Is the Grass Really Greener or is it Artificial Turf?

Oh.. the joy of being a classroom teacher.

We are generalists in out duties, but we immerse ourselves in every subject in an effort to become specialists in all that we explore with our students. We are told that something is a top priority, along with 100 other things that are as well. We explore new educational strategies and instructional models in an effort to give our students the best learning environment in a sincere effort to reach all learning styles and both engage and challenge every student at all times through all subject areas.

To be honest, I sometimes feel like a professional juggler. Having said that, I wouldn't want it any other way. I love the rush and the unpredictability of the classroom, BUT.....

The technology projects that I also love to do are getting tougher and tougher to tackle with my students. The pace of the day and the limited time I can work and devote to them can suck the life out of many things. I have started to blog with my students as of last week, and they are really loving it. As a matter of fact, I am anxious to see their articles this week. My mind has been racing with music video ideas and how I can tie one to a curriculum area that we are currently exploring. (My last 2 classes have made such videos, and they were incredibly motivating and fun reteaching opportunities. They also help me to gauge what other projects my students would like to tackle.)

Lately I have been looking at the role of a technology teacher, and to be quite honest there is much that interests me. A technology teacher has more freedom to interpret the curriculum and create projects that leap "off the page" so to speak. They also must collaborate with the classroom teacher to ensure that it is anchored in curriculum. I am sure that it is not all smiles and bubble gum though, as there are some tasks in the role that might not be as rewarding. My main concern is the connection that I wrote about in my last entry. When you are a 'specials area' teacher, is there less 'ownership' of a class? I hate to definitively say "no", but from my point of view there would have to be. You are seeing almost the entire student population and not just those 23-26 kids that you are the primary person responsible for. That connection (for me) is one of the biggest rewards of teaching. I wonder how things would feel different if I was not their classroom teacher.

I'm not going anywhere, but it doesn't hurt to wonder. I'm just wondering aloud I guess.

Connections: text to self, text to text, text to world, class to self

My class has been exploring the characteristics of good reading. One of the things we learn that good readers do is make connections to literature to make what they are reading more meaningful, more relevant and to enhance comprehension.
When I think about what is the best about teaching, the connection with the students is one of the first that comes to my mind. We spend so much of the day with them, and we become partners in what we learn, explore and share. We model for learning academic skills, acceptable behavior and social interaction. It is the connection with the classroom and my students that makes teaching truly fulfilling.
I am also lucky enough to keep in touch with some of my students after they leave me. I do see my kids when they are in 5th grade, but now as my former classes get older, they move into middle and high school.
One rather touching moment was my birthday. I received a few emails and cards from students that had moved on from the walls of room 25. That really touched me. I am honored to played a role in their lives, and I thank them most graciously for doing the same for me.

Cheers.

New Year, New Challenges, New Opportunities

Here I sit three weeks into the new school year. I am just a few days from introducing the concept of blogging to them, and still I am reviewing and approving entries that are still being created by the students that I had last year. If that isn't encouragement to keep blogging, I don't know what is.

As I get to know my class both as learners, as a team and as individuals, the ideas flow like a waterfall around me. What will we be able to do? How will we be able to grow? What strengths and interests do they possess that will steer us in some new direction? How will I keep things moving and interesting/fun for them?

For back to school night, I used my Flip camera to have the students tell their families the curriculum instead of hearing it from me. I went with a Star Wars theme for the movie, called "Grade Four", and it came out really nice. It also told me that filming in the second week of school might be too soon for these kids. They were not used to such projects, and they weren't even used to me yet. Last year's kids... well they were ready but we were doing videos later in the year.

Call me insane, but now I sit here taking a break from making a new music video detailing the scientific method, which is what we have been exploring lately. As I rummage through song after song looking for that perfect beat that can be used, I still wonder if my timing is too aggressive.

Yesterday, I told my class that we might be doing a music video. They have all no doubt seen or heard about the videos that my last two classes have made, and they seemed very excited. As I did with the DMSB video, I asked them to brainstorm vocabulary and concepts pertaining to the scientific method. They went through their notes and worked in collaborative groups for about 10 minutes, and you could feel the energy in the room. We collected our words and created a class wordle that now sits poster sized in the front of the room.

Scientific method is an important part of our curriculum. It is used throughout the year embedded in the units that we explore. I know this will be fun for them, and of course I know that I will be busting my butt to get it done. I do worry that they still might not be ready, but hey.. this is the fourth week already. Let's get moving!

Happy school year to all of my fellow educators.. less than 10 months to go! :)

August Already?

Back to school sales? Are you kidding? I first saw them in early July and I was floored. How about seeing Halloween decorations in late July? Why are they rushing us through the summer??? Oh, and what a great summer so far! Even though there is still half a summer left, the teachers out there will understand that the seed of school has already been planted in our brains. Even if we have no set foot in our classrooms yet, our minds are already racing with lesson ideas, goals, state assessments, class personalities, and the challenges of a new year.

I have just recently completed my second masters degree in Educational Technology, and I have passed the NYS Ed Tech certification test (YAY!). As I spend another few weeks soaking in those accomplishments, I must remember that in the real world classroom they are worthless unless the skills that I have leared are applied.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I love incorporating technology as both an extension of curriculum and just 'for fun'. I have been blogging with my classroom for 2 years. I have used collaborative wikis for two years (but last year was my first true successful year with it in my opinion). I like creating multimedia projects with my kids, and last year's class was able to truly take the video bull by the horns and create some great movies.

I am hopeful for this new year, as I usually am. I hope to be able to do more with new class both with and without technology. I will be working with a teacher that i really respect and that I am proud to call a friend. The state assessments seem to have moved along the calendar, so there will be challenges there as well.

Lots of challenges.. but who wants to be bored, anyway? But, no matter what the advertising executives tell you.. there's a whole lot of summer left.

Promise Not To Tell?

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I really like my class. I like how they respect each other, listen to each other, work with each other and communicate with each other. They communicate mostly in person and also through their blogs. They have tackled projects that I had never done before, and they have done a beautiful job. They have embraced what we have explored and created in a way that makes me proud as their teacher and hopeful as a person. I cannot believe that summer is here already.

Don't get me wrong. This year has been a lot of work (just don't ask the non-teachers that think we have it made for some!). We work our 'butts' off for 10 months and then spend the better half of the other 2 months either planning for, thinking about or trying not to think about the 10 that are coming next. I have a summer full of my own learning, family vacation and maybe even some sleeping late (if my kids can accommodate Dad's wishes). I am also finishing my graduate studies in Educational Technology (yay me!)

I just gave my class their digital yearbooks today. I have been doing them for every class for each of my 5 years of teaching. They are multimedia movies of our experiences in fourth grade. As a result of my own explorations and technical growth, each successive year has a "better" yearbook. They also tend to get longer. This year's video contains images and video with audio that I created by myself. I played with mixing and changing the speed. I am proud of it, and my kids absolutely loved it. Giving the yearbooks away is bittersweet for me. On one hand, they enjoy it and they cheer as they watch and relive our fourth grade memories. On the other hand, it means that the school year is really coming to a close and we must say farewell.

We all know 'those kids' that drive you totally nuts sometimes, but you would never trade them away. I have had quite a few, and I have a few this year. Today, I recieved something from a student that just totally blew me away. It was a note. It was a note in which this student expressed gratitude and happiness for the fourth grade experience that they had. It was so deeply anchored; it wasn't a "Hey Mr. D You Rock!" note. I read it a few times to myself, and I even shared it with a colleague. It wasn't to brag; lord knows I despise bragging... it was to share the fundamental joy that it brings to see a child appreciate what they were a part of. I am not a rarity in my school either. There are so many wonderful teachers in my school that go so far beyond the call of duty that perhaps students don't stop and think "Wow. My classroom really is a special place!" Not all of my teachers were so wonderful, but I will never forget those teachers that really played a role in my life. Thank you Mrs. Josell, my first grade teacher. Thank you Mrs. Rumore, my high school Spanish teacher. Thank you Professor Mandel, my college marketing teacher. This student wrote "I have another spot in my heart for you!". Wow... is there any accolade higher than that? Who knows... maybe one day this student will be blogging a similar article writing "Thank you Mr. Dugger, my fourth grade teacher."

I can only hope. Have a great summer everyone.

What's The Matter With Kids These Days?

What do you visualize when you think of that line? For me, I envision three older gentlemen sitting on something like a park bench or waiting in a barber shop. We all know it goes. Every generation says that it had it tougher than the one that comes after. We know how our parents walked uphill 10 miles to school both ways. We know how you didn't have more than one pencil so you made it last the whole year. We also know how you didn't waste one piece of food since children in other parts of the world were starving.

All too often, I hear adults speaking about how kids don't care about the world around them. Kids today and their "instant gratification" resources, video games that glamourize violence and crime and they can't do any real work because everything is handed to them. They don't care about anything or anyone but themselves. Ironically, the very people that now fight so much to "save the world" or whatever aspect of it they are on a crusade to protect is more than likely part of the generation that was responsible for its destruction or degradation. Our children should be educated on the issues that face the world, as they will truly inherit them.

I first watched this video by Don Tapscotta few months ago. It really got me thinking:

A few weeks ago, a classmate from my EdTech program that teaches middle school social studies showed me the following video. You may have seen it:

This "Lost Generation" movie really touched me. Watch the first half and you will be depressed, but at the end of the whole video you will be hopeful or at least a bit more optimistic than before.

I wanted to show "Lost Generation" to my class, but I was wondering if it might be over their collective heads. I opened a discussion about their concerns. After we spoke about general classroom concerns, I asked them to think about the world around them. They spoke of the economy, the price of gas, the price of college now and when they will be attending, the war in Iraq, and global warming to name a few. I understand that their concers might echo those of their parents, but I would wager than the fact that they are "hyperconnected" (it might have been Will Richardson that I heard use that term) contributes much to their knowledge. When I was 9 or 10, my biggest concerns were my bicycle, where my friends would be after school, and maybe a math test looming on the horizon. I don't remember being concerned too about the world around me, at least not the world immediately local to me.

Knowing that my students were aware of issues "out there", I began by defining vocabulary that they might not know. I then started the the video. I watched their faces as they watched, and I paused it right at the middle when the woman's voice says "It is foolish to think that there is hope."

The lights went back on, and we spoke about how it made then feel. They said how pessimistic it seemed, and how they felt angry, depressing and sad.

Lights went back off, and we watched the rest of the video. I was impressed at how my class reacted. A few sentences in, and I heard a chorus of "oh!"s, "wow"s, and "cool"s. They really got it. I told them how they will be taking over the decision making and the direction choosing. I told them how they must be informed with good information, and most importantly, to remain hopeful and empowered.

I think of my own children, the problems they will inherit, and the resources that they might have available to them. They use media that is available to them that I rarely even came into contact with as a child. There is nothing the matter with kids these days, but I wonder if my classroom is uphill in both directions in the hallway...

Notes From The Other Side

"Here are some suggestions to help you do your best." Ask any of my students what that means, and more than likely they will tell "that's Mr. Dugger's spiel" (pronounced shpeel). When I administer the New York State assessments to my class, I tell them that NYS requires me to read a certain amount of text to them since it is a standardized test. When we do practice questions, I sometimes do "the spiel" as a way of getting them used to what they can expect to hear on the actual test day. By the time the test arrives, my "here are some suggestions" speaking part actually relaxes them a bit as they are used to it. Having said that, it is me, their very own teacher that knows them both as students and as individuals that is reading to them. It is me, their very own teacher that is personally invested in their collected and respective successes that is reading to them.

Today I found myself on the other side of the testing table. Here I was at a college that I had never been to waiting to take the New York State Educational Technology Specialist certification exam. I was sitting with other teachers (and teacher-to-bes) taking some incarnation of a certification exam.

I looked at the proctor. She was a woman who I had never before met. She did not know me from any of the other people in that room. I did not have the familiarity with my protcor that my students were afforded, yet I was just about to read her version of "the spiel" given to her by New York State as well.

90 multiple choice questions and one extended response essay later, I stepped out of the college with my fingers and toes crossed. There were questions about hardware, software, technology incorporation, and collaboration. I hope that I did my best.