tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27840626887046011892024-02-20T01:50:16.625-07:00How to Change a LifeA blog about the painful journey to become a better teacher - including all of the bumps that are involved.Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-42653573328494492012016-06-28T06:39:00.001-07:002016-06-28T07:14:33.645-07:00ISTE Day 1 Reflection<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Okay, so technically it is already the start of day 2, but seeing as I showed up for day 2 almost two hours early, I'm going to take this time to sit back and reflect on some of the highlights of yesterday.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sessions</span></b><br />
<span id="docs-internal-guid-4ca2db43-973d-9840-f957-a6ef636f0c35"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">BYOD: Actively Engage Students in Content and Practices with Interactive Simulations</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">This session was one of the paid BYOD I was able to get into with my ISTE membership and conference payment. It took a deeper dive into the </span><a href="http://phet.colorado.edu/" style="white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">PhET Interactive Simulations</a><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> offered by the University of Colorado Boulder. I've used this website before but only for Science Simulations. Since I teach elementary I never found many of them super helpful, but this session opened my eyes up to the </span><i style="white-space: pre-wrap;">math</i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> simulations they run. There was a mother lode here of information and these are for sure things I'm going to use.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-4ca2db43-9749-2351-fc99-adfcd72dcf01"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">From Digital Citizenship to Digital Leadership, Empowering Leaders through Social Media</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Hands down the <i>best </i>session so far. <a href="http://georgecouros.ca/blog/" target="_blank">George Couros</a> presented a compelling case for why we need to teach the generation how <i>to</i> use the web and Social Media and not just what <i>not</i> to do. All of our students know what they shouldn't do, and it's time for us to step up and take it further. He spoke about how every child has a voice these days, and we need to teach them how to use that voice and to empower that voice. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I really loved several of the quotes he used, for example, <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">"Literacy is not just about "reading and writing", it is about creating new opportunities." This is mind blowing for me. Literacy does not have to be a stand alone activity. It can be something we engage in together and an activity which makes the world a better place.</span></span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Another quote I loved was, </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">"Death, life, sadness, and happiness. All of which makes us human." Our online personas are who we are. This stuck me profoundly because I have several strong online relationships and connections with people I have never met. These are rich and loving friendships that it would hurt to lose as much as it would to lose a friend I connect with face to face. Couros validated those friendships for me and I want to in turn make sure that my students understand the value of digital relationships and are able to create, maintain, and deepen them in a positive manner.</span></span><br />
<br />
This morning I was had a brief conversation with some other educators from Jefferson County and they recommended George Couros' book, <u>The Innovators Mindset</u>. I have some reading to do!<br />
<br />
<b>Posters</b><br />
I didn't take as many notes for these sessions because they were so fast paced and crowded. I'm also not the loudest voice in the crowd, so I did more listening than talking and interacting. But these are what I hit:<br />
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Technology Doesn't work </span><a href="http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1972909" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1972909</span></a></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Transforming Math Instruction through Blended Learning: </span><a href="http://transformingmaththroughblendedlearning.weebly.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://transformingmaththroughblendedlearning.weebly.com</span></a></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Infographics in Edu: </span><a href="http://bit.ly/DrawInfo" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://bit.ly/DrawInfo</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Suggestions: Collect the info students are sharing using a form instead of the shared folder, because the shared folder gets clunky quickly. @gericoats
Infographics are sometimes more successful with the creation of a template for students to then build in. It doesn't lessen the ownership of the project, especially if students know the criteria for success. </span></div>
</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Smash Public TILT: </span><a href="https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/smash-pub/home" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/smash-pub/home</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mystery Skype: We skyped with someone in Ireland! h</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-4ca2db43-9754-f3a4-2673-86ffd1a0003d"><a href="http://www.bing.com/explore/mysteryskypeonenote" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ttp://www.bing.com/explore/mysteryskypeonenote</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. -- h</span><a href="https://education.microsoft.com/skypeintheclassroom" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ttps://education.microsoft.com/skypeintheclassroom</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beyond The Classroom: Using Social Media in the classroom</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some tips, create a teacher account and have the students use it. Tag it with their first names only, and make sure there is parent buy in from the beginning.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Way for community to interact </span><a href="http://www.callmeishmael.com/" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">www.callmeishmael.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">@chamberscentral Twitter</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really loved this idea of using Social Media as the main form of communication - she totally had a point, parents are more likely to read their facebook page then a newsletter home or an email.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-4ca2db43-9755-4cee-3742-e9817af8459a"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mystery hangout- Mystery Google Hangout Community </span><a href="http://www.goo.gl/5CBTC8" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">www.goo.gl/5CBTC8</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Make sure to do a mock session first and don't worry, it'll be messy! Just play!@smorgan_pln </span></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Random</b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes you just hear things in passing, here are a few.</span></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-4ca2db43-9757-9d9a-54d4-5c2816041754"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Big Six Research Method : </span><a href="http://big6.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">http://big6.com/</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"> (Something I'm going to look into)</span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Create a portal for students of resources and databases. Then help parents also know how to use them.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sitting here it's now 8:10 on and I'm excited for a chance to do Day 2!</span></span></div>
Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-68695430049467455362016-06-27T07:47:00.003-07:002016-06-27T07:47:54.601-07:00BYOD Simulation Test Post<div style="position: relative; width: 300px; height: 197px;"><a href="https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/fractions/fractions-intro_en.jnlp" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/fractions/fractions-intro-600.png" alt="Fractions Intro" style="border: none;" width="300" height="197"/><div style="position: absolute; width: 200px; height: 80px; left: 50px; top: 58px; background-color: #FFF; opacity: 0.6; filter: alpha(opacity = 60);"></div><table style="position: absolute; width: 200px; height: 80px; left: 50px; top: 58px;"><tr><td style="text-align: center; color: #000; font-size: 24px; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Click to Run</td></tr></table></a></div>
Simulation #1Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-45449082413251773212016-05-20T06:51:00.000-07:002016-05-20T06:51:05.000-07:00SubstitutesDude.<br />
<br />
I don't care how hard up for substitutes we are.<br />
<br />
If someone is late <b>every single time they sub</b> the answer is to <b>fire them</b>.<br />
<br />
Don't keep inviting them back! Talk about the safety issues involved in having a bunch of kids without supervision. I mean, COME ON.<br />
<br />
I ended up pulling the kids across the hallway into my room just so that they would be supervised!Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-1743274712076117282016-05-16T22:03:00.000-07:002016-05-16T22:03:27.895-07:00End of Year Division ReviewI got really frustrated with my students today in math. I had four doing really well, two trying, three goofing off instead of practicing, three refusing to work at all, and one super unfocused but working when I could get his attention.<br />
<br />
It is single digit dividing which we did to death earlier, and revisited in fractions, but they are just out of it! I hope tomorrow I'd better? I think I am going to print the modified sheet for them so they can have some confidence in their answers.Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-18923991951231305802016-05-13T08:43:00.001-07:002016-05-13T08:54:01.557-07:00We The People...I'm going to claim a win in the fact that I have boys walking around singing the preamble to the United States' Constitution.<br />
<br />
We'll go into what it actually means later today. Or tomorrow. I hope.<br />
<br />
The end of the year is always a little bit funky.Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-57844857514245706622016-05-10T07:30:00.002-07:002016-05-10T07:30:22.190-07:00Data Data DataI'm a little bit of a geek, but I dearly love Data Team meetings. I love being able to sit down with my team (with my administrators in attendance!) and talk over what our students are doing, where they are struggling, and what strategies I could use to help them to understand the material better.<br />
<br />
As far as I'm concerned I wish that was what all meetings were like, but sometimes I feel like we get caught in the shuffle of SCHEDULING vs instruction. Maybe next year as I integrate into a new data team I should suggest that the guiding questions of a PLC are in our norms so if we do get dragged into the SCHEDULING monster we can go back and ask ourselves, "Is this really what we need to be focusing on? No? Okay, pick someone to send an email and go back to where our focus needs to be: Kids."<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">What do we expect our students to learn?</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-indent: -24px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">How will we know they are learning? </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-indent: -24px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;">How will we respond when they don’t learn?</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-indent: -24px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;">How will we respond if they already know it? </span></b></div>
Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-32867587730238669222016-05-07T00:31:00.001-07:002016-05-07T00:31:40.279-07:00Careful Words<p dir="ltr">I was forcefully reminded today to be careful how I speak about the kids when they aren't there. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I love my students, no matter what. I should never allow unkind words to cross my lips even if I an hurt or upset. I need to also be stronger about speaking up to my colleagues who are using inappropriate language to refer to students. </p>
Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-77375952215085653422016-05-03T11:14:00.000-07:002016-05-03T11:14:16.379-07:00A draft lost in history"We would even go so far as to contend that a political vision that has no spiritual grounding runs he risk of becoming totalizing and inhumane."<br />
<br />
I found the above quote in my (years) old draft folder. Curiosity piked I looked it up and found this article I must have read during the course of my TESOL class during the 2009 college year era.<br />
<br />
The real quote is thus:<br />
"Spirituality offers a unique basis for
“justice-making” (Lepage, 1991, p. 73). We
would even go so far as to contend that a
political vision that has no spiritual
grounding runs the risk of becoming totalizing
and inhumane. We would also hasten
to add our conviction that “spirituality”
devoid of political considerations is at
best limited and at worst vacuous."<br />
<br />
It's in an article from the Department of Education called <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ781907.pdf" target="_blank">First-Year Latino Teacher</a>. Must read more soon.Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-66895015068565835322016-05-03T11:04:00.001-07:002016-05-03T11:10:38.536-07:00Attitude Vs AchievementWe took our end-of-year assessments (not the REAL BIG DEAL GOVERNMENT MANDATED test) today, and a belief I know has been researched has been reaffirmed.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.thompsonschools.org/cms/lib07/CO01900772/Centricity/Domain/1718/i-ready_logo_0.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.thompsonschools.org/cms/lib07/CO01900772/Centricity/Domain/1718/i-ready_logo_0.png" /></a></div>
<br />
A good attitude leads to achievement.<br />
<br />
A poor attitude leads to very little growth.<br />
<br />
My students who walked into the test going, "Well, I can try and see what happens" scored highly.<br />
<br />
My students who walked in going, "I can't do this" scored poorly.<br />
<br />
Probably my highest kiddo, let's call him Drum Corps, didn't get a score nearly as well because he walked in saying he couldn't do it, and kept that attitude going throughout the entire test.<br />
<br />
Now, another kiddo, we'll call her Pegasus, she blew the test out of the WATER. But again, she walked in with the, "I'm going to try my hardest!" attitude and it paid off.<br />
<br />
Job for me over the summer:<br />
<br />
How can I help kids adjust their mindsets (hello Dweck, let's spend some time together...) so that they can have the 'I-can-try' mindset all the time, not just for testing?Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-83249250580319017152016-05-02T17:50:00.001-07:002016-05-02T17:55:27.863-07:00Book Review: Transforming School Culture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEglNm5uDlbPSEvb31SUcC0G906Z7mACECEYMKop0NbTiHMdZIa9QFjOJe-sxfWUkE-tTim1gr_wtpLy1a1OT1yTuHY_3a8txMMa6C3mkyoiJ3hyVuqromTcQJcLXE2D6zD3rf94ADLs0j5SyGQ71BOyjeSaUw=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349022287l/6397872.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a>For the last few weeks I've been spending a lot of time thinking about school culture. This was brought to my attention because there have been quite a few incidents where I've ducked out of rooms because I don't really want to get involved in the discussions going on. They're usually about our site administration and they just don't make me feel uplifted and comfortable staying where I'm at.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
While perusing my professional library (granted, it's a small one shelf library), I stumbled across <u>Transforming School Culture: How to overcome staff division</u> by Anthony Muhammad. It was a book handed to me in my last school while we were undergoing a huge shift in philosophy. We didn't spend much time with it, but I <i>did</i> read it at this time. Since I was spending time thinking about culture I popped it open and ended up reading every chapter.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
The book details four kinds of teachers:</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<u>The Believer</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
These teachers are the ones you <i>want</i> to have to school. They have a sometimes illogical (but awesome) belief in kids and their ability to overcome anything at all. They will do whatever it takes and are often the risk takers of the school because they have this belief in kids. These are the ones you find frantically working all hours to research, plan, and implement new ideas.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
At the same time, these aren't always the best teachers in the school. Some of them have the foundational skills of teaching (classroom management, planning, organization, etc) down pat and they then use their belief and risk taking to the advantage. Others have their belief, but aren't quite sure of the most effective ways to bring about the outcomes they know are possible.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Something interesting about Believers is their living situation. Most believers are <i>settled</i>. They're married, they own their home, and they aren't likely to move anywhere soon.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<u>The Tweener</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
I know this group well! I feel like I spent quite a bit of time as a tweener. </div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
These teachers are those who are new to the teaching profession or have just recently changed jobs. Often they do not have a set identity for themselves yet, and can be easily swayed by other's opinions. One defining characteristic of Tweeners is that they lack the professional experience to really be able to make the most of themselves. Often these are the teachers within the building who need the most explicit support.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Outwardly Tweeners may seem like they have it. Since most of them are coming out of colleges they have the most recent exposure to the newest research and ideas in education. They are eager and want to throw themselves into the work.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Unlike Believers Tweeners are just that, <i>be</i>tween. They are more likely to be unmarried, and to be renting. Because they do not have strong ties to the community they can freely move from one school to another if something doesn't satisfy them. It behooves administrators to latch onto their Tweeners and get them engaged and involved in the school so that they <i>want</i> to put down roots and stay forever.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<u>The Survivor</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Oh, I know this teacher well. I think I spent about 50% of this last school year hanging out here.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Survivors are just that - they're trying to get through the year with their sanity more or less intact. Sometimes it's just getting to the end of the day. Outwardly these teachers look fine, but they lean back on those things which will get them through like student bargaining. It's really important for administrators to identify these teachers and help them ASAP, and if necessary to get them out of the classrooms.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
I'm really lucky. When I showed up at my Administrator's doorway crying and at the end of my rope, she walked away from her administrative meeting (TWICE) and met with me. </div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<u>The Fundamentalist</u></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
The book describes fundamentalists this way, "an experienced educator who believes that there is one pure and indisputable way to practice: the traditional model of schooling." To fundamentalist, change is taboo. </div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
He goes further into describing how Fundamentalists try to influence change to <i>not</i> happen withing their schools, but what really caught my attention was the four reasons why someone might be a fundamentalist. I think this is the real power in this book, because it gives administrators (and others) ways to help turn these teachers from their fundamentalist roots and help them to become a stronger and healthier part of the school culture. </div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
1. They do not perceive clear reasons for change.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
2. They distrust the leaders who are pushing for the change.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
3. They wonder if the change will cause them more stress and may not ultimately improve how instruction is occurring over what they are already doing.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
4. They think that if they give in to change it means admitting they have been wrong and they will lose face. </div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
With all of this laid out, I'm starting to understand some of the struggles of my present school. Honestly, I believe that we have many fundamentalists among our ranks, but they're not the died in blood individuals who will resist change because it means they were 'wrong' before. Instead, I think that our school lacks a great deal of trust in the administration because of the constant turnover. In addition, they're not sure that that changes which are introduced are actually going to improve student achievement.</div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Even though I'll be leaving this school after this year, I'm optimistic for the future and for those teachers who are staying. I know that my building administrator has read this particular book, and understands the underpinnings of the culture of the school. (Though, I'm not quite sure he's aware of the level of negativity floating through the hallways.) I hope he's able to provide reasons for the changes he's asking us to make, and at the same time is able to start building the trust he needs to with the individuals.</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Fd.gr-assets.com%2Fbooks%2F1349022287l%2F6397872.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEglNm5uDlbPSEvb31SUcC0G906Z7mACECEYMKop0NbTiHMdZIa9QFjOJe-sxfWUkE-tTim1gr_wtpLy1a1OT1yTuHY_3a8txMMa6C3mkyoiJ3hyVuqromTcQJcLXE2D6zD3rf94ADLs0j5SyGQ71BOyjeSaUw=" -->Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-8932971812459396182016-04-27T20:26:00.001-07:002016-04-27T20:28:52.821-07:00A new beginning, four years later<p dir="ltr">I totally and completely forgot about this blog. Somewhere between 2011 and 2016 I simply dropped it. Maybe it was me just deciding to work more on school, or maybe I just got lazy. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Well a lot has changed since 2011. I spent five years at Madison Simms Elementary, teaching 4th grade. I saw numerous colleagues come and go. I finally became a part of the school culture.... and then we moved.</p>
<p dir="ltr">So. Now I am in Denver Colorado. The Lord blessed me to be able to get a job teaching 5th grade at a school called Fort Logan Northgate. Long story short it was a year of learning and growth for me which I'm not really sure I ever want to repeat.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I learned a great deal about students and especially working about students who live in poverty. I know that the lessons I've learned at Fort Logan Northgate will follow me for the rest of my life and hopefully they will inform my teaching for the better in the future. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Now I get to take a new step forward. I have just been offered a position teaching at the Colorado STEM Academy. This is a school based around stem principles. I will be able to use project-based learning, Hands On learning, and be able to have more of a direct control over what I am able to teach and how I teach it. I'm really looking forward to this change in my life and to celebrate it I have decided to improve myself with a little bit of professional development which I am looking forward to more than anything else in the world. </p>
<p dir="ltr">I have the opportunity to go to the international Society for technology education (ISTE) which will be in Denver Colorado this summer 2016. I'm looking forward to all of the new tools and techniques that I'm going to be able to learn during this conference and hopefully then be able to take into my new Venture at the Colorado STEM Academy. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Maybe this time I won't forget about this blog and I'll have an opportunity to write more about this exciting change in my life. </p>
<p dir="ltr">As a side note, blue eyes from a few posts ago is now 8 years old. She was baptized last March and is blowing her way through school. It helps she <u>has</u> a pretty amazing mother who helps her every step of the way. But never does it for her. Soon her little brother will be off to kindergarten also.</p>
<p dir="ltr">(Caveat for the end- this post was typed using goggle voice keyboard! For such a rough text to speech app this worked out pretty well, except for some weird grammar things!)</p>
Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-3421065385235712312011-10-25T16:30:00.000-07:002011-10-25T16:30:37.443-07:00The Joys of Google DocsI have two younger sisters who are both still in the public education system (middle and high school respectively.) Over the last few days they've both sent me papers to revise and edit for them. Both times I've read them, shaken my head and cried a little bit because they were SO TERRIBLE. (I love you sisters!)<br />
<br />
I didn't feel it right to just rewrite them, so I popped their essays into Google Docs (which is easily done because instead of hitting "download" I hit "view".) From there I was able to converse with one sister over the phone to help her rewrite, and another over the Google Docs Chat Box to help HER rewrite. Both sister's papers are MUCH better, and the editing process was so easy! Rather than play tag with one another for a while as we each made changes to the same document we were able to look at the document in real time and change things. It might even be easier than it is to edit my student's papers when they're sitting right next to me! (It's quicker to "delete" than to "erase."Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-61960627978303249992011-09-30T17:23:00.000-07:002011-09-30T17:23:59.783-07:00Impossible Children and Standing OvationsArgh. I had a blog post. Then I decided that if someone connected me to it to child I could get in trouble.<br />
<br />
Blah humbug.Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-36531693322688665692011-08-18T08:11:00.000-07:002011-08-18T08:11:45.247-07:00Pessimism in the teamI'm a new teacher. You all know this. So I still believe that every child can achieve on a high level. I'm disappointed in my students when I don't believe they have given their best. I don't assume, "oh, you're special ed, you can't achieve." I know they can and I expect them to. I'll differentiate the hell out of my teaching for them, but I still expect them to produce work that matches my high expectations.<br />
<br />
Today we had our first "job alike" where we met with all the 4th grade teachers in our district. We were discussing AYP and how close we are to not meeting it and how a 100% achievement isn't realistic. I can buy into that. It is unrealistic to expect 100% of students to be on grade level.<br />
<br />
Now here is where attitude comes in. Another teacher on my grade level said, "We shouldn't expect a child with x disability to be able to inference when reading. They can't do it, so we shouldn't try to teach it." No! No! No! We SHOULD teach them. How can we EVER know what our child cannot achieve if we don't WORK with them on those skills? I believe firmly that these basic skills taught in elementary school can be taught to every child no matter their disability. <br />
<br />
EDIT: She did it again! "A 70% is as good as he'll ever get."<br />
<br />
AROIUeAOGHAOIUERAELW! (That's me yelling.)Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-57994903611829245722011-08-09T07:39:00.001-07:002011-08-09T07:39:35.639-07:00First DayFirst day went fantastic. I had almost 90% of the names down.<br />
<br />
Hope 2nd day goes as well as the first!Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-42550978058524263662011-08-04T18:44:00.000-07:002011-08-04T18:44:54.216-07:00Panic Before the Kids ArriveIt's time I admitted it. I have gotten at least some of a predisposition for anxiety. I was forced to admit it when I had a full fledged (shaking, crying, heart thumping) panic attack today. It was triggered today in a Professional Learning Committee meeting when I was talking about when I was going to do my intervention block and Teacher Next Door saying "But your specils are at 3 now! Didn't you see the schedule?"<br />
<br />
Panic hit. School starts MONDAY. I ran (actually knocking something over...) to my room to check the schedule and sure enough... it had changed. Again (this would be the 3rd time). It took me FOREVER to get that first week of scheduling done, and now I would have to redo it. Team Leader and Republican both tried to help make me feel better, but it wasn't until they left that I could start to pull myself back together. I crawled under my desk, curled up into as small of a ball as possible and focused ONLY on breathing. After... 10-15 minutes I was able to pull myself together, get out, wash my face, blow my nose and start feeling like a human being again. I tried really hard to make the new specials work, but every 'positive' I could get, a negative arose. I was starting to get upset so I decided to go back and discuss with people who know.<br />
<br />
First I went to Music Teacher, who makes the schedule. He said it was changed because Principal didn't like how the duty roster was arranged. So I went and cried to Principal and told her why it would be an issue to have my schedule the way it was. The way the schedule was arranged my "Gifted" (AEP) students would have to pack their bags before lunch (at 12:55), so that they could go directly to AEP after lunch. Then they'd go straight from AEP to specials and then home. It was a lot of responsibility to place on those kids from day one. We floated the idea of changing my specials to the morning and having my class have a different recess time. Then I mentioned that Republican had offered to switch specials with me. Principal said that would be best. <br />
<br />
I didn't want to dump this on Republican but after some thought decided that I really should. Just THINKING about it was giving me a fit. I had to admit that a more experienced teacher could handle the daily uncertainty better than I ever could. When I told her about the pack up situation she shrugged and said, "Well, they might be late, Mrs. AEP might have to make some changes so they get things first, or they may miss some of specials. It's okay." She could take it in stride whereas I was crying. <br />
<br />
It was a relief to hand this off to a more experienced teacher.Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-33350013022190191792011-07-28T12:22:00.001-07:002011-07-28T12:27:54.666-07:00Set up RoomI'm super excited for this year. So excited that I almost have everything set up!! I'm going to post pictures.<br />
<br />
Best compliment I've gotten this year is, "It feels so organized!" YES! Exactly what I was going for!<br />
<br />
<object width="400" height="300"> <param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F65729054%40N03%2Fsets%2F72157627302805972%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F65729054%40N03%2Fsets%2F72157627302805972%2F&set_id=72157627302805972&jump_to="></param><param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=104087"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=104087" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F65729054%40N03%2Fsets%2F72157627302805972%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F65729054%40N03%2Fsets%2F72157627302805972%2F&set_id=72157627302805972&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Now, I just need to figure out what to PUT on the boards!Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-43216034985956258882011-07-21T11:03:00.000-07:002011-07-21T11:03:54.275-07:00Year Long PlanningI'm rather proud of myself this year. It's 17 days before the first day of school and I have a LOT done!<br />
<br />
1. My classroom is basically set up. I still need to figure out what goes on the bulletin boards and straighten 1 or two edges.<br />
<br />
2. My desks are all set up. They're just waiting for names now.<br />
<br />
3. I basically have my year-long planning done. I'm still working on Language Arts, but that's cool. At least Social Studies and Science are planned out. We're doing day-by-day planning as a team in Math and Language Arts is pretty simplistic because I follow the scope-and-sequence of our basal when it comes to skills.<br />
<br />
4. All my cabinets are organized and ready for anything I can throw at them. My goal is to KEEP it that way!Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-9503483803778729672011-06-24T09:40:00.001-07:002011-06-24T09:40:15.896-07:00Too bad my study of AZ History prevents this in the classroomThis is a really interesting info graphic from <a href="http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/">Our Amazing Plant</a>. I just wish that I was able to teach about the ocean, instead of the desert! I might sneak it in because of the really, really, really, cool way it shows the Grand Canyon.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/infographic-tallest-mountain-to-deepest-ocean-trench-0249/" mce_href="/infographic-tallest-mountain-to-deepest-ocean-trench-0249/"> <img src="http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/images/stories/oap-landsea-oceans-100608-moderate.jpg" mce_src="/images/stories/oap-landsea-oceans-100608-moderate.jpg" alt="Our Amazing Planet explores Earth from its peaks to it mysterious depths." width="400" border="1" /></a><br /> Source <a href="http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/" mce_href="/mce_href">OurAmazingPlanet.com, Exploring the wonder and beauty of planet Earth through exclusive news, features and images.</a>Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-25246933104565031162011-06-23T04:22:00.002-07:002011-06-23T04:26:46.433-07:003 year-old TechnologyI haven't posted in a while, and for good reason. I left my wonderful home in Phoenix to visit my family in Colorado and then go down to my older sister to watch my 3-year old niece and 1 year old nephew. I'm going to call the three-year-old Blue Eyes.<br />
<br />
Upon arriving at my sister's house I observed an interesting phenomenon. Blue Eyes wanted technology. Before her mommy left she asked if she could play "ehpod" (Ipod). My sister handed her an Ipod touch and Blue Eyes confidently unlocked it, scrolled though 3 pages of apps and clicked on a coloring game. After delightedly coloring (switching from one color to another using a pop-up palette) she competently exited the game and went to a shapes game. She sat on my lap and listened as the game asked her to find a "Hexagon". <br />
<br />
Did Blue Eyes mix it up? No! I saw her finger move to point at the square (without clicking) shake her head, move to the triangle, and repeated it till the only shape left was the Hexagon. Confident in her choice she clicked and moved on to the next question. It wasn't until "crescent" that the struggled to identify the correct shape.<br />
<br />
I was amazed and told my sister so. "She plays it all the time," was her response. My thought- Blue Eyes is going to go into Kindergarten knowing so much more than her peers because her Mommy wasn't afraid to let her use technology to teach herself (though Blue Eyes only thought she was playing a game.)<br />
<br />
Later Blue Eyes asked me if she could "play ABCs". I was intrigued and my sister explained that she'd been sharing <a href="www.starfall.com">Starfall</a> with Blue Eyes. I said yes, because I love Starfall. My sister cut me off slightly saying, "She can't play it alone, the mouse gives her troubles." I couldn't play with Blue Eyes right then so I set the matter aside till my sister was gone later that afternoon.<br />
<br />
When Blue Eyes asked me again "Play Abcs?" I said yes and after struggling with their slow computer managed to get the website up. I decided to test Blue Eyes on how well she did with the mouse. After showing her how to hold the mouse (thumb on one side, index finger on first button, middle finger on second, ring and piny on other side) and getting rid of the mouse pad* I let her loose saying "Click on the sparkly things!" <br />
<br />
Here are the results:<br />
First Time: Blue Eyes struggled a bit at first slowing her movements down enough to click on the right place. I stood and helped a few times after she said, "Aunt Jamie, doe'n't work, help!" Usually all that had happened is the mouse had disappeared into the side of the screen and just needed to be brought back out.<br />
Second Time: Blue Eyes barely asked for help this time. The only time she did was when her movmements had caused the mouse to almost fall off of the desk. The mouse doesn't work if nothing is under it!<br />
Third Time: Blue Eyes had it down now. Occasionally she would say, "Help!" and I'd reposition her hand correctly so she clicked on the first mouse button, not the second.<br />
Fourth and all subsequent times: Blue Eyes Had it. She became completely self directed and even began repeating back at the computer the letters and the sounds they made. She even had the Click-and-drag games down!!<br />
<br />
I'm amazed at the power of Technology. My sister won't have to teach her daughter the ABCs by rote, nor the sounds that each letter makes. Blue Eyes is learning them all by herself.<br />
<br />
I'm so proud of her - I actually had to set a limit on how long Blue Eyes could be on "Abc's" because she would have stayed at it all day if I'd let her! What a gift she has been given.<br />
<br />
*- Her fine motor skills aren't quite advanced enough to stay on the pad. Her father (My bother-in-law) tried to have her use it, but I quietly got rid of it after he left. It was just causing her frustration when the mouse went over the edge and the mouse stopped working for a moment. The top of the desk worked just fine.Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-68859659758964387962011-06-11T08:48:00.002-07:002016-05-03T11:21:06.096-07:00Majors and MoneyI saw this wonderful info Graphic on <a href="http://www.joannejacobs.com/2011/06/major-matters/">Joanne Jacobs</a> about Majors. I remember back in high school taking the Monster Job inventory tests and then looking at all the carriers and deciding I wanted to be an Aerospace Engineer because they made the most money. I wonder why so many people tend towards some of the lower paying majors? Is it because they love them? I know that's what happened with me- love for kids and job security (which no longer exists of course) over weighed my want for riches.<br />
<br />
I was never good at math anyways - College Algebra was a struggle for me.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.schools.com/visuals/degree-value.html" rel="nofollow"><img alt="Degree value : Degrees by salary" border="0" src="http://www.schools.com/imagesvr_ce/7044/degree-value.gif" height="873" width="250" /></a><br />
Courtesy of: <a href="http://www.schools.com/">Schools.com</a>Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-43227340972035770692011-06-07T08:46:00.000-07:002011-06-07T08:46:32.169-07:00A tip of the hat to the New York TimesThere are a lot of blogs about the politics of schools. I even "follow" a few. However, it takes a good headline to catch my attention and keep it long enough to slog through the rather long articles. Today one of my favorites, <a href="http://www.schoolsmatter.infol">Schools Matter</a> reposted an article from the New York Times by Michael Winerip called <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/06/education/06oneducation.html">Helping Teachers Help Themselves</a>. (Click on the title for the full text of the article)<br />
<br />
What held my attention is the details of what Winerip talks about. Best practice states that trust, and community are important in schools. Having teachers be a part of the decision making process lets schools run more effectively. In ROCKVILLE, Md Rockville, Maryland the school has set up a committee to help their teachers. They are involved in helping teachers set goals, mentoring and if the teacher really is resistant to changing and becoming better then they are fired.<br />
<br />
Some people may think this would cause distrust among the faculty and among those who are on the committee - but if there is a great deal of trust that the committee is acting for the good of the school most of us who are in it for the kids will be alright. A good teacher is willing to change bad ways to become better even if they're told to do so by their peers. I know I wish that there was more mentoring available for me at the school. It would be great to have more observations of my practice to help me become a better teacher. I teach better when someone else is in the room.<br />
<br />
Now... Race to the Top. I have issues with this school district not getting any of the money Maryland was awarded because they don't include student scores on standardized tests into the equation for teachers. Before anyone starts harping let me ask- Is there another profession where your evaluation is based off of work that <i>someone</i> else does? The answer is no. Teacher work should be evaluated off of teacher work. Many and varied observations are required including scheduled and unscheduled. A student's standardized test score is a single snapshot in time. If most teachers are like I am then the stress during the state standardized testing is enough to put the best tester off of their feed for the two months before let alone on the day or week of the testing.<br />
<br />
I wish more school districts (like mine!) had a system like this.Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-26472003118272597392011-05-29T16:17:00.001-07:002016-05-03T11:21:32.047-07:00Waiting for SupermanWhen I come back I've got some things to say about this movie.<br />
<br />
(5-3-2016) --> Needless to say, I didn't say anything.Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-7947324560185048682011-05-24T15:52:00.000-07:002011-05-24T15:52:09.582-07:00End of World End of YearWell, thankfully the end of the world didn't happen last Saturday. I'm glad to hear it has been postponed till next October, I met some of my students for next year and would love to get to know them more.<br />
<br />
The End of the School Year did come and not a moment too soon. If it had waited even one more week I'm not sure that I would have liked my kids too much. They very much had senioritis (4th grade is the end of Elementary School here) and I was ready to get everything put away for the next year! We had a wonderful water day (Once I get my computer back from being upgraded I'll Picnik my photos and post some of them) and graduation went well. Grumpy next to me kept complaining about the length, but I was happy about it. It meant I had less time with these kids in my classroom when they'd "graduated" already.<br />
<br />
I cleaned out my classroom completely. Everything came off the walls, everything got cleaned out.<br />
<br />
On Monday the team got together and we actually did day-by-day planning for Math this next year!! I'm still trying to figure out Literacy and Social Studies, but I will!!! I've got all Summer.Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2784062688704601189.post-31905864914161295672011-05-16T17:19:00.001-07:002011-05-16T17:19:39.456-07:00Benchmarks And the End of the YearWow, we gave our last benchmark of the year today... and my kids did... surprisingly well. I was shocked how well they did in fact. I've got a few students that I know could've done better, but didn't take their time. (Example- Fancy-Hat in the corner fell asleep drooling twice on her test. I had to shake her awake twice to make her actually TRY.)<br />
<br />
The behavior is about to drive me insane though. I feel like we're just doing busy work till the end of the week. I hate busy work!! I'm trying to make it meaningful but *rips hair out!!*<br />
<br />
One of the older teachers compared the end of the school year to childbirth. You hate it and it's painful, but after a few months you forget how much it hurts and want to have another child (or another class.)Summers Schoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798816042783988336noreply@blogger.com0