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.
Showing posts with label teacher development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teacher development. Show all posts
Monday, July 17, 2017
Friday, February 26, 2016
Next steps, professionally
Fifth grade is hard. Three dozen students is hard. Escalating behaviors because of puberty and the full moon is hard. Field trips to the local middle school are hard.
Life was hard this week. (Let's be real, month!)
Today my poor guest teacher left three pages of notes about their poor behavior choices. Yes, pages. I'm mortified. I'm finding myself angry at my students most of the time and it's turning me into the type of teacher I don't want to be. That's devastating, but this group is rough. This is my third rough year in a row, which doesn't help. I can't, and won't, keep living with these daily frustrations.
I've been thinking a lot about my next steps professionally.
I don't see myself being in fifth grade forever. I'm not quite sure what I want to do next.
The good news is I have some options:
1) I'm considering the two year process of National Board Certification.
B wants to eventually relocate to Colorado since he's been in Las Vegas his entire life, so it will be nice to have that to follow me. There's an informational meeting in a few weeks at school and a cohort will be formed, so I won't even go through the entire process alone. It will be time consuming, but it will also open lots of doors in the future.
2) I'm considering primary. Under twenty kids, that like me most of the time, seems like heaven after this week. It won't be a piece of cake (because teaching never is), but I think second grade seems great. They aren't learning to be in school for the first time, the educational gaps won't be as large as they are in fifth grade, there are smaller class sizes, and there's no high stakes testing, so I'd be free to do more STEM and creative activities. I shared my intent with my principal today, so it's free to share out with the general public.
3) I'm also considering getting an endorsement in "blended learning", which means I'd be licensed to teach online school. We're considering this for when we have kids (definitely a few years down the road).
So many choices. I want to pursue different venues to keep my options open. I definitely don't see spending my entire teaching career in the classroom.
Life was hard this week. (Let's be real, month!)
Today my poor guest teacher left three pages of notes about their poor behavior choices. Yes, pages. I'm mortified. I'm finding myself angry at my students most of the time and it's turning me into the type of teacher I don't want to be. That's devastating, but this group is rough. This is my third rough year in a row, which doesn't help. I can't, and won't, keep living with these daily frustrations.
I've been thinking a lot about my next steps professionally.
I don't see myself being in fifth grade forever. I'm not quite sure what I want to do next.
The good news is I have some options:
1) I'm considering the two year process of National Board Certification.
B wants to eventually relocate to Colorado since he's been in Las Vegas his entire life, so it will be nice to have that to follow me. There's an informational meeting in a few weeks at school and a cohort will be formed, so I won't even go through the entire process alone. It will be time consuming, but it will also open lots of doors in the future.
2) I'm considering primary. Under twenty kids, that like me most of the time, seems like heaven after this week. It won't be a piece of cake (because teaching never is), but I think second grade seems great. They aren't learning to be in school for the first time, the educational gaps won't be as large as they are in fifth grade, there are smaller class sizes, and there's no high stakes testing, so I'd be free to do more STEM and creative activities. I shared my intent with my principal today, so it's free to share out with the general public.
3) I'm also considering getting an endorsement in "blended learning", which means I'd be licensed to teach online school. We're considering this for when we have kids (definitely a few years down the road).
So many choices. I want to pursue different venues to keep my options open. I definitely don't see spending my entire teaching career in the classroom.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
A dash of professional reading
I'm in the midst of another graduate course, so I've been doing a lot of professional reading lately. I'm a life-long learner (as I think educators should be) and wanted to take a minute to share two articles that have been rattling around in my brain this week.
Article {One}: Boo the Long October
Preach it, iTeach Fourth!
I feel like I could have written this article myself. I liked it so much I took the time to comment, instead of just trolling through and remaining anonymous online.
Basically, October is a long, weird month. Students are out of the beginning of the year behavior honeymoon, meetings seem to be multiplying, and first quarter grades are due soon. I'm almost a fourth of the way through the year, how did that happen?!
Instead of griping about this, the article focuses on a cute Halloween tradition of "booing" your fellow teachers.
Images are all over TpT and pinterest, but one person starts by secretly leaving treats in another coworker's mailbox. That coworker has a limited time (usually 2 days) to reciprocate by "booing" another colleague. Ghost or pumpkin dicuts are usually put in mailboxes to indicate that one has been booed, and a witch or goblin could be posted if someone does not want to participate.
It's a fun little way to add some festive fun into the month of October. Plus who doesn't love surprise treats?!
I'll be starting this round of boo-ing at work this week (ssh...don't tell my coworkers!) I've got two black and white polka dotted tins (obviously) from the dollar section at Target (again, obviously). I'll fill them with candy and print some boo instruction sheets.
What fun fall traditions does your school have?
Article {Two}: Rip those behavior charts off the wall and burn them
While this was written with a tad too much angst in my humble opinion, I agree with the underlying message. The traditional "clip" or "chart" system no longer serves a purpose in classrooms.
I will be the first to admit that yes, I used this system for way too long. I started it my first year as a teacher because that's what I thought I was supposed to do. I thought every elementary classroom needed some sort of (very public) way of displaying behavior. I thought this truly kept kids accountable for their choices and was a motivating factor.
But then I realized how wrong I was. This isn't really motivating, it's demoralizing. {Last summer}, I decided to discontinue the use of this system and I haven't looked back. I know there is some resistance, especially in lower grades, about getting rid of this trusty security blanket.
What good does this behavior tracker actually do? Almost immediately, your eyes zoom to those kids on red. We all know what red means. Tsk tsk Max, Jared, and Brendan.
How demoralizing.
Did they truly make poor choices all day long? Or did they simply have one or two "oops" moments throughout the seven hour school day? Chances are, it's the latter of the two scenarios. To be fair, what human goes all day long without making an oops moment?
If a child is truly struggling to make appropriate classroom choices, how does this reinforce doing the "right thing"?
...It doesn't.
This article goes on to state that as educators, part of our job is preparing students for coping with future demands. This includes helping them take responsibility for their actions and utilize techniques to cope with mistakes.
As a teacher, I wouldn't if a behavior chart was used to publicly broadcast my performance to the entire staff. Oops, Ms. Vice left her copies on the machine in the lounge! Uh oh, she forgot to take afternoon attendance and now she's on red. (These are common situations for me.)
How humiliating to have one's behavior broadcast for the world to see.
But instead of continuing to gripe upon problems, I propose a counter solution: Class Dojo.
It's by no means a new teacher tool since it's been available for several years at this point, but it's new to my classroom. Seven weeks in, we're loving it. (Bonus? It's free. That's a must!)
I have the opportunity to recognize students for both positive and negative behavior. It's easy for me to see if I'm reinforcing the 3:1 ratio (three positive interactions with every negative redirect) with every child...especially the ones that struggle with behavior. Parents are able to see all the great choices their students make and it's a quick and easy way for me to communicate with families.
The behavior categories are editable, which means I can give more weight to behaviors that are desirable (like meeting a personal academic goal).
My favorite part? I can send out messages to all the families at once and see who has viewed my message. This has replaced the Remind app because it's already built in to what I'm using and parents don't have to download two different things to stay connected to our classroom events.
What are your thoughts on behavior charts?
Article {One}: Boo the Long October
Preach it, iTeach Fourth!
I feel like I could have written this article myself. I liked it so much I took the time to comment, instead of just trolling through and remaining anonymous online.
Basically, October is a long, weird month. Students are out of the beginning of the year behavior honeymoon, meetings seem to be multiplying, and first quarter grades are due soon. I'm almost a fourth of the way through the year, how did that happen?!
Instead of griping about this, the article focuses on a cute Halloween tradition of "booing" your fellow teachers.
Images are all over TpT and pinterest, but one person starts by secretly leaving treats in another coworker's mailbox. That coworker has a limited time (usually 2 days) to reciprocate by "booing" another colleague. Ghost or pumpkin dicuts are usually put in mailboxes to indicate that one has been booed, and a witch or goblin could be posted if someone does not want to participate.
It's a fun little way to add some festive fun into the month of October. Plus who doesn't love surprise treats?!
I'll be starting this round of boo-ing at work this week (ssh...don't tell my coworkers!) I've got two black and white polka dotted tins (obviously) from the dollar section at Target (again, obviously). I'll fill them with candy and print some boo instruction sheets.
What fun fall traditions does your school have?
Article {Two}: Rip those behavior charts off the wall and burn them
While this was written with a tad too much angst in my humble opinion, I agree with the underlying message. The traditional "clip" or "chart" system no longer serves a purpose in classrooms.
I will be the first to admit that yes, I used this system for way too long. I started it my first year as a teacher because that's what I thought I was supposed to do. I thought every elementary classroom needed some sort of (very public) way of displaying behavior. I thought this truly kept kids accountable for their choices and was a motivating factor.
But then I realized how wrong I was. This isn't really motivating, it's demoralizing. {Last summer}, I decided to discontinue the use of this system and I haven't looked back. I know there is some resistance, especially in lower grades, about getting rid of this trusty security blanket.
What good does this behavior tracker actually do? Almost immediately, your eyes zoom to those kids on red. We all know what red means. Tsk tsk Max, Jared, and Brendan.
How demoralizing.
Did they truly make poor choices all day long? Or did they simply have one or two "oops" moments throughout the seven hour school day? Chances are, it's the latter of the two scenarios. To be fair, what human goes all day long without making an oops moment?
If a child is truly struggling to make appropriate classroom choices, how does this reinforce doing the "right thing"?
...It doesn't.
This article goes on to state that as educators, part of our job is preparing students for coping with future demands. This includes helping them take responsibility for their actions and utilize techniques to cope with mistakes.
As a teacher, I wouldn't if a behavior chart was used to publicly broadcast my performance to the entire staff. Oops, Ms. Vice left her copies on the machine in the lounge! Uh oh, she forgot to take afternoon attendance and now she's on red. (These are common situations for me.)
How humiliating to have one's behavior broadcast for the world to see.
But instead of continuing to gripe upon problems, I propose a counter solution: Class Dojo.
It's by no means a new teacher tool since it's been available for several years at this point, but it's new to my classroom. Seven weeks in, we're loving it. (Bonus? It's free. That's a must!)
I have the opportunity to recognize students for both positive and negative behavior. It's easy for me to see if I'm reinforcing the 3:1 ratio (three positive interactions with every negative redirect) with every child...especially the ones that struggle with behavior. Parents are able to see all the great choices their students make and it's a quick and easy way for me to communicate with families.
The behavior categories are editable, which means I can give more weight to behaviors that are desirable (like meeting a personal academic goal).
My favorite part? I can send out messages to all the families at once and see who has viewed my message. This has replaced the Remind app because it's already built in to what I'm using and parents don't have to download two different things to stay connected to our classroom events.
What are your thoughts on behavior charts?
Monday, September 21, 2015
The DEN visits Vegas
In the fall of 2012, I was sent to yet another professional development training. I prepped for a sub and showed up at Chaparral High School, looking very much like a high school student. Even though I proudly displayed my school district badge, I was still questioned multiple times about which class I should be in. I know, someday I'll appreciate looking much younger than I really am, it's just not that day.
I arrived in the room marked Discovery Education and found a seat near the back. The room was decorated with a race car theme and the leader's bubbly personality was infectious.
Throughout the course of the day, we learned all about resources on Discovery Education that extend far beyond assessment. One of the most pivotal things we learned about was becoming a STAR educator, which allows access to even more resources.
So I applied and was accepted.
Then we learned about the Discovery Educator Network Summer Institute, which would be held in Burlington, Vermont that upcoming summer. Impulsively and on the provided lunch break, I decided to film my application video. Mrs. B, who was my fellow colleague, filmed it on one take on her phone and I submitted the application before leaving the training.
I returned to my school excited to share what I'd learned, but put the application in the back of my mind. Why would they pick me, a newbie, who had been a DEN STAR for all of twenty minutes before applying?
Well...they did pick me. I attended the summer institute and it was amazing. Catch up {here}.
Upon returning, I participated in the ambassador program and shared the DEN with my colleagues. I then switched schools, moved, and skipped applying to DENSI 2014.
Once the dust of major life changes settled, I decided to apply for DENSI 2015, which I was blessed to attend. Each year they pick a different location and it's always amazing. Catch up more on my adventures in Washington DC {here}.
This year, we're gearing up to make the DEN even bigger in Clark County. For the past two DENSIs, I was the sole representative for not only my district, but the entire state.
Nevada, we can do better. Vegas, we can definitely do better.
So, fellow teachers in CCSD, I invite you to join me for the Fall Ambassador Program, starting October 1st. Yummy food will be provided, you'll get to hang out with me and the DE staff (always a blast!) and most importantly, you'll learn strategies you can take right back into your classroom and meet fellow passionate teachers.
Register on Pathlore!
For me, attending one of these sessions opened the door to meeting my tribe, to re-igniting my passion for teaching, and for making some lasting connections with educators in other states.
(After School Update: See above flyers! I had a colleague already sign up, hooray!)
How will the DEN change you?
I arrived in the room marked Discovery Education and found a seat near the back. The room was decorated with a race car theme and the leader's bubbly personality was infectious.
Throughout the course of the day, we learned all about resources on Discovery Education that extend far beyond assessment. One of the most pivotal things we learned about was becoming a STAR educator, which allows access to even more resources.
So I applied and was accepted.
Then we learned about the Discovery Educator Network Summer Institute, which would be held in Burlington, Vermont that upcoming summer. Impulsively and on the provided lunch break, I decided to film my application video. Mrs. B, who was my fellow colleague, filmed it on one take on her phone and I submitted the application before leaving the training.
I returned to my school excited to share what I'd learned, but put the application in the back of my mind. Why would they pick me, a newbie, who had been a DEN STAR for all of twenty minutes before applying?
Well...they did pick me. I attended the summer institute and it was amazing. Catch up {here}.
Upon returning, I participated in the ambassador program and shared the DEN with my colleagues. I then switched schools, moved, and skipped applying to DENSI 2014.
Once the dust of major life changes settled, I decided to apply for DENSI 2015, which I was blessed to attend. Each year they pick a different location and it's always amazing. Catch up more on my adventures in Washington DC {here}.
This year, we're gearing up to make the DEN even bigger in Clark County. For the past two DENSIs, I was the sole representative for not only my district, but the entire state.
Nevada, we can do better. Vegas, we can definitely do better.
So, fellow teachers in CCSD, I invite you to join me for the Fall Ambassador Program, starting October 1st. Yummy food will be provided, you'll get to hang out with me and the DE staff (always a blast!) and most importantly, you'll learn strategies you can take right back into your classroom and meet fellow passionate teachers.
Register on Pathlore!
For me, attending one of these sessions opened the door to meeting my tribe, to re-igniting my passion for teaching, and for making some lasting connections with educators in other states.
(After School Update: See above flyers! I had a colleague already sign up, hooray!)
How will the DEN change you?
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Math Training, Day 2
Last Friday, I attended {day 1} of a math training. Monday I attended part two.
Overall, it was a decent training. It's frustrating that due to scheduling issues, they condensed two days into one. When they did this, we lost a lot of the processing, collaboration, and reflection time.
Clicks:
-We were in a smaller break out room. We were encouraged to talk to our neighbors.
-The focus was much more on using manipulatives (place value blocks, centimeter grid paper, etc) to show the math. i think that my fifth graders don't necessarily get enough practice time and exposure to the concrete math, which leads to conceptual misunderstandings. The focus was on shifting students from concrete to representational to abstract methods of problem solving. (Manipulatives to diagrams with manipulatives to just numbers). By fifth grade, the concrete step is often skipped but when students have conceptual gaps or it's a new concept, they need hands-on time to explore.
Clunks:
-There was no processing time. It was very high paced and for six straight hours. There was no reflection time to write down thoughts or think about where to use these strategies in the classroom.
-It was an hour away. That's frustrating.
However, since 3/5 of my grade level was there, we are bound to use most of what we learned! I'm glad I'm not the only one responsible for remembering this information!
Overall, it was a decent training. It's frustrating that due to scheduling issues, they condensed two days into one. When they did this, we lost a lot of the processing, collaboration, and reflection time.
Clicks:
-We were in a smaller break out room. We were encouraged to talk to our neighbors.
-The focus was much more on using manipulatives (place value blocks, centimeter grid paper, etc) to show the math. i think that my fifth graders don't necessarily get enough practice time and exposure to the concrete math, which leads to conceptual misunderstandings. The focus was on shifting students from concrete to representational to abstract methods of problem solving. (Manipulatives to diagrams with manipulatives to just numbers). By fifth grade, the concrete step is often skipped but when students have conceptual gaps or it's a new concept, they need hands-on time to explore.
Clunks:
-There was no processing time. It was very high paced and for six straight hours. There was no reflection time to write down thoughts or think about where to use these strategies in the classroom.
-It was an hour away. That's frustrating.
However, since 3/5 of my grade level was there, we are bound to use most of what we learned! I'm glad I'm not the only one responsible for remembering this information!
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Disagreements
Mid-August means my Facebook newsfeed and pinterest boards are filled to capacity with back to school activities and articles on teaching.
Normally I skim these articles, but this {one} about what to not do on the first day of school. I re-read several times. It rattled around in my brain and I struggled with some of the information presented.
I struggled because I fundamentally disagreed with some of the points being made. That disagreement made me question if my teaching philosophy was skewed and my priorities were off. However, after far longer than I'd care to admit, I came to the decision that those points in the article were not ones I'd accept.
So what did I have such a strong reaction to?
These apparent "no no's" of the first day(s) of school:
"Discuss Class Rules"
It's not the first thing we do, but it is discussed. We make our classroom norms together with a gallery walk and anchor charts. We read some picture books on class norms and create our expectations together. I think having defined schedules and expectations helps students feel comfortable because they know what the boundaries are. Plus we create them together, so they feel an immediate sense of ownership.
"Assign Seats"
I make it clear to my munchkins that we will switch seats (and class jobs) often. However, I don't want the first impression in fifth grade to be a popularity contest and students scrambling to sit by friends, leaving others out. I'd rather everyone has an assigned seat because that helps cut down on anxiety. Everyone belongs. Everyone has a safe space. Everyone is included.
"Make students introduce themselves"
I don't make students stand up and share their life stories, but they do have to introduce themselves to their table teams. One of the activities we did at DENSI was finding things in common with our team. We had to find 10 statements that were true for all our members of our team. I think I'll cut it to five, but I want students to have conversations about what they have in common.
I'll also have them do "Find Someone Who" over the first few days of school to help them bond with one another.
"Assign homework"
Their homework on the first day is filling out their agendas correctly and having their families go over the welcome packet. They also do silly "math about me" and "me as a reader" interest surveys so I can gain more information about them in a not so creepy way. They've got homework, but it's fun. They need to get back into the routine of school and that involves (meaningful) homework.
I agree with other portions of the article (make sure you smile, greet all students) but these four "no no's" were actually must do's for me.
Fellow teachers, what are your thoughts?!
Normally I skim these articles, but this {one} about what to not do on the first day of school. I re-read several times. It rattled around in my brain and I struggled with some of the information presented.
I struggled because I fundamentally disagreed with some of the points being made. That disagreement made me question if my teaching philosophy was skewed and my priorities were off. However, after far longer than I'd care to admit, I came to the decision that those points in the article were not ones I'd accept.
So what did I have such a strong reaction to?
These apparent "no no's" of the first day(s) of school:
"Discuss Class Rules"
It's not the first thing we do, but it is discussed. We make our classroom norms together with a gallery walk and anchor charts. We read some picture books on class norms and create our expectations together. I think having defined schedules and expectations helps students feel comfortable because they know what the boundaries are. Plus we create them together, so they feel an immediate sense of ownership.
"Assign Seats"
I make it clear to my munchkins that we will switch seats (and class jobs) often. However, I don't want the first impression in fifth grade to be a popularity contest and students scrambling to sit by friends, leaving others out. I'd rather everyone has an assigned seat because that helps cut down on anxiety. Everyone belongs. Everyone has a safe space. Everyone is included.
"Make students introduce themselves"
I don't make students stand up and share their life stories, but they do have to introduce themselves to their table teams. One of the activities we did at DENSI was finding things in common with our team. We had to find 10 statements that were true for all our members of our team. I think I'll cut it to five, but I want students to have conversations about what they have in common.
I'll also have them do "Find Someone Who" over the first few days of school to help them bond with one another.
"Assign homework"
Their homework on the first day is filling out their agendas correctly and having their families go over the welcome packet. They also do silly "math about me" and "me as a reader" interest surveys so I can gain more information about them in a not so creepy way. They've got homework, but it's fun. They need to get back into the routine of school and that involves (meaningful) homework.
I agree with other portions of the article (make sure you smile, greet all students) but these four "no no's" were actually must do's for me.
Fellow teachers, what are your thoughts?!
Thursday, August 6, 2015
The joy...
I've only taught in one district, so I'm not sure if other teachers have the joy of mandatory videos before the start of the school year. We aren't technically given time to watch the videos, it's just assumed we'll magically have free time on a prep to do them. However, like most teachers, I choose to knock them out before I head back to school.
This year, I logged in and saw that I have 11 mandatory videos and quizzes to take. ELEVEN. Some are ten minutes, some are over an hour. Most have quizzes. You can't skip through the slides, even if you're a fast reader, and must wait for the monotone voices to finish. As an added bonus, they often like to freeze in the middle and restart, testing both my patience and sanity in the process.
I understand why the videos are necessary. I understand that some teachers make beyond inappropriate choices with students. But these videos are dull and are going to take the entire day.
This year, I logged in and saw that I have 11 mandatory videos and quizzes to take. ELEVEN. Some are ten minutes, some are over an hour. Most have quizzes. You can't skip through the slides, even if you're a fast reader, and must wait for the monotone voices to finish. As an added bonus, they often like to freeze in the middle and restart, testing both my patience and sanity in the process.
I understand why the videos are necessary. I understand that some teachers make beyond inappropriate choices with students. But these videos are dull and are going to take the entire day.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
My bags are packed...
I've got a fully charged iPad, my planners, and a suitcase I'm hoping is just under the fifty pound limit. It must be time for DENSI 2015!
I won't be blogging while there, just tweeting (@AllyVice) so you can follow live updates there!
I need time to synthesize my thoughts and when we're busy from 7 am until 9 pm each night, that reflection time won't happen until I'm back!
Hooray for learning!
I won't be blogging while there, just tweeting (@AllyVice) so you can follow live updates there!
I need time to synthesize my thoughts and when we're busy from 7 am until 9 pm each night, that reflection time won't happen until I'm back!
Hooray for learning!
Friday, July 10, 2015
3 years and counting
Three summers ago, I toyed with the idea of starting a blog and having a store on TpT. I had just finished another school year, was newly single, and excited for a summer full of professional development opportunities. After weighing the pros and cons of my decisions, I decided to take a risk and go for it.
I wanted to create a venue for me to process my ideas and since I'm not very good at keeping up with journals (I've tried, for years, it's just not me), a blog seemed like the ideal fit.
I didn't start my blog to have a ton of followers. I started it for me, as a safe space to reflect and grow as both an educator and a person. I more than welcome followers and invite comments and discussions. I turned down the option of paid Google advertisements on my blog because that's not who I am. I didn't like the idea of having things posted on my blog that I didn't have control over. Things that are advertised or discussed here are because I endorse them, not the advertisers over at Google.
I also started my online store on teacherspayteachers (TpT) not as a way to make a plethora of money, but to share the resources I'd made for my classroom. Some are free and some are not. I have paid products because I do value my time. Many long hours were spent creating these products, especially the teacher guides for novels, so compensation is fair. One product I'm working on, is sitting at fifty pages and I'm not done. I've spent weeks working on it. When I'm done, it will be available for purchase. When the revenue is broken down, that's pennies for each hour worked.
I enjoy making products for my classroom and since time is a luxury I have (mostly due to the fact I don't have kids yet), I am willing to share my resources with others. As of right now, I have 160 products in my store with 38 followers (thanks guys!).
A colleague brought up wanting to start a store on TpT and I encouraged her to do so. She was a tad annoyed that some of the products have to be free, but that's their policy.
I warned her that TpT might not be an instant financial success. My first month, three years ago, I put up a dozen products. I anxiously checked my email, waiting to see if someone had downloaded my product. To this day, some of my products have never been purchased...and that's okay. I made them for my students and I know they're being used. My first month, I sold two products and made five dollars. Yup, five whole dollars. That was beyond frustrating and I was ready to quit.
However, I didn't. Things worth having take time. Slowly but surely, I added more products. I pinned the images on pinterest to expand my network. I reached out to other educators and began following their blogs.
I blog for me. I blog to see my changes as an educator. I blog to keep all of my ideas in one place. I blog to start conversations and connect with others.
Some days, teaching is frustrating. I am overwhelmed by work and I go for weeks without an update. I'm working on this; I'm working on being more forgiving of myself and also more consistent with my commitments.
So if you're a newbie or an avid reader, thanks for stopping by!
Happy third birthday to my blog and TpT store! It's been quite the ride.
I wanted to create a venue for me to process my ideas and since I'm not very good at keeping up with journals (I've tried, for years, it's just not me), a blog seemed like the ideal fit.
I didn't start my blog to have a ton of followers. I started it for me, as a safe space to reflect and grow as both an educator and a person. I more than welcome followers and invite comments and discussions. I turned down the option of paid Google advertisements on my blog because that's not who I am. I didn't like the idea of having things posted on my blog that I didn't have control over. Things that are advertised or discussed here are because I endorse them, not the advertisers over at Google.
I also started my online store on teacherspayteachers (TpT) not as a way to make a plethora of money, but to share the resources I'd made for my classroom. Some are free and some are not. I have paid products because I do value my time. Many long hours were spent creating these products, especially the teacher guides for novels, so compensation is fair. One product I'm working on, is sitting at fifty pages and I'm not done. I've spent weeks working on it. When I'm done, it will be available for purchase. When the revenue is broken down, that's pennies for each hour worked.
I enjoy making products for my classroom and since time is a luxury I have (mostly due to the fact I don't have kids yet), I am willing to share my resources with others. As of right now, I have 160 products in my store with 38 followers (thanks guys!).
A colleague brought up wanting to start a store on TpT and I encouraged her to do so. She was a tad annoyed that some of the products have to be free, but that's their policy.
I warned her that TpT might not be an instant financial success. My first month, three years ago, I put up a dozen products. I anxiously checked my email, waiting to see if someone had downloaded my product. To this day, some of my products have never been purchased...and that's okay. I made them for my students and I know they're being used. My first month, I sold two products and made five dollars. Yup, five whole dollars. That was beyond frustrating and I was ready to quit.
However, I didn't. Things worth having take time. Slowly but surely, I added more products. I pinned the images on pinterest to expand my network. I reached out to other educators and began following their blogs.
I blog for me. I blog to see my changes as an educator. I blog to keep all of my ideas in one place. I blog to start conversations and connect with others.
Some days, teaching is frustrating. I am overwhelmed by work and I go for weeks without an update. I'm working on this; I'm working on being more forgiving of myself and also more consistent with my commitments.
So if you're a newbie or an avid reader, thanks for stopping by!
Happy third birthday to my blog and TpT store! It's been quite the ride.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Gearing up for DENSI 2015
While my adventure is still over a week away, I'm getting super excited for DENSI 2015!
Not only is it in one of my favorite cities in the US (Washington DC), but I'll be rooming with my previous DENSI roommate again! When we first meet, I was just a few months into dating B and she was moving in with her boyfriend. Flash forward two years and I'm happily living with B while she married her man and is expecting twin boys! What fun! Plus I think our whole suite is fifth grade teachers, so I see lots of pajama-clad collaboration. We're staying at American University, so there's lots of bonding time.
What I really like about DENSI (besides all the learning) is that I get to take charge of my own learning. One of the things that is often lacking in professional development, at least in my school district, is differentiation. Not all teachers need 100% of the same professional development...just like not every student needs exactly the same thing. Yet...we often all have to sit through the same meetings, despite our different needs as educators.
However, that isn't the case with DENSI! There are break out sessions and lots of options so teachers can pick what they want to learn.
I looked at my options and am excited to learn about coding, STEM, and digital literacy resources. There are lots of team meetings and I'm really excited about my week of learning:
Yes, I realize the irony of being "totally" old school but I process things best by writing them down. I also am really bad at making sure my phone is charged, so this is my back up plan. I also bought a cute new notebook to take notes (because that's how I learn best).
As an added bonus, my best friend is flying down the weekend after and we have quite the adventure planned! We've got dinner and brunch reservations, are going to a Nationals game, and seeing old friends. It also so happens to be the ten year anniversary of our senior trip (which was also to DC).
I'm so excited for my week of learning!
Not only is it in one of my favorite cities in the US (Washington DC), but I'll be rooming with my previous DENSI roommate again! When we first meet, I was just a few months into dating B and she was moving in with her boyfriend. Flash forward two years and I'm happily living with B while she married her man and is expecting twin boys! What fun! Plus I think our whole suite is fifth grade teachers, so I see lots of pajama-clad collaboration. We're staying at American University, so there's lots of bonding time.
What I really like about DENSI (besides all the learning) is that I get to take charge of my own learning. One of the things that is often lacking in professional development, at least in my school district, is differentiation. Not all teachers need 100% of the same professional development...just like not every student needs exactly the same thing. Yet...we often all have to sit through the same meetings, despite our different needs as educators.
However, that isn't the case with DENSI! There are break out sessions and lots of options so teachers can pick what they want to learn.
I looked at my options and am excited to learn about coding, STEM, and digital literacy resources. There are lots of team meetings and I'm really excited about my week of learning:
Yes, I realize the irony of being "totally" old school but I process things best by writing them down. I also am really bad at making sure my phone is charged, so this is my back up plan. I also bought a cute new notebook to take notes (because that's how I learn best).
As an added bonus, my best friend is flying down the weekend after and we have quite the adventure planned! We've got dinner and brunch reservations, are going to a Nationals game, and seeing old friends. It also so happens to be the ten year anniversary of our senior trip (which was also to DC).
I'm so excited for my week of learning!
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Book Reviews
Over the past few years, I've had the opportunity to participate in several book studies with the focus on improving my craft as an educator. Here is a synopsis of those books:
Questions, Claims, and Evidence
This book really helped me shift perspectives for science instruction. Essentially, this guided me through setting up my students for success and shifting away from teacher driven science experiments. Instead, this is replaced with student created extension inquiry projects and helping them write about science.
Building Academic Vocabulary (Marzano)
Even after reading this, I struggle with vocabulary instruction. It's the highest of the big five components of literacy (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension being the other four). It's crucial, especially for my ELL (English Language Learners). I feel successful with teaching academic vocabulary when it's content specific (i.e. math, science, and social studies) but struggle when it comes to what words to teach whole group. I'm wary of just choosing a list and going from that. I tend to teach words that are associated with the novels I'm using and more specific lists with my RTI group. I want to empower my students to monitor their own vocabulary acquisition and give them the space to share these words with their peers.
I haven't quite decided how this will look in my classroom, so stay tuned!
Waiting for Superman
I led this book study at my previous school...and it didn't go very well. Part of it was because I was leading it, not an administrator. Part of it was because I was still quite idealistic about how teaching should work because I had just finished my first year in the classroom and thought I knew everything. This book, while an interesting read, doesn't give enough credit to the teachers who are working really hard to change the system.
Read, Write, Lead
I was really excited to read this book as part of a book study. My group was assigned chapter five, which is all about principal leadership. While I have no issues with my administrators popping in my classroom on a frequent basis, this was a cause of major concern for some of my colleagues. The chapter also talked about celebrating teachers and students, which I don't think is done enough. This was my big take away from this book is that while programs and standards may (and do) change, good teaching is consistent. Good teachers are reflective, collaborative, innovative, and push one another to do better.
Number Talks
This gem isn't really a book review but rather an opportunity to share that this is a wonderful book that should be used wherever possible! While the first few weeks of number talks are rocky, especially if students aren't familiar with the format, the pay off, if done consistently, is amazing. For the past few years, my students have left my classroom with a strong understanding of number sense and problem solving strategies. This book is a large part of the reason why. It's worth the money if your school district doesn't provide this resource.
Up next? I'll be diving into Love and Logic for some new strategies to use with my whole class. I also borrowed The Tough Kid Tool Kit to gain some new tips and tricks for dealing with difficult students. I had a particularly troubled one last year that gave my whole school lots of headaches, but I'm glad next year that kiddo will get the services that are needed.
What books would you recommend? Which ones were educational game changers?
Questions, Claims, and Evidence
This book really helped me shift perspectives for science instruction. Essentially, this guided me through setting up my students for success and shifting away from teacher driven science experiments. Instead, this is replaced with student created extension inquiry projects and helping them write about science.
Building Academic Vocabulary (Marzano)
Even after reading this, I struggle with vocabulary instruction. It's the highest of the big five components of literacy (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension being the other four). It's crucial, especially for my ELL (English Language Learners). I feel successful with teaching academic vocabulary when it's content specific (i.e. math, science, and social studies) but struggle when it comes to what words to teach whole group. I'm wary of just choosing a list and going from that. I tend to teach words that are associated with the novels I'm using and more specific lists with my RTI group. I want to empower my students to monitor their own vocabulary acquisition and give them the space to share these words with their peers.
I haven't quite decided how this will look in my classroom, so stay tuned!
Waiting for Superman
I led this book study at my previous school...and it didn't go very well. Part of it was because I was leading it, not an administrator. Part of it was because I was still quite idealistic about how teaching should work because I had just finished my first year in the classroom and thought I knew everything. This book, while an interesting read, doesn't give enough credit to the teachers who are working really hard to change the system.
Read, Write, Lead
I was really excited to read this book as part of a book study. My group was assigned chapter five, which is all about principal leadership. While I have no issues with my administrators popping in my classroom on a frequent basis, this was a cause of major concern for some of my colleagues. The chapter also talked about celebrating teachers and students, which I don't think is done enough. This was my big take away from this book is that while programs and standards may (and do) change, good teaching is consistent. Good teachers are reflective, collaborative, innovative, and push one another to do better.
Number Talks
This gem isn't really a book review but rather an opportunity to share that this is a wonderful book that should be used wherever possible! While the first few weeks of number talks are rocky, especially if students aren't familiar with the format, the pay off, if done consistently, is amazing. For the past few years, my students have left my classroom with a strong understanding of number sense and problem solving strategies. This book is a large part of the reason why. It's worth the money if your school district doesn't provide this resource.
Up next? I'll be diving into Love and Logic for some new strategies to use with my whole class. I also borrowed The Tough Kid Tool Kit to gain some new tips and tricks for dealing with difficult students. I had a particularly troubled one last year that gave my whole school lots of headaches, but I'm glad next year that kiddo will get the services that are needed.
What books would you recommend? Which ones were educational game changers?
Saturday, May 23, 2015
DENSI, round two
Now that I've confirmed my place and told friends and family, I'm pleased to announce that I'll be headed to Washington DC this summer to participate in DENSI 2015!
DENSI, which is short for the Discovery Education Network Summer Institute, is a week long collaboration event that focuses on networking, technology, and learning from other teachers. I went two years ago in Vermont and had a wonderful time. I skipped last year's event because I'd just bought a home and was in the middle of an extensive kitchen remodel (refinishing nearly forty different cabinet doors) and unpacking a home.
This year I'll be back to continue learning from other amazing educators. I can't wait to take the information I learn and share it with my colleagues (and here online).
It looks like my Leslie Knope dreams are coming true after all!
DENSI, which is short for the Discovery Education Network Summer Institute, is a week long collaboration event that focuses on networking, technology, and learning from other teachers. I went two years ago in Vermont and had a wonderful time. I skipped last year's event because I'd just bought a home and was in the middle of an extensive kitchen remodel (refinishing nearly forty different cabinet doors) and unpacking a home.
This year I'll be back to continue learning from other amazing educators. I can't wait to take the information I learn and share it with my colleagues (and here online).
It looks like my Leslie Knope dreams are coming true after all!
Not the wisest choice...
I frequently need to remind myself that I can do anything, but not everything.
This slipped my mind when I thought the end of the school year was a good time to sign up for another graduate school class. I already have my master's degree in education and am quite close to finishing up my post master's thirty two credits.
A technology class was offered through UNLV and our school district, so I thought, why not?
3 credit hours in four weeks didn't seem like that big of a deal. I signed up along with my partner teacher, Mrs. H. If nothing else, we could rely on each other for motivation.
However, then we went to our grade level planning meeting and realized all the expectations for the end of the year. So we decided to lock our doors to minimize pre-work distractions, make a plan, and crank out the eight projects and papers required for this class.
By sheer motivation, copious amounts of caffeine, and lots of early mornings, we finished our three credit graduate class. Not in the four weeks we were allotted, but in twelve days. Yes, twelve days.
So that, dear readers, is the main reason for the lack of posts in May. Graduate class got in the way and I had to prioritize: sleep, work, grad school. Everything else just fell off my plate for that crazy two weeks. I'm steadily playing catch up with all the great things I have to share on my blog, so please be patient. However, report cards are due Friday and I still have some grading to do...eight days til summer!
This slipped my mind when I thought the end of the school year was a good time to sign up for another graduate school class. I already have my master's degree in education and am quite close to finishing up my post master's thirty two credits.
A technology class was offered through UNLV and our school district, so I thought, why not?
3 credit hours in four weeks didn't seem like that big of a deal. I signed up along with my partner teacher, Mrs. H. If nothing else, we could rely on each other for motivation.
However, then we went to our grade level planning meeting and realized all the expectations for the end of the year. So we decided to lock our doors to minimize pre-work distractions, make a plan, and crank out the eight projects and papers required for this class.
By sheer motivation, copious amounts of caffeine, and lots of early mornings, we finished our three credit graduate class. Not in the four weeks we were allotted, but in twelve days. Yes, twelve days.
So that, dear readers, is the main reason for the lack of posts in May. Graduate class got in the way and I had to prioritize: sleep, work, grad school. Everything else just fell off my plate for that crazy two weeks. I'm steadily playing catch up with all the great things I have to share on my blog, so please be patient. However, report cards are due Friday and I still have some grading to do...eight days til summer!
Friday, April 3, 2015
Fingers Crossed...
Today I'm taking a leap of faith.
I decided to apply to Discovery Educator Network's Summer Institute (DENSI). I went two years ago when the institute was in Burlington, Vermont. It was an amazing opportunity that I will hopefully get to repeat! I didn't apply last year because we'd just bought a house and I was in the middle of remodeling the kitchen (painting all the cabinets) as well as unpacking.
Before making the decision, I called B to discuss the idea. This summer we plan to adopt a puppy, so I wanted to make sure he'd be okay with three pets by himself for a week.
He was amazingly supportive and encouraged me to go for it. He likened the experience to being Leslie Knope (my spirit animal) and conquering DC. With his support, (and my best friend's and mom's), I decided to go for it!
I wrote out my application questions and am practicing my video. My school's literacy coach is amazing and agreed to film it for me Monday morning. I don't know how to edit videos, so I've got just one shot to make it right!
Applications are due May 1st (apply here) and I'll find out May 16th.
Will you be joining me in DC?
I decided to apply to Discovery Educator Network's Summer Institute (DENSI). I went two years ago when the institute was in Burlington, Vermont. It was an amazing opportunity that I will hopefully get to repeat! I didn't apply last year because we'd just bought a house and I was in the middle of remodeling the kitchen (painting all the cabinets) as well as unpacking.
Before making the decision, I called B to discuss the idea. This summer we plan to adopt a puppy, so I wanted to make sure he'd be okay with three pets by himself for a week.
He was amazingly supportive and encouraged me to go for it. He likened the experience to being Leslie Knope (my spirit animal) and conquering DC. With his support, (and my best friend's and mom's), I decided to go for it!
I wrote out my application questions and am practicing my video. My school's literacy coach is amazing and agreed to film it for me Monday morning. I don't know how to edit videos, so I've got just one shot to make it right!
Applications are due May 1st (apply here) and I'll find out May 16th.
Will you be joining me in DC?
Saturday, March 28, 2015
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?
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Transitional Year
My first year as an educator was about survival. Surviving an awful living situation, surviving a year round schedule, surviving living in a new city, surviving graduate school, surviving Teach for America (TFA)'s lofty expectations. I stubbornly fought my way through the year and cried, more than once, in front of my students.
Then summer hit. I had a two week break because my (old) school converted from year round to 9 month. I was due for a track break, but instead got to start over. I used my "summer" to move into my own apartment without a roommate.
Year two was about gaining confidence. I was overly reflective and made a lot of different changes. That year brought inclusionary practices and co-teaching for the first time. With that came challenges over responsibilities and expectations. Year two brought graduation from UNLV with my master's degree and giving a speech at the TFA end of year ceremony, in front of hundreds of people including the (then) superintendent. Talk about nerve racking!
Year three I started to feel good about my teaching. I was gaining more experience from professional development and starting to integrate technology more, which a majority of my students enjoyed. Year three brought along the rumblings of what's next. I earned my technology endorsement. I took more graduate school courses. I served on committees at school and started being more involved with professional development. I took summer courses and started to build a national teaching cohort, which is still in tact today. I got a new co-teacher and my original teaching team dissolved. Suddenly, I was the one with the most seniority.
Year four was a year of leadership building. I took on the position of grade level chair because I had the most experience. I was teaching with others that did not share the same enthusiasm and commitment for the job. I was also single for a good part of the year and determined to be the best teacher possible because that's where I wanted to exert my attention. Looking back, I see their shorter hours as a necessity because they were balancing families. I was not. Again, all part of the learning process. I learned to be more accepting of others' work schedules (and day care times). I learned to take others' needs into consideration when scheduling meetings, not just work around myself. (I don't mean to sound like I was childish and selfish in my previous years, it just was something I didn't have to think about because I wasn't in the leadership role.) I learned to take a lot of criticism and to be more patient with my peers.
Year five was difficult. There was no grade level chair because I worked with three other extremely motivated and talented teachers. I respected my peers and of course there were minor squabbles, but at the end of the day, we all shared a common purpose: to do the best we could to educate the children in front of us. I had the best teaching team combined with the worst external factors. The students were extremely difficult and the support from administration ranged from passive aggressive to non-existent. If I didn't have my team, there were many moments I would have simply quit. A year later, I still have anxiety and flash backs from the absurd and awful year.
So, I left. I made a change.
This year is that change.
I have a much more supportive administrative team who acknowledges that I am a person first and an educator second. I have a new team and we get along fairly well. I'm having to keep myself in check because with six years under my belt, I'm still the newbie. I still have a lot to learn and I'm not the grade level chair. I'm not in charge. However, my previous experience does mean I do have a lot of good ideas which aren't always heard, which is frustrating. I'm new to a school site and it's demands, not new to teaching. There's a big difference and that's often overlooked.
This year, I've taken a step back. I'm co-chairing the math committee, but we were uninvited to the district's professional development. The five day courses I took last summer were on math strategies and were amazing. The eight Saturdays were presented as being a continuation of that, but quickly changed into managing paperwork and running committees. Those four hours quickly became a complaining session for teachers to harp on their colleagues and quite frankly, I'm glad we were uninvited.
I am co-planning math with another teacher on my grade level. We are loosely following the Engage NY curriculum while imbedding Number Talks. Our students came to us with very low number sense, so it's been an uphill battle. There are a lot of copies to make when you aren't using the twelve year old text book at your school. However, I feel positive about the math instruction. It's taking more time than I'd like to go over the concepts, but my students understand what they're doing. They aren't mindless robots following a sequence to get an answer, they are mini-mathematicians who are analyzing and solving complex, real world problems. That takes more time to develop.
I'm not happy with how some other subjects have been taught. I'm not happy with myself for not speaking up more. Next year will be different.
Next year will have more science and social studies from the beginning of the year, imbedded weekly. The map project should start in September, not January. The map project should have roughly a month per region to truly hit landforms, environments, and the geography terms. I think imbedding this throughout the year will help my boys stay focused because quite frankly, I think I lost a few of them during our literature heavy Esperanza Rising unit.
I'll be planning differently next year. I've made corrections now, but will be approaching planning very differently next year. I'd love to have grade level meetings be more focused on idea and resource sharing, not one or two teachers presenting the next unit of study without allowing input from the others. I also don't know how to bring this up to the group without sounding like a dictator. I'd like long range plans done in August. It's been a strange year with no plans. I don't want that to be the case next year and I'm accepting that it may fall on me. I think our grade level chair does an amazing job and for once, I don't want to be in charge. I trust her completely. I just want more of a road map. I want to work smarter, not harder.
I've ordered a planner for next year. I'm going to spend some time over the summer to sculpt out units of study and find places where the content can overlap. Will there be changes as the year progresses? Yes, of course. That's how teaching works. I just want a better plan, at least for my own sanity. I want a plan that I can tweak from year to year and that I can adapt to fit changing standards (and changing students). I want to not feel like I'm continually reinventing the wheel.
This doesn't mean I will be the teacher that has a week by week file and pulls out the same things each year. As we, as a team, find better resources, we will use them. I'd just like a plan.
This year is my transitional year. I'm finding my voice on a new team. I'm learning the ropes of a new school while still holding on to teaching ideas that I know to be valid. I'm learning when to politely disagree, then proceed to do what I had originally planned (as long as it's what's best for kids.) Robert Downey Jr. said it much more bluntly:
Next year will be my best. Next year I'll have my voice. This is just a weird, transitional year.
Then summer hit. I had a two week break because my (old) school converted from year round to 9 month. I was due for a track break, but instead got to start over. I used my "summer" to move into my own apartment without a roommate.
Year two was about gaining confidence. I was overly reflective and made a lot of different changes. That year brought inclusionary practices and co-teaching for the first time. With that came challenges over responsibilities and expectations. Year two brought graduation from UNLV with my master's degree and giving a speech at the TFA end of year ceremony, in front of hundreds of people including the (then) superintendent. Talk about nerve racking!
Year three I started to feel good about my teaching. I was gaining more experience from professional development and starting to integrate technology more, which a majority of my students enjoyed. Year three brought along the rumblings of what's next. I earned my technology endorsement. I took more graduate school courses. I served on committees at school and started being more involved with professional development. I took summer courses and started to build a national teaching cohort, which is still in tact today. I got a new co-teacher and my original teaching team dissolved. Suddenly, I was the one with the most seniority.
Year four was a year of leadership building. I took on the position of grade level chair because I had the most experience. I was teaching with others that did not share the same enthusiasm and commitment for the job. I was also single for a good part of the year and determined to be the best teacher possible because that's where I wanted to exert my attention. Looking back, I see their shorter hours as a necessity because they were balancing families. I was not. Again, all part of the learning process. I learned to be more accepting of others' work schedules (and day care times). I learned to take others' needs into consideration when scheduling meetings, not just work around myself. (I don't mean to sound like I was childish and selfish in my previous years, it just was something I didn't have to think about because I wasn't in the leadership role.) I learned to take a lot of criticism and to be more patient with my peers.
Year five was difficult. There was no grade level chair because I worked with three other extremely motivated and talented teachers. I respected my peers and of course there were minor squabbles, but at the end of the day, we all shared a common purpose: to do the best we could to educate the children in front of us. I had the best teaching team combined with the worst external factors. The students were extremely difficult and the support from administration ranged from passive aggressive to non-existent. If I didn't have my team, there were many moments I would have simply quit. A year later, I still have anxiety and flash backs from the absurd and awful year.
So, I left. I made a change.
This year is that change.
I have a much more supportive administrative team who acknowledges that I am a person first and an educator second. I have a new team and we get along fairly well. I'm having to keep myself in check because with six years under my belt, I'm still the newbie. I still have a lot to learn and I'm not the grade level chair. I'm not in charge. However, my previous experience does mean I do have a lot of good ideas which aren't always heard, which is frustrating. I'm new to a school site and it's demands, not new to teaching. There's a big difference and that's often overlooked.
This year, I've taken a step back. I'm co-chairing the math committee, but we were uninvited to the district's professional development. The five day courses I took last summer were on math strategies and were amazing. The eight Saturdays were presented as being a continuation of that, but quickly changed into managing paperwork and running committees. Those four hours quickly became a complaining session for teachers to harp on their colleagues and quite frankly, I'm glad we were uninvited.
I am co-planning math with another teacher on my grade level. We are loosely following the Engage NY curriculum while imbedding Number Talks. Our students came to us with very low number sense, so it's been an uphill battle. There are a lot of copies to make when you aren't using the twelve year old text book at your school. However, I feel positive about the math instruction. It's taking more time than I'd like to go over the concepts, but my students understand what they're doing. They aren't mindless robots following a sequence to get an answer, they are mini-mathematicians who are analyzing and solving complex, real world problems. That takes more time to develop.
I'm not happy with how some other subjects have been taught. I'm not happy with myself for not speaking up more. Next year will be different.
Next year will have more science and social studies from the beginning of the year, imbedded weekly. The map project should start in September, not January. The map project should have roughly a month per region to truly hit landforms, environments, and the geography terms. I think imbedding this throughout the year will help my boys stay focused because quite frankly, I think I lost a few of them during our literature heavy Esperanza Rising unit.
I'll be planning differently next year. I've made corrections now, but will be approaching planning very differently next year. I'd love to have grade level meetings be more focused on idea and resource sharing, not one or two teachers presenting the next unit of study without allowing input from the others. I also don't know how to bring this up to the group without sounding like a dictator. I'd like long range plans done in August. It's been a strange year with no plans. I don't want that to be the case next year and I'm accepting that it may fall on me. I think our grade level chair does an amazing job and for once, I don't want to be in charge. I trust her completely. I just want more of a road map. I want to work smarter, not harder.
I've ordered a planner for next year. I'm going to spend some time over the summer to sculpt out units of study and find places where the content can overlap. Will there be changes as the year progresses? Yes, of course. That's how teaching works. I just want a better plan, at least for my own sanity. I want a plan that I can tweak from year to year and that I can adapt to fit changing standards (and changing students). I want to not feel like I'm continually reinventing the wheel.
This doesn't mean I will be the teacher that has a week by week file and pulls out the same things each year. As we, as a team, find better resources, we will use them. I'd just like a plan.
This year is my transitional year. I'm finding my voice on a new team. I'm learning the ropes of a new school while still holding on to teaching ideas that I know to be valid. I'm learning when to politely disagree, then proceed to do what I had originally planned (as long as it's what's best for kids.) Robert Downey Jr. said it much more bluntly:
Next year will be my best. Next year I'll have my voice. This is just a weird, transitional year.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Math training, day 1
First, it was difficult to get up at 5:30 this morning. Second, I didn't factor in nearby construction, so I just barely made it to my 7 am training. I wasn't late, I just wasn't my normal five to ten minutes early. Because I was late by my own standards, I had one of the last choices in seating which meant I was stuck in a set facing the back of the room. I've got a bit of a neck cramp from turning my head around all day. All those minor factors aside, I shook off my frustration and settled in for six hours of learning.
That's when I learned this training is five days, not four. I had planned to go into my new school Friday to start setting up my classroom. There's also a school tour and it sounds like that's the day my administration is going over all of the details about our school. Good thing I have two close friends also starting at my school so I can get the info :)
I like the ladies I'm sitting with and the instructors are friendly and knowledgeable. Two of the other ladies at my training are at my former coach's school so I shared how lucky they are to have her guidance.
Then the math activities started. Now, I've been to a lot of trainings over the past five years. I like learning and new strategies. 90% of what was covered today I've heard before. Now I could be grumpy about this, or I could be fortunate that I've had some great mentor teachers and coaches who've already shared this information. I'm choosing the second option and going to focus on the new information I learned today.
One of the videos we watched was a middle school Number Talk. Most of the time the videos are focused on elementary, so it was nice to see a change. The teacher set the norms for the problem: (123-76)
1. Don't solve traditional algorithm
2. You may write down numbers, but you need to try this in your head
3. Thumbs up when you've got the answer (standard Number Talks procedure)
The teacher then allowed for think time. Instead of asking for the answer, he asked what is know about the answer. I'd never heard this question phrased and I will definitely be using it in my classroom.
The students responded that the answer was positive and less than 100. Another student estimated the answer to be close to fifty based on his rounding (125-75).
From there, the teacher asked for strategies for solving and answers.
I loved how this simply question gives students a daily opportunity to practice estimating and reasonableness. I like that this wording helps them think critically about the problem but I'm not the one telling them what to think.
I'm embracing the mindset of being their math coach, not their math teacher.
I want them to make mistakes. I want them to make their own discoveries.
Now, it's time for homework before day 2 tomorrow!
That's when I learned this training is five days, not four. I had planned to go into my new school Friday to start setting up my classroom. There's also a school tour and it sounds like that's the day my administration is going over all of the details about our school. Good thing I have two close friends also starting at my school so I can get the info :)
I like the ladies I'm sitting with and the instructors are friendly and knowledgeable. Two of the other ladies at my training are at my former coach's school so I shared how lucky they are to have her guidance.
Then the math activities started. Now, I've been to a lot of trainings over the past five years. I like learning and new strategies. 90% of what was covered today I've heard before. Now I could be grumpy about this, or I could be fortunate that I've had some great mentor teachers and coaches who've already shared this information. I'm choosing the second option and going to focus on the new information I learned today.
One of the videos we watched was a middle school Number Talk. Most of the time the videos are focused on elementary, so it was nice to see a change. The teacher set the norms for the problem: (123-76)
1. Don't solve traditional algorithm
2. You may write down numbers, but you need to try this in your head
3. Thumbs up when you've got the answer (standard Number Talks procedure)
The teacher then allowed for think time. Instead of asking for the answer, he asked what is know about the answer. I'd never heard this question phrased and I will definitely be using it in my classroom.
The students responded that the answer was positive and less than 100. Another student estimated the answer to be close to fifty based on his rounding (125-75).
From there, the teacher asked for strategies for solving and answers.
I loved how this simply question gives students a daily opportunity to practice estimating and reasonableness. I like that this wording helps them think critically about the problem but I'm not the one telling them what to think.
I'm embracing the mindset of being their math coach, not their math teacher.
I want them to make mistakes. I want them to make their own discoveries.
Now, it's time for homework before day 2 tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Hallelujah!
It's August...which means mandatory videos.
However, I'm done! It took most of today and well, I multi-tasked...but still, done!
Hallelujah!
However, I'm done! It took most of today and well, I multi-tasked...but still, done!
Hallelujah!
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