It's About More Than the Academics

A student comes in and wants to share the book they just finished, or a great joke they've recently heard.

Or

In the middle of class, the lesson spurs a student to connect the learning to something they did over the weekend.

Or

Students ask to come in at lunch because they want a quiet place to eat, hang out, and complete homework.

What do you do? 

I want students to connect with me, tell me their stories, and see my room as a safe place to be. Some of my favorite parts of my day are these interactions. This is probably one of the best things I do in my classroom, in my students' opinion and mine. 

Learning and the school day is so much more than academics. A sense of belonging and self worth is needed for students to even be ready to learn. I encourage both of these by allowing students to be kids, humans if you will, rather than always being the student. My favorite time is lunch because there are always 5-10 students in my room, working, socializing, or just hanging out. Our conversations cover so many topics and we learn so much about each other. This in turn helps students make a connection to school that will ultimately help them be a successful learner. And, even though I have 45 minute class periods and we are always pressed for time, there will always be time for a student to share a connection. Yes, I have to be careful that we stay on topic and not take too much time away from our learning tasks, but the pay off for letting students share is worth it.

It's about letting kids be kids. Show them that your care goes far beyond how they perform in your class. 

This is part of the #youredustory blog challenge. It's not too late to join.

Is A the New Average? or How will I change the world?

"You're not going to believe what my dentist asked me yesterday when I went for my checkup!"

I wasn't expecting too much out of the ordinary, after all, my colleague and I talk often and about everything. 

"He asked if the kids were getting smarter because most of his young clients tell him they are getting all As." My colleague then told me she sarcastically replied to her dentist, "Don't you know that A is the new average?"

We happened to be walking to our classrooms while having this conversation, and I promptly halted at the words, "A is the new average". It is very apparent that we have this issue on our campus, several factors involved: inflated grades, parent expectations, etc. But what shocked me was that for the first time the greater community was beginning to see the problem, meaning it is a huge problem.

I'm not going to get into why we have this problem or what should be done to combat it because I have learned that I can only affect what I can control, with the hope that by sharing what I do will slowly help to bring about change. So as part of my #youredustory blog challenge, I want to talk about how I will make the world a better place by staying true to my practice in my classroom.

Staying true to my practice means taking the emphasis, as much as I can, away from letter grades. It is so ingrained, with every activity or assignment garnering questions like, "How many points is this worth?" or "Is this worth a large part of my grade?". My response is always, "Do you plan on doing less than your best?". My students look at me like I've busted them somehow. Well, I have.

I've busted them for playing the game of school. My students have been conditioned to complete to do, not, complete to learn. Staying true to my practice means providing engaging learning opportunities that give my students purpose and authenticity. By no means have I mastered this, but I'm getting better. Our latest writing activity was writing book reviews that were published in our library. Only 1 student out of 166 asked the aforementioned questions. I'm making strides.

Staying true to my practice also means focusing on process, not product. Experience tells me that if I help my students focus on process, then naturally the final products will be their best work. I like to also help students realize that when you work, you use all the resources that are available. Halfway through the year and I am beginning to see students pull out resources, ask to use them, and begging for more time because they haven't gotten to use them yet.

Making the world a better place means helping my students realize their potential in spite of a grade system that has their focus in other places. The more I can empower a student to become a learner through the practices I use as a teacher, then little by little I have the potential to change the world through these empowered learners. 

To change the world, it is not likely that I will do anything on a grand scale. To change the world, I will make decisions on a small scale that will increases the chances of my students changing the world on a larger scale.

This is part of the #youredustory blog challenge. It's not too late to join.

My #oneword 2015

Last December I started blogging after a bit of #edupressure and did pretty well posting up until August. I guess the start of a new school year got the best of me and now it's time to get back in the swing.

As I think about my #oneword for this year, I must first reflect on last year's, JOY. My plan was to have a Joy Jar to keep track of my joyful moments, but alas the jar stayed empty. "Oh No!" you must be thinking, but rest assured it didn't stay empty due to the lack of joyful moments. It stayed empty because I had to focus so hard on paying attention to my joyful moments that I never could remember to take the time to actually document them and put them in the jar. I struggled, had high highs and low lows, but was determined to find my joy. You know how they say that sometimes you have to hit bottom before you can get back to the top? Well that's what happened around April.

I had interviewed for a teaching position at another school in another district and didn't get it. Being the reflective person I am, I solicited feedback about my interview. Fortunately, the administrator who had interviewed me was honest. I had come off as rather negative in the interview and the committee didn't feel I would be a good fit. As it was hard to hear this, it was exactly what I needed to hear and the feedback made me hit my bottom. Who wants to seen a Negative Nelly? Certainly not me! From that point on I worked hard to find my joy. At the start of this current school year I made sure that I steered clear of negativity at my school and have worked hard to let what I can't control roll off my back. During Thanksgiving and Winter Break I was sure to focus on family and friends, rather than work, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Several friends and even my own mother commented that I seemed more content than they have seen me in a while.

Though I didn't completely follow my plan, I absolutely found more joy in 2014. As I continue to find more joy, this year's #oneword will be BALANCE.

Image Credit

Now that I have a handle on finding joy, I need to find the balance between my work and my personal life. I will have to be purposeful with decisions and be sure that I am providing myself with enough time to enjoy my family and friends, while also providing enough time to enjoy teaching. After all, if I am feeling balanced, my classroom will be balanced. This will allow me to have the right frame of mind to foster good relationships with my students and provide quality instruction. A balanced mind = a balanced life.

This is part of the #youredustory blog challenge. It's not too late to join.