Dear world of parents who just became educators: Don't panic.

World of parents who just became educators: I see you flipping out.

Credit: Bored Panda

I have the unique experience of being both a teacher (middle school, science) and having been raised home schooled. I was educated by a non-teacher parent, and I got a great education. (Seriously, you can do this)

I have some things I really want you to know:

1. Don’t expect yourselves to come up with 7.5 hours of education a day. When you are only educating 1-6 students, education takes less time. There are transitions, and behavioral issues that come up in a school that aren’t going to waste your time. It takes far less time to refocus 4 kids than it does to refocus 30. When I was home schooled in high school, even with a heavy workload, I often finished my schoolwork for the day by noon.
2. This isn’t forever! They’ll be okay. You don’t have to plan for their whole educational life, you just need to keep their brains limber. If you mess this up, it’s just a small portion of their educational career. Don’t let fear paralyze you.



Image Credit: Edublox

3. Focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic(No matter how old they are)                                    This is an awesome opportunity to reinforce the basics! If you send them back to their teachers with grade level reading abilities, a fluidity with numbers, and writing that is legible and logical, their teachers will be eternally grateful and your students will have a new confidence in school. 
• Reading: If your child is struggling in any subject, chances are their reading level is part of their struggle. This year, I had a large percent of students fail a test question that I knew they knew the answer to. Upon investigation among the students involved, it came to light that they missed it because the question contained the word "abundant" and they did not know what that meant so they were unable to understand the question to answer it! The only way they will truly improve their vocabulary is if they expose themselves repeatedly to an excessive amount of words in the context of engaging stories, so that they gain an internal understanding of these higher level words. They will achieve a better reading level by reading LOTS of books that INTEREST them, so don’t force them to read Dickens. Make times in the day where the only option they have is reading: they pick the book, but reading is the only activity. Don’t be afraid to make it last a while(an hour at a time is not too much). Make them earn technology back, if you have to.
• Writing: When asked to demonstrate their learning, most students struggle with expressing their thoughts in detailed paragraphs(again, I’m talking even middle school grades and upwards). This is a skill they need. It is a skill they should have conquered by 4th grade, and yet most haven’t. Have them “journal” a daily paragraph on their opinions, thoughts about the news, arguments as to why pizza is better than spaghetti, summaries or comparisons of Netflix shows...ANYTHING. Give them a topic and demand a daily paragraph out of them. Let them do the easy topics with you so that they can address the difficult concepts with me. (Note: If they're not in 3rd grade, 3 sentence paragraphs are not sufficient anymore. Every statement should be justified. 6 sentences is not uncommon. Look up RACE writing strategies, or CER for science as models of paragraph writing) 
• Arithmetic: Can I tell you something? Odds are, your middle school and high school students don’t know their division and multiplication tables. (Seriously!) Maybe they learned them, once upon a time, but they have long since forgotten them. They’re trying to learn pre-algebra and above, and they’re getting hung up on 7x9, rather than the algebraic principals or differentiating between densities of substances. They can’t learn new material if all of their brain power is used up on simple math. Bribe them. Threaten them. Do what is necessary to insist they learn their math facts(Please! Have you ever seen your child read an analogue clock? Most of my students get stuck when it comes to reading the minutes because it requires the 5x tables to be known) 



(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

4. Think of this as a “study abroad” opportunity for your kids.   Instead of traveling, they have the opportunity to broaden their studies! After you’ve reinforced the basics, turn to inquiry based-learning. There are two methods that can be used separately or in tandem.
• Make them teach you. You don't have to be the Sage on the Stage. In fact, you've been parenting long enough to know that when you try to be the sage on the stage, they stop listening. Instead of accepting the weight of teaching your student about a specific historic event or science concept, give them a subject you expect them to teach you. Have them make a poster, pamphlet, children's book, a Tik Tok, a movie or slide show.*(Please see my note at the bottom on internet use) Tell them to come up with and complete a science fair project with the materials in the house. Give them an expected timeline for a finished project(You might even break it down for them. IE: I expect 3 slides to be done by ____ and then 3 by ____). Send them to the internet and tell them you look forward to what they will teach you, and stand by and watch them grow. They will learn great skills about utilizing search engines, and manipulating word/slide programs, editing programs, etc. I’ve done this with my own students and often they teach themselves so much more on the topic than I was planning to teach because they accidentally get interested and “over-research” their topic. They’ll also be learning much needed self-management and problem solving skills. 
• Let them choose what they learn. Ask them what they want to learn. If they have a random question ("Why are there little holes in the bread?") send them off to discover their own answers instead of explaining it to them. We may not be teaching that concept in 6th grade science (or whatever grade your child is in) but it is not going to hurt to let them experience the freedom of curiosity and discovery. So what, if the life cycle of a butterfly is below their grade level? We call that Reinforcement. So what, if momentum of a roller coaster is above their grade level? We call that Enrichment. So what if it's something random like cooking, knitting, coding, building a trebuchet in the backyard, or stop-motion movies? If they are self-motivated to learn, and the materials are available, go with it! As much as possible(and as safety allows) let them do it themselves. There are so many skills and concepts that students learn on accident when they are "just playing around" with a project. They might accidentally internalize the concept of momentum while building a marble roller coaster, which will make the concept "just click" when their physics teacher introduces the academic concepts and equations to them in the near or distant future. Education is best built on background experiences, so let them delve into experiences. Let them realize that education is kind of fun. (It's actually the homework/tests they hate) Schools are such a highly populated learning environment that personalized learning opportunities are few and far between even when teachers try their hardest. Seize the opportunity to give your child some control in their education during this time. 



Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons 

5. Let them be bored. 
   Let them doodle on scratch paper, and teach themselves origami. Send them outside without WiFi to discover the joys of dirt, or following ants, let them build forts, or catapults. Let them watch clouds drift by, and come up with rules for their own games. Play and boredom is SO important for the brain and modern kids aren’t getting enough of it! Let’s face it, MANY of science’s great discoveries came from either being outside or being given too much time to think. Let your kids have the chance to bore themselves to their own genius. 
6. Don't be ashamed of technology. This may seem in direct contradiction to the point above, but it's more about balance. And sanity. Sometimes, you, as an adult, need a break. Sometimes, them watching an educational show on Netflix actually has academic merit, wedging little facts and songs into their brains that may help later. (Also, you can get Schoolhouse Multiplication Rock on Amazon...cough cough math facts cough cough cough!!!) Exercising on whatever gaming console is a good thing. Learning to compete playfully with each other is a good thing. YouTube, while it holds a whole lot of wasted time, also has MANY redeeming educational videos. It has art lessons. It has astronauts. It has Rube Goldberg Machines. It has yoga and dance lessons. A well-monitored YouTube can be AMAZINGLY educational. Brainpop, Plum Landing, Study Jams, PHET, Prodigy Math, and other educational websites are FANTASTIC resources with simulations and helpful games. Code.org and Codecombat.com will teach your kids coding through games, which is useful, because it forces your students to practice cause and effect thinking. Even if they don't design the next big app, it will help them academically to learn to think through a problem! There are math game websites, there are logic websites. There are free or cheap apps that can be used to teach everything from languages(Duolingo), to reading(Hooked on Phonics), to problem solving(Zoombinis). USE THEM. They are minimal brain work for you, and extra brain practice for your kids.
7. Use everyday moments. Have them measure out the ingredients for you. Most students struggle with fractions, and this is a real life reinforcement. Let them be in charge of making a meal (Maybe start with breakfast or lunch, they're easier). Have them follow the directions on the back of the mac and cheese box. Have them read the meat thermometer for you. Have them cut the veggies. Have them help you repair a leak. Let them help/watch you trouble shoot a household problem that comes up. Show them how to use a screwdriver and hammer safely. Teach your teens how to change a tire or the oil, or put on snow chains. Teach any child who can reach the washer(even with a step stool) how to do the laundry from start to finish (seriously, I went to college with students who didn't know how to do what my 5 year old can do on his own with a step stool). Make your teen pay some of your bills online, while you guide from behind their chair. Send your teen out to teach his younger brother something the teen does well. These are all incredibly valuable learning opportunities that busy families don't often get. 
8. It's okay to blow off a day. No one is going to mark your kid absent or call you to provide a doctor's note. If your plan/schedule goes out the window, and everyone just brain rots for a day, maybe it's what you needed as a family. Don't beat yourself up. You'll have other days.
9. Don't let random internet strangers like me boss you around or shame you. I'm giving tips with the best intentions, but I don't know you or your family like you do. And maybe that one mom with the perfect schedule and the amazing Pinterest "summer camp" projects actually is doing all of the stuff she's posting(and... maybe she's not), but you shouldn't beat yourself up if it's more stressful than helpful. If something a random internet stranger says doesn't work for you, don't burden yourself with guilt. You know your family, and you're the one responsible for making sure you survive them and they survive you, do what's right for you! 

I originally started this post as just a quick Facebook status, and then I realized I had too much to say. I've just spent the day watching parents panic on social media, and the main thing I want you to take away from this is: Don't panic. Take advantage of the opportunities you can, enjoy what you can, survive what you must, but don't worry about the teachers judging you for what you accomplish during this time. I can't speak for the rest of the teachers, but I'm just going to assume you did your best and be glad that everyone survived each other!


*A note about technology and the internet: PLEASE, no matter what the child's age(toddler or teen), do not give them unlimited, unsupervised access to the internet or social media. Even the most innocent of children can stumble across dark zones of the internet, and the less innocent ones know how to discreetly change the tabs to something else and erase viewing history when they hear your footsteps coming down the hall. I know you may think, "Not my sweetheart, she's too young..." or "he's a good student" but I've taught with Chromebooks in the classroom for 5 years now. You wouldn't leave them unattended at the beach, if you knew there was a possibility of rip tides. There are rip tides on the internet. NO child should be allowed privacy on the internet. Have them do their research with the computer on the dining room table, screen facing towards the heavily trafficked part of the room, and glance over their shoulders regularly.

Valentine's Thoughts from an Annoyingly Single Person...

I understand that there are so many legitimate marital battles that I am fortunate not to have to overcome, due to the fact that I am single. In fact, I'm that obstinately single person who occasionally likes to gloat about it to my married friends. Even without my stating it though, I sometimes see a married person look longingly upon my single status and recall "the single good ol' days" when they didn't have to struggle with compromises, or what real love looks like; when they had never spontaneously burst into a seemingly random, knock down, tear down arguments over minor things that hold convoluted major meanings to one or both of the parties.

I love the lack of complication my marital status brings to my life. I cherish the ability to be entirely inconsiderate of others in my decisions about home, dreams, time, and finances. I try to be polite, and socially acceptable about it, but if we're being honest: I am that annoyingly satisfied, perpetually single person.

Would you like to know what can drive this annoyingly single person mad with jealousy?

❥ Next time we're hanging out, answer that phone call at work from your spouse, who is calling from the grocery store, wondering if you need anything picked up while he is there. Or wondering if you would like him to just pick something for dinner up on the way home from work tonight.

❥ In conversation, tell the story about the disaster of the burst pipe that left the both of you knee deep in water, and bailing, sopping, squeegee-ing for dear life together. Get into the obscene details about how one you was dialing for help, while the other ran outside to find the shut-off valve. Be cruel, and explain that only one person of this partnership is missing some work today to wait for the plumber to show up during work hours.

❥ Or, your spouse could be sick sometime, and you could mention needing to drop by the store to pick up medicine and soup on the way home. Make sure you do so in that nonchalant tone that says while you would really rather go straight home, you don't mind doing this, because you know the act will be reciprocated when you catch the very same cold next week.

❥ Have a bad day at work, and come home to someone who is legally obligated to listen to your rant for at least a few minutes, and will likely at least pretend to sympathize with you.

❥Work for 14 hours every day for multiple days in a row, and come home to the fridge still, somehow, magically having edible food in it. 

❥ Go on some stupid, boring road trip(like that doctor's visit in Santa Maria), where you take turns driving, having someone to share meals with along the way, argue over music choices, and end up with a couple of entertaining adventures shared out of the blasted thing.

❥Come home to clean, unfolded laundry on the couch. A big, huge pile of laundry that may actually irritate you, because it's eating the couch alive, and was seemingly left for you to fold. Laundry that, when last you thought about it, was dirty.

❥Forget to mail a bill in, only to later learn that your spouse noticed it on the counter and did it for you.

You see, I have noticed that many "til-death-do-us-part roommates" hit a point of frustration occasionally. They get into the marriage, and then start feeling like they are having to do more than their fair share, or that the spouse is not living up to promises, spoken or assumed. And then, holidays like Valentine's day and anniversaries push them into that dark, bitter place...because it's not all that they had dreamed. Maybe they are muttering to themselves how much easier it would have been to stay single. It's true, marriage is a lot of work, and I am in no way belittling those feelings and causes of resentment that can crop up in a marriage.

I am not saying sweep the issues under the rug and pretend to be Hallmark happily-ever-after, but I am saying that there are some parts that are really nice.

Whatever side of the marital status check boxes you are on, the other side always has some pretty attractive offers. What I want to point out to all of those married sorts in my life is this: sometimes you're really lucky to have that other person.

Maybe you have forgotten. Or maybe you married before really hitting the level of adult life that happens once the "fun and fancy-free" version of grown-up doesn't really work anymore. When you're a single adult, everything is up to you. When someone in you relationship forgets to pay a bill: it was you. When someone in your relationship needs to pick up medicine and food because someone in your relationship is so sick they just don't have the energy to do either, but needs both in order to feel better, both of those someones are you, and the job may or may not actually happen. When you need to make a decision between seemingly similar options that you know could have unknown, extremely crucial effects on your future, you only have your gut to go on. When someone lets the house turn to a complete, unkempt disaster, the person you have to be mad at for falling down on the job is-you guessed it-you! I love my life, however I admit: I live two basic categories of life(home and career) with all of my heart and energy to achieve fantastic levels of mediocrity in both. Both arenas demand tons of energy and thought, and often, getting things accomplished looks very similar to a triage at a disaster site. I am not saying these things to garner pity, just to point out those little things that have great value.

Valentines, maybe your other half really is falling down on the job. Maybe they are only doing 2 out of the 200 things they are supposed to be doing in their half of shared life. Maybe your expectations are set too high, and the list should only be 100. Either way, they are there. Doing 2 things. 2 things that you would have had to do yourself if they weren't there. And if this year is one of those bitter valentines years for you, maybe take a moment to appreciate those little things that you roommate-for-life does that you don't have to.

While I take the day to enjoy the fantastic feeling of being completely without obligations on this Hallmark holiday, I challenge the couples to take a moment to revel in those simple, almost unnoticeable things that make the annoyingly happy single person jealous of your non-singleness.

Balloons: A tale of Morals and Passion

A couple years ago, I was volunteering at Vacation Bible School. I was scanning through journals recently, and came across this entertaining story that occurred during that time.

During this particular summer, for VBS, I ran the 1st-3rd learning station, which is where emphasis on learning the verse and how the verse applies in life.  

Every day, we unscrambled the words verse (I had two sets of the verse in different colors that I scattered-every word in the verse on individual flash cards-all over the floor. The two teams would have to try to find the correct colored cards and put it completely together before the other team). After both teams had assembled their verses, we would discuss the hard words in the verse(1st-3rd graders do not know what the word "among" means), why some words are there, and overall, make sure everybody understands the meaning of the verse. 
 

Courtesy of Google's free to use images.

After this, I also tried to incorporate an extra game that reinforced some key idea from the verse in it, in hopes that it will help the meaning of the verse to stick in mind.  On Tuesday, the verse was Psalm 56:3, "When I am afraid, I will trust in you."  The emphasis was on trusting God. It is a very simple concept, but sometimes, children-who tend to trust everyone-have a difficult time understanding the real meaning of trust.

So, I did an awful thing to them. I broke their trust a little. I told the kids that the team that got the most whole balloons in their bags by relaying the balloons to the 2 leaders per team that held the bag would win. Every unpopped balloon counted as a point. The thing I did not tell the kids was that back when the group entered the room, I pulled one leader aside, handed that leader a thumb tack, and told her it was her job to pop any balloon that came to her.

And with great excitement, the game began. The children raced fervently, performing their tasks as they toted a balloon to their team's bag, and as each game progressed, the kids slowly caught on that the popping was not accidental. 

Courtesy of Google's free to use images

There was anguish, shock and betrayal in their eyes before they gathered their wits about themselves and began shouting to each other, "Don't take the balloon to him! Not to him! He'll pop it!" At the end of the game, we went into the classroom and counted the balloons and had a discussion that often had to include forgiveness of the poor "bad guy" leader. Most of the discussions went a lot like this one, but only one kid finished the discussion the way this one finished:

"So... one of the leaders kept popping your balloons, and one of the leaders did not pop any.  Which leader are you more likely to give balloons to?" 

THAT ONE! 

"Why?" 

Cuz she didn't pop the balloons! 

"So she proved herself trustworthy?" 

Yes! 

"Because his popping of the balloons wasn't good for you, was it? People earn our trust by doing things that are good for us. What are some things that God has done for us that lets us know we can trust him?" 

And one boy piped up adamantly, casting a glare to the supposedly forgiven leader,

"God didn't pop my balloons, either!"

 And so ended the moral of the day, 

Courtesy of Google's free to use images

Cast all your cares upon God, for he is not a balloon popper... 

 

1 thing for the 1st day of the 1st month of 2015

1. How often do you get to eat the first strawberry of the year on the first day of the year?  Odd.  Tasty, but odd!

Quilting, as told by the pieces.

Adoption is like making a quilt, if you view the quilt making from the point of view of the fabric:

There were once these various whole, uniquely designed pieces of fabric. Different colors, different textures, different grains, different fibers, different weaves, different vibes, but they were each part of their own bolt. Bundled with their own cloth, then some thing happened, and they were separated from the bolt, cut, ripped, torn. 

Something happened, and they were all now pieces.  All the pieces were then gathered up and arranged and rearranged, pressed, and bound together with thread. This seems like a good idea,  because as scraps and pieces, we are all lost, but as quilts, we hope to be beautiful. 

 

 People like to skip to admiring a beautiful product, but they forget the point of view of the fabric. 

That binding fabric together with thread requires extra support, pressing with heat, and continual piercing with needles as they try to fill the holes, close the gaps, create a unity that had not previously been imagined by the fabrics on the bolts, and may not feel instantly natural to the pieces. Quilts have to be reinforced because blankets with that many seams are more susceptible to tears.  They have to be handled with care, because something with that much intricate work put into it is more easily damaged by a careless visitor. 

Quilts can be exquisitely beautiful because of the careful arrangement of fabrics from a variety of sources, because of the delicate skill required to create balance, and the time and work needed to turn small, seemingly random pieces into a big, cohesive, intentional blanket. In that beauty, it is easy for observers to forget the feelings of the fabrics that were first turned into pieces and then arranged, rearranged, ironed, pinned, pierced, bound, and trimmed to create a blanket that hopefully turns out beautifully.

The fabric endures so much more to become a quilt than it generally does to become a comforter.  

Adoption can be a beautiful thing. However, because it is dealing with small pieces being patched together, it can also be an arduous, tedious, fragile, and sensitive task for families that become quilts. 

Even if they eventually become strikingly beautiful quilts someday, all of the pieces, experience -and often silently recall- the overwhelming task of going from fabric, to pieces, to quilt. 

Adoption is never a simple project. 

(All images taken from Google's Free to Share image collection.)

Lessons Learned So Far: Teaching, Year 3, Entry 1

Since I have had many visitors lately, it only seems fair that I write the blog I should have written months ago.

Year 3 has a bit of a twist, because I changed schools, which means relearning many of the things I had already learned at the last school!

1. The teacher and the classroom are symbiotic creatures. We're lichen. This is something I had begun to understand a little at my last school, because my classroom and I were getting along so well. In my work, that classroom was my right arm. I knew how it worked, I knew the trouble spots, and I knew it better than my students. Changing schools to a new classroom has got me missing my right arm a little. We're starting to grow on each other, though. (I think I just heard some science nerds giggle...but maybe it was just me.)

2. Culture matters. I know we all say it, and we all recite it in our BTSA and credentialing essays, but it's still kind of jarring to actually come across the evidence. I moved from one low income school to another low income school, both with similar social issues, and similar household statistics. They are extremely different students. The school itself is extremely different. Even the culture of colleagues has its own beat to learn(There: Teachers used more last names of colleagues when discussing things amongst other teachers, here: First names, almost always. I'm still playing the matching game of which first name goes to the last name I learned from listening to students discuss their teachers!) Often it's the little things that baffle you in the change, such as at the old school the borrow pencils couldn't have erasers on them, the students would destroy them, at the new school the students can handle the erasers on the pencils, but will thrash the large spare erasers left on the table. Why the difference? I. Seriously. Don't. Know.!!! What is the psychology here?!

3. BTSA still sucks. But it's not as scary as it used to be. I think perhaps that lowers my efficiency in it. All I know is that any small dregs of fascination I once had with it are gone now. If it was a toy, it'd be in the Goodwill box already!

4. The "Are you a sub?" question returns upon changing schools. Dang, I had just finally put that question to bed with the students at the last school!

5. Old technology. New technology. They'll both steamroll your day someday. Whether it's the computer that fondly recalls the debut of Oregon Trail as the good ol' days, or the shiny new projector that experiences epileptic fits when it sees light on the screen, it's always best to be ready to teach that lesson in a more creative fashion if necessary!

6. Students like control.  Gasp! What?! I know, "Thanks for that, Señora Obvioso!" But rather than just complain about the obvious, sometimes it's good to establish that this fact regularly causes problems, and try to work it into a few solutions. I have tried the whole, "You will stay in this classroom as long as it takes until you tell me what was wrong about your behavior." (Oh goody, a show down) And believe me, some of those students would have spent their summer vacation in my classroom if I didn't find a way out of that corner I painted myself in.

7. Give them better ultimatums. Let's face it, if you're being held late individually by the teacher, odds are, you're already in a lose-lose situation, and one "lose" option allows you to brag about your resilience to your friends when the teacher finally has to let you go to the next class. However, give a student the option in the form of "Lose&Win or Lose&Lose", and you'll find the student in a more reasonable mood. Example: "You're staying 10 seconds late if you can tell me what was wrong with your choice earlier, or a full minute if you can't." No coercing, no pleading, just the facts. (I have a timer. I use it obsessively. They know it will be an exact minute.) Either way, you're staying, one way lets you shorten the stay and get on with your life. I tried this one week. Kids who would have gladly waited 15-45 minutes to stick it to me with my previous approach will fess up with full details in 10 seconds.

8. Make it their problem. You may remember from previous LLSF entries, I have borrow pencils. Big, fat finishing pencils, this year from Lowes (I like these especially because they have the motto "Never stop improving" printed on all of them. Good statement for a classroom). I have magnets strapped to them. They get 5 new ones stuck to the board every quarter (The old ones are removed). If someone forgets to bring one back, then they only have 4 spares until the end of the quarter. If someone bites them until they're nasty, then they have bitten pencils until the end of the quarter. If someone saws a hole midway through the pencil (I have no idea how that was done), it is what it is. The regular borrowers learn, if they want a pencil available, they better put it back; if they want a nice pencil tomorrow, they better not destroy it today. It's their problem. If something goes awry, it is not my job to fix it, and thus, there is no point in messing with the pencils to mess with me when you're cranky. The next part is the part I'm really getting better at this year: when something does go amiss, gently remind them that it would be great for the class if the pencil found its way back. I'm not going to yell at you if you took it accidentally, because it's not my problem. Everybody knows it went missing in 5th period yesterday. If you don't want to look like "the class that made it so we only have 4 pencils", it might be a good idea to bring it back. For the first time ever, we got a perfect score (all 5 pencils made it to the end of the quarter) by the 2nd quarter this year. It took until the 4th quarter last year.

9. The kids you really want to scream at are the kids who really want you to scream at them. This one goes back to #6. Control. If they can get you to lose your cool, then you are in no more control than they are. They have proven that you are just as unstable as they feel. They knew they couldn't lean on you for support all along, because you're irrational. There are some specific students who really feel the need to test this every stinking day. If you give in, and raise your voice, you're finally entering a battle that they can win. They know all the tricks. They have all the perfect button pushing lines on speed dial (and they know they work, they've tested them out on their parents ahead of time). Let's face it, they're kids. They're just flat out better at irrational shouting matches. At some point, your reason will kick in and remind you this is idiotic, and force you to back down. The odds of the student's reason debilitating them in such a battle is extremely low. Don't go there. Send them out instead!

10. Children forget that they are good at learning. Children are the best learners in the world. They pick things up with an alacrity that is the envy of everyone who misses that ability, and yet we have several generation of children that are scared to learn, because successful learning has been defined as something completely unattainable. People have a lot of negative things to say about Common Core. And to be honest, there are a lot of negative things about Common Core (although, often the actual negative things and the spoken negative things are not in the same neighborhood), but before everybody gets up in arms and starts defending the "good ol' days" let's recall that the good ol' days as they stand now are pretty sucky. The last system of education had become a place solely of telling kids to sit down, shut up, you don't know anything, here's what you need to memorize to be considered smart. There are actual official directions (IN POSTERS AND BOOKS) that warn teachers not to let students play with ideas, don't let them share ideas without teacher approval first, or take guesses and try them out, experiment, or come to their own answers through logic, because- much like Thomas Edison- they might not get the answer right the first time. Don't let them think it out; it's dangerous! This is the classroom the students have learned how to learn in, and so as science does its little tap dance of glee over being told by the Common Core that the students need to learn to "figure something out through experimentation" the students' eyes grow wide with panic. You give them a situation, tell them to make a prediction about the outcome and their mouths go dry. How are they supposed to know? You never told them the outcome. This is terrifying to them. However, give them lots of chances to play with things, to work things out, to be the ones who hit upon the answer before their peers, and you'll see them start to realize something: Thinking is fun. It's just a very slow awakening process, and I have to remember to be patient, and give gentle nudges as I wait for them to be brave enough to try something (cotton, coal, wire...anything!) until a light bulb comes on.

11. Ask more questions. Whether it's in a disciplinary situation, helping with student understanding of a concept, or even when greeting a student in the morning, questions are important. Asking someone a question implies that they already have important information stored up, ready to access. Too often, as a teacher, I assume I probably already know the source of the confusion or problem. Too often, I end up wasting a lot of time trying to explain the molecular description of density, when a student really understood all that, she just wanted to know how to pronounce "molecular."  Too often, students assume that they are completely, and hopelessly lost, and when I ask questions to figure out what they already understand, they realize they did understand it, they just didn't think it could be that simple. Too often, I assume that a student is just in a meddling, cantankerous mood, when I finally find out that the student's parent got arrested last night, and the student is just overpoweringly concerned about the rumors flying about campus.

12. When you tell the students to stack their chairs on the table before they go, maybe make sure that everyone understands what that actually means. We have special chairs that allow you to rest the seat of the chair on top of the table, while the legs dangle underneath the table. It's great. Make sure, however, that you do not assume that because there are 35 students doing it correctly in the room, that the one new student will look around and do as they do. If you do, you will wind up with 35 chairs neatly tucked onto the table, and one chair literally sitting (feet and all) on the top of a table, looking out over its peers, wondering why all the other chairs in the room are so short...

Dead Fields

At first glance, it looks like death. Grayish brown, still, parched, rustling.
If stepped on, it might crunch, crumble, and blow away.   
It's 100 varieties of brown and 3 shades of brownish green lingering through.
Scarred. Mottled with marks of existence.

The display of desolation would present perfectly if not for the  stubborn spurts of life.
We originated from migration, dust, from poverty clashed with ingenuity - sparking hope.
We grew up with dust in our eyes, wind parching our lips.  Particles of studies settling in our pores, the statistics of failure. 
And yet we stay. We grow under a demanding sun. We hope against popular odds.
We know that in a dead field there is unseen life.  We know that where there is nothing vitality can hide beneath the surface.
Dig in and churn, there is abundance, just add water. Delve deeper and fortune courses under the ugliest crust.

 

The spirit of our home reaches back to our founders. Reaches back to the assurance that despite all appearances, encountering nothing is a catalyst for success.

So we stay with dust filled lungs and souls because endurance, hope, and effort were our founders.  Though it is brown, still and parched, we are the life that defies the first glance.