Twas the weekend before school started...

It's the weekend before school starts and my classroom isn't 100% ready.  I did my best and worked really hard...but it's not all the way done.

I'm okay with this.  I'm not going in to work this weekend.  Monday morning will be here soon enough.

It took nine years to get to this point, but here it is: my to do list, as a teacher, will literally never end.  There is always something else that could be prepared, perfected, tweaked, or created.

I've spent a lot of time in my classroom over the past week and a half.  Not all the days had working air conditioning, so I am thankful I have a classroom fan.  I'm thankful our teachers' union fought (and won) for us to have a contract day to prepare our classrooms.  I'm thankful my administration gave us additional work time.

I got asked why I wasn't done with my classroom yet.  Well...

1) My room wasn't really ready for me to move in with a logical plan at the end of the year.  The leaving teacher made it inconvenient for me for a variety of reasons, so I walked into a mess.  I hope that teacher is happy at a new school.  We all deserve to be happy and like our jobs.

2) I checked in on the new teacher in my grade level and helped him out with classroom logistics.  He's a great guy, really enthusiastic, and wants to be a team player.  I also went to see the new first and fifth grade teachers, as well as the 3-5 humanities teacher.  I didn't just say hi, I welcomed them and asked if there was anything they needed.  I gave one a tour of the school.  I took the time to listen.  That matters.

3) I took the time to collaborate with my grade level.  I helped some hang bulletin boards (it's really a two person job), shared lesson plan ideas, and wrote first week plans with my work wife and our new teacher.  I didn't want to just hand him plans, but instead we invited him in to share ideas with us and have the opportunity to ask questions.  I didn't have much support my first few years in the classroom, so I want to make sure others have a different experience.  Being a new teacher is hard.  Being a first year teacher is hard.  Being ARL is hard.  Let's not make it more difficult by shutting down communication with each other.  We've got a game plan going into the school year and are going to share the work load.  I get to devote my planning time to creating some awesome ELA plans with my work wife while others get to work with their strengths as well. 

4) I made sure to leave at a reasonable time each day so I could see my hubby and pets.  

My classroom is clean, my lesson plans are done for the first week, and my copies are ready.  I have my first day outfit picked out.  It's as good as it's going to get until 7 am on Monday morning.

I overheard a conversation about what teachers wanted from their students on the first day.  One mentioned having their new students know all of their procedures.  Another mentioned setting up the notebooks and diving into a math lesson on the first day.

Um, that's not the route I'm taking.  My goals for the first day are for my students to feel welcome, safe, cared for, enthusiastic, encouraged, motivated, and eager to return on Tuesday.  I want them to know that third grade will be an exciting and challenging time.  

Math for the first two days will focus on exploring math manipulatives, learning the procedures for Number Talks, tackling multi-step problems as a table, and practicing how to have discussions about math.  We'll set our notebooks up on Wednesday (giving families time to gather supplies) and dive into Engage NY then.  


So since I'm not in the classroom this weekend (but totally support the teachers who are!), what exactly am I up to?

Friday I left at 3:40 pm without guilt.

I had about a dozen girl friends over Friday night for a Lularoe and Lipstains party.  We had tacos, bean dip, veggies, cookies, and margaritas.   I snagged some cute back to school outfits and more importantly, had some friend time.

Saturday I slept in (if you can call 8 am sleeping in), got my hair cut, got supplies for a craft project, and helped a friend with wedding favors.  She's got just over 3 weeks until her big day and I love that I get to play a small part in it.  Plus it was really sweet to see her and her future hubby working together on favors.

Saturday night is spent in pajamas with the hubby, watching movies, making a classroom banner, and doing small chores on commercial breaks.

Tomorrow will include a breakfast date, a grocery trip, finding the missing box of picture books (because my first day books are in there), crafting, a nap, and some at home pampering before an early bed time.

I may or may not be done with my bulletin board banner by Monday morning.  Truly, does it matter? Will my kiddos remember if my board is blank one day and says "dive into reading" the next? No, probably not.

I checked with my admin because if it was super important to them, I'd have it done.  It will be done by next Friday, but isn't a first thing Monday priority.

My plan for Monday is to arrive around 6:45 am with Starbucks in hand. They're doing construction right outside our school and at the nearby round about, so I'm giving myself extra time to deal with that situation.  I've got to make a sign for picking up students, but that involves a manilla folder, a stapler, and a yard stick.  I've got to finish my Smart Notebook for the first day because it calms my anxiety and keeps me on track while teaching.  I've got to make sure my anchor chart paper is ready and pick up the breakfast cooler.

I meet my new students at 8:55.  I've got to make it until lunch (11:25-12:05).  From there, I need to make it until specials (12:45-1:35).  Then I've got to make it until 3.26. 

I'll leave around 4:30, after making sure my mentor texts and materials are ready to go for Tuesday. 

I might even be able to label a few more books or check a few more items off my never ending to do list.

This will be a good school year.

Twas the weekend before school started...and I felt fine. #yearnine



 

Weakness

Last week I had a lovely lunch date with a friend from work.  She taught second grade last year (long term sub) and will hopefully fill our third grade vacancy this year.  She's going to be finishing up her degree and student teaching and be fully licensed for next school year.  If the stars all align, I'll be her supervising teacher and she'll be two classrooms away.  She's quite the lovely person, open to learning, and actively seeks out ways to improve.  She's also fully aware of this blog post.

She said something that rubbed me the wrong way (and has been rattling around in my head for a few days).  She was hesitant to talk about things she wanted to work on for next year, as if it was a weakness to want to improve.  As her potential supervising teacher (for student teaching), we've got to have honest conversations about growth.

I quickly jumped in and told her that it's awesome to have a list of things she wanted to improve on.  I shared the gist of my {goals} for next year.  Once I shared that I've got plenty I want to improve upon, she seemed much calmer and more open about her perceived weaknesses.

First off, they aren't weaknesses.  They are targeted areas of growth.  Self awareness is the first crucial step.  There's nothing wrong with saying you want to improve as a teacher.  We applaud when athletes improve their records from previous years, so why is teaching different?

Granted, sometimes the professional developments (PD) we receive aren't the greatest, especially when they are mandated and generic.  But that's not the only option for PD.  Creating a PLN (professional learning network) and sharing ideas (virtually or in person) is a great way to continue to grow as an educator.  Reading books, watching webinars, and talking with others are all stellar options.

Second, one of the greatest (and worst) things about teaching is that there is always something new to learn.  There are always new strategies to try and ways to improve.  It's wonderful that she's open to this.  Everyone should be.

Third, there's only one true weakness in teaching: arrogance.  To assume that one's teaching is perfect in every aspect is the height of hubris.  Classroom management, behavioral conflicts, these can all be fixed with mentoring and ongoing conversations.  But the arrogant mindset and refusal to be open to others?  There's no outside forces that are capable of fixing that mindset.

I've been there and it's not pretty.  It was my third and fourth years teaching.  I'd finished my Master's degree.  I worked with some veteran teachers who were on their way out to retirement, so their work ethic and quality of teaching wasn't quite where it needed to be.  I was still very much in the Teach for America mindset where if a teacher isn't devoting every waking hour to the kids, they must not care.  This relentless, work-a-holic mindset isn't sustainable, isn't healthy, and isn't good for kids (or the teachers).  

I started attending professional development outside of my school and district and was quickly knocked off my high horse.   For this, I am eternally appreciative because my stay in arrogant teacher land was a short staycation, not a long term residency.

While I may have been the best in my grade level, there was plenty more to learn.   Quickly humbled, I made it a point to seek out opportunities for improvement...and I haven't stopped.

I've attended some awesome professional developments. I've led some sessions at school and district levels.  I've read some great books and am fortunate enough to be at a school that encourages professional growth.  But I'm no where near being done learning.

I have teacher friends at my school, within my district, and outside of CCSD that I can turn to for advice and lesson ideas.  I have a close knit group where I can openly admit when a lesson fails and complain about all the ways it didn't live up to my expectations.  After my allotted venting time is over, we turn to problem solving and how to improve it for next time.  It's all part of the learning process.  My students experience it often and as a teacher, I'm also a life long learner.

I'm (hopefully) out of the elitist mindset.  I am fully aware that as a teacher, I have areas of improvement.  So, I do something about it.  

I schedule observations and actively seek out feedback.  I look for opportunities to expand my learning (and bonus if it's paid!).  As a mentor, I have an open door policy.  If a mentee or peer is willing to have me observe in his/her classroom, I should be willing to reciprocate.  As a mentor, I am peer mentored.  I talk about my lesson ideas, lesson successes/failures, and ways to improve with other teachers, our strategist, and my administration.  It's sometimes a scary and honest conversation about what's not going well.  There needs to be a great deal of trust between all involved parties.  

Through trial and error, I've found a few peers who I could have honest conversations with about classroom instruction.  The point was not to gossip or belittle my instruction, but rather to find solutions to the problems I was facing.  

Sometimes, this honesty has failed miserably.  I've been blindly assigned to watch other colleagues and had them tell me "I hear you really stink at ____, __(name of previous administrator)__ told me so. I'm happy to have you watch me so you can fix __(my perceived area of weakness)__."  

That colleague was not in my trusted circle and presented herself as the savior to all my problems.  I have trouble respecting this person's work ethic as it is.  I was hurt by the betrayal of confidentiality from my supervisor.  Had it been presented as a choice of teachers for me to observe, it would have been another story.  But the administrator took our private conversation where I was seeking out feedback (from the administrator) and essentially outsourced feedback without my consent.  The other colleague took joy at knowing my weakness and chose to exploit it by sharing my situation, loudly, in the teachers' lounge.

That's not how we help each other out.  That's not teamwork.  That's not appropriate.

It took a while for me to be open to feedback from others after that incident.

One of the hardest part about working with other teachers is running into arrogant, inflexible teachers, like the one mentioned above.  They've been teaching for X many years and know everything.  They don't want to work with others, they don't want to be observed, and don't welcome constructive conversations.  There are a lot of reasons behind this mindset, but the biggest is fear.  Fear of being wrong. Fear of trying new things. Fear of failure.

Instead of being frustrated with these teachers, taking their comments personally, or worse, continually butting heads with them, I do my very best to keep my professional distance.  

I am not a perfect teacher.  I have things I want to work on.  I have skills I want to improve. I've had lessons fail miserably...and that's okay.  Because these things are not my weakness.  They are areas of growth.

Being resistant to change, having an arrogant mindset, and refusing to receive feedback are weaknesses.  

Joyous June, Paying it Forward

{Donors Choose} is one of my most favorite resources, period.  I've been fortunate enough to have multiple projects funded and my students have been blessed with new books and games.  

Now it's my time to pay it forward.  One of our new teachers is coming over tomorrow afternoon to write her own grant for her (our) sped kiddos.  I get to pay it forward and help her try to secure funding for new books for her classroom next year.

Help others. Spread Joy. Pay it forward.

Teachable Moments, part 2 (the roster)

A large part of teaching relies on being reflective of one's practices.  Some lessons I've bombed and that's alright. I made corrections and retaught it with a different strategy with a different outcome. I don't make the same teaching mistakes twice.

Sometimes I embark on various different tasks and when I'm done, I realize there was a much more efficient way to get the job done.  Here is part two of teaching lessons I've learned the hard way.

The Roster 

I'm almost embarrassed to share how long it took me to figure out the glory of the roster.  With our new gradebook, it's always a challenge to find things because they aren't always in the most logical place.

In the past, I printed a roster when I needed it (which wasn't often).
 

After observing other teachers and listening to their conversations, I realized there were some much better uses for this glorious piece of paper.  Here are my top 5!

5) Collecting anything (permission slips, progress reports, etc).  I print a roster, label it at the top (example: progress report), and staple it to a manilla envelope.  I then place the envelope near my collection zone and place the responsibility on the students.  Whenever they turn ___ in, they highlight or check off their name.  I normally model this day one so they can see which system I'm using.  I tend to give a positive reward for turning the form in on the first day they could, which encourages them to not only be responsible, but get things done in a timely manner.  I tend not to give a negative consequence until the third or fourth day the form was due because sometimes it's not up to them, it's up to their parents.

4)  Leave it for the sub with notes about nicknames and how to pronounce any unique students' names.  Bonus points if you can print one with students' pictures.

3) Use it for informal conference notes.  Check off students' names after you meet with them about ___, then pat yourself on the back for not skipping anyone.

2) Put the roster in useful places, like by the phone and in the emergency folder/backpack.  Having a list of parent phone numbers right by the phone makes calling home (for positive reasons or classroom concerns) that much faster.  It's also great for making random groups of students or assigning writing partners.

1) Grading.  With our new system, I'm not 100% confident in its ability to you know, save assignments.  So we've had to create paper backups of everything.  However, I soon realized that if I write down all their scores first, it makes entering grades a breeze because everything is already in alphabetical order!


BONUS tip:
Using your handy dandy roster, print your student names on sticky labels (size 8 font) and put them on the back of your teacher ID.  This helps during emergencies!

How do you use your roster?

Teachable Moments, Part 1 (field trips)

A large part of teaching relies on being reflective of one's practices.  Some lessons I've bombed and that's alright. I made corrections and retaught it with a different strategy with a different outcome.

Sometimes I embark on various different tasks and when I'm done, I realize there was a much more efficient way to get the job done.  Here is part one of teaching lessons I've learned the hard way.

Field Trips

I completely messed up paperwork for my first field trip.  I didn't know I was supposed to collect permission slips by a certain due date and that you're supposed to call and remind parent chaperones a few days ahead of time. I didn't know you should have a back-up wait list in case the parents are unable to attend. I didn't know you had to clarify a dress code with chaperones and inform them that infants and other small children are not invited.  Reading the list, most of these things are common sense...but they weren't to me.  

My undergraduate degrees are not in education.  I started teaching at 21.  I was a first year teacher, on track 1 (meaning I started three weeks later than everyone else due to year-round schedules) and I didn't have a good mentor.  My mentor teacher was quite hostile and took it upon herself to try to make me look incompetent at any given opportunity.  So many of the things "I should have known"...I didn't.

So, newbies, here's your field trip helpful hints:

1) Have your permission slips spell checked by admin.  

2) If you're taking chaperones, make a note that just the chaperone is welcome (and not younger siblings).  Have chaperones fill out contact information.  Include a blurb that indicates if more chaperones volunteer than are allotted, you will be holding a lottery system and have a wait list.

3) Send reminder slips and/or phone calls to those chaperones a few days ahead of time.  It's very frustrating to learn the day before that the mom you were counting on is no longer attending.  Have a backup plan (and a back up, back up plan).

4) If you have to collect money, check with your office administrator about receipts.  One school just wanted a white receipt turned in daily while another has the teacher write out receipts for each child.  In most cases, money is turned in daily. Ask first to make sure you know what's expected of you.

5) The print roster option that's available in most electronic grade book systems?  Use that.  Print off one and use it as your master list for who has turned in what.  Way more efficient than a post-it note list of who's done what.  Even better, staple that list to the outside of a folder or manila envelope.  Keep everything (except the money) related to that field trip inside.

6) Reward students that bring back slips or money on the first day they can.  The more that are turned in on time means the less work you have to do (tracking down the slips, sending home second and third copies, making phone calls, etc).

7) Make sure you tell the specialists that you are taking a field trip, that way they aren't looking for you.  They appreciate the heads up (and in some cases, the extra prep).  If possible, see if you can switch preps with another grade and have your specials when you return.

8) Make sure to check the master calendar before scheduling to make sure there aren't any assemblies.  Again, speaking from experience...ask first.

9) Whenever possible, schedule field trips for a Thursday or Friday.  It's difficult to get kids mentally back to classroom procedures after an exciting field trip, so choose your date carefully whenever possible.  

10) See the nurse and get trained on any emergency medical procedures beforehand.  One of my students has diabetes, so I learned how he checks his blood sugar, what to do if it's low or high, and who to call when.  See the nurse before you leave for a field trip to take the necessary materials with you.  Take band-aids and tissues just in case.

11) The emergency backpack that's in most classrooms?  Take it.  For me, it's obnoxiously red and quite old, but inside it contains student information in case of emergencies.  Put any medical supplies inside along with a set of flash cards.  

12) Plan for a debriefing period after the field trip.  I like to set aside 10-15 minutes to let students talk out what they learned.  Set a timer and after that, move on with instruction.

13)  Inform the cafeteria and order sack lunches just in case.  For the most part, field trips will be taken in the morning.  In our district, buses are expected to be back by 1 pm (to start making pick up rounds at schools).  Depending on traffic and where lunch falls, you may want to order sack lunches for everyone.  The ideal situation is that you're back in time to have a normal recess and lunch, so you get your teacher lunch too.  However, on field trip days this isn't always the case.  Be prepared to have the kids eat outside, picnic style, while you and the other teachers take turns running to heat up your lunch.  Eat outside with them. It's one day, it'll be okay.  Plus it gives them the chance to run off their extra energy before continuing on with your day.

14) Wear appropriate shoes and take your cell phone, just in case.  Sunglasses and sunscreen aren't a bad idea either.

15) Make student groups strategically.  Those troublesome students? Don't put them together.   If possible, don't give yourself a group of students.  Plan to be the emergency chaperone and take any students who are off task and need to be separated from the class.

16) Speaking of chaperones, check how many you're supposed to take.  Special education classrooms and general education classrooms have different legal quotas in terms of chaperones to students for field trip purposes.  Some students may need a one on one chaperone.  

17) Ask if there is an additional fee for chaperones.  Include this in your budget numbers and for bus purposes.  Make sure any cost for chaperones (like admission price) is disclosed ahead of time, usually on the field trip paperwork.

18) Whenever possible, try to have both male and female chaperones.  This makes the bathroom situation much easier to manage, especially if at an event with the general public.

19) Make sure you fill the chaperones in on any expectations before the field trip.  An easy way to do this is to send a reminder slip to the chaperones before the field trip, outlining what to expect.  Be sure to include if there's any behaviors to watch out for in your students (behaviors, medical situations, etc)  One year, we took our fifth graders to a baseball game for an anti-smoking presentation.  One of the chaperones bought a beer during the game.  We had to quickly intervene and share that this wasn't appropriate for the field trip.  Again, a lesson learned the hard way.

20) Enjoy yourself!

Veteran teachers, anything to add to the list? 

Irritations

I'm fresh out of my first staff development day of the year and well, I'm annoyed.

I'm in no way frustrated with my grade level, because they're great.  I'm in no way annoyed with my administration or a majority of the other teachers at my school, because they're amazingly supportive.

I'm annoyed with teachers from other schools.  

I'm new to my school and the WIPR model, but I'm in no way new to teaching.  This is year six, which puts me in that veteran teacher category.  However, I don't look my age.  Perhaps it's not having kids, perhaps it's because I try to get enough sleep each night and eat my veggies.  Perhaps it's just good genes (thanks mom!).  I have to put a conscious effort into my appearance to look like a teacher.  Today it was our school shirt, a knee length denim skirt, and flats...standard teacher attire. 

We had a long afternoon session with unwrapping the standards.  I've been doing this for years now, so it's a tad frustrating to go through the process yet again.  However, I understand not everyone has the hundreds of hours of professional development that I do, so I let that go.  We were working as a grade level (both my school and other schools in my district) and sharing ideas for one standard.  Some of the other teachers were very vocal about their lesson plan ideas, which didn't align to our standards.  If I'm teaching informational text, I'm going to try to double dip and incorporate social studies content as well.  It just makes sense to merge content areas to provide a more authentic learning opportunity.  I'm not doing an entire unit on Nevada history (a fourth grade standard) or dinosaurs. (Yes, dinosaurs.  That's what this other teacher was obsessed with.  Every lesson plan idea related back to dinosaurs...for fifth grade.)

I love professional development opportunities where I get to talk with other teachers about instruction.  I like hearing their ideas and learning from others.  Thus, I was really excited about this afternoon...but left severely disappointed.

However, my ideas were not heard.  I shared several strategies that I've used, with great success, but none of them made it to the poster.  My ideas weren't even considered because I'm the youngest one in the room.  I was interrupted and shot down, numerous times.  Ageism is a rather frustrating occurrence in teaching and it reared its ugly head today.  I had a nice conversation with the other teacher from my grade level.  She is on board with actually teaching the standards.  

I'm just frustrated that this afternoon was not productive.  I'm frustrated that I was shut down because of the way I look.  I'm irritated my ideas, which have been proven effective in the classroom, were disregarded but an older gentleman's ideas were put on the chart, even though he's never taught fifth grade.  What happened to being open minded and hearing all ideas?

New School, New Teachers, New Questions

Last year I mentored several new teachers and was always ready to answer questions.

Now I will be the new teacher with dozens of questions for my new team. I apologize to them in advance but I just want to make sure I'm on the same page as them in terms of procedures and school policies.

Here is my list of questions for new teachers (or veteran teachers at a new school):

School Procedures & Responsibilities

• What are the expectations in terms of lesson plans? (content objective, language objective, assessment component, how specific)
• Are they due at a specific time or day?
• Where are they saved? (In my documents? On a shared folder?)
• Do I have to post them online (curriculum engine for CCSD people)?
• Do I have duty (playground, lunch room, etc)?
• Do I have duty on a specific day of the week (every Monday) or weekly (every five weeks for the entire week)?
• What is expected in my emergency sub plans? 
• Is there a master schedule?
• What time does my grade level have specials/prep?
• What is expected of my bulletin board? 
• Does there need to be a title?
• What type of work should be displayed?
• How often should bulletin boards be changed?

Classroom Management

• Is there a school wide incentive for specials?
• Is there a school wide policy for hallway behavior? 
• Is there a school wide behavior plan?
• Is there a grade level behavior plan?
• What are the procedures for an office referral?

Classroom Instruction

• Are there any programs we are expected to follow? (Being a Writer, Investigations, Envisions, Every day math, Trophies, etc)
• To what degree am I allowed to supplement? (some schools require fidelity with provided programs, others are much more flexible)
• What resources are available? (reading A-Z, reading eggs, Time for Kids magazines, literacy lab, online resources)
• What do I use in terms of small group instruction?
• What do I use for science instruction?
• Does our school use the Common Core State Standards?
• What assessments do I use? 
• Are assessments already created or provided?
• Are there any programs I should use for progress monitoring? (Aimsweb)
• Is there a RTI process? (response to intervention)
• When should I have my small groups established?
• What data do I use to form my small groups?
• Do I teach phonics or spelling patterns?  If so, when?
• Do I use project-based learning?
• Do I use rubrics? (rubistar.com is an excellent resource if the answer is yes)
• Do I do Number Talks?

 Special Education

• What co-teaching models (if any) are used?
  
• Does the school use push in (coteaching) or pull out (resource) models?
• Where are IEP meetings normally held?
• Are IEP meetings before school, after school, or during prep?
• Who is responsible for implementing IEP goals?
• Who is responsible for small group instruction?
• Who is responsible for progress reports and report card comments?

Collaboration

• Does my grade level plan together?
• Are resources shared between teachers?
• Are students switched between teachers?
• Do any teachers departmentalize (elementary) where one teacher may teach writing to several classes while another teachers science?
• What does my fellow grade level members like about the school?
• Is there a grade level chair?
• How are the responsibilities divided?

Questions for Administration

• What are the school's biggest strengths and weaknesses?
• What are my grade level's biggest strengths and weaknesses?
• How does the school prepare for standardized testing?
• Is there any opportunities for extra duty pay? (tutoring, supervising clubs, etc)
• What are the expectations for committees? 
• Are there any clubs or student organizations?
• How often are meetings? (Staff meetings, planning meetings, etc)
• Is there a format that is preferred for lesson plans?
• What is expected of report card comments? (Some schools require full paragraphs, others are fine with a sentence or two.)
• How are problems with parents dealt with?
• Is there a PTA?
• Does the school have supportive parents?
• Does the school have a system set up for volunteers?
• How many materials does the library have?
• How often will I be observed?
• Will we meet after every observation?
• Will I be informed of upcoming observations or will they be unannounced? 
• How many teachers are at this school?
• How many teachers are in my grade level?
• How long have other teachers been there? (Frequent turn around may be a red flag)
• Am I the only new teacher?
• Why did the previous teacher leave?
• What is our school's demographics?
• What do you love about the school?

 Technology

• What technology is available? 
• Are there trainings available on technology?
• Is there a computer lab? 
• Is there a computer lab schedule?
•  Are there any specific skills I should be teaching my students regarding technology? 
• Are there iPads? 
• Does each classroom have iPads?
•  Does the grade level have iPads? 
• Do students have to sign any usage forms before using the iPads or computers?

Miscellaneous

•  How often are there fire drills or other emergency preparedness drills?
• What is the policy for class parties?
• Are students allowed to bring in treats for birthdays?
• Is there breakfast provided for students at school?
• Do students eat breakfast in the cafeteria or in the classroom?
• Is a mentor available?
• Who is a good person that I can ask further questions?

Good luck new teachers!