Yesterday there was a very excited young man in my classroom. The first words out of his mouth were, "Mrs. S I'm going to A's for a sleepover tonight." In fact, I wasn't even in my classroom, he caught me in the hall to share his excitement.
I have to admit that's one of the reasons I'm in an elementary room. To see that much excitement for a simple evening out is so worth it.
Now - it's not always that way. The day before this same young man had told the classroom associate she was like the Grim Reaper to him....hmmmm.
But, that level of emotion - the highs and the lows - that's what makes childhood so much fun. The closer I can stay to that the better I feel about life. There are so many times when we get bogged down and flattened out. We (as adults) forget to cheer for an open parking space or a short line at the grocery store.
So, I hope the sleep over was a complete success. The smile on his face made it a success for me before it even started!!
snow days...
the life of a teacher has some pretty amazing perks - getting to start all over each year, christmas presents from your students and SNOW DAYS. There is no better gift than a snow day. A day out of the blue that you are given permission to not go to work - to just stay at home and experience the other part of your life.
Now - we do have to pay for them - the whole idea of a make-up day was created by someone miles away from a classroom. Because there is no such thing. what am I going to do save my lessons to make them up in June. Yeah - right. And the kids are so attentive in these make-up days.
My idea is for the teachers and staff to have to make up the days - our contract stipulates exactly how many days we need to work. But, the kids should not be there. There are always so many things to do that never get done - here is our chance.
But, I'm not in charge. So, instead I choose not to think about that part of life right now. I choose to enjoy getting my Christmas/New Year's cards mailed, putting the last of the Christmas decorations away, doing some extra cleaning and reading!
Just for the record...
Mon - teacher work day - teacher's sent home early in afternoon due to snow
Tues - late start due to snow
Wed - no school - due to snow
Thur - no school due to extreme cold
and now Fri - no school due to extreme cold
Gotta love an Iowan winter!!!
Now - we do have to pay for them - the whole idea of a make-up day was created by someone miles away from a classroom. Because there is no such thing. what am I going to do save my lessons to make them up in June. Yeah - right. And the kids are so attentive in these make-up days.
My idea is for the teachers and staff to have to make up the days - our contract stipulates exactly how many days we need to work. But, the kids should not be there. There are always so many things to do that never get done - here is our chance.
But, I'm not in charge. So, instead I choose not to think about that part of life right now. I choose to enjoy getting my Christmas/New Year's cards mailed, putting the last of the Christmas decorations away, doing some extra cleaning and reading!
Just for the record...
Mon - teacher work day - teacher's sent home early in afternoon due to snow
Tues - late start due to snow
Wed - no school - due to snow
Thur - no school due to extreme cold
and now Fri - no school due to extreme cold
Gotta love an Iowan winter!!!
my mission...
so what is my mission?
i've been part of the discussions for the mission of the school district, my church, my curriculum area. but what is my mission?
i've been challenged recently to identify my personal goals. how can we know if we meet our goals if we do not identify them?
i understand that in my personal life - i ignore it but i understand it. i have new year's resolutions, goal lists, to do lists and lists of those lists. rarely do i actually finish them - actually complete what i set out to do. but, that's my personal life and i can just ignore that...what about my professional life?
so i start the week with lesson plans - those are my goals - right? is that the same as a mission? no - if i live only by the lesson plans i can be blown this way and that without really honing in on what i need to accomplish. so what drives that? is it test scores? does ITBS or Map testing make my decisions for me? or is it the gut feeling of a 20 year veteran?
i think that's part of the problem of education today...instead of really hanging on to the one goal that will affect all of our teaching we grab on to way to many strands and just hold on for dear life - not really knowing where they will lead us - and not always caring either. just get us through.
i don't want to be that teacher. instead i want to identify my mission. why am i here in this place in this time with this group of students? what type of change do i hope to affect?
hmmmm.....
my mission is to....it should just trip off my tongue - improve reading scores, teach the multiplication tables...
but that isn't my mission...my mission is to connect with the students in my classroom so they will be challenged to be more than they were when they walked through my door. that means being more of a student, more of a reader, more of a mathematician, more of a historian, more of a techie and most importantly more of a human being.
if i embrace that as my mission - every other part of my day and my interaction with students lines up...
hmmmm.....
is that my mission???
i've been part of the discussions for the mission of the school district, my church, my curriculum area. but what is my mission?
i've been challenged recently to identify my personal goals. how can we know if we meet our goals if we do not identify them?
i understand that in my personal life - i ignore it but i understand it. i have new year's resolutions, goal lists, to do lists and lists of those lists. rarely do i actually finish them - actually complete what i set out to do. but, that's my personal life and i can just ignore that...what about my professional life?
so i start the week with lesson plans - those are my goals - right? is that the same as a mission? no - if i live only by the lesson plans i can be blown this way and that without really honing in on what i need to accomplish. so what drives that? is it test scores? does ITBS or Map testing make my decisions for me? or is it the gut feeling of a 20 year veteran?
i think that's part of the problem of education today...instead of really hanging on to the one goal that will affect all of our teaching we grab on to way to many strands and just hold on for dear life - not really knowing where they will lead us - and not always caring either. just get us through.
i don't want to be that teacher. instead i want to identify my mission. why am i here in this place in this time with this group of students? what type of change do i hope to affect?
hmmmm.....
my mission is to....it should just trip off my tongue - improve reading scores, teach the multiplication tables...
but that isn't my mission...my mission is to connect with the students in my classroom so they will be challenged to be more than they were when they walked through my door. that means being more of a student, more of a reader, more of a mathematician, more of a historian, more of a techie and most importantly more of a human being.
if i embrace that as my mission - every other part of my day and my interaction with students lines up...
hmmmm.....
is that my mission???
Cruisin' the Blogs...
So,I spent some time tonight looking, searching and perusing the education blogs. It has made me want to join in the conversation.... I think...
I love the thought of voicing my opinion - describing my slice of the world - inviting others to join in to my classroom in lovely rural Iowa. Because, as I read about the life of a NYC teacher... I realized that my job may require a completely different title. I mean - the way I spend my day and my energy is so vastly different than a teacher in a large city.
I went to watch my daughter's high school basketball games tonight. First it was the girls game. They really did a great job and won! I was impressed.
Then the boys played. They too did a great job and won. But to call both of the games the same name -basketball - seems a little false. The rudiments of the game are the same - but the speed, the intensity, the involvement are completely different.
That is the difference between my classroom and a large city school. We are both teaching, both following a curriculum, both employing the same basic movements - but the movement, the intensity the involvement is completely different.
I will happily keep my low intensity game any day! At least I think!
I love the thought of voicing my opinion - describing my slice of the world - inviting others to join in to my classroom in lovely rural Iowa. Because, as I read about the life of a NYC teacher... I realized that my job may require a completely different title. I mean - the way I spend my day and my energy is so vastly different than a teacher in a large city.
I went to watch my daughter's high school basketball games tonight. First it was the girls game. They really did a great job and won! I was impressed.
Then the boys played. They too did a great job and won. But to call both of the games the same name -basketball - seems a little false. The rudiments of the game are the same - but the speed, the intensity, the involvement are completely different.
That is the difference between my classroom and a large city school. We are both teaching, both following a curriculum, both employing the same basic movements - but the movement, the intensity the involvement is completely different.
I will happily keep my low intensity game any day! At least I think!