AuburnChick's Adventures

Week 2 of my fifth year of teaching is in the books, and I thought I’d use this post to reflect.  After all, it is through reflection that I process and learn.

Every year, I tell myself that I won’t get off to a slow start…that I’ll quickly jump into the curriculum so I won’t “waste time” and get behind.

Every year, I fail at this task and beat myself up over it.

This week, whenever I started down the road of self-beratement, I stopped myself.

I had to give myself permission to do what all good teachers do – spend quality time practicing classroom procedures, setting up class norms, and fostering a welcoming environment where students feel safe to think outside of the box.  I had to spend time building relationships with my students…grounded in trust, humor, and dependability.

These things don’t happen in a day, nor do they happen in a week.

I’ll go out on a limb and say that two weeks still isn’t enough time, but I’m going to jump into my first “real” unit next week while setting aside snippets of time for more classroom bonding.  We’re off to a solid start, though, as evidenced by this sweet email one of my students sent me through our school email accounts (she had responded to a question I’d sent out to everyone)…

This week, I watched as my students excitedly selected books from my ever-growing classroom library.  They hesitantly asked if they could take them home to read, which of course I allowed after teaching them how to properly check the books out through a new binder system I’ve instituted.  They caught on quickly, and my books flew off my shelves with a waiting list for certain books forming.

This brought joy to my heart, as did book discussions that cropped up between students and myself.

Things I don’t think I did very well this week involved managing certain classroom behaviors.  I’m feeling a little stuck right now, trying not to alienate my students with quick write-ups yet feeling the frustration that’s coming from students aghast at behaviors they perceive as simply intolerable.

I’m trying to do a better job of picking my battles, but I think I’m erring on the side of caution.

I tried a new incentive this week, allowing students to earn minutes for free time at the end of the week if they heeded my silent signal.  Although they got better, upon reflection, I can’t honestly say that this is not going to be something I stick with.

I feel as though students need to more instant gratification, so I’m going to borrow a page from a teacher at another school.  Some time ago, I had purchased five small, magnetic white boards.  They’re individual-sized.

Because I don’t have a large whiteboard, I’ve stuck these little ones on my metallic wall.  I have five tables of students in my room, and each table will get three chances to keep a five-minute free time session I’ll set aside for the end of class.  I’m going to list the most often repeated behaviors from posters they presented on Friday (see a few examples below) on a sheet of paper and post it beside the white boards.  As students fail to adhere to class norms, I’ll quietly mark X’s on their respective groups’ boards.  Groups that accrue three X’s will lose their five minutes of free time and will, instead, write a paragraph explaining what led to the loss of this privilege.

My mentor, Cinda, is mentoring the teacher who uses this strategy, and Cinda watched her in action.  She said that students kept each other accountable, which made for easier management of behavior.

I like this idea because the entire class isn’t punished because of a few students.  Because tables have only four students (one class has two tables of five), the numbers are small.  I think that a lot of the behavior issues, which mainly involve talking, will diminish greatly.

Not only was the week filled with the ups and downs of actual classroom teaching, but I continued my mentoring responsibilities, sharing my reflections with Cinda late in the week.

I’ve come to realize that in my excitement to share, I share too much, thus overwhelming people.  Nobody has told me that, but I sense it in my heart.

I think that my love for students I’ve taught before makes me seem a bit overbearing when trying to help a new teacher.  I suspect that my passion for these sweet kiddos comes across as being overcritical.

I’m going to “turn down” as my students would say, take a step back, and start asking probing questions rather than leading my mentoring discussions with my ideas.  In other words, I’ll let my new coworkers do most of the talking.

Um yeah…that’s going to be a hard lesson for me but one that I must learn so people don’t start running when they see me headed their way.

Overall, I’m pleased with how the week went, but I realize that I have a lot of work to do to make things run a little quieter and smoother.  Teaching is a profession in which you’re constantly tweaking, making adjustments for the various classroom personalities and skills that emerge as the year progresses.

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Whew!  What a busy week I’ve had!

When last I posted, I was getting ready to embark on a brand new school year, and I was nervous because of additional responsibilities.

Heading out for the first day back!

Well, the first week is finished, and I thought I would share a few of my thoughts.

First of all, I am beginning my fourth year of teaching Intensive Reading.  It’s my fifth year teaching, overall.

I’ve wondered, at times, if the impact I’m making will be long-lasting.  Well, those doubts were answered on Tuesday, the first day of school.

I scarcely got my classroom door unlocked before I was visited by the first of what would become a steady stream of former students.

My first visitor was a precious young man I’d taught two years in a row.  He had come by to tell me about a new Divergent book that he wanted me to order.  The book is a collection of short stories that gives background information about Four, the lead male character in the series.  As soon as my student left, I ordered the book from Amazon…my first book order of the new school year.

His visit was followed by one of the most precious young ladies that Barb taught in middle school and I had the pleasure of teaching last year.

She told me about how she had kept the picture I’d taken the first day of school with her wearing a cap and gown…one of the motivational tools I employ to get my tenth graders to think about the prize at the end of high school.

She said that she had made a poster for her room listing her goals and had placed that picture on the poster.

Oh boy, but I started tearing up.

She then showed me a list of goals she has begun keeping in her backpack as a reminder of what she needs to focus on.  She allowed me to take a picture of it and share it…

Oh.

My.

Word.

I was stunned, to say the least.

This young lady visited me the next day and told me that she and another young man who had been in our class together had discussed how they had not appreciated me last year, when I was annoying them, but how they now realized what a good teacher I had been.

I’ve asked her to come back and speak to my classes next year when she is a Senior.

Wow!

She was not the first student who echoed the same sentiments, and boy, was I humbled.

I reflected and saw how much I had grown from my first year as an Intensive Reading teacher…when relationship-building was not my primary focus (day-to-day survival during what I refer to as my second first-year).

Some of my toughest students from last year visited me last week…more than once…with huge smiles on their faces.  This was so powerful!

Then, there were my new babies who walked in the door…each a new face for me to learn…a new history to discover.

Boy, did we make headway into the latter as some students opened up immediately about some of the many challenges they have already faced during their short lives…fathers lost to tragic circumstances…people putting them down for their dreams.

My heart is already breaking, and I want to adopt a few of them.

I’m not kidding.

I gave my students the assignment of describing a new thing to learn or a new experience to have, the obstacles they are facing in the pursuit of said thing, and a plan for overcoming the obstacles.

Folks, I learned even MORE about my students through this exercise.

Take a look at the beautiful opening one of my students began his assignment with…

Dreams, people, dreams.

I can’t say we did a lot in the way of reading “instruction.”  I did teach my students Barb’s “P” Before You Read strategies and demonstrated them with our new Read Aloud, Allison van Diepen’s book Vampire Stalker…

By the time we finished previewing the book, students were begging me to begin reading it!!!  We came up with a couple of questions for Ms. van Diepen, and I was shocked when she responded to my Tweets, sent after work, almost immediately!

I am not an author stalker…I promise…even though I would fall out flat if Neal Shusterman ever favorited, retweeted, or responded to a Tweet of mine.

Heck…Jay Asher and I had a conversation last night through Twitter.

I am in awe, and my students will be too when they learn that I “talked” to the author of 13 Reasons Why.

But I digress…

What we mostly focused on was getting familiar with my procedures, developing some new ones together, and engaging with one another in meaningful conversations.

I know, from experience, that if I don’t spend quality time doing these things, I won’t have students coming back the next year…lessons firmly planted in their hearts.

It was a completely wonderful and exhausting week…one that ended with me sleeping thirteen hours on Friday night and only now feeling refreshed enough to begin anew tomorrow…grading complete and new seating charts made (when you hear yelling, it will be my students doing it).

Oh Friday, how I love thee.

How I spent Sunday…grading…

Week One is in the books…with many, many more ahead of me before June arrives.

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Today marks the first day of my fifth year of teaching, and I couldn’t be more excited.

The sadness of the summer ending has been replaced by an eagerness to greet new-to-me students.

Last night, Rooster asked me if I was ready, and I could honestly answer in the affirmative.

There’s something different about this year.

I have more confidence in the lessons I have prepared for the week.

Although I’m nervous about having enough time to finish what I have planned for today, I know that it will be okay if I don’t…that I possess the wherewithal to adjust my plans, perhaps between classes, to make things fit.

I also have a better understanding of how important the first few weeks of school are…especially the first day…as far as setting up myself as a person who commands respect.  Classroom management is won or lost in these crucial days.

I suspect that some of my confidence stems from the mentoring I am already doing.  I feel good knowing that I’m helping new teacher babies learn their way around school, how to look up course descriptions, and how to begin the process of lesson planning.

Yesterday, there was a certain energy at the school, and I couldn’t help but get excited.

I’m blessed to work with incredible staff.  We really are a family with one goal in mind…making a difference in the lives of our students.

Yesterday, while shopping at Office Depot after work, I met a young man who attends the private school I taught at my first year.  As we chatted, he asked, “Why don’t you come back to teach at my school?”

I couldn’t keep a huge grin from my face as I explained how much I love teaching at my current school…how much I love the subject I teach, Intensive Reading, and how great the kids are.

If you know me in person, then you know that what I say is genuine and heartfelt.

Although I am nervous about preparing my students for a new State reading test, I know that all I can do is my best.

It was with that thought in mind as I left my classroom yesterday afternoon.

I’m ready to welcome my 59 students (as of the latest count).

I’m ready to become their teacher mama.

I’m ready to begin developing relationships with these kids who are desperate for love and acceptance.

Bring on Year 5!

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Today is the final day of prep before students arrive on Tuesday.

Although I nearly finished getting my classroom together on Friday, I still have a few final touches to add…folders to hang, labels to print, agendas to place into frames.

Click to embiggen

I’m especially grateful to one of my fellow reading teachers.  She gave up precious planning time to hang bulletin board paper and borders for me.

These are things they don’t teach you in the alternative certification program, and after wasting a few hours trying on my own, I called my friend for help.

My bulletin boards look AMAZING!

I actually did the two small boards all by myself. 🙂

I don’t know why I took this at an angle. The bulletin board is straight. 🙂

Because my room is ready, I will spend some time waiting for a copier to become available.  My lesson plans are ready for the week, and I want to get all of my handouts set up.

After that, I’ll be checking in on a couple of our teachers.  There are quite a few new teachers at my school, and I’ll be mentoring a couple of them.

It’s an interesting thing…this teaching profession.  Teaching is cyclical.  To learn how to teach, an educator must become a student.  As skills grow, support from mentors is lessened until one day, the teacher stands on his/her own.  Gradually, that teacher turns around to become a mentor to another teacher-in-training.

This is where I am right now, and I’m a little scared.

This will be my fifth year teaching…my fourth as an Intensive Reading teacher.

I’ve been blessed to have experienced educators as mentors and friends.

Barb is one of them.  She set the example by working long, hard hours.  She taught me how to build relationships with students…how to teach a classroom of boys who couldn’t attain for more than ten minutes…how to put the perfect book in the hands of a reluctant reader.

Cinda, another mentor/friend, taught me the art of reflection.  She modeled lessons that engaged students and required them to take ownership of their learning.  She is still in the process of teaching me to take lessons to a higher level.

I’ve enjoyed soaking in their knowledge and rising to the challenge of thinking deeply about my teaching.

That’s why I feel sad because Barb has been assigned to another school in town.  I am happy for that school and my friend, Carol, the principal (another mentor/friend), but I also feel like a fish floundering around in shallow water, not sure where to go for my life water.

I don’t do change very well.

It’s at this time that I’m being asked to step up and use the knowledge I’ve gained over the last four years to help new teacher babies.

I love helping people and do it without thinking, but I’ll admit that I’m a little scared.

For the last four years, my sole focus has been on learning how to properly run a classroom and how to write lesson plans that encompass all learners.  I’ve also spent hundreds of hours completing work to obtain the various certifications I need to teach reading.

I can’t say that I’ve taken much of a leadership role at school, preferring to follow the paths that others have set.

I can’t do that any more.

Heck, if everyone stayed in their comfort zones, society would never experience progress, eh?

That is why I’m gong to pull up my big girl pants and dig into the new challenges I’ve been presented with.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I’m also going to be the lead reading teacher…the liaison between the district and our school…responsible for relaying information about District reading mandates with staff at my school.

Talk about nervous!!!  Whew!

This year promises to be an interesting one, let me tell you, what with new standards, a new and very difficult state reading exam, and new responsibilities.

I’m going to have to be like my students, learn as much as I can, and dream big…all the while keeping my eyes focused on the sole purpose I got into teaching…helping the precious babies who will walk through my door stretch their thinking in order to reach the potential that lies inside them.

The poster I bought at Michael’s and placed on my door

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