A is for Acceptance, L is for Love

          Every school year starts as a clean slate with a whole new group of kids, parents, surprises, challenges, failures and successes. In some years patience is hard to find and  requires digging a little bit deeper to find a little glimmer of what’s left and some years things run more smoothly from start to finish and teaching is a bit more effortless.

          This year, even though it’s almost June, We're still working on walking quietly in the hallway, remembering to raise a hand when you have something important to say, not fooling around in the bathroom when you have a job to do, and teaching kids to be kind and respectful, this has been one of those years of digging just a little bit deeper.

            This year has had its challenges, but when I look back on the past 9 months, (and I’m convinced it’s no coincidence that the school year is the same length as an average pregnancy) and I think about how far they have come, I know that the year has been successful in ways that I haven’t necessarily noticed day to day.

                        I have learned a lot from these children.

            I’ve learned that classroom management is ever evolving. Every teacher has a bag of tricks we pull out to create a safe and happy learning environment and just when you think that after lots of years you have it down, you don’t. You need to abandon some of those tricks and find new ones and there is never a guarantee that those will work. But you keep trying because teachers don’t give up on anyone.

             This year more than ever I have realized the importance of being on a team, the realization that I can’t, or wouldn’t want to do this alone, that some days the only thing that gets me through the door are the people  I get to work with everyday.

            I was reminded that every child has a gift even those that try my patience everyday, those that come with academic challenges, or difficult lives outside of school. Those kids are the ones I work at the hardest. Getting them to like coming to school everyday and engaged in the things we are learning, getting them to persevere and try their best even when they would much rather be playing video games or running around outside.

            I’ve learned that even the shyest kid will eventually come around and show his true personality if I can show him that it’s safe to let it out.

            I’ve learned that sometimes my expectations of a child’s ability is out of whack and they surprise me with the things they are capable of, or let me know when it’s time to back off a bit and just let a kid sit quietly in a corner with a good book.

            I was reminded that a sibling is never like the one that came before and sometimes this is a pleasant surprise!

            I learned that every family is unique and important and each and every parent wants what’s best for their child and I was reminded that every child is somebody’s baby.

            I’ve learned that there is always something new to learn, about children and families, moms, dads, new baby sisters, big brothers, dinosaurs, The Force (although I’m pretty much an expert on all things Star Wars).

            I’ve learned more about bravery this year than I ever expected to. I’ve seen children take risks that many adults are unable to take and I become a bit emotional when I realize how fortunate I am to have been here to witness it, support it and be a part of it.

            This year I’ve had to teach more about acceptance than any other year, and occasionally it’s the adults in our building that I’ve had to educate more so than the kids. Kids are pretty accepting little creatures especially in kindergarten. Kids don’t notice color, or gender or disabilities, and if they do, they aren’t afraid to ask a question and deserve an honest answer. Lucky for me they are also pretty satisfied with the simple answers.

                So this year even though I’m tired, really, really tired and very ready for summer, this year, this team and these kids have, in many ways, made me a better teacher and I will be forever grateful for that.

           

S is for Snowflakes

"The thing about "snowflakes" is this: They are beautiful and unique, but in large numbers become an unstoppable avalanche that will bury you." @GeorgeTakei

 This election cycle has sucked me in and spit me out.

Confidence, pride, disbelief, shock, sadness, disgust, fear, hope, empowerment. I've felt them all.

I was an active participant in the No on Two Movement, which kept the cap on Charter Schools in our state. I stuck a bumper sticker to my car, I made phone calls, I held a sign, I talked to anyone I could about this important vote.  I was more worried about this passing than I was about the Presidential Election. I was confident my candidate would win, the polls said so, why worry?
I've always been a firm believer that my local government is more important to my day to day happiness than who is sitting in The White House.
I was proud to exercise my right to vote, I was about to vote for the first woman President of the United States, a historic vote to be sure considering not so very long ago I wouldn't have been able to cast a vote at all.
As I watched the results come in, it was clear the charter school cap would remain. I was thrilled and settled in to watch as the rest of the evening unfolded.
As more and more state results were called I sat in disbelief. No, this really can't be happening. What went wrong, how could this be? The questions were endless. I tried to go to bed, I couldn't sleep. I got up the next morning feeling as if I had been run over by a truck. She was so much more qualified, intelligent, well spoken, reasonable!
Although my candidate lost the election, she IS the choice of the majority but that is of small consolation. He is The President now. I can respect the office, but I'll be honest, I'm having a very hard time respecting the man.
I couldn't bring myself to watch the inauguration, I'm proud to live in a country where the transfer or power is indeed peaceful, but I couldn't watch. I couldn't. It's not about being a sore loser, it's not about his politics, it's not that I'm a registered Democrat and he's not. Had any of the other Republican candidates been elected I would have been disappointed, but I could have accepted it.
I don't support anything he represents and I'm fearful for my family, my students, my friends and what this administration is going to mean for us and the things we care about. Especially those who are two young to speak for themselves.
Inauguration night I was sitting with my youngest talking. We were both obviously sad. He told me how weird it felt for him that Barack Obama was no longer our president.
"He's been The President for half my life mom."  "I'll be in college by the time we can vote Trump out." "But this time you'll get to vote!", I told him.
I have no doubt, that like my older two boys, he'll be a thoughtful voter. He'll pay attention to the issues and he'll do his research. He'll be opinionated and he'll be able to back up his opinion.
It's his generation where our hopes lie now. If the Trump presidency has done nothing else it has made people stop and pay attention. I will admit I have watched more CNN, listened to more NPR and read more than I ever have in the past.
I did not march yesterday, but I wish I had. I was proud watching so many people, not only in Washington, Boston and almost every major city in our country, but around the world marching in protest and for basic human rights.
It was empowering to watch the peaceful protest of people who are afraid of what may come, but not afraid to stand up for what they believe in.  Two of my former students and their wonderful, thoughtful Iranian born mom attended the Woman's March. My name is proudly displayed on their banner, second name top row! I am honored to have been included.

I think we are going to be okay. I pray that we are going to be okay. It might be a bumpy road, but with all of us who are unhappy with the way things are, who are not going to stay quiet, who will speak up for those who can not speak up for themselves, when we join together with kindness, in peace and with purpose we can make a difference.
Together we can move mountains.
Love Trumps Hate
Yes We Can.

L is for Leadership

What makes a good school leader?
I've been thinking about this question a lot over the past week or so and I've come to the conclusion that it depends on who you ask.

As a parent my view of what makes a good principal has changed over the years.  When I was the parent of a kindergartener I just wanted to know that my child was safe and happy. I wasn't so concerned with his academic achievement at the time because I knew that would eventually take care of itself. I was more concerned that the school was locked during the day and there was enough coverage at recess. As my children moved up through the grades the quality of the education they received became more important to me and I needed to know the principal was overseeing that. However when I think back on the principals in each  of the schools my children attended I realize something, there was trust between the principal and the teachers in the school. Teachers had some autonomy in their own classrooms and although the newest program or philosophy would make its way into the classrooms it was the teacher who was mostly in charge of what happened there. As a parent I was fortunate to have children with few behavior or academic issues so my relationships with the various school principals was one of collegiality. However, when an issue would arise I appreciated it when a principal could be fair and listen to all sides of an issue before making a decision. As a parent I needed to know that my children had a principal that would listen to me as a parent of a child in his school and that my opinion mattered even if we weren't in agreement.

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

~John Quincy Adams

As a teacher my view of what I believe makes a good school leader is very different. As a teacher I realize just keeping everyone in the building safe is just one part of a very complicated job. I believe that a principal should be child focused in every decision. Education has become a business and unfortunately very much about data and "moving the needle". Data of course has it's place as a valuable tool in giving children the education that best suits their needs,  but it's important to not lose sight of the fact that we are in the business of children. As a teacher I want a principal who takes the time to know the children and their families, who understands that school culture is the foundation to build upon and a good school culture and climate is why kids want to come to school and makes families feel welcome as part of the school community. A good school principal is involved in the day to day happenings of the school as a whole, but also involved in what happens in the classroom and playground and cafeteria.

"Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It's being able to take it as well as dish it out. That's the only way you're going to get respect from the players."

~Larry Bird 

As a teacher I want a principal who will be fair and who will view education as a collaborative effort between families, teachers and administration. I want a principal who holds us as teachers to a high standard of excellence but is willing to offer support when necessary. I want a principal who is open to new ideas and strategies. I want to work with a principal who shows and interest in her teachers  their interests, strengths and struggles and one who is trusting of the teachers  in his building, one who views us as experts in our understanding of how children learn. A good principal views his staff as colleagues, partners in the education of children.  A good school leader  is willing to teach and guide to help teachers improve but is also willing to learn from her staff too.

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."
~John F Kennedy 

I can't pretend to assume that it's easy to be a principal that encompasses all these qualities. I do know that any successful principal that I've worked for or have known have many of them. These were the school leaders who's vision I could believe in. It was apparent in the way they embraced the school as a collaborative community of learning. They were present leaders, present in the lives of the children they served, because when all is said and done, the kids are what matters.

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

~Dr. Seuss

 

R is for Respect

When I began teaching in my current district ten years ago I was excited at the prospect of working in the only school where I ever wanted to teach. This particular school was where I student taught and where I chose to send my children. It is my neighborhood school so when I walk down the halls I'm not only greeting parents of the kids I teach but my neighbors too. There is something to be said for working in the community in which you live. I'm vested in ways that others may not be and I feel everyday that I make a difference in the lives of children and in many ways making my community a better place to live.

In my classroom each day we talk a lot about respectful behavior, how to treat each other in the way that we would like to be treated. We talk about being bucket fillers and not bucket dippers by putting good feelings in the invisible buckets of others and not taking good feelings out by being mean or disrespectful with our words and actions.

Although sometimes it's a struggle to teach our smallest students what the word respect means, we try everyday by being good models about what it means to be respectful. They show us respect when they listen intently to a focus lesson, follow directions, are silent during a fire drill or remember to walk quietly through the hallways so as not to disturb other kids who are learning.

This past week was teacher appreciation week. We have the most wonderfully appreciative group of parents heading up our PTO. They feed us, pamper us, and generally make us feel valued by their words and actions. They appreciate what each of us does to educate their children, understanding how much time and effort goes in to planning for the lessons that will help their children grow into successful little humans. They appreciate that we are not only teaching their children how to read, write and compute but teaching them how to empathetic, how to share and to respect each other. They appreciate that we are the ones giving their child a hug when they are sad, providing a Band-aid for an invisible paper cut, washing chocolate pudding off the little faces and keeping them safe and happy when the are at school Not only do those parents make us feel appreciated, they respect us for the hard work and difficult job we have.

We teachers respect and support each other. When one of us is feeling defeated or overwhelmed we are there with a hug, with a listening ear and sometimes a shoulder to cry on. We plan together, we share ideas, we cover each other's classes when we need a breather and share a laugh or two when we most need it.

Lately however, respect from our school district is not so easily found. With all our hard work and dedication, with all our own money spent on supplies we have been made to feel that what we do is just not good enough. The words and actions of those not in the trenches are actions that are disrespectful of our time, our expertise, our wallets and our families.

We are given tasks that rarely have any direct correlation to educating young children, paperwork that bogs us down and takes time away from planning developmentally appropriate lessons that foster creativity and social well being. There is a general feeling of distrust that we are able to teach in the way we know how.  Although we hear the words, "we know you are working hard" the actions of those saying those words speak differently.

Everyday I hear of another teacher who is "getting her ducks in a row", working on his resume, gathering letters of recommendation and references, opting to find another district to work in, a district where the actions and words of the administration  are words of respect, a district that understands those of us on the front lines have a pretty good idea about how young children learn.

I don't know a single teacher who does not  believe that there is always room for improvement in our teaching practices. We are our own worst critics. We know when a lesson fails and we make mental notes about how we can make the lesson better next time.

We know and respect the children in our classrooms. We take the time to get to know them, their likes, their interests, their needs. We take the time to get to know their families and their struggles. We understand that every child in the school is ours even if they left our classroom years before and even if they never learned within the walls of our rooms.

We understand the need for data and we understand its value, but we also understand that data is only a small part of knowing how to best reach our children. We understand that we need to educate the whole child, their musical abilities, their creativity in art, their social needs. We need to respect each child for their individuality and not disregard that to concentrate solely on their latest reading level and whether they score proficient on their latest math assessment.

Just as we attempt to respect each child as individuals, teachers need to be respected for their individual teaching style and expertise. It saddens me to see the best teachers I know ready to leave our school and district because they just can't be disrespected any longer. This is not about not wanting to work hard it's about being recognized for the work we are doing.

I don't pretend to know everything about turning around a school district, but there is one thing of which I am certain, disrespecting teachers will never raise achievement, it will only drive us away.

Tt is for time.

If you ask a teacher "What do you need more of?" you might hear some say glue sticks, chart paper, crayons or pencils (pencils seem to disappear without a trace overnight!)

But more often than not, what teachers really want more of is time. I'm not talking about extending the school day, or adding more planning time, although that would be great! The kind of time I'm talking about is time to teach the things we know kids want and need to learn in an environment that has some time flexibility. 

Our schedules have become rigid and overloaded with data driven instruction. Yes, we teach the basics, math, literacy centers, reader's workshop, guided reading, writing and science. We TRY to find time within our schedules for social studies...social studies is usually the first to go to make room for the other subjects.

There is barely time for a quick snack. Lunch and recess time is shorter, and don't even get me started on making time for play...although I do my best to make sure that happens in some way everyday.

Teachers know that often times learning opportunities just present themselves, those teachable moments that you just run with. It usually happens with a question from a student, or an incident at recess or something touched upon during a read aloud. A lot of these teachable moments revolve around social issues and as a teacher I truly believe it's important to find the time to address them. It's our job as teachers to turn our children in to good citizens. Students who are socially aware, can show some empathy and who understand why it's important to apologize when we've hurt someone's feelings.

Unfortunately, many of us are afraid to run with these teachable moments because there isn't enough time. We hear all the time how important it is to stick to the schedule but what I've come to understand is that the schedule isn't necessarily about cramming as much learning into those little brains as possible, but more about being on schedule when someone walks in for an instructional round or observation...if they come in to observe math, they want to see math.

This very thing happened to me recently. My kindergarten students were in the middle of snack time when an instructional posse came into my room during math rounds (think of it like interns making rounds in a hospital). My first thought was panic that my kids were still eating snack when it was officially math time, but then (call me a rebel) I let them finish their snack. I gave them their five minute warning and let the posse wait.

Part of me was a little afraid of being caught in a "gotcha moment" as we've begun to call them, but most of me thought of those kids needing to finish their snack because I know as a teacher that they were going to be a lot more ready to learn about three-dimensional shapes if they had snack first. They finished, cleaned up their messes and sat down in the circle ready to learn. It was great interactive lesson and not once did I hear "I'm hungry, when can we have snack?"

We need the time to address the needs of our students and sometimes those needs are not determined by a schedule. We need to have the time and flexibility within our school day to run with the teachable moment whenever those moments occur and even if it's just because a child needs a break because his tummy is hungry or he needs to refocus with a few yoga poses.

Was I going to change the world by letting my kids finish snack? No, but it felt good to do what I knew was right for my kids. 

N is for Numbers

Kindergarten by the Numbers 

 

11...days of kindergarten 

2...amazing kindergarten colleagues

24...pencils sharpened

2...parents reassured

6...milk cartons to open

1...late slip

378...cheerios to sweep

12...shoelaces tied

3...band-aids.

3...boo-boos kissed

2...go-gurts openend

5...straws in juice boxes

1...banana peeled

1...missing glue stick cover

1...bathroom accident

3...teary cheeks wiped

3...books read aloud

2...notes written

3...emails answered

1...fish fed

4...plants watered

too many...times I heard the word "rigor"

11...little girls

9...little boys

20...smiling faces

a lot...of laughter

another...day done.

 

C is for Culture

It’s been a very long time since I sat down to write in this little space of mine. I’ve been wanting to for a while now, but just couldn’t find the inspiration. Sometimes the best thing to do is to just get started, let’s see where this takes me.

So here I sit about to start another school year. It’s usually about this time of year I start to feel ready to be on a schedule again, to feel productive and get back to work but this year it’s different, maybe because we had such a short summer after a long winter of snow days, or maybe because last year was a really tough one with a lot of new initiatives and challenges. Whatever the reason I’m not feeling quite ready. However, ready or not …here they come!

I’ve been thinking a lot about school culture. I’ve read quite a bit on the subject, mostly articles written by other teachers and administrators. I’ve talked about it with my colleagues, and as I write I'm talking about it with my best friend too. I've even gone so far as to do a little informal research by polling parents but more about that a little later.

Let me start by saying my school is a special place. Most school’s are, but to know Horace Mann is to love Horace Mann. It has a feeling. It’s not the most beautiful of school buildings, it’s old, it's in serious need of updating and it has its limitations but people walk in and it reminds them of the elementary schools they attended as children. We have no gym and our cafeteria is tiny. Despite the limitations, learning happens here. We are a dedicated bunch, working tirelessly to educate children and we know it's not the physical building that's important but the people in it.

It’s not easy to be a teacher these days, “work smarter, not harder” is something we hear often. We have curriculum maps to follow, trajectories and lesson plans to write, the word “rigor” is becoming a regular buzzword in the halls of public schools everywhere. As a teacher I know it’s important to challenge the students in my class, to teach them to think for themselves, ask questions, and be inquisitive. I know it’s important for them to achieve academically but I also know if a child is not enjoying school, learning isn’t going to happen. This is where culture comes in.

My fear is that with all the pressures from politicians, the business world and administrators who are concerned with test scores and keeping up with the rest of the world, the culture of community in my little school and others across the country will be disregarded as unimportant.

Of course the primary purpose of a school is to foster a culture of learning and student achievement, but as educators it’s equally important to foster a culture of community where administrators, teachers, parents and students work together.

Parents first and foremost want their children to achieve academically, but they want something more from their school. Parents want to know their children are learning, that they are being challenged, they want them to succeed both academically and socially. They want their children to feel safe, happy and loved. They want school to be a place where their children want to be. I know this because I’m not only a teacher but a parent too. It’s what I want for my own kids.

I know this because I asked parents what they thought of our school. I heard words like, “respect”, “family” “home away from home”.  They said things like “dedication” “perseverance” “warm” and “friendly”.

I know those are all feel good words, but it’s what makes school a special place. Those teachers, parents and students who are or have ever been part of our community know it. It’s important that in these days of high stakes testing, data, and assessment that we don’t lose sight of what makes our community special. 

The people, traditions and ideals that make kids want to come to school.