Make it Meaningful

Attitude is everything. The more passion and excitement that a teacher can muster, the better. But students know when your're faking it; they know when you care and when you don't, which is why honesty and transparency are key. 

I decided to try Cornell Notes (for real - repetition, study tool and all) for two reasons; one, we are trying to regain our AVID demonstration school status, and, two, I have never really given these notes a chance. 

As a literature major I rarely took notes. We read books, annotated texts, discussed concepts, and wrote essays. Notes were not part of MY college experience, hence my hesitation. But I recognize that if I had majored in science or history I would have constantly been taking notes. 

Rhetoric is challenging for teenagers to fully understand, so I front-loaded the unit with notes - three days of notes. Excessive? Maybe. A useful resource for the unit? Absolutely!! I told students, these notes will be used for every task in the unit - from games and gallery walks to essays and projects.

One student told me straight out "I hate AVID and I hate Cornell Notes." I was honest with him. Cornell Notes were never my thing, but I am giving them another shot and being supportive of the AVID program. He nodded at my response and continued his notes. "Let's see what happens, huh?" I said. He nodded again. 

Students need to understand why teachers are asking them to do what they ask them to do; they need to understand the relevance, the point. But I don't fake it. I always try to find a way to make the task at hand "meaningful". If a teenager has to be "bothered" with high school, it should, at least, be meaningful.