of achieving their goals. My standards were high, but so was my faith in my students. “Miss, this is a lot of work!” they whined. “I know it’s a lot of work. You have a lot of time, and if you use it well, you can finish it all,” I said repeatedly. Most of them did complete the assignments. Some of them gave up, or rebelled by doing nothing. They eventually faced the consequences. Some of them asked for help frequently, and some of them had to be asked if they needed help, which they sheepishly admitted they did. These students benefitted from being in the same classroom with the EA and I all day, so that we could try to give them the help that they required.

Throughout the month I learned that there is a way to be relatable and still maintain professionalism, a balance which my students told me some of their teachers had trouble finding.  My classroom management philosophy is that if we all respect each other, our classroom, and the rules of the school, things will run smoothly. The students seemed to like the simplicity of this approach, and other than a couple of instances of bickering, throwing paper, and eating in the classroom, things went pretty smoothly. A difficulty that I faced was finding a balance between being nice and being stern. In fact, when I tried to be stern, my students often complied with my requests for silence, co-operation, or attention, but only because they didn’t want me to, “get mean.” A small group of girls would tell me daily that my dimples are cute, and that they like doing well because it is better to see me smile than to see my angry face. I’m still trying to decide if they were being genuine, or if it was flattery.

Although I will remember most of the students fondly, there are two students in particular whom I especially admire. The first is a young man who wanted so badly to do well in the class that he moved seats to be away from his friends and in closer proximity to the EA and I. This student was one of the few with learning difficulties and special needs. He was aware that he had to work harder than some of his classmates, and his determination to succeed was admirable. He would constantly ask us to clarify concepts that he didn’t immediately understand, and he asked us to proof-read drafts of his written assignments. When his friends attempted to distract him, he told them to go do their work, or he asked if he could work in the library. On report card day, I conferenced with each student and explained how they earned the grade they were given. When this student received his final report card, he referred to his grade as something that he earned, instead of something that I gave him. He looked at his grade and said, “Miss, I know that this would have been better if I tried a little harder in the novel study. I shouldn’t have skipped those questions.” This was the same feedback that I was going to give him in our conference, but he was able to anticipate exactly what I was going to say. I nodded and congratulated him on knowing when to ask for help, how to deal with his needs, and where he could improve. It takes a great deal of self-awareness to do so in grade nine. Even now I sometimes have difficulty with in-depth self-reflection, so I am humbled by this student.

My second memorable student brought her mother in with her on the last day to pick up her report card. Her mother asked to listen in on our conference. I explained to the student that it was evident that she worked hard, and that she produced outstanding results. Earlier in the summer this student had lost her great-grandmother, and there were some other serious non-academic issues with which she had to deal. Still, she was able to put aside her personal struggles and delve deeply into the material being studied. She channeled her struggles into writing assignments, interacting with the texts on a level that I seldom saw from her peers. The student’s mother thanked me after our conference. I said, “It was all your daughter. She worked so hard this term, and it certainly showed.” Her mother said, “I hope that she continues to show this kind of effort… She had a rough year last year.” This student and her mother were both surprised be her achievements. I don’t know what her rough year consisted of, but she certainly demonstrated her potential to overcome personal difficulties.

The amount of maturity that these two grade nine students showed was amazing. I think about my own experiences in grade nine and I question how well I would have dealt with learning difficulties or serious personal issues. I respect these students for their determination, and self-awareness. They are a couple remarkable young people, and I hope that they continue their educational journeys with the same about of care and diligence that they demonstrated this summer. 

Assumptions, Accountability, Attitudes, and Consequences

          My students often complain about the amount of work that they have to do. In the past I have been sympathetic to their complaints. Since it is an evening class, and all of them are in school all day before they arrive in my classroom, I have scheduled time for them to work on their assignments in class. School can be overwhelming, especially for those who are trying to earn grades that are high enough to be considered for university admissions. So logically, one would think that the students would take advantage of work periods, especially in a situation like ours where the course is condensed. However, teenagers are not the most rational beings. This trait, paired with the tendency to complain, can lead to some interesting situations.

            One of the required assignments for my class is an Independent Study Unit. Throughout the term, I schedule conferences to meet with each student individually and make sure that they are on track with their assignments. Students are reminded about these conferences well in advance, and I repeatedly go over what the expectations are. On the date of the final conference before assignments are due, half of my class did not show up. I sent out the following message:

Dear Students,

You are absent from class today (April 19th, 2011), and you have missed your third conference for the Independent Study Unit. Today you were required to hand in three parts of your assignment:

- a thesis statement
- an outline for your essay
- process journals for both of the texts that you have read.

You must still submit these to me electronically (by e-mail) by 11:59 p.m. today.

I will deduct 2% per day from your grade for your ISU essay until these documents are submitted, to a maximum of 10%.

I will not accept any excuses for absences since you have been notified of this conference and the requirements well in advance.

Sincerely,

(Your Teacher)

            I received no replies to this message, and only one of the students submitted the required work.

Shortly after that class, the due day for the Hamlet essay came up. Students were given two work periods (that’s seven hours) to start the essay, and an additional week before the due day to work on the essay. Only two of my students submitted the essay on time. Six of them chose to hand in the essay late, and accept a penalty of -2%/day. Two of them just didn’t hand in the essay on the last day (5 days after the due date), and accepted the grade of zero. At least, I think they accepted the zero because they haven’t shown up for class in a while. On the final possible day to submit the essay, I received a message that shed some light on what could be going on:

Dear (Teacher),

      I'm aware that I'd been missing many classes for I'd been partying to celebrate for my acceptance letters. As a mater of fact, I was even going to withdraw from this class and go back to my home country since I thought my university applications are all set. 

      However I realized that U of T requires a minimum grade of 85% for its applicants ENG4U courses, and now I'm regretting all the foolish things I did including skipping my class sessions. 

      Nonetheless, I'm ready to face the penalties I deserve in terms of the deducted marks on the works I haven't handed in yet or handed in late. I promise that I'll be on time for the remaining sessions and due dates and I sincerely apologize for all the troubles I'd caused. 

I realized that the students had made some very wrong assumptions, and since the midterm marks had been submitted to universities, and they had received their letters, they assumed that they were in the clear. However, this is the only student that seemed to realize that. I replied:

(Student),

Please be aware that your mid-term mark represents roughly half of the course work. You are still required to earn your credit for the course, and the credit is not granted until the successful completion of the course. All universities in Ontario require the successful completion of the ENG4U course, although the required minimum marks for consideration vary.

Thank you for your apology. Please do keep your word to do your best from this point forward.

Sincerely,

(Your Teacher)

            I congratulate that particular student for his honesty, and I recognize that he is clearly freaking out. I think that this student is an example to his peers. He realized that he had made some wrong assumptions, accepted accountability for his actions, adjusted his attitude, and prepared to accept the consequences. Remember the student who was caught cheating on his test using his cell phone? His attitude was much different.

            As per his now established usual, this student stayed after class to explain why he had not yet completed the required work, and beg for another chance. He even said, “Miss, you can take away 15%, instead of 10%, just please let me have four more hours… What I have written is a piece of crap”

 Here are my reasons for denying the request:

1)      The due date had passed. It was the final day to hand in the assignment. Hand it in, or accept the zero. That is the policy, and it is non-negotiable.

2)      If a student has, after two entire classes, plus an additional week, knowingly produced a “piece of crap”, that is a reflection of how the student has chosen to use his/her time. I will not be merciful to someone who has admittedly wasted their time and not bothered to do the work, especially at the Grade 12 level.

3)      This particular student has pulled this kind of thing before, and I previously explained that he would get no more chances. Hand in the work, or take the zero.

4)      Staying up until midnight to check my e-mail to make sure that the student submits his essay is well outside the bounds of my duties.

5)      Administration backed me up. The guidance counselor and the principal both agree that there are limits to the flexibility with the due dates, and that having an enforced late policy benefits the students.

Yes, the student even attempted to bargain with the guidance counselor, and the principal. In the end, he handed in the, “piece of crap”.

This student is quickly becoming the student that I will tell future students about. “Use your time well; you don’t want to be that kid…” That kid is going to be in for a rude awakening next year when he gets to university. I wish him, and any other students with that kind of attitude, luck. They’re going to need it.

               

You Only Get One Second Chance

            In the same evening that I had to deal with the plagiarism incident mentioned in my last post, there was a second cheating incident. This incident involved a cell phone, a unit test, and a tearful confession from a stressed out student. I would like to think that our lesson on Hamlet that day had something to do with the way that the events unfolded.


           At this point in our study of Hamlet, we talked about feelings of guilt. How do you feel when you have done something wrong? Is honour and honesty important to you? In the play, Hamlet is told by the ghost of his father (the former King of Denmark), that Claudius (brother of the former King, who married Hamlet’s mother) is a murderer, and that while the former King was sleeping, Claudius poisoned him. Hamlet is skeptical at first, and wonders if the ghost is really the ghost of his father, of if it is the Devil in disguise, attempting to steal Hamlet’s soul. Hamlet devises a clever plan so that he can determine whether or not Claudius is actually guilty of the murder. When a troupe of actors comes to the Kingdom, Hamlet asks if he can write a scene for them to perform. Hamlet writes the scene depicting the events told to him by the ghost, and asks his buddy Horatio to observe the behaviour of Claudius while the scene is being performed. If Claudius becomes nervous when he sees the scene played out, then it is an indication of his guilt. Sure enough, Claudius is disturbed, so he stops the performance storms out! It is a clear indication of his guilt.

            As the rest of the class was listening to a podcast of the scene, which was stopped intermittently so that I could explain some things, get their reactions, and answer questions, one student was cramming for the test that he had previously missed. He was to write the test in the second half of the class, while the rest of the students were answering comprehension questions about what we had just read from the play. I notice that the student had his cell phone out, and that he was typing on it. I knew that he was making cheat notes, and decided that he could write the notes, but he would just be asked to put his phone away while writing the test.

            Sure enough, during the second half of class the student started writing and pulled out his phone. He said that he was using his translator, but I didn’t believe him. I asked him to put the phone away and borrow someone else’s translator. He did so for a while, but soon the phone was out again. I asked him once more to put it away. He insisted that he needed it for the translator app because the person whose translator he had previously borrowed needed her translator for the homework. I asked the rest of the class if someone could lend the student a translator. All of them offered him their devices.

Not five minutes later, the student approached me and asked if we could talk to me. He said that he couldn’t write the test. He confessed that he was using the phone to cheat and that he “didn’t want to be a liar.” He cried for about twenty minutes about being stressed out, and having work to do, and how his grade in English was bringing down his average which, if it was based solely on his math marks, would be in the mid-ninety per cent range. English, I explained, is a totally different kind of subject. It demands not only memorization of facts and figures, but an ability to communicate clearly. I listened to his concerns, and then asked what we should do about the test. I obviously can’t mark it now, because he admitted to cheating. For the second time that evening, I decided to give the student a second chance. He wrote a different version of the test the following Tuesday, and earned a nearly perfect mark.

In the next class there was to be a quiz on the first two acts of Hamlet. The student came to class, but only to tell me that he had to miss the quiz because he felt the need to go to the admissions office of one of the universities to which he had applied to offer some sort of explanation about his low score on an English proficiency exam. I said that it was his choice to miss the quiz, and that he would have to write it as soon as the next class began. Again, I was being nice.

The next class rolled around and the student asked if he could write the quiz in the second half. I said no. The agreement was that he would have to write it in the first half of class. He already had an additional four days to study. 

“But, miss,” he explained, “I had other really important things to do, and I couldn’t study.”

I countered with, “You were supposed to be prepared last Thursday. English class is important too, and you have to learn how to manage your time better. So, your options are that you can write the quiz now, or you can accept a mark of zero.”

“Miss, please, let me write it in the second half!” The pleading continued. At this point I knew that my perceived niceness was being taken advantage of. That had to stop.

“Your options are,” I repeated, “that you can write the quiz now, or get a zero.” I remember repeating it at least once more before he finally agreed to write the quiz. 

The results showed that he was, in fact, not prepared. I hope that my student learned to take me seriously. I learned that there has to be a limit to the number of and nature of concessions that I am willing to make for students. I have decided that in my class, students will only get one second chance.