Sunday, December 28, 2014

I care....

I think the greatest thing any teacher can give their students is care.  Any way you can express to students that you care about how they do in school helps them care.  I try to use humor most times but  there are times when ...well, I feel like a care more than they do....

I have a starting spiel for my tutoring class that goes something like this:

"Welcome to tutoring, today is Blankday!  All of you have should have something to do.  If you don't know what to do, let's check the grade book and figure out what it is you should be working on. There are  "X" days left in the quarter.  If you have an F, you have "X" days to fix it."  After this, there can be several conversations that follow:

"I really want to you to pass your classes, let's work on fixing the 23% with 20 days left in the quarter."

"I really want you to pass your math class, are you aware you have 10 missing assignments?"

"You have 5 F's; is there really nothing  we can be working on?"

"Can you come and take this test you missed 2 weeks ago?  It is really hurting your grade."

"Is there anything I can do to help you with (insert subject here)?  You have not passed a test yet."

"Can I help you organize the folded papers in your book bag?  It looks like you are carrying around your laundry in there."

"You know, you are missing 2 assignments in Social Studies; With a  58%, just turning in one of those will put you at a passing grade. Turning in both, will really  help you pass."

"Have you talked to your teacher about what is  holding you back?"

I think that is the  hardest skill students need to learn, communication.  Sometimes, I think students treat their teachers like the great and powerful Oz, who lives behind the curtain and everyone is afraid to see the person behind the curtain.  I like to  try to help students get behind the curtain and talk to their teachers. This is such an important skill for people to have, to be able to talk to their  "supervisors".   I sometimes will sit in a meeting and say to a student: "Just  ask your teacher, people really don't know this but we are rational  people."

I also tell them it is a skill that will do them well in college.  I know I did not take advantage of a professor's office hours when I was a college student and I should have.  It may have saved me  the agony of  changing my major and  not knowing what I wanted to be when I was done.  Who knows? I just hope my students can avoid conversations like the one below.
http://youtu.be/57aOIkaXQGc (if your mobile device doesn't see the video)





Sunday, December 7, 2014

Education Today

Have you seen this video?


I have seen this video in  a few professional development settings.  They are like our theme or mantra in education these days.  Everything seems to be changing by the minute which makes it feel like  we are flying in a plane while they are building it.  I don't know about you but I would not get on a plane that was being built as it is being flown.  I would not want my children (students) to get on a plane that is being built as  we are flying.  In fact, I am one of the people who says, "Hey, I don't mind the delay if it means they fix that thing on the ground before we take off." I am not  upset by maintenance delays.  I am not upset by weather delays.  I like my plane to be  solid, well constructed and able to get me from A to B without a problem.  I want to fly in a good environment, a safe environment. I think education and school should be the same.  We should not be flying by the seat of our pants as decisions are being made and changed day to day.  The school environment should be about learning and becoming the best person you can be.  

How about his one?
This is another video played in a few  professional development places  lately.  If you listen to the words these cowboys say, it is exactly how I feel about my job:

"Don't let anyone tell you it's easy"
"I'm living the dream"  ( I really do love my job!)
"Not everyone can do what we do"
"I wouldn't do nothing else"
"When you bring a herd into town and ain't lost a one of them aint' feeling like it in the world"
Translation: When you know your students have learned what you taught them, "ain't a feeling like it in the world!"

If I didn't say it before Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my job. I am thankful that I was lucky enough that I have a career that I enjoy.  I am thankful that I work with a great staff and that whether I realize it or not, I affect students everyday.  I'm also thankful when I get on a plane and it is completely built and not in need of repair mid-flight. 



Sunday, November 30, 2014

The Random Smile

I am not a natural smiler.  My father often said I bare the weight of the world on my face.  It's heavy. My husband wishes I would smile more often.  I have to practice smiling.  I know it sounds strange but it is who I am.

In college, I  was called by a good friend to  interview for an RA position at an apartment complex near campus.  I was very excited because it meant an opportunity for free rent.  I went through he interview process and  was very hopeful.  I was very lucky to have a friend who was on the inside because the interviewer  spoke to my friend and said, "I really liked her and think she would be good for the position.  But, does she smile?"  Needless to say, I got the job because my friend  explained it away as nerves.  And from then on, I have had to practice smiling.

I find that  smiling is a helpful  tool as I travel the hallways at school.  Not like a big toothy grin. Just a smile that says I see you everyday on my way to class and I acknowledge that you are  part of my existence.  It helps with the  loss of anonymity that  happens in schools.  It is easier to break a rule when  no one knows who you are than when a familiar face  that seems friendly is headed your way.

I have received some random hello's too.  I admire people who are that self assured to randomly greet  strangers.

I think the best story of random hello-ness happened last year.  I was on my way into the building and realized that I did not have my ID badge on.  In fact, I had no idea where it was and I started to have a conversation with myself about it.  There was this young man who I passed daily and we never really acknowledged each other but on that day, he became privy to my conversation with myself as I explained I had no idea where my ID was.    I turned around, went back to my car and found it.  But since then, I have seen him in the hallways and we always smile and greet each other.

A smile is such a small gesture that reaps such huge benefits.  I'm going to keep working on it.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

I'm so tired.....

I'm so tired of hearing how horrible the education system is. I'm so tired of hearing about how horrible teachers are. I'm just so tired.

Twenty three years ago, I was the “in thing”. Now, I am an "old teacher". In 1989, (yeah, before the turn of the century) after five years and a change of major, I graduated college and had no clue what I wanted to be. I tried several career paths in the private sector and after two years decided to become a teacher. It was more of an answer to a calling than a decision. I quit my job, returned to grad school, and earned a Masters of Education with a Social Studies Certification. (Some of those Journalism classes I had taken paid off as I practically had a major in History and a minor in Psychology). As a "professional" returning to school to be a teacher, I was a hot commodity. I had "real world experience" and I wanted to be in the classroom.  

During my stint in grad school, I had the experience of working with a teacher who worked with students with learning disabilities. (The "LD teacher"). I loved the idea of thinking differently in order to work with a student who needed something more or different. After starting a second year as a waitressing substitute teacher, I figured it wouldn't hurt anything to work on the certification in order to work with students with Learning Disabilities, as it might increase my marketability. I was a hot commodity, a professional who not only wanted to be a teacher, but wanted to work with students who had difficulty learning. I probably have always been a teacher, but having a job made it more official.

Now, I am "an old teacher".

My entire teaching career has been focused around the world of testing. First, we had "proficiency" tests. Then we had "graduation" tests. Now we are moving to "common core" tests. My entire career has been focused what we are doing to "align" the curriculum to “the test”. How are we teaching the content of “the test"? Do we have text books that match the content of “the test"? Do our tests match the format of “the test”? The newest evolution of "the test" will be on line. And the best part: my effectiveness as a teacher will be graded based on how well my students do on "the test".  

Over the course of my career, I have worked with students who struggle because of the way their brains are wired. I have worked with students who need more time and more practice to learn what their peers are learning. I have worked with students who may have a hard time in the academic realm, but may really shine in a different realm - a "non-tested" realm. My school district has always pushed students with disabilities to do their best. To participate to their fullest ability. And, in the long run, given time, my students have passed all or most of the tests. In the “proficiency” test days, we pushed students to take and re-take and re-take the tests until graduation. In “graduation” test days we have done the same, but held students back from graduating because they did not pass "the test". The "new age" tests will hold students back from graduating and "get rid of" teachers whose students don't make the grade on the test.

Really? Has this become the point of the education system?  

If someone were to ask my philosophy of education I would say: Everyone can learn anything - in time. Everyone has an area that they shine in, and school is the place to work on those areas. In the real world, people specialize. Very few people are experts in all areas. Given time, people can improve their skills and expand their areas of expertise. Sometimes, we just have no interest in an area. I have students who decline to take an art class because they state: "I am not good at art." I made such a comment about my singing to a choir director who was attending a seminar with me and he said: "I can teach anyone to sing." Well, if he can teach anyone to sing, I can teach anyone anything given time.

I became a teacher because I love working with students. I get to work with kids every day. I teach them how to act in the world. I teach them how to seek assistance when they don’t understand; how to communicate with others to get what they need. I teach them that every day is a new day and yesterday was our last best learning experience. If it was a good day, we made progress. If it was a bad day, we pick ourselves up and try to make today better.

Notice I did not say anything about vacations and days off. I don’t know anyone who became a teacher because of the hours we work, the vacations we have, or the days off. I also don’t know anyone who became a teacher because of the tests we give. We became teachers to make the world a better place – one student at a time. I don’t think that is measured on any test.

I'm an old teacher because of the time I have spent in the classroom. I am an old teacher because I have a wealth of experience from the last twenty-one years of teaching. I am not a worthless teacher. I’m tired of being regarded as such. I used to be a hot commodity but now, people just want to get rid of me.


If test results are the mode by which I have become a bad teacher, how do we assess the worth of the people who are creating this system?

Sunday, November 2, 2014

The Unknown Impact

I never really know what impact I have had on the students I work with.  It is interesting when a student says "You are my favorite teacher" and I reply: "No way...You hate me?"  I usually perceive that if I am tough on a student who doesn't seem to  have their act together that my constant  harping on them to do what they need to do to be successful makes them hate me.  Maybe hate is  a strong word but it certainly doesn't feel like they like me.  So I am always startled when they say  "No I don't hate you.  You are my favorite."  

I respond "How can that be? I yell at you all of the time to do your work and be focused"  and they say "You are my favorite."

How do you get to be the favorite?

I try to  push students to do more than they  really want to do.

I treat everyday like a clean slate. We cannot do anything about what happened yesterday so let's move on.

I try to trivialize things that seem hard and help them see that they are not so hard.

I try to greet my students at the door daily.

I have a pattern and routine that is known so that nothing I say or do is unexpected.

I try treat them as independent adults and allow them to use their time to complete what it is they need to complete. 

I celebrate  daily victories with  fist bumps and high fives (they have to sting a little or it just isn't worth it)
I celebrate weekly victories with  a pencil, candy and a note sent home recognizing achievement. 
I celebrate quarterly victories with cupcakes and brownies.

I suggest ways to  communicate with their teachers to help them develop those skills through email and conversations.

I call myself "mom" at school as I vigilantly check grades and missing assignments and help them try to do better.

I try to be honest.

Sometimes people ask me: "Are your students good this year?" and I usually respond "They don't have any choice."  I try to help them be good.


I am guessing these are a few of the things that qualify me to be their favorite.  What are you doing to  be a favorite of your students?

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Professional Crossroads

This is my 21st year teaching.  Twenty one years is a really long time....at least for a career.  I really enjoy teaching so the time is flying.  I cannot believe  how fast each school year goes by.  I think they seem to go faster every year.  I am always counting down the days left.  People think it is because I am waiting for the end or the next vacation.  It is mostly so that students are aware how little time there is left in a quarter and how much we still need to accomplish.

So.  Twenty one years.  I keep contemplating my next career move and I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.    I mean really....I joke with  people that I want to be  a stand up comedian and I am  just practicing my material in the classroom.  I'm really not funny though.

I thought about being a guidance counselor...I don't think I would enjoy working as a guidance counselor.

I  completed a principal training program (never  applied for the license).....I don't think I like what principals and assistant principals do?

That principal license could lend itself to administrative positions...I don't really think I  would like any of those jobs either...too far away from students.

I thought about  working on a transition endorsement.  It would be coursework that would  help me be qualified to  work with students in  community based training programs....I kind of like this idea....It would be  helping students  become ready for the world of work.  So I guess this thought is still on the table.

I have contacted  a couple of doctorate programs.  This is mostly because I have this thought way in the back of my head that I might want to teach at the college level.  It intrigues me but I  don't have the confidence that I  can do this kind of work.....not the college level teaching but the  dissertation and all that it involves.  I think to some degree, completing this kind of work would turn my life upside down and I am not sure I want to do that.  It's a big decision because it does not only uproot me but my husband as well.  It's still on the table but....

I do know one thing:  I am really happy being a teacher.  I love working with students.  I love having conversations with them that promote thinking.  I love  being in the classroom. I love teaching!


Sunday, October 12, 2014

Every student needs a champion

This year, I am working in an inclusion Algebra class.  I love Algebra.  It is  a language.  It is  a thought pattern.  It has logic and  clarity.  You can go forwards and backwards.  I tell students it stretches your brain.  If you want to be a lawyer, you need Algebra to enhance your logical brain.  I love Algebra but teaching is not about the math.  It is about the students.

I was working on some data for my Algebra team and some paperwork we have to fill out.  We have two Algebra classes together and as the intervention specialist half of the team, I have students who I am dedicated to work with.  I work with all students but there are certain students I have on my radar.  It is my job to help them.  In review of the data, we have 1 class that is 50% Algebra repeaters.  Meaning half the class has  failed Algebra at least once before.

I have 2 students (one in each section) that are taking Algebra for the 4th time.  We have a mantra, me and the two students "We're not going to do Algebra again next year! We are gonna be done with Algebra this year!"  I tell them this as often as possible.  I tell them, that if they stick with me, they will pass.  If they show up and try, they will be done with Algebra.  So far, 6 weeks into the school year, we are making it.  I know 6 out of 36 weeks  does not seem like much.  It is the mostly review  part of the year.  The "honeymoon" period.  I have made a very big deal about  giving them as much positive reinforcement as possible. I am the queen of  fist bumps and  high fives.  I am continually reinforcing all of the  engagement they are showing in class.  I am visiting them in ISS making sure they don't think they are forgotten.  I am sitting with them and working on homework.  I am booking a weekly appointment with them to make sure they  know they can do the work. They need a champion.  They need to  be done with Algebra.

The irony of this situation is that I have worked with both of these students outside of the classroom in the past.  I don't think we ever really got along very well because I have expectations and they did not like the pressure of those expectations.  I think that both of them probably had a nervous breakdown when  they saw my name on their schedule the first day of school.  But I think, I have proven to them I am in their corner.  Even though I had a history with both students,  I do not let that  shade my vision of them.  We are going to get through this.  Every child needs a champion. Every child needs that person who gives them high fives and fist bumps and encouragement, whether they are on their first time through algebra or their 4th time.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Anxiety

The OTES (Ohio Teacher Evaluation System) is giving me anxiety.  This is my 21st year teaching.  I'm not a teacher because I enjoy summer vacation, have weekends off, and have all those vacations and days off.  I am a teacher because at some point in my life, I felt that working with kids was my way to make the world a better place.
I blame the media for my  feeling of "optimism" about making the world a better place.

  • Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror"
  • Robin Williams in Dead Poet's Society as John Keating, the teacher who wanted his students to "Carpe Diem" and walk their own walk. (Oh Captain My Captain Rest in Peace)
  • Bob Geldof and Live Aid (the concert across the world that raised money for Africa)
  • Lean on Me ( a movie that made me want to be Joe Clark)
I think going to Catholic school  also had that impact on me as we were constantly reminded of the people who had less than we did and how just giving what we had to others would help make the world a better place.

Back to anxiety.  

OTES is the new form of teacher evaluation.  I have seen training about it make principals talk about changing their  careers.  

I'm anxious.
I think I  am a good teacher.  
I hope the state of Ohio feels the same.

Gandhi is  credited with saying "Be the change you wish to see in the world".  
Do they measure that on  standardized tests? 

I chose to be an Intervention Specialist (Special education teacher) because I love working with students who needed a little extra to learn.  
Do they measure that on standardized tests?

I fully believe that the energy you put into the universe is the energy you will get back.  If you put positive energy out there, you will get positive energy back.  Negative energy yields negative and nothing gives you nothing.
I try to put my everything into everything I do.
Do they measure that on standardized tests?

I read, re-tweeted and favorited a twitter post from a guy named Jordan Shapiro the other day: "School is about transmitting values from 1 generation to the next, not organizing labor toward productivity" (Article link) Is that measured on a standardized test?

I sat in church last week and our preacher said that it was important for us to make sure we  instilled a sense of value in the people we see in our day.  It is important to make sure that the child knows they are valued.
Is that measured on a standardized test?

Yeah...I'm having anxiety.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

In my own time

My husband says I have to blog before I do any school work because I have not done so.  Here goes.

Yesterday, I  was browsing through my Twitter feeds and there was a post "Retweet if you think the Browns will beat the Ravens and be  2-1."  I retweeted.  Twenty minutes later, my husband, while browsing at his Twitter feeds questioned, "So,  you think the Browns will win?" (yeah! he follows me!)  I responded "Yes" and after some thought,  I stated, "I always believe they will win!"  In fact, as a Cleveland fan, I also always believe the Indians will win.  And if I were a basketball fan, I would believe the Cavs would win. ("King" or no king).  In the big picture, in their own time, they all will win.

The test of winning, is  practice and going the distance. Stretching your  skills and talents to their maximum.  When you are passionate about something, this all comes together and you conquer whatever it is that  you desire to do.  It may not be pretty but it can get better once you are there.  But it has to be something that you really want.

This week I had this talk with one of the Algebra classes I  co-teach.  I think the hardest thing about teaching is to get the students engaged in things that seem irrelevant.  We were talking about homework, which is practice of a skill.  I spoke to the class about Malcolm Gladwell's 10,0000 hours of practice. (Outliers) The idea that anyone who is good at something did not get that way without practice.  They may have had a  penchant for that thing but they put their all in all into it.   The other part of the practice is having someone there to  see it, analyze it, and  help you improve it.  That is the job of a teacher.  The part in the middle, is the part that, in my opinion, the critics of education fail to see.  Our school culture has become so focused on the "test".  Did students pass the test?

I work with a population of students who struggle to pass the test.  They have a disability that impairs their ability to  learn  in the same way that their peers do.  I take pride in the fact that most of these students pass the tests by the time they graduate but it is  "in their own time".  The frenzy of increased testing  that will be starting this year, and the increased graduation requirements take away that "in my own time" for students who struggle.  Does everyone have to be master of everything?

This "master of everything" also  takes away passion.  If there is somehting that I am passionate about that is outside of the  testing world, I probably lose out on that passion in order to be remediated to pass the test. How devalued I would feel.

I know the Indians and Browns will win, in their time.  I know my students will master skills, in their time. Our testing frenzy becomes a devaluing of the human spirit.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Woe or Whoa?

Well, the first week and a half of school is over and I am tired...mighty powerful tired.  But I am going to try to put some thoughts on the page that are a reflection of the last week and a half. ( We started on a Wednesday and then had Labor day...go figure).


  • On the day before school starts, we have a staff event called "Convocation".  This is a combination event that starts with coffee ( I usually skip that) introductions (new staff and the members of the board of education) and a kind of pep talk for the new year.  I always  enjoy the Superintendent's message.  So far, no woe but here goes....I happened to sit near some teachers who had already printed off their class lists.  They all taught in the same department but different classes/levels.  They spent  some of the down time reviewing each others lists and  talking about their history with students.  "Oh (s)he is smart but he doesn't do his work"; "(S)he  doesn't' really do anything."  In my brain I was like "OMG! Really?"  These kids are going to walk into a room where someone has already decided who they are.  I like to think of each day as a new day...and sometimes that can mean each period is a new period.  Whoah! Let students prove who they are....

  • I had to change classrooms.  I have to admit, the  previous classroom was palatial.  I had more space than  anyone could imagine and we used it all.  I'm in a room about 2/3 the size...maybe even 1/2 the size.  It is now the  mini version of the palatial room. And when you put 24 bodies in the room during 9th period (26 if you count me and the paraprofessional)....it is packed....like sardines.  In the old room I had  12 desk top computers for student use and a printer.  The new room came with 4.  The IT guys (who I  appreciate very, very much) were able to  move  6 computers from the palace to the   mini palace.  The printer finally got moved yesterday.  Call this one "Was a woe! Not a woe anymore!"

  • Yeah...lets talk about moving. Last spring  I spent about  2 days packing.  This summer I came in and unpacked in half a day.   (This is my  3rd move in 5 years...I'm getting really good at downsizing) Today, I finally got all of the cabinets labeled.   Another "Not a woe anymore!"

  • This week was our Open House.  It went from 6:30 pm until 8:53 (don't ask).  Yeah, lets just call it 9:00.  Needless to say...home by 9:30 (my usual bedtime) and what a day.  Our school is in the middle of the city.   Parking  is a premium and when you invite the parents of 1400+ students...well lets just say I don't leave the building.  I find some work to do and snack on something  to hold me over.  This one gets a "whoa" and a "woe".  I'm tired...mighty powerful tired.  TGIW...Thank God its the Weekend! (No Woe!)

Sunday, August 24, 2014

You’ve Come a Long Way Baby!

 Yeah, I stole that title from my ex favorite cigarette brand but when you think about technology, what a journey it has been. 

I recently finished reading a book by Erma Bombeck, “A Marriage Made in Heaven or Too Tired for an Affair”.  This great read was a treasure found at Half Priced Books, and details her journey from engaged, to married raising kids, to the first moments of empty nesters.  

I took great delight in the chapter on technology.  In a section of the book labeled 1979, with a chapter title “Technology’s Coming! Technology’s Coming!” Erma and her husband have purchased their first VCR.  They are going out to dinner on a Friday night and want to record “Dallas” (what everyone watched on Friday nights).  You know that joke about not knowing how to set the time on the VCR…well, they spent so much time trying to figure it all out, that when Dallas came on they thought they were recording;  as it turned out, they were just watching it and went to dinner when it was over.    I had a similar   story with my parents.  They bought a VCR so that they would have a clock in the family room.  They had no idea what to do with the machine otherwise until I introduced them to a little “mom and pop” video store next to one of their favorite pizza shops.  Then the fun started.

I was the coolest kid in my dorm cuz I had an electric typewriter. 

I remember my father setting up his first computer in the basement.  You had to   enter prompts after the C:\ and I had a list of steps to follow to get to the word processing program.  I told my father: “This computer thing is never gonna last.” I guess I missed that one!

I remember graduating from college and getting my first job.  I began to save money so I could buy a stereo with a CD player.  It was one of those all in one deals; turn table, dual cassette deck, am/fm radio and cd player.  I had seen the writing on the wall and knew that CD’s were the up and coming technology.  I was sooo ahead of the curve!

After 2 years in the work world, I returned to school and boy that computer thing was really important as I began to write papers for my Master’s Degree in Education.    I love the sound of a good dot matrix printer! I still have documents in my portfolio with lesson plans printed with those little dots.

After another 2 years, I landed my first full time teaching job.  I had 2 old (at least I perceived them to be old) Apple IIe computers in my classroom.  I had 5 ¼ inch floppy discs with math games and Oregon Trail.  The lighting of the screen was green.  Green on black, no other color; it was one step above the Light Bright game. (Google it if you don’t remember or should I say aren’t old enough to know).  

I don’t know how I quite discovered the computer labs in our building but one day, I stumbled into one and started to play around.  We had a Mac Lab and a PC lab.  The Mac lab was smaller and less used so it was perfect for me to bring my classes in.  I became proficient at all aspects of ClarisWorks.  I had my students using the draw program to create their own notes about geometric figures.  I had them use the draw program to also design their own t-shirt iron-ons that I took home and printed on my good color printer.  I used the ClarisWorks data base program to manage paperwork and communications with the teachers of student I worked with.  I was one of the first teachers to use the email program (I think it was called White Pine) and I emailed my cousin in England (studying abroad from Case Western Reserve).  It looked like a DOS program. 

As technology was developing, I became rather proficient at the Microsoft world as well.  I used to tell people I was bi-platformal as I could operate in both the Mac Lab and PC lab.  Eventually, I caught the attention of one of the   Media Specialist in our building and she recruited me to teach teachers technology classes in the Microsoft Office world.   I managed my way through Word and PowerPoint pretty well.  I have learned a lot about Excel especially from my husband who is “certified” and I think I am one of the few people who absolutely loves Access. 

I love technology!  I am not about technology for technology’s sake but it is such an expansion of the universe.  I mean really, this morning I was sitting in church and I was reading a book.  (I read while my husband and the band rehearse).  The author referenced some guy and his reflection on God.  Not knowing who this guy was, I pulled out my IPhone 4 and googled him.  I read about this person who I had never heard of before.  He had a pretty lengthy Wikipedia page.    It was that instantaneous answer that in another decade I probably would have been too busy to seek out.  I love being able to pull out my phone and map my way to somewhere. 

Most of all, I love having an app that collects all the blogs  I like to read and being able to share them with people who may also find them valuable.   I was in a presentation one day and the speaker referenced something that I have never forgotten.  I believe the reference was made about Chris Anderson’s view of innovation (He’s the “curator “of the TED TALKS). In an article he wrote for Wired Magazine he talks about the kinds of people involved in innovation.  Excerpted from Wired article (TED Curator Chris Anderson on Crowd Accelerated Innovation BY CHRIS ANDERSON  12.27.10):  

[Anderson talks about these people]:
  • The trend-spotter, who finds a promising innovation early.
  •  The evangelist, who passionately makes the case for idea X or person Y.
  • The superspreader, who broadcasts innovations to a larger group.
  • The skeptic, who keeps the conversation honest.
  • General participants, who show up, comment honestly, and learn.

 I AM A SUPERSPREADER.   I learn something and try to   match it up to people who can use it. 

Where will technology take me tomorrow?...A long way baby!

Monday, August 4, 2014

Back to school….

So the #1 question with the beginning of August is:  “Are you ready to go back to school?”  

Everyone asks.  Most expect me to say no. 

As of July 31….I am ready.  

Don’t get me wrong…I love summer vacation. I get all kinds of projects done around our house and yard. This year,  I had the most amazing summer.  My husband and I traveled to Utah for a vacation. Two days of the vacation were a conference called Nerdtacular and the rest was touristy stuff.  The conference was fun and entertaining.  We met podcast personalities that we regularly listen to.  The rest of the week-long vacation was spent sightseeing and hiking.    It was our first time in Utah and we cannot wait to go back. This was early July. The second fun event of my summer vacation was the arrival of my parents who live in Florida.  Fifteen years ago, they decided to become permanent residents of the “Sunshine State”.  I love my parents dearly and when they come to town, we try to pack into  10 days all the things we would do together if they lived here….shopping, dinners, movies, visiting relatives and friends….The  10 days they usually stay are NEVER  enough.  It gets harder and harder, as they get older, to have them so far away. They are in generally good health but…well…just saying.

So today, they departed to go back and yeah, I’m ready to go back to school.  The school anxiety has started.  The prime indicator is dreams.  I have dreams of being in school and that kind of ends summer vacation.  The next thing is checking.  I am constantly checking for dates.  I was supposed to have a meeting this week.  I fully knew it was supposed to be on the 6th, but last night I could not go to sleep without double checking school email to confirm it. As it turns out, the meeting has been canceled.  I have signed up for a 2 day seminar later this month and I know I will not only be double checking on that meeting's dates and times but also checking on the  first day of school….The “checking” makes me crazy because I know the dates  but I worry at the same time so I keep checking…..

Yeah…I’m ready….I laugh because I usually perceive that parents are always ready to send their kids back to school almost the week after  summer vacation starts.  More and more however, I find parents complaining that school starts too early…that school should not start until after Labor Day….and in general, many parents seem to enjoy having their kids home.  So, while parents might not be ready for school to start…I am and when the kids get there...I'll be really ready!

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Into our Skin


Last night, my husband and I attended our 30th high school reunion.  Yeah, 30…the big 3-0.  I can’t believe it.  I have been to all three reunions ( 10, 20 and now the  30).   It’s kind of funny because I don’t really feel like I have a lot (if any) ties to the people I graduated with.  In fact,  there are only  2 people I am tied to from that time period: My best friend, who graduated  a year behind me and I have known her since we played soccer in 6th grade.  And , my husband, who I hooked up with at the  20 year reunion, started hanging out with, eventually dating seriously  and   married  2 years after.   Otherwise,   I see these people every ten years, make promises to keep in contact and then re-acquaint myself at the next class of ’84 gathering.  It’s kind of funny because for those 4 years, those people in that school were "the be all, end all" of existence.  As a teacher in a high school, I still kind of live in that world but  I always tell my students that life changes after high school and the people  you surround yourself with  in high school may not always be the people  you surround yourself with in life.  Of course they don’t believe me and maybe for them it is not true but…..

So some highlights of the evening:

  • I was kind of an odd duck in high school because  the first 8 years of my  academic career were spent   in a  Catholic school(Saint Barnabas)and then I transferred to the local public school.  Besides being a victim of the blue plaid uniform fashion blindness,   I was kind of a wall flower in high school.  However, of the approximate 50 or so classmates who were in attendance, at least 10 of them were my Barnabas comrades.    Several of whom were the class officers who have been the masterful planners of the  reunions.  It was cool to  see so many of my peers as stand out members of our class.
  • My husband and I were a trivia question.  The main planner of the reunion, one of my Barnabas peers, kind of takes  credit for  us getting together…if she had never planned the reunion, we  would have never met ( I think that I show she sees it) so she is very happy about us being together and made us a  trivia question.
  • A guy came up to my husband very excited to see him at the reunion.  My husband had no clue who he was by face or name.  I asked this gentleman to  give a story about them, hoping that it would jar a memory for my husband.  He told a very comical story that involved another student and a fight.  The “fight” never happened but my husband and this excited guy got in trouble anyways and had to stand by the pole during recess (punishment?).  The  third student  walked over to my  husband and his  co-conspirator and taunted them.  The co-conspirator  punched the taunter and  my husband and  the co-conspirator ended up in the principal’s office. The principal, familiar with the antics of the taunter, kind of dismissed the boys as the tauter deserved what he got.  My husband still had no recollection of the story.  Now, however, I can tease him about ending up in  the principal’s office.
  • The reunion was in a restaurant/bar.  The reunion had  half of the restaurant with a back party room where they had food set up.  In the other half of the restaurant were the non-reunion  patrons and a band.  The band was very good.  We stepped over to enjoy an 80s era song that they were playing and were standing on the edge of what was an aisle way dance floor.  There were 2 women dancing.  One of these women danced her way over and started dancing with my husband.  After 2-3 minutes of dancing with him, she leaned over and said “Are you two married?”  He replied “Yes.”  She practically ran away.  I told him “You've still got it baby!"
The faces may change…

There were a number of people there who  just look exactly the same as they did in high school.  Even if I don’t know their names, I could see them  and  know that I had seen them before.  It seems I am one of those people because  that’s what they say to me.  “You have not changed at all (except in hair color).  There were some who were totally different and I could not believe it was them.  The coolest thing though was  whether we looked “exactly the same” or totally different, we all seemed to have grown "into our skin".  We all seemed so comfortable with who we were and  what we had become.   I always try to help my students understand that  while high school is everything to them, it is like a minute of your life.  The beauty of life is  who you become and how you  embrace the person that you are. I learned this most from my husband who said one of my most attractive qualities that he   liked about me was that when he met me, I was “totally comfortable in my skin”.

Friday, July 18, 2014

To blog or not to blog....


If you are reading this, you’re probably like…”oh here she goes again with a resolution to blog again”.  

My husband and I recently attended an event called Nerdtacular.  We were drawn to this event by podcasters we (he mainly) listen to via our smart devices.  The Nerdtacular conference featured different live shows that these podcasters create.  Many of the attenders were podcasters themselves.  I never really realized how widespread podcasting is.  It’s like you pick a topic and find some friends to talk about that topic and then you upload it to a place where people can download it and listen to it at their leisure.  While most of the “conference “was entertaining, there was a breakout session on podcasting.  We, (my husband and I) attended this breakout session.  I was mainly interested in it as I see it as a valuable classroom tool and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why more teachers are not using it. What better way to let student review your lecture than to re-listen to it at their own pace? When the breakout session was finished, we were both really jazzed about podcasting.  However, we don’t know what to talk about and that soon fizzled our excitement.  We then discussed our blogs which I am not faithful to but my husband is a pretty avid blogger. http://nocturnecsh.blogspot.com/
  
One of the major avenues to improve teaching is reflection.  If you reflect on your practice, you can look at ways to improve what you do.  So, I suggested to my husband that we set aside time during our week to blog.  We usually have a date night on Fridays but sometimes that moves to another night because of different events.  We decided to make our date night Saturday and use Fridays for “reflection” and writing.  I have to say, he first proposed using Monday nights but I thought it would be too difficult to reflect on the first day of the week and I suggested Fridays.   So this is my first “Friday” Reflection.

I think as far as the podcasting goes, I will use the medium once school starts.  There are some on line applications that allow teachers to capture notes and post them on line for students to review.  While this is not a “podcast” in the truest sense, I gained enough knowledge from the podcasting breakout session to know I have the equipment and as the presenters kind of said “just start doing it”.
Now the blogging.  I am going to try to pick out one really good thing that happened over the week and one not so good thing and reflect on why the good thing was good and how I can improve the not so good thing.    
We will see what we will see.  Until next reflection Friday!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Irony

I find it ironic that there is a belief that standardized testing will improve student learning while there is a supposed issue that businesses cannot find "qualified" employees. Haven't we been doing standardized testing for at least the last 20 years? The employment pool would come from these students.....seems to me that the standardized testing may have had the opposite effect?

Just wondering?