Teaching Responsibility

After a fight

/ Julie Nariman / 5 Comments
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Student tracing a sketch in art class.

This week, two girls had a fight in the cafeteria.  We found that it had been instigated by other students, and stemmed from unkind posts on social media.

The issue for me wasn’t the fight; we quickly broke up the fight and held a mediation between the students involved that was successful.  The issue was that a large number of our 9th and 10th-grade students cheered on the fight.

Earlier in the year, we had spoken to our students about integrity and how it relates to not encouraging a fight.  I was disappointed that the students had cheered on the fight until a friend reminded me of “rubbernecking” in traffic: “That’s just what people do.  Remember how in traffic, people slow down when there’s a car accident because they want to see the accident.   It’s not always because they actually need to slow down, it’s just that human curiosity.” Continue reading →

Saying “Yes” to Interruptions

/ Julie Nariman / 1 Comment
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Students making origami at lunchtime.

This year, my assistant principals and I committed to being the “first responders” for student behavior issues.  In the past, as the principal, I personally did not respond to most behavior issues.  Teachers would call an office extension and another staff member or one of my assistant principals would respond to the issue.

This year, we created a system where the teacher directly texts the three administrators (my assistant principals and me) on “What’s App.”  One of us then goes immediately to the classroom to support the teacher.

In being the “first responders,” we have our pulse on what’s happening in the school. Continue reading →

Can you trust a 16 year old?

/ Julie Nariman / 1 Comment

 

julie nariman's old driver license

Me at age 16, the day I got my driver’s license.

On March 14, students across the nation are planning a walkout to honor the victims of the Parkland, Florida shooting.  The recent surge of student voice has gotten me thinking about how much responsibility and trust we give, or don’t give, to teenagers.  How capable are teenagers?  How reliable are their opinions?  How smart are their decisions?

 

In high school when I was 16, I had a Driver’s Education class which meant that I got to practice driving once a week instead of going to one of my regular classes.  At first, my instructor just had me drive around the school parking lot, but as I got more experienced, we’d drive on highways and busier roads.

One day when I got into the car, my instructor asked me, “Do you have your learner’s permit?” Continue reading →

Stiven’s precious point

/ Julie Nariman / 3 Comments

art photography by julie nariman

Our school is a school for newcomer immigrant students who are learning English for the first time. Lots of students struggle at the beginning, and passing state exams can be daunting. Despite hard work, many students fail exams the first time.

On top of all of that, they are teenagers, and sometimes they fail because they’re distracted and despite our best efforts, take longer to be fully engaged in school. This was the case for one of our students, Stiven.

Continue reading →

The hunger to serve

/ Julie Nariman / 3 Comments

Martin Luther King Jr. QuotesKids—and people in general—have a hunger to be of service.  I’m reminded of this hunger on Martin Luther King, Jr Day.

I saw this hunger recently when I peered into a classroom at 3:30 on a Friday afternoon. It was almost an hour after school had ended when I would expect kids to be out eating pizza, or on their way home to play video games, or buried in SnapChat.

And yet, fifteen of our 12th graders were clustered around tables discussing a piece of text. Continue reading →

I need this job at McDonald’s

/ Julie Nariman / 1 Comment

McDonalds photo by skhakirov“Miss, can I leave at 1:30 to go to a job interview at McDonald’s?”

We have 370 students, and while that is small for a school, I normally can’t spend a lot of time with a single student. However, there was something so compelling about Alonso’s deep, resolute desire to go to this job interview that reminded me of what teenagers crave most: independence and responsibility. Continue reading →

Can’t you just let him stay?

/ Julie Nariman / 6 Comments

After school thanksgiving potluckUsman is an adorable 10th grader originally from Pakistan, smaller than the other kids.  He has huge eyes, straight bangs, and a lopsided smile, and whenever he sees me, he waves and says, “Hi Principal!”  He also has an older brother, Saad, in 11th grade who now barely attends school, and is inches away from becoming a Code 39.

A “Code 39” is the code schools use for a dropout.  Back in the first two years of our school’s existence, I remember when Code 39 wasn’t a part of my vocabulary.  Now, we have more Code 39s than we’d like.  We’ve started to watch for early signs of Code 39s, as in the case of Usman at our after-school Thanksgiving Potluck.   Continue reading →

If you elect me, you can bring your cell phones to class

/ Julie Nariman / Leave a comment

immigrant students art photo“If you elect me, you can bring your cell phones to class.”

With that, the crowd erupted and I witnessed the power of political temptation in our student government elections. David, a quiet student from Guinea, was delivering his speech to be an Eleventh Grade Senator.

Why did David’s promise get such a big reaction? Because the administration collects students’ phones to minimize distraction.*

Continue reading →

Bananas are 4011

/ Julie Nariman / 10 Comments

bananasWhen I was sixteen, I got a job as a cashier at the local IGA supermarket.  Every fruit had a code used for weighing it, and bananas were the first one I memorized: 4011.  I was proud that I knew things like this.  I liked being useful.

A few years ago I read a book called “The Case Against Adolescence” by Robert Epstein, which said until about 100 years ago, adolescence didn’t exist.  People were children, who then became adults.  After you stopped being a child, you were an adult with responsibility, whether that was getting married and having your own child, working, apprenticing, hunting, joining the army, helping your family with a farm or business or household.  You went from being a child who learned how to be a useful older child, who then became a useful young adult.  Which has recently got me thinking about students who have part-time jobs and what they get from it: Continue reading →