Random Thoughts

One of THOSE Teachers

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I am one of THOSE teachers.

I will always fight for my students.

I will speak out when I feel something is wrong.

I will point out issues.

I. Will. Speak. Out.

I will fight for equity, fairness, and what is right. While I am labeled as ‘one of those teachers’ and it’s meant to discredit my words. It’s meant to silence me. It’s meant to send a message to others.

So, yes, I am one of THOSE teachers. I can only hope that the right people, those that CAN make a difference, ignore the label and do the right thing.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

NOTE: This is not about one thing in particular. I have been labeled this several times over the years and felt the need to express my frustration at this label which is meant to encourage others to ignore what I say.

Tales From Quarantineland

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This week started online learning with my 5th-graders and I continue to learn new things about life, myself, and how to pass the time.

Google Draw RabbitMy students and I are getting used to the new format. We are doing fun things this week. Yesterday we did a small scavenger hunt. Today we drew rabbit pictures in Google Draw. We will continue to do fun things as a group. For those that are unable to join us, there is a video of the lesson. They also have the opportunity to earn badges.

Again, my dogs are loving life! We have been going for walks daily. We have even been on two walks on some days! I love hanging out with my pups! I also do yoga daily with the puppies, of course. I’ve also been able to run, still looking for the motivation to do that more.

Then there is the bad ‘reality’ tv. I have been known to binge-watch train wreck shows such as Bridezilla, 90-Day Fiance, and Vapid Wives of Where Ever. Okay, the last one isn’t a real title, but you get my point. I do have standards, though. None of the K family nonsense. My current binge is 90-Day Fiance Happily Ever After? This is so bad, I’m hooked! Where do they find these people? And it’s clear that some of the scenes are scripted.

Finally, I speak to my dad daily. He’s in the high-risk category with severe COPD. He hasn’t left his home in over a month. My dad and I are not big phone talkers. It’s not uncommon for one of us to announce, “I’ve got nothing else to say, so I’m going to go.” So we have come up with a game. Each day one of us comes up with a topic: Simpsons, 6-Star General, Board Games, whatever strikes our fancy. Then the next day, we report out and try to outdo one another. I’m having fun learning new things.

Well, that’s all for now.

What I’ve Learned From Quarantine

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I’ve only been out of my house 3 times in the last 10 days. And those were limited. As a homebody, introvert, I’m good with it! However, a few things have begun to emerge:

  • Personal hygiene has become optional – I’m pretty stinky.
  • One armpit is stinkier than the other.
  • My dogs still love me, no matter how stinky I am.
  • I finally found the time to clean some things.
  • I suck at dealing with paperwork.
  • I got started on clearing out my garden in preparation for the upcoming year.
  • I’m way more like my dad than I care to admit.
  • This week has made me more serene.
    • Homebody
    • Dad: Now that they told me I can’t go out, I want to. (re my rebellious side)
  • My extroverted friends went nuts after 3 days.
  • I do need to walk outside every day; even if it’s to check the mail.
  • I’m still doing laundry regularly. Go me!
  • I will either come out with a drinking problem or being able to run a 10K.
    • Yeah, some of you may think I already have/do both. You’re half correct. But which half? haha
  • I need to step up my stretchy pants game!

 

Before – paper problem
After

The Other ‘F’ Word

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The other ‘F’ Word

Anyone who knows me knows what my favorite ‘F’ word is. I say it a lot! But this time I’m talking about the Other ‘F’ Word: FIDELITY to the Curriculum. How many times have teachers heard this in staff meetings, PD, newsletters, or collaboration? I know I have heard it A LOT the last few years. And it makes me want to hurt someone.

And here we are living in a very different world than we were just a week ago. California schools are not in regular session, we are all hunkering down in our homes, and districts are scrambling to figure out what to do and how. You know what I haven’t heard? “Fidelity to the Curriculum’. That has been a nice change.

I have seen teachers mobilize, create and share resources, and rise to the occasion. I have been actively brushing up on apps, watching my feeds for ideas, and listening to others. I am amazed at how awesome teachers truly are. One thing I haven’t heard is ‘Fidelity to Curriculum’. And you know what is happening? Awesome things. Creative things. Inspiring things. Innovative things. Teachers are AMAZEBALLZ! Yeah, with a Z!

What can the education world: nation, state, county, districts learn from this?

we got this

Get out of our way! We don’t need curriculums. We got this! We don’t need you to micromanage every minute of our day. We know what we are doing. We are better together. We have banned together to create great things for our kiddos. WE are getting it done. WE are leading the way. What can the education world learn? Teachers will lead. Teachers will get it done. Teachers wait for NO company.

Get out of our way and let us teach!

We have proven to be the leaders in this. We can’t forget the companies that have stepped up to help us out. Although, I am giving them the side-eye. They’re like the crack dealer getting you hooked then wanting money. I haven’t seen one curriculum company step up. I’m sure the testing companies are sad not to tell us how much we, as teachers, suck. We, the teachers, got this. Get out of our way!

Moving forward

So what will this look like in a year from now? My biggest hope is that real education reform will happen. We will change how we deliver content to students. I’m not talking about distance learning. I don’t think it would work well in my community. What I’m saying is that we will move away from ‘Fidelity to Curriculum’ and more to creativity and teacher autonomy. Can you imagine teachers working together to create innovative and exciting lessons? That’s what’s happening now! It’s across districts, counties, and states. I really want districts, counties, and states to take note and make changes.

Believe in your teachers! We are proving day after day that ‘we got this’. We don’t need no stinkin’ curriculum.

Keep being awesome teachers! We got this!

Credit to Kim Voge @KVoge71 for the title.

Words Matter

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Tonight was Back to School Night. Our school has done it the night before school starts for over a decade. I like it as it helps everyone’s anxiety.

This year I tried something new. I asked parents to write words of encouragement to the 5th-Graders. The words they write were amazing! The families were so thoughtful. I will definitely continue this tradition. This is some of what they wrote:

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Pinterest Classroom

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It’s summer and I”m doing what most teachers do; reflecting, researching, and preparing for the upcoming school year. Yeah, I know it’s still June, it’s what I do. Recently, I joined a teacher Facebook group. It’s great. Teachers are asking questions, looking for ideas, gathering resources, and the like. Then there was a run on teachers asking about classroom themes and names. This got me thinking.

art artistic beautiful bright
Photo by Rakesh Naidu on Pexels.com

You see, I don’t ‘pimp out’ my room with a theme or a cutesy name. I never have. I’d like to say that it’s because of some philosophical reason but sadly, it boils down to sheer laziness. I mean, that’s a lot of extra work. I”m am definitely NOT the type of person who is all on board with creating more work for myself. And so seeing all these teachers being enthusiastic about themes and names (i.e. Ms. N’s RockStars) had me reevaluating my thoughts on the subject.

I came to the conclusion that I’m STILL not going to do that. Why? a lot of the same reasons: I don’t create extra work for myself. But looking at it deeper, why would I want to? Personally, I like to focus my creativity on lessons. I rarely do the same lesson twice. I don’t reinvent the wheel each year, I tweak or change up lessons based on latest research, tools, and needs of my students.

I’m not creating a ‘Pinterest Classroom’; it doesn’t help my students. It might make me feel good to have a cutesy room and others might look at it and think it’s cute too, but that’s not my job. My goal is to help my students learn and succeed. That’s not to say that I don’t try to create an organized classroom; I do. I try to create a safe, calming, relaxing, and a caring classroom. So if your looking for a cute ‘Pinterest’ classroom with a fun name; my classroom isn’t for you. If you’re looking for innovative lessons with successes and failures; look no further.

Listen Then Respond

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pexels-photo-604897.jpegStop and listen to one another. This is something we have been taught since we were children. Yet, in this age of instant communication, I have noticed that we talk more and listen less. Listening, to me, means to take a moment to process what the other person has said or written. We seem to wait politely until there is a break so that we can have our say. We’re doing it wrong.

This has become more and more apparent in a social media context. Recently, I wrote a blog post and shared it on different social media. I admit that I did put a ‘catchy’ question in the headline as my ‘hook’. This is where I noticed things took a turn in the comments. What I quickly noticed was that several didn’t read what I wrote, rather formed an opinion based on the hook. This then lead others to read the comments and form their own opinions and comment. Let me be clear; all the opinions were valid and welcome. My fear is that this is happening quite a lot on various posts and articles; not just on what I write, but on political posts, social issue posts, etc.

We teach our students to read for facts; form opinions based on research. We want our students to think critically and consider all sides of an issue. However, in our daily lives, we aren’t practicing this. I get it; there is so much information being thrown at us from various directions it’s easy to forget to STOP AND LISTEN. Maybe we should be a bit more selective in what we respond to; what we ‘listen’ to. From now on I plan to STOP, LISTEN/READ, and take a moment to understand the information or viewpoint. And, I don’t always have to respond.

How Was Your Break?

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pexels-photo-551590.jpegThis is one question I try not to ask. This and “Did you have a good break?” When dealing with many students from differing backgrounds, it’s easy to forget that not everyone has a ‘good break’. It’s a natural question for many of us to ask. We come back not really ready to be back. I mean, we all love to sleep in and get things done around the house or hang with family/friends or go on trips. But for many students coming back to school is a welcome break from their home lives.  And for that reason, I no longer ask students these questions.

I write this because I was reminded over my break that not all our students have ideal home lives. Some are dealing with the threat of a parent being deported or being evicted from their homes. Others are visiting a parent in jail over the holidays. Some don’t have money for presents. And yet others have had to deal with trauma and situations we can’t imagine. For these students, school IS their safe place; school is a welcome break from their everyday lives.

So what do I do? What do I say to my students when they come back? I’ve found that questions and statements such as: “I’m so happy to see you,” or “Are you glad to be back?” work well. “Are you glad to be back?” allows students to tell me about their trips to Mexico, all the toys they received, or the family they spent time with.  While allowing those in less than ideal situations to feel safe to say, “Yes, I’m happy to be back.” Many times they follow that statement with, “It was so boring.” Knowing their lives, I know this isn’t really the case, but rather they are happy to feel safe for 7 hours out of their day.

And it’s not just our students who don’t always have ‘good breaks’. Some of our colleagues have had to deal with situations that were less than an ideal Holiday. Remember: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle,” – Ian Maclaren.

Facebook Notifications

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Many of us use a variety of social media outlets to collaborate, collect information and new ideas, and learn. One that I am using more and more is Facebook. There are several great groups to be a part of there. However, one thing that drives me batty is the ‘follow’ or ‘.’ in a thread. I understand why it’s done – to get the information when someone posts – but am still driven crazy by it.

Facebook allows you to ‘turn on notifications’ on a post without all the ‘follow’ in a thread. By turning on the notifications, you will receive all the comments without cluttering the thread with ‘follow’ or ‘.’. And it’s easy to do!

In a post, click on the three dots that appear in the right corner of the post. One of the options will be ‘turn on notifications’. That’s it!

FB Notification

Mathematical Mindsets

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Mathematical Mindsets book by Jo BoalerThis year, as a parting gift, my principal handed out this book to all returning and new staff members. We were invited to participate in a Summer Book Club. One in which we read, post thoughts, videos, questions, and ideas. This made me so happy! I had thought about buying the book earlier this year when my principal told me to hold off and that he was buying one for all of us. So for the last 2 weeks of school, I hounded him to let me take my copy. He wouldn’t give it to me until I signed out of my room. Tricky man! (NOTE: I NEVER ask to read a book. I have some reading disabilities that make ‘heavier’ readings difficult for me)

So a few of us have started the book and are making our notes/comments in the provided document; my principal created a shared doc in Google. I appreciate this way as I can read what others have written and get a general sense of what’s to come. The most recent chapter, Chapter 3, really caught my attention. In it, the author talks about how students view math vs. mathematicians view math. Students tend to view it as procedures, rules, and/or calculations. However, mathematicians tend to see it as creative, beautiful, and full of patterns. It was the sentiment that math is a study of patterns that made me take notice.

I have, for years, told my students that math was about patterns. That it was like a puzzle one needed to solve. I have always viewed math as a series of patterns and puzzles. I remember when I was in Kindergarten, a friend and I were talking. She was bragging how she could count to 100 while I could only count to 20. This irritated me. I wanted to count to 100 too. I remember going home and working this problem out in my room. Why I didn’t ask my mother is beyond me. But I was a stubborn kid (and for those of you who know me now, I’m still pretty stubborn). I remember looking at the numbers and ‘analyzing’ them. I thought, “If I can count to 20, then I can figure out how to count to 100.” And as I looked at the numbers, I saw a pattern. The numbers repeated. I began to realize that once the numbers in the one’s place (although I didn’t know place value at the time) were done, they started over again. And the numbers in the ten’s place began at 1, then went to 2 when all the numbers in the one’s place had been used. I had figured out the problem and went to school the next day bragging that I too, could count to 100.

Part of my success with math has come from A) a reading disability, so I gravitated towards math, and B) the fact that I was able to play and manipulate numbers on my own, okay and C) just being a plain old stubborn kid! We need to help students view math as patterns. We need to get over our own fear of math. We need to explore and allow conversations to happen in math. This is where the learning happens and a love of math will develop.

This is such a great book! Full of inspiration. I’m so glad we are reading it as a staff.

One final note: From grades 2 – 6 I was convinced I was going to grow up to be a mathematician. While that’s not my occupation, I’d say that I am one! We all are!