Metamorphosis is a Magical Time

In my first year of teaching, I taught third grade. We explored butterflies, and one of the most magical part of the unit was actually being a witness to a larvae spinning into a chrysalis. Even though it appeared to be spinning without any reason except to make itself dizzy, it put itself into position for an incredible change. A big change that would alter nearly everything about itself. It would soon emerge transformed into a beautiful and graceful entity ready to dance on the breath of the wind itself.

Not all larvae are able to complete this change. Along with the strength of the larvae itself, one much consider factors in the environment that can help or hurt the potential for survival and success.

As teachers, we face a myriad of new challenges. Some of these are emerging from within our classrooms. Parents and families are struggling through this economy, and more responsibility is falling onto our collective plates. We find ourselves teaching right from wrong, courtesy, societal values, and generally things that good citizens do. I do not shy away from this at all. This is one thing that I take very seriously in my profession. From saying "good morning" to every one of my students, to holding the door for them, to saying "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me", I try my best to model all that I expect and hold them accountable for doing or not doing it.

The other challenge comes from outside our classroom doors. Government agencies are dropping initiatives on the shoulders of schools in an effort to refine eduction. Perhaps instead it needs to be redefined, but that is a topic for another post. Governments, especially our state government, cannot get their act together enough to get policy proposals or budgets completed on time, but they are telling us how to 'make the grade'. Learning standards are being changed so often it is difficult to view progress towards them,. People are calling for teacher accountability based on something that they cannot define, districts are looking for any kind of solid data numbers to appease the quantitative number crunchers that need a line graph to see how our kids are learning rather than really look into our schools and see any qualitative growth, etc.

How can we keep 'our classroom' while playing by their mandates? I don't know. I am exhausted after every day, but I cannot see myself doing anything else with my life. I love what I am. I love being a teacher, and I wouldn't trade it for any other profession out there. My rewards come not from my administrators; they come from my students. Professional awards are good for some, but give me a kid walking in a 8:25 with a smile on his or her face ready to learn, ready to feel empowered and excited to take the journey with the rest of us. That is my trophy, and I get to see 22 of them every day.

Getting back to the butterfly, my optimistic side is hoping that this feeling is akin to the dizzy feeling that the larvae might be experiencing as it builds the chrysalis. It undergoes the task sure that it will survive, and sure about completing the change. My realistic side is tired of all of this spinning and is hoping that the environment is conducive to the growth and change that should happen. My pessimistic side is worried that the environment has grown too cold to support such a beautiful life, and that if the metamorphosis has not demonstrated adequate progress it will be stopped because it is simply not worth the energy.

I hope I get to fly.

Overcoming Bad Parenting aka Because I Said So

Okay.. so this post is not directly related to education, but I was so disgusted I had to vent somewhere.

So I decided to go to a local costume store to get something for "Crazy Hair Day". I love participating in our school spirit week, and as I waited to get to the counter, a boy at the tender age of about 4 or 5 caught my eye. as his mother was with the cashier, this young cherub was yelling "I want candy! I want candy!"
I am thinking to myself, "the last thing little angel boy over here needs is more candy." The mother tells him that he cannot have it now, but maybe later. Baby new year is still not so politely requesting candy. Once again, mom says no, but there is doubt in her voice, She has begun what I will call.... "the negotiation." This goes on for about another minute, with sunshine walking a 20 foot exploration around the vicinity of the cashier looking for different candies and submitting them for approval. Finally, spineless mommy asks the cashier how much the two candy items are and agrees to purchase them. She looks at me, we lock eyes, and she realizes that I have been watching the standoff. I mumble the word "shmuck" to her... and I can feel her embarrassment as the looks to the floor. They leave, and junior has triumphed.
He has learned to manipulate. He has learned that Mom is not an absolute authority. He has learned that he can be indulged if he continues this behavior. He has learned that he can have and do whatever he wants.
When angel boy walks into a classroom, he might not find these lessons hold true. This surely may cause him frustration, social concerns with other children, and criticism from his teachers. I know that if he comes to my classroom with that, it will be dealt with so fast he won't even know what's happening.
Parents often ask me "How do you get Xxxxxxx to do what you say? He/she always gives me a problem!" I tell them it is because I am not mom or dad. There is no negotiation. I am the authority and my rules apply. I urge my students to speak up when they disagree, but they must do so in a respectful way. Growing up, my mother would often say to me "because I said so", and you know what... that was a good enough reason. I did try to negotiate much... for if I did, there would be consequences.
As a parent, I am sure to follow through with consequences as a result of my kids' actions. These can be both good and bad. My kids know that if I say I will do something, I will do it. Good or bad.
As a teacher, we are being asked to do more to mold the character of our classroom population. This is not a knock on parents as a whole. Our lives often demand dual income families, single parent households, etc. Having said that... we as parents must make sure that the time we do spend with our children presents a positive model for behavior. If we show our kids that a behavior is okay with a reward (even if it is cute!), they will grow up doing it.
Sometimes the right thing to do is inconvenient, and sometimes it is okay to let your child scream bloody murder in a store so that he or she does NOT get their way.
Why? Because I said so...

Making the Grade as a Teacher

I remember my dad as a Little League coach. I don't think our team was that great, but it didn't matter. It was all about fun. We would practice drills and techniques, and all became better players through the activities.

Today there is so much talk about teacher accountability. It sure does sound great on paper. We rate high schools based on their performance on state tests, graduation rates, and the percentage that go on to college. Why do we do that? It's easy! It's quantitative. It makes sense numerically. You can even plot it on a line graph.

If we rate schools, some want to rate teachers. My question is: How? When the state changes the cut scores for who knows why making year to year comparisons inconclusive? How about when your classroom population (and thus performance levels) change year to year?

If we base the measure of an educator solely on the numbers, we miss out on the qualitative attributes. A child that learns to feel good about himself or herself because of that teacher. A child that believes in themselves because of that teacher. The child that makes a great deal of progress but is still below grade level. The child that opens up socially and begins to make close friends. The child that learns to work as a team with his or her friends or classmates. The child that smiles and looks forward to school. I could go on and on. Those don't show up on a data report, and you would be hard pressed to crunch them in a data warehouse, but they are as valid as any other performance indicator.

I also wonder about something else. I am an elementary classroom teacher, so let's say that some kind of standardized test in the subjects that I teach (see the previous blog "Generally Speaking") would be used to gauge my effectiveness. For secondary teachers, they would use state tests or Regents for their respective subjects. What about guidance counselors? Are they exempt? Are they the ones responsible for graduation rates and continuing education rates? What about special area teachers like Art, Music, Physical Education, etc? Should we see how we their kids draw, sing, and how many push ups they can do? It sounds silly, but it makes me think!

What about support services? How would one rate the effectiveness of an ESL teacher? A reading teacher? Speech teacher? Occupational therapist? What about resource room teachers? Do they share the accolades or blame for their assigned students with the classroom or subject area teachers? Are they exempt? Too many gray areas for me. You can't just hold one group of educators accountable and not go near the others. It simply isn't fair.

If that were the case and I was being judged by student performance, why would I want a class of anything but the higher achievers? For the past few years, I have been the classroom teacher part of an inclusion and now a collaborative coteach class. Should I not want this assignment because of students that might be performing below grade level? What about if they cannot make what some power that be considers "adequate yearly progress"???

Of course not. I watch in awe as my kids succeed. They do it in so many ways, and not always is there a numerical grade to show for. I don't want a class of 'high achievers'... I want students ready to learn, create, and have fun. I want them to smile whenever they walk in the door and feel valuable as they contribute throughout the day. I want students that take risks and stand tall even when they fall short of their goals. I want students that come back after they have left my classroom just to say hello. I want students that recall fondly memories and achievements that happened within the walls of our classroom. Does that show up on a line graph?

Teaching is a great career and the rewards are so unbelievable. I get to work with some of the greatest kids out there. I get to work with some of the greatest education professionals in the world, and I am very grateful. The challenges that we face we must face together without playing the blame game. If we are to really prepare our students for the world of tomorrow, perhaps we need to finally stop pointing fingers and placing blame. Perhaps we need to start a real dialogue involving teachers, administrators, parents, and maybe even some politicians to figure out what skills are needed, what is outdated, and the resources that need to get there.

Generally Speaking...

Being a male teacher, people always assume I teach high school. I think I have even blogged about this 'misconception'. Well, one of the questions that I am sometimes asked pertains to the subject area. "What do you teach, Math? Science?" I usually answer "Yes."

I was in a meeting with an administrator. That person was speaking to a bunch of us (elementary teachers) and we were told that elementary classroom teachers are generalists. We know and teach everything without specializing. After seeing initiatives at the federal, state, and local level and these panaceas for curing all of the ailments of the education system, I am convinced that we are no longer generalists. We are specialists that specialize in nearly everything. Over my relatively short tenure as a teacher, I have worked my butt off to learn as much as I can about everything I teach. I spend my summers in workshops developing new curricula, discovering new resources, learning new content, and reviewing new standards. It would be nice to be a true generalist. I would stay above the surface of a concept and not dig deep into it. It would be great to be a specialist and really know one content area as deep as possible and truly become an expert in it.

Why do we become special generalists? (Is that a good term?) You never know when that one child is so engaged by a subject and he or she asks some really great questions that you can either answer from your own knowledge or discover the answer together using the resources that you have spent the time to learn. It might be that one child that is really challenged by a concept and he or she needs a new approach to help them understand it and the smile on their face is the reward that blows you away. It could be the intrinsic satisfaction that you as an educator feel when you really know your stuff. If you are wondering.... yes the work is worth it.

So... does that make elementary teachers true know-it-alls?

Discuss...

Back to School Sales Scare the Heck Out Of Me!

So there we were, my family and I walking through some major chain store (insert whatever name you want there), and it caught my eye. There it was staring me in the face daring me to acknowledge it. The "Back To School" display. Mind you, this was in mid July, and this is NOT Florida. In New York, we don't start school again until early September. If you really think about it, in mid July many kids are away at camp anyway.. so why rush the summer?

So let's reflect at the halfway point of the summer, shall we? We have driven to Florida again, and it was a lot of fun. We have done a good amount of family stuff, and for the first summer in a while we have spent a good amount of time at the pool. I have even have some semblemce of a tan! I have enjoyed riding a good amount; not a whole lot but some nice distance rides. I even took the white Mustang to a car show and took third place in my class. What have I done professionally? Nothing yet....

As we move into August, I myself move back into work mode. I am doing a subject area workshop, and I am teaching a technology course for my district. I am beginning to think about what next year will look like. The Teacher's College books that I took home with the intention of creating some really great lesson plans have not collected dust simply because I keep moving them around, but it will soon be time to crack them open.

What will next year look like? I am back in my coteach model with a fantastic special education teacher (we worked together last year as well). The population in our classroom will present its own challenges of course. New York State seems to constantly be changing 'stuff'. Everything is so uncertain.

Anyway... here I am watching Phineas and Ferb with my son, but I need to get moving. It's almost August and I haven't gotten the Halloween decorations ready.

Not an End, but an Opportunity for a New Beginning

For two students in my class, today was the last day of school. One of them was moving, and so it truly was her last day. As I said farewell to them, I guess the reality of it all started to really sink in. All teachers know that bittersweet feeling that the end of June brings. Despite the fact that we leave so much of ourselves in that classroom every day when we go home, and despite the fact that we do look forward to the relative calmness and mental relaxation of the summer, we can't help but feel that we are incomplete without our classroom and the students that give it life. For me, it is never really a happy ending.

Tomorrow is the last day of school. All student desks are now empty, save for the nameplates that still lay proudly on their faces. Tomorrow they will come off, and for me that is the true end of school. This class will move on, and another will take its place. The bookcases of my library are covered. They are no longer inviting my students to pick literature that they might enjoy. The math center is covered, no longer offering manipulatives and counters to help foster mental math skills. The closets are closed, and the entire top of my desk is clearly visible. It has been said that an empty desk is the sign of an idle mind, and perhaps that is why mine is so 'busy'.

I will really miss my class, and I wish them all the best as they move towards the fifth grade and beyond. September really isn't that far away, and soon the classroom will be filled once again with hope and excitement. The process is renewed, and the opportunities refreshed. I will be spending part of this summer putting together plans for new projects and curriculum extended learning opportunities. I am excited as I look towards next year, even though I am looking forward to spending some more time with my family.

I like to think that everyone, both the students and myself, have become better since that first hopeful and exciting day in September. I know I have, and I thank each one of my students for letting me be a part of their lives and learning.

Have a great summer.

Teaching = Dis-Covered Knowledge

Humor me for a moment. Think back to your childhood. Let's say that in a time of great innocence, you spilled or dropped something on the floor. Now, that could have been carpeting, tile, or a wood floor. It matters not what spilled or what you spilled it on, just the fact that you spilled or dropped something. The resulting mess would no doubt get you in a ton of trouble with mom/dad/grandma/grandpa/aunt/uncle, etc.... whoever... Now you faced a moral dilemma.. what to do?

You could:
1) Don't face the problem. Don't address it. Run away and hide from it...
2) Quickly grab a rug, book, chair, or something else big enough and cover it up. If they can't see it, it is no longer a problem.
3) Take responsibility for the mess, learn how to eat food without spilling it.. all part of growing up.

OK.. enough with the fond memories...
The technology available to us as people is unbelievably immense and is changing every second. I just saw that Microsoft is developing something that enables you to use your palm or arm as a touch screen to dial a number or text... is this unbelievable??? Yes... it sure is. Technology doesn't slow down for anyone. It is up to you whether you choose to (or are able to) keep up.

One resource that I have really embraced and used as a resource for learning is Youtube (which has been bought by Google btw). I upload our class's music videos to it. I favorite videos that I then use in my instruction. I can search on a moment's notice in attempt to find content that I can use.

At this year's ASSET conference, I presented Youtube as one of the resources that educators can embrace. The participants at the workshop were excited to start working with it. I spoke about how my co-teacher and I were teaching a lesson on nutrition, and a student asked what the difference was between the various types of milks.... a search and I found this:



The discussion then went to how we make sure that milk is free from bacteria. Enter a video on Pasteurization:



In last week's blog assignment, my students were asked to identify which character or characters they most connected with, and them list character traits that support their choice(s). I found a great video by the Author of this book discussing challenges and triumphs of writing. I put it on the blog for the class to see.



In science, our class is creating Public Service Announcements for other kids about electrical safety. The project is anchored in our unit of electricity. Students are using our collaborative wikispace as a place to store the information and facts that they have gathered through their research. I won't list them here, but I have sample PSAs that my students refer back to as they create their own. Here is a PSA on nutrition by our very dear friend "Cookie Monster".



Before we even started using the wiki, I used this excellent video by Common Craft to reinforce the concept of a wiki after I introduced it:



Look.. I could go on and on about how I have been finding value in it.. but we all know that technology is a two sided sword. As Peter Parker's Uncle Ben said: "With great power comes great responsibility!" There is a ton of valuable 'stuff' on youtube, but there is also a lot of junk. Youtube is a stage where the whole world can be an actor on. 10 or 20 years ago it would have taken A BUNCH of money and connections for your video to be seen around the world. Not all of us are named Spielberg, Lucas, or Coppola, but nearly anyone can record a quick video (flip camera, digital camcorder or even a cheap web cam if your laptop doesn't have one) and upload it for the planet to see.

What do we do? We monitor our kids while they are in the lab or the classroom. We embed videos on our blogs and wikis so that they don't have to be in the "Youtube" site and see things like comments and related videos. We screen videos BEFORE we use them to ensure that they are appropriate for our classroom. We try our best to teach them how to use technology responsibly and to respect each other's views and opinions.

So what can you do about this resources, its values, and its dangers?

Well.. remember that spill?

You could:
1) Don't face the problem. Don't address it. Run away and hide from it...
2) Quickly get an Internet filtering program big enough and cover it up. If they can't see it, it is no longer a problem.
3) Take responsibility for the mess, learn how to use online video correctly and show our students how to do the same.. all part of growing up.

Now where did I put that Bounty roll? Comments welcome.