Do the right thing...always.

Have you seen the commercial about Values?  The elderly dad is lying in a hospital bed (presumably, dying) and the daughter comes to visit.  It is apparent that this is the first she has seen her dad ill and as she is sitting by his bedside, she reminices about the things he has done for her (taught her to ride a bike, giving her away at her wedding, etc.). 

They play it a lot on several stations...and every time they do, I cry.  And I can't turn the TV channel...I have to watch it...everytime.  Now obviously, it reminds me of my dad (which is why I cry...duh), but this is not the reason for this post, because I believe that it has another message...

What goes around, comes around.

I am a believer in this concept. I have seen it happen many times, through generations.  People get what they give out.  The commercial is a good reminder to always to the right thing...not the right thing for YOU, but the right thing period.  This means letting go, losing, walking away, smiling when you feel like yelling, saying your sorry when it's not your fault.  It also means standing up for others, fighting when you feel like walking away, loving when you want to hate, having faith when hope is all lost.

So the next time you are watching the TV and you see this commercial, look for the deeper message.

Live the deeper message.  Do the right thing.

Day 8: How do you connect with your students?

I finally decided to skip Day 7...and move on to Day 8.  I will eventually answer Day 7's question, but for right now it's kicking my butt and I need to spend (all summer) more time thinking about it.

So, how do I connect with my students?  SENSE OF HUMOR!

I teach 8th grade.  If you know anything about 8th graders is that they know everything and adults know nothing.  As a parent, there is nothing more frustrating...as a teacher, there is nothing more FUN!  The reality of the situation is...8th graders want to give the impression that they know everything, but their dirty little secret is (and they fully know it) is that they are scared and insecure as all get out.

So to connect with these drama queens and kings takes a bit of sarcasm, a whole lot of laughter, a ton of love and a willingness to put yourself out there and look stupid a time or two.  And that is what I do.  I sing, cheer, dance, tell a joke or two - just to get a point across in class, or move them along in the hallway.  Whatever it takes.

Additionally to the above, I try very hard to get to know these kids outside of their school persona.  I want to know what their interests are, what they are involved in and how they operate outside of my classroom.  I also try to let them see that about me as well.  I am very fortunate that I also live in the community that I teach.  I go to church with many of my students.  I play piano and cantor for Mass - it's very interesting the reaction that I get from students (and parents) when they see me in a completely different area of life. 

We are who we teach!

Make it a great day!

Day 6: What have you observed of other teachers that might work in your own classroom?

Sorry, I've been slacking (read: I'm in summer mode) on this blog challenge.  To continue...

I love going into other classrooms and seeing what other teachers are doing.  I also ask other teachers what they are doing in their classrooms.  My motto is "Beg, Borrow and Steal; why recreate the wheel?"

Here's a smattering of items and ideas I have borrowed from other teachers:

• desk arrangements - how best to group for which lesson/activity you're doing
• wall organization - how to get the most out of the posters you've spent hard earned cash for
• lesson plans - from actual lessons to organization of those lessons
• how to turn in papers - student focused instead of teacher focused
• wiki ideas
• classroom management tools
• sub plans - how to organize, what information to include
• grading ideas - what gets graded, what doesn't get graded, how to provide good and meaningful feedback
• testing and assessment ideas
• organizing my own desk 

Learning from others is such an important step in teaching - why not continually improve in everything?

Oprah Obsession

I would call myself a fair-weather Oprah fan.

I have watched on and off over the 25 years (I was in college when she started with her show), but never religiously.  Typically, if the previews looked good, I'd start watching, but if the show didn't capture me or connect with me in the first 5 minutes, I turned the channel.  And in those 25 years, only two shows really stick out in my mind...

One...In 1987 (or thereabouts), she had a show where she wanted people to write in with their obsessions about sports figures.  My college roommate, Kim, had an ENORMOUS thing with KC Royals baseball player, George Brett.  Long story short, she got on the show and got to meet George. 

Two...in this season, when she reunited the cast of "The Sound of Music" last November - which is my all-time favorite movie and an obsession of mine.  I still have the episode TiVo'd and I do watch it occasionally.

So, intrigued with all the hoopla of her final episodes this week, I did sit down and watch her last show on Wednesday, May 25th.  It was a very nice show, entertaining, the messages were good, and I even wrote down a couple of quotes.  But, there was really just one thing that captured my attention throughout the entire show...

Her pink dress.

I loved it.  I wanted it.  I became obsessed with it.  I loved the color, the cut, the style, the funky sash...and I kept wondering if it was silk because she never sat down (I'm sure for fear of wrinkling it).  And I want one just like it.

Just as millions of fans are obsessed with Oprah, I am obsessed with that dress.




**And if anyone knows where I can find a dress like it (I'm sure I can't afford the designer dress) - let me know!! **





 

Day 5: How do you keep your classroom organized?

For starters, color is my friend.  Each class I teach is color coded (files, turn in bins, sticky notes, markers, etc.)

I received a label maker for Mother's Day a few years ago - wonderful for quick labels to files, filing cabinets, books, shoebox containers, cupboards...I know what's in it before I open it.

I have a bin, basket or container for most everything.  I have a separate bin for markers, colored pencils, glue sticks, rulers, calculators, note cards and activities I can use with my Advisory.  I have baskets for extra pencils, pens, bulletin board items and CDs.  I have a container in or on my desk for push pins, paper clips, sticky notes, note paper, etc.  If students need to use something in class, I have table containers where I 'measure' or place the items they will need on their tables.  This minimizes movement in my class.  (I have a very small classroom.)

My walls are spaced for different things - I have a certain area that is just for my Advisory.

I have a student area in my room where I keep extra paper, dictionaries, thesauruses, extra pens and pencils, kleenex...whatever they may need (or run out of)...this is an area where they do not need my permission to take - it is there for them if they need it.  In this area, I also have extra worksheets and a list of what we do each day in class, so a student can use this to reference what they have missed (and I'm not spending time in each class getting absent students caught up!).  Everything is there for them.

I am very fortunate that I have two very large whiteboards.  On my board in the back of my room is where I write down all assignments by unit (color coded, of course) and this stays up all semester.
On my front board, I have the daily schedule, date, month, and A/B day listed.

My desk has been at the front, but I'm going to move it to the back corner and more out of the way for next year.  (I was in a new room this year...so it's been a learning curve!)

What else do you want to know?  :)

Day 4: What were you most worried about as you approached your first day as a teacher?

The list is long!

Fortunately, the State of Iowa requires a mentor for the first two years of a teacher's career.  Without my mentor, I would have never been as successful as I was those first years.  However, even with my mentor safety net, I had some reservations going into that first day.

Here is a "brief" list of my worries going into that day...

1.  What if I can't keep the class under control?
2.  What if a student swears at me?
3.  What if I make a mistake in front of the class?
4.  What if I can't remember to take attendance?
5.  What if my seating chart doesn't work?
6.  What if I call a student by the wrong name?
7.  What am I doing three weeks from now in the curriculum?
8.  What if a student lost his/her schedule?
9.  Am I really going to be here in this room with 30 kids all by myself?
10.  Am I organized enough?
11.  Do I really know what I'm doing?
12.  What if they don't sit down?
13.  What if I haven't planned enough for the time we have?
14.  What if a parent calls me after the first day?
15.  Why did I take this job?

And you know what I found out?  The kids were great - and everyone sat.  And I did mess up a few names, but the world didn't come to an end, and the kids were very forgiving.  I had planned too much in the lesson and I knew what I was doing three weeks into the schedule.  All in all, I had planned for the worst and the best happened - and I had an amazing first day of teaching.

Most of all, I learned to relax, laugh and go with the flow.  When you teach eighth graders, surprises occur, things don't go as planned and mistakes happen.

It's just like life.

Day 3: In which area do you think you can improve the most?

The questions just keep getting tougher, don't they?  This one is tough because there are many areas to improve in - not that I'm doing a bad job - but you can always keep learning and honing your teaching craft.

I find that it takes me a couple times (ok, more than a couple of times) to do something to really 'get it' and execute it well.  It really can be anything - a change in classroom management practice, grading rubric, lesson planning and execution, or conferencing with parents through phone or email.  Honestly, I would like to shorten that learning curve.  I think in order to do that, several things must happen:

1.  Continue to be proactive in planning...anticipate as many bumps in the road and how to overcome those
2.  Ask more questions of colleagues in how they would handle/plan/anticipate situations and scenarios...use the multitude of experience around me.  (I think it is in this area alone, I could improve the most!)
3.  Reflect, reflect, reflect and document, document, document.
4.  Rinse and repeat.