30-Day Blogging Challenge: Playing Catch-Up With Days 4, 5, 6, and 7

Last week, the first week of school, caught up to me, and although I had the very best of intentions of blogging every single day like the challenge is supposed to work, I didn't. Here is is Day 7, and I'm catching up.

Day Four: What do you love most about teaching?
I love matching people up with the right book. There is nothing better than knowing that a kid is going to go out of the library with a book they just can't wait to get into. It doesn't matter to me if it's Clifford the Big Red Dog or Dora the Explorer in the hands of a primary student, an elementary student who has been waiting for the latest Guinness Book of Records or Wimpy Kid title, a middle school girl who has been waiting for the newest in the Pretty Little Liars series, a high school kid (rare these days) who needs a biography to read for a class assignment, or a staff member who needs books to supplement and complement a unit on Ancient Egypt - I'm happy to see that they all get what they want, whatever the reason. I'm excited when new books arrive, and even more excited when the students see them, too. Purchasing material is a fun, although somewhat long, drawn-out affair, because I spend a few month compiling an order through my favorite vendor, who while I can't put the newest paperback titles into a classroom library as quickly as a teacher can, I know that I am purchasing books that will engage readers across our K-12 campus.

Day Five: Post a picture of your classroom

My classroom is a library. I'm a teacher-librarian, and my classes are taught in the library, and students are served in the library when I'm not teaching a high school class. What you are seeing is about half of the library. You are looking at the picture book are, and the tables which serve as student desks. What is out of the picture are the fiction shelves. It's a fairly large room. The door you see leads outside; I call it the Servant's Entrance, a little joke that isn't always appreciated.

What I would like to see would be the classroom that is adjacent to the library, labeled 'library classroom' on the blueprint. It could be used as a classroom space/computer lab for the purposes of teaching my classes, so the library isn't unavailable to everyone, library classes, so it is a more formal instructional space, and as a meeting room so the furniture doesn't get moved around all over the place. Currently that room is used for the middle school language arts/social studies classroom. While my current neighbor is the best I've had in the last three, it would be nice to have a room that clearly says "this is an classroom", and a library that is used for the purpose of being a resource to all grade levels, all of the time.

Day Six: What does a good mentor do?
Good mentors are guides. They support the person or people they are mentoring, they work with the person when necessary, and they develop a collegial and professional relationship. They are more than just a colleague; they are there to help out when there are questions, support when there are problems, and celebrate successes. Answering questions, providing information that might just help a lesson or a student - mentors are there for you.

Day Seven: Who was your most inspirational colleague, and why?
My most inspirational colleague is our current fourth grade teacher, and she has been my guide to technology. *S* has been using technology forever; I was in denial, and she was probably on some freenet site! We have somehow became the tech team at school, and she knows way more than I do! I learned about Facebook and Plurk from her, both social sites which have expanded both my personal and professional networks. I learned about Moodle from her, and it's the platform I use in my classes. My library website is on Weebly - *S* introduced me that, too. I would not have applied for, and received, a grant the state was funding several years ago about integrating technology in the classroom, if she hadn't led the way. *S* was cohort 1, and I was in cohort 3. We have gone to technology conferences together, and also presented together. Her ideas for using technology are innovative, and give students tons of experience, as well as wonderful skills, and I think she is is probably the best resource about all-things-tech that we have at school. Because of *S*, I have been exposed (in a good way!) to ideas and techniques that have improved my instruction so much, and I can say in all honestly that my friendship with her has changed my relationship with technology forever. So, if you are reading this, *S*, thank you, and it's ok with me that Pinterest is not your cup of tea.

Reflective Teaching: A 30-Day Blogging Challenge Day Three

Day Three: Discuss One "Observation" Area That You Would Like to Improve on For Your Teacher Evaluation

Evaluation. It used to be fairly easy; the administrator would make an appointment (maybe) to discuss what I would be teaching, and what I would like to have him see. I would sometimes be asked what class I would prefer. At the appointed day and time, he would come in, sit at the back of the library with a pad and pen, and take notes while I taught a lesson or worked with students. At the end of the thirty minutes, he would leave, and in a few days, if I was lucky and he wasn't swamped, I would get called into his office to read the notes, have a brief discussion, and sign a couple of copies, one for me, and one for him. A few times I got to do formative evaluation, which consisted of me having a goal I would like to accomplish during the school year, and that was that. No observation at all, and often, out of sight, out of mind ruled the day. I don't know if I ever completed the goals I set once the school year got rolling and it was on to the daily business of education.

Those days are gone. Now we have TPEP, Marzano, and eVal. Focused and comprehensive cohorts, driven by reform, the state and the contract. I'm on focused, which means I only have to write one student-growth goal instead of three, which is what the teachers on comprehensive have to do. Last year I wrote a student growth goal I didn't accomplish, and it was only during my final evaluation that I realized how badly I had chosen a goal, and how poorly it was executed. Total fail, and in the end, the targeted students didn't benefit at all from my vision, which to be honest, wasn't much of a vision at all. I will admit that I haven't bought in to the whole "new" evaluation system, but I have to do it, so this year I'll make a better stab at it.

My goal for this year will be Goal 8: Exhibiting collaborative and collegial practices focused on improving instructional practice and student learning. This will be a goal that the high school teachers will all be doing, working together to implement common measures to monitor growth and achievement. I'm not entirely certain how this is going to look in practice. The high school teachers will be working together to frame this goal for our individual classrooms. For me, I would like to track various instructional practices and try a variety of strategies to engage students and keep them learning and improving. I suppose student growth, in my two social studies classes, would look like improved grades, better rates on on-time submissions, and classroom based assessments that are approached with a spirit of intellectual curiosity and discovery. I don't expect to be rated as Distinguished on the 4-tiered system, which oddly enough looks a whole lot like the 4-tiered system students have been rated on, but after 30+ years in education, I think I'm a little better than Basic. As my superintendent likes to day, we live in Proficient, and visit Distinguished.

Evaluation has been something that didn't seem very important in the past - we had quite a bit of contract language around evaluation in the past, and it really always had come down to Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. Nobody walked on water, and it was the rare teacher who needed to go on a Plan of Improvement. I told a former boss that unless he could tell me something that would improve my practice, it didn't matter to me at all if I was observed. I teach in a library - it's not exactly a room where I can shut the door and just teach. I work in a fishbowl! With reform leading the way, I have an opportunity to really focus on student growth, and not just a walk-through with a notepad.

Teach Thought 30-Day Blog Challenge for Teachers: Day Two

Day Two: Write about one piece of technology you would like to try this year and why.

One piece of technology I would like to try this year is the podcast. It seems a little old-school, but it's something I've never done before. One of the teachers had purchased a bunch of MP3 players a while ago, and she got rid of them this year. That seemed rather wasteful to me, and I started thinking about how they could be used. I have a couple of high school students who are not very good readers; one of them is at about a fourth grade reading level. As I looked at the textbook I have, which is geared more for upper middle school students than high school, I worried about how successful "Jane" was going to be if I left her to her own devices, even with a lower reading level. I think there are a couple of other kids who would also benefit from listening to the content as well as reading. Although I need to do a little research about how to create podcasts, it doesn't look too daunting, and I think that this would be something that I can accomplish.

What I would like to see out of integrating this technology into my classroom, as I think about this one particular student, is an improved attitude. I've know this kid since she was an elementary student, and the older she gets, the less she accomplishes. She can get a bit 'snarly', and has been known to have an leave-me-along attitude - her refusal skills are strong! Unfortunately, she often refuses to do assigned work. I am hoping that if the text is available in an audio format, and she can take notes on the content, she will be able to participate in class discussions, and be able to be assessed on her knowledge using any notes she's taken. I would like to be able to break her habit or cycle of refusing to participate in class.

I am lucky to have four iPads in my classroom for students to use, and I would like to be able to use iTunes as the vehicle for the podcasts. I'm willing to play around with this to help my students be successful.

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TeachThought 30-Day Blog Challenge for Teachers: Day One

I subscribe to a lot of things online - my inbox is filled with things from people I don't know in person. I will admit I don't read them all closely, giving them a quick glance before sending them off to delete-ville. One did catch my eye, though, and in thinking that this is probably my final year before retirement, I went back to it several times. It was a blogging challenge, and it seemed simple enough - blog every day for the 30 days of September about teaching, reflecting and improving my practice. I could do that, I thought; I already have a blog I haven't touched in two years, and I like writing, so I figured I'd give it a try. Here goes....

Day One: Write Your Goals for the School Year

It seems as though every year my schedule changes. I am a teacher-librarian, and so my library schedule changes, mostly because of my teaching schedule. The classes I teach are the variables. This year it's U. S. History, which I've never taught before, and Psychology, which I taught two years ago. These are both high school classes, because somewhere along the way this elementary trained, middle school teacher morphed into a high school teacher. I'm still not quite sure how that happened! My goals aren't particularly complicated, but divided into several components: library, instruction, and relationships.

Library
My library goals are pretty simple. Create a schedule in which one week is check-out only, and the alternate week is a lesson of some sort. Examples of a lesson might be a library scavenger hunt, book talks, genre lessons and book examples, digital safety and citizenship, using the online catalog and finding materials on the shelves, dictionary lessons, etc. Suggestions are always welcome! In addition, on the backroom side, submitting at least three book orders this year, and catching up on cataloging, or at least taking a long hard look at materials that have stacked up in the workroom. I may even consider hosting a book fair, but I'll wait to commit to that to see how the year starts.

Instruction
I have always approached instruction from a technology point-of-view. Several years ago I was the recipient of an Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grant, and my high school classes have always used Moodle as the learning management system. I approach high school teaching from my master's degree model of virtual instruction, and my goals for my high school students have always been understanding the core concepts of the topic, being able to use 21st Century skills, and Digital Citizenship concepts. I want my students to go to the college having experienced a class knowing that they can work in an online environment. One of the things I've noticed is that students are not trained, for lack of a better word, in being able to work independently, and so one of my focuses will be to improve their ability to do this. I'm lucky this year in that I actually have textbooks for both classes, and while I will use these as the foundation material, I will add supplemental material to the Moodle page. One of my challenges will be to find material in U. S. History to supplement and complement the adopted curriculum. In addition, I would like to work more with Socratic Seminars, and other forms of class discussions.

Relationships
I admit it - I tend to judge others. I'm also speak Sarcasm fluently, so sometimes things don't always come out as they should. Over time, I've ended up in leadership roles at school. I'm the Association president, and the treasurer of the Joyce Community Education Foundation, aka Ed Foundation. I'm on the leadership team. I've always been involved behind the scenes. One of my weakest areas is in parent communication. I have been at my school since the 1977-1978 school year, and often parents are former students. I'm a known entity in the school and the community. The superintendent referred to me as "an institution" during Freshman Orientation (and I promptly revealed my second language of Sarcasm.) I am not fantastic about getting in touch with parents. I need to contact parents about the positive first, and build relationships with the people who care the most about the kids I work with. With staff, I need to keep in touch with them so the time I share with their students is productive and what they need for their teaching. Remembering that I am support staff for them is critical, but somehow there has to be a nice way to communicate that an emergency on their part isn't always my emergency. Think laminator...

This is probably my last year at my school. As much as I've enjoyed my career, with a husband set to retire in mid-October, I don't want to be left out of that fun! I don't think I'm done with education, but I may be done at the local level. Having said that, I'm going to take a wait-and-see approach, look at my 180 days as a series of opportunities to improve the lives of kids and prep them for their futures. I like the idea of starting off the year from a place of reflection, and that's why I'm taking up this challenge.

Rethinking...

What a couple of weeks it's been. My husband, W, points out that every year I have anxiety about what is going on, that I question what the heck I'm doing, and that things work out. I know that I'm exhausted every September, but this year is not feeling the same.

We have been plagued with technology problems. The school was rewired in August, ready for the fiber optics that are just across the road. I asked our tech folks to move the computers I have in the library to another location, and when that happened, nothing worked! To say that I was shocked was an understatement! It was a relative quick fix when our once-a-week tech guy arrived. Yes, that's right; our tech support is once a week, and the work list he had was huge! There are classrooms that still don't have computer access, and for teachers who use technology the way we breath air, that is very frustrating. Then, no wireless. The room where the hub or router or whatever it is is located got too hot, and melted the wires. Good-by, wireless, and so long three iPads, three Netbooks, and one MacBook. Six devices and one teacher station unavailable unless connected. The part - and tech support - is supposed to arrive on Monday.

My psychology class. It has a totally different feel to it. It's the kind of feeling that causes things like rashes, bumps, and things that require ointments and salves. I was spoiled. I'll be upfront and honest about that. This year, I have the usual mix of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. I also have three kids with IEPs, three boys with eligibility issues, two exchange students with varying degrees of English proficiency, and me, the teacher who is aging rapidly. Kids in tears over being homesick, being frustrated, having anxiety and anger issues - it makes issues such as gum, hats, and I-need-to-listen-to-music-so-I-can-concentrate seem pale in comparison. My usual approach is not working. The quality of written work is all over the place. One girl is a beautiful writer, analytic, articulate. One boy, who is one of the eligibility guys, is brief to the point of writing something akin to a list. Without bullets. Capital letters? Who needs those? Why write a paragraph when it can be done in three very long sentences? Why submit the assignment via the Journal feature of Moodle when it can be emailed to the teacher? Etc. Etc. Etc.

Oh, you poor Mrs. F. I know - get over it, right? I know that's what you're thinking, because honestly, if this wasn't my own post, that's exactly what I would be thinking! This is the stuff we face Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly, Decade-ly (is that even a word?!). I got it. I've been spoiled, or lucky, or something. So now I get to quit whining, go back to the drawing board, figure out how to work with these kids so the content gets through, the communication and collaboration takes place, and we all learn a little something about Psychology and still earn a Social Studies credit that actually means something.

My response to this week was to go to bed early, and get up feeling refreshed. In class, it was to pull over the kick stool and stand on it so I could be taller than the tallest kid as we discussed why I don't want him listening to his music, and yes, we were both smiling. I can make this work!

2012-2013 is here, ready or not!

Week One of the 2012-2013 school year is in the books. Thankfully, it was a four-day week, but that didn't make it any shorter. For me, the first week, and the first month, if I am honest, are long, long, long. I am always so tired, but that is natural after taking it easy for a couple of months, going on vacation to Jackson, Wyoming, The Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, and generally hanging out at home. Suddenly, there is an alarm clock! And coffee waiting for me! And clothes that aren't jeans, yoga pants, or capri pants to put on! I'll admit - the first foray back into pantyhose was unpleasant, but they went with my outfit, so there you go...

Let me start with the positives. We have just had a large (for us) turnover in staff - six new teachers, as well as a new administrator. That is one third of our teaching staff - that is huge! The new teachers are nice people, dedicated, and looking forward to a good year. The vibe is different, and the middle school, where I somehow ended up, is completely changed up, for the better, I think. Our administrator is a man who believes in collaboration, communication, and likes to have fun. He wore jeans to school, which inspired me to buy a new pair, jeans being my preferred bottom. Our collaboration, which had been one giant staff meeting, is going to be truly collaborative. My teaching load has lessened, from three classes to one, and I like the one I'm teaching, which is psychology. My students are nice kids, and their first Moodle posts gave me a glimpse of what's to come. I have double the library time. And I will be eventually monitoring students in an online environment. The online school just happens to be one that I have looked at for future employment. This is a way to see how it all works.

Negatives. I am still kind of struggling with the fact that I am not retired, and won't/can't until 2014. We would like to pay off our house before we both retire, and that will be helped tremendously by my salary. I am hoping that I actually remember how to be a librarian who isn't in two-period-a-day, bare-minimum mode most of the time. I am searching for my enthusiasm. I am sure it will come back, but last week - not so much. Will I remember what to do? Can I entice teachers to utilize me to support their instruction? This is another thing I am struggling with. I am also now a high school teacher. I have technically been one all along, but now without the middle school teaching assignments, I really am one of them, and I am not sure how I feel about that. I suppose all of these things will work themselves out, but right now, I am thinking about them, probably a little bit too much. I tend to do that.

This is my thirty-fifth year in education. I am the certificated person who has been at our school the longest. How did this happen?! I guess it's a question that doesn't need to be answered, because it's another year to teach, interact with kids and staff, and try to be the best teacher-librarian I can be. So, whether I'm ready or not, 2012-2013 is here. Happy New (School) Year!

Summertime

After weeks of wondering if I was going to make it out of the school year alive, it's here. Summer. Sleeping in. Hanging out. Doing not much. And those three things get slightly old after a couple of weeks, or in my case, a couple of days. I like to set goals, so here is my goal-oriented plan for the summer:

~ learn to use my camera's manual settings, with an eye toward another camera.
~ conquer sock knitting. It's not the heel, it's picking up and finishing the foot that has stumped me in the past. I've actually knitted one sock - yes, just one, so the goal, of course, is to actually knit a pair and wear them.
~ set up my Psychology Moodle page, and get the year planned out. I have a teacher's edition of a psych book, but I want to get Psychology for Dummies, too.
~ get summer school ready. We're doing dinosaurs, so that will be fun, and since it's only 12 mornings, I can do it!
~ yoga; I need to be more flexible.
~ lose some weight. I hesitate to put a specific number down, but I want to be healthier before my birthday in October. Shopping in my closet is a goal, too.
~ get walking back into my life so it's a habit. I used to walk all the time, and when I was working on my master's degree, my rear end became one with the chair, and I developed a USB port on my body since I was always on the computer. That needs to change!
~ figure out how to be a librarian again. I've been teaching at least 3 classes for the last 5 or 6 years, and that's where my energy has gone. I want to be a better librarian!
~ vacation with W; Yellowstone, Bend, The Cabin.

These goals aren't in any particular order - I just like to check things off, so lists are handy for me. It was a good year overall, with great times, draggy times, and everything in-between. I am more than ready to get recharged, so I can do it all again. Happy summer vacation!