I have a friend who I have worked with since my student teaching days. Since the beginning of her teaching career, she has felt a call to work in an inner city school, and has done an incredible job fulfiling that call. She is an incredible friend and a great teacher.
We spent many a Thursday night together while we were working towards our masters degrees. From these classes, I know that she puts everything she has into being a great teacher. She is an advocate for the district and out studnets. She defends both to any critics who complain about what we do or how we do it.
Teaching children is everything to her. If a child is struggling to learn, she does everything in her power to figure out why and to find a way to ease the struggle. She is one of the best teachers I have had the pleasure of knowing.
Our district, like many across the country, is at a time of financial difficulty. As a way to save money, they have decided to cut all the part time positions from the district for next year. This effects my friend since she has been working 1/2 while her children are small.
For 8 years she has poured her heart into teaching and given the district everything she has. She has bettered herself as a professional, created lasting bonds with students and touched countless lives. But to the district, she was simply a name on a pay check... a way to balance the budget.
Many questions came to mind when I heard the news. What is a district coming to when they have to cut teachers? Is there really no where else they can find to save money? Does the district know that by cutting all 1/2 time positions, they risk losing some incredibly qualified teachers?
My friend is trying to look at the positive - perhaps the decision is not yet final. If it is, perhaps it will lead to new opportunities that she loves just as much as teaching. I to, want to keep the mood of this blog as positive as possible. But sometimes, when you put so much into a profession, you expect a little bit more in return.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Reclaiming the Playground
My classroom has some of the best windows in the school - we have a bird's eye view of the playground. It is always entertaining to peer out the window around lunch time and watch the kids at play. It is a sight that, until today, I hadn't seen since December.
Back in December, we had a huge snow storm. The snow was cleared from the sidewalks and parking-lots around the school. The problem with clearing the snow though, was that it had to go... somewhere. And this year, the somewhere for us was directly in the middle of the path to the playground. 13+ inches of cleared snow can make for a pretty large pile. I know the pile was close to 5 feet tall. I am going to guess it was about 15 feet wide. It was a large pile. Since the temperature has rarely passed 30 degrees in the last 3 months, the pile has not shrunk at all. We can hardly remember the last time the kids could go out to play on the playground.
Enter - our 6th grade teacher. She took a big problem and made an amazing, teachable moment from it. At her direction, the staff all volunteered their snow shovels and the 6th grade students went outside to attack the pile. It wasn't easy work - the pile was pretty much solid ice. But the kids worked very hard. They chipped away at it for close to 3 hours. There were "choppers" and "shovelers" and even a "brigade" of students to shuffle the larger chunks out of the way.
The project had so many positive benefits. Amazing things can be learned from hard work in the fresh air. As the younger grades gleefully rushed out to recess today, the 6th graders saw the amazing joy their hard work had created. They saw how much can be accomplished by working together. It is something they are very proud of - as they should be. I hope they remember for quite a while the time they reclaimed the playground from the gods of winter!
Back in December, we had a huge snow storm. The snow was cleared from the sidewalks and parking-lots around the school. The problem with clearing the snow though, was that it had to go... somewhere. And this year, the somewhere for us was directly in the middle of the path to the playground. 13+ inches of cleared snow can make for a pretty large pile. I know the pile was close to 5 feet tall. I am going to guess it was about 15 feet wide. It was a large pile. Since the temperature has rarely passed 30 degrees in the last 3 months, the pile has not shrunk at all. We can hardly remember the last time the kids could go out to play on the playground.
Enter - our 6th grade teacher. She took a big problem and made an amazing, teachable moment from it. At her direction, the staff all volunteered their snow shovels and the 6th grade students went outside to attack the pile. It wasn't easy work - the pile was pretty much solid ice. But the kids worked very hard. They chipped away at it for close to 3 hours. There were "choppers" and "shovelers" and even a "brigade" of students to shuffle the larger chunks out of the way.
The project had so many positive benefits. Amazing things can be learned from hard work in the fresh air. As the younger grades gleefully rushed out to recess today, the 6th graders saw the amazing joy their hard work had created. They saw how much can be accomplished by working together. It is something they are very proud of - as they should be. I hope they remember for quite a while the time they reclaimed the playground from the gods of winter!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Winter Blues
Every year it seems, late February and early March are especially trying times at school. I am not exactly sure what leads to the gloom... the weather... exhaustion... stress.... It's hard to say.
The glamor of a new year has long since worn off. The time when you can blame behavior issues on unknown routines is past. The tests that we work so hard to pass are upon us... accompanied by a nagging fear that we are not yet ready for them. We haven't gone outside for recess since before Christmas. Saturday school has begun as one more effort to pass all the tests so both staff and studnets are working 6 days a week. As I have said - it is a tough time of year.
I haven't found too much I can to to ward this feeling off, so I look for cures. Part of it is simply relying on past experience to know that it will get better. The test will get done, the snow will melt and, if all else fails, come August we get to start all over. Some of it is turning to friends and family - venting my frustrations seems to make them a little less. Misery loves company so fellow teachers are also a great source of strength for me - fellow teachers can understand my stress with very little explanation - they just get it.
Spring is coming - the gloom of winter never lasts as long as it seems it is going to. So on these last days of winter I need to focus on the coming spring. And if all else fails, Starburst jellybeans always reappear in stores at this time of year in preparation for Easter.
The glamor of a new year has long since worn off. The time when you can blame behavior issues on unknown routines is past. The tests that we work so hard to pass are upon us... accompanied by a nagging fear that we are not yet ready for them. We haven't gone outside for recess since before Christmas. Saturday school has begun as one more effort to pass all the tests so both staff and studnets are working 6 days a week. As I have said - it is a tough time of year.
I haven't found too much I can to to ward this feeling off, so I look for cures. Part of it is simply relying on past experience to know that it will get better. The test will get done, the snow will melt and, if all else fails, come August we get to start all over. Some of it is turning to friends and family - venting my frustrations seems to make them a little less. Misery loves company so fellow teachers are also a great source of strength for me - fellow teachers can understand my stress with very little explanation - they just get it.
Spring is coming - the gloom of winter never lasts as long as it seems it is going to. So on these last days of winter I need to focus on the coming spring. And if all else fails, Starburst jellybeans always reappear in stores at this time of year in preparation for Easter.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Candy
My top left desk drawer has become a bit of a school legend. I keep it well stocked with candy and am happy to share with anyone who is in need. It is a community effort really - anytime the supply gets low, someone gladly restocks.
Sometimes word spreads and the drawer gets a fist time visitor. A teacher will come to my room with a slightly panicked look in their eyes caused by a bit too much stress. They will whisper to me that they hear I have candy. I assure them that what they have head is true and open the drawer to reveal the choices. It really is impressive, I must admit (as the drawer has grown in fame, I have moved virtually everything else out of it. It currently holds some lotion, my toothbrush and candy). When the stock is t its fullest I have to squash it down a bit to make the drawer close and it all pops back up when the drawer is open. There is always chocolate - peanut MandMs being the favorite of most of us. Usually their are a few fruity choices also.
I have recently noticed that you can read the stress of the building by how fast the Peanut MandMs are consumed. In the stress free days of late August a single bag of MandMs might last for 3 or more weeks. But come February (with snow, and tests... meetings and deadlines) a bag is lucky to last a week.
We do have a stressful job - that is unlikely to change any time soon- but is is amazing what a little chocolate can do for your mood!
Sometimes word spreads and the drawer gets a fist time visitor. A teacher will come to my room with a slightly panicked look in their eyes caused by a bit too much stress. They will whisper to me that they hear I have candy. I assure them that what they have head is true and open the drawer to reveal the choices. It really is impressive, I must admit (as the drawer has grown in fame, I have moved virtually everything else out of it. It currently holds some lotion, my toothbrush and candy). When the stock is t its fullest I have to squash it down a bit to make the drawer close and it all pops back up when the drawer is open. There is always chocolate - peanut MandMs being the favorite of most of us. Usually their are a few fruity choices also.
I have recently noticed that you can read the stress of the building by how fast the Peanut MandMs are consumed. In the stress free days of late August a single bag of MandMs might last for 3 or more weeks. But come February (with snow, and tests... meetings and deadlines) a bag is lucky to last a week.
We do have a stressful job - that is unlikely to change any time soon- but is is amazing what a little chocolate can do for your mood!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Fun Quotes
Some fun things I read in my students writing papers:
"Next we put our pants on" (The previous paragraph describes how he was playing on a water slide - FYI)
"They din nint find me" (That is "didn't" spelled as two words... the student was consistent in his spelling of the word - it showed up 3 more times in the same paragraph..!)
"I didn't want to walk because it was 100% outside"
Overall I think the kids did a great job...! Hopefully the people who score their papers agree!
"Next we put our pants on" (The previous paragraph describes how he was playing on a water slide - FYI)
"They din nint find me" (That is "didn't" spelled as two words... the student was consistent in his spelling of the word - it showed up 3 more times in the same paragraph..!)
"I didn't want to walk because it was 100% outside"
Overall I think the kids did a great job...! Hopefully the people who score their papers agree!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
High Stakes
Our 4th graders started a high stakes writing test today. On the surface it seems like a very simple test. The students each write a personal narrative story on a given topic. We collect their papers, send them to the state to be scored and wait anxiously for the results.
The tricky part... we have to have at least 63% of our kids score above the state cut score (which will not be determined until all the papers have been scored). If we don't reach that magic number, than the whole school automatically fails to pass AYP.
Knowing the stakes of this test we have been practicing for more than a year. Every day for 45 min. our 4th graders practice writing to a prompt. We teacher them exactly what to do. They learn how to fill in a story frame. They practice starting with a hook, including words from the prompt in their first paragraph, and looking up the spelling of unknown words. After so much practice, they know EXACTLY what to do.
But just in case that isn't enough - we add some lucky charms. We play Motzart while they write and provide them with an endless supply of "smart mints" (peppermint has been shown to stimulate brain growth).
Never the less, I was pretty nervous as I read the prompt to my students and watched them get to work. With the winter Olympics looming, I started to think of how a coach must feel as they watch their athlete preform. Months or years of practice, all for one moment in time. One chance. One performance. You do everything in your power to ensure that they are prepared but when the moment comes it is just them. You have to stand back and watch.
The test will continue tomorrow (they have 40 min. on 2 consecutive days to complete their story). Since I have snuck a peek at their work thus far, I will likely be slightly less nervous tomorrow but I am sure it will still be stressful to watch.
And if it is stressful for me to watch, I have to wonder what it is like for my students to actually be preforming.
The tricky part... we have to have at least 63% of our kids score above the state cut score (which will not be determined until all the papers have been scored). If we don't reach that magic number, than the whole school automatically fails to pass AYP.
Knowing the stakes of this test we have been practicing for more than a year. Every day for 45 min. our 4th graders practice writing to a prompt. We teacher them exactly what to do. They learn how to fill in a story frame. They practice starting with a hook, including words from the prompt in their first paragraph, and looking up the spelling of unknown words. After so much practice, they know EXACTLY what to do.
But just in case that isn't enough - we add some lucky charms. We play Motzart while they write and provide them with an endless supply of "smart mints" (peppermint has been shown to stimulate brain growth).
Never the less, I was pretty nervous as I read the prompt to my students and watched them get to work. With the winter Olympics looming, I started to think of how a coach must feel as they watch their athlete preform. Months or years of practice, all for one moment in time. One chance. One performance. You do everything in your power to ensure that they are prepared but when the moment comes it is just them. You have to stand back and watch.
The test will continue tomorrow (they have 40 min. on 2 consecutive days to complete their story). Since I have snuck a peek at their work thus far, I will likely be slightly less nervous tomorrow but I am sure it will still be stressful to watch.
And if it is stressful for me to watch, I have to wonder what it is like for my students to actually be preforming.
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