What would a teacher do?
  • Home
  • WWATD Blog
  • Educator Resources
    • Building Fundamentals
    • Classroom Pick Me Ups!
    • PD That Works!
    • The Self Paced Classroom
    • Useful Tech Tools
    • Math Resources
    • Social Studies Resources
  • Signup for Freebies!

A non tested teacher's perspective on testing

4/22/2019

0 Comments

 
Testing season is upon us for some or has just passed for others. It is always a time of stress and anxiety for the subjects that are tested. Even those of us that are not tested feel some of the strain. I am not one of those teachers that has to directly deal with testing and am usually at war with myself about my feelings on testing. I am relieved that I do not have the testing stress that other teachers have, but at the same time I feel like my subject has been slighted and diminished to a subject that is not as important. 

I teach social studies in Missouri at the secondary level and have never experienced what it is like to be a tested subject. In Missouri the only thing that is tested in my content is government which is taken by seniors at my school. There really isn't much pressure on me as teacher except to do some things that support government so that when students get to government, they will hopefully have some foundation. 

When I taught middle school there was even less pressure on me as my only experience dealing with testing was an encouragement to support English teachers by having activities that included reading and writing. Honestly I would do that anyway because I think it a good practice and skill for any person and especially as a social scientist. 

Many of my co-workers have told me that I should feel lucky that I don't have to worry about the stress of jumping through the testing hoops. Honestly I am happy that I don't have to worry about it. I don't agree with testing and I don't really feel that the tests that have been created really tell us if they are learning, but it is what we use so we have to deal with it. However, even though I’m not an advocate for state testing I have always been bothered by the fact that they don't test social studies because of the message it sends to schools, parents, students, and communities. It sends the message that social science and social studies is not as important as the other subjects. 

In my career I have had the conversation with students and parents about why it matters for them to take history classes when they aren't tested. I recognize that this is a subject that I love dearly and am probably biased when it comes to its level of importance in every single person's daily life, but I have come to realize in our current society that we have lost what it means to be a citizen... I don't mean the legal requirements of being a citizen but the knowledge required to participate in our society and understand the significance and meaning behind it. Dealing with the big issues of our day are all relevant and many are connected to the social sciences. The lack of testing just reinforces the sense that this subject isn't as important as its counterparts. 

I realize that I am probably overreacting and to be honest I do enjoy the freedom that is allowed to me as teacher that doesn't have to teach a very specific curriculum for the test. I have the freedom to evaluate my standards and create learning experiences wrapped around needs that I see in my different classes. I also realize that I am not alone in teaching a subject that seems to be undervalued or that as teacher we all recognize that the learning experience is more important than the test, but we are all stuck in this give and take of balancing learning and testing. I am not even sure that I would want social studies to be more heavily tested because I don't like testing, but I am frustrated as a teacher that wants her subject to be valued and understood. I think that is really what it boils down to. I want all of us in education to be taken seriously and valued like we should be. 

I guess my message in this post is this: teachers that are not tested are both envious and relieved at the prospect of not being tested. We love the freedom but wish to be taken more seriously. My hope for the future of education is that we come together as an education community and show our country and community how important all our subjects are and how they work together to create a citizen that can participate in our society.
0 Comments

HOW TO: RECHARGE OVER BREAK!

12/17/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
SEMESTER BREAK IS ALMOST HERE!I know we are all excited for this semester to be ending and to have at least 10 days off. If you are anything like me, you are excited but also thinking about everything that you need to do to prepare for next semester. 

One thing that I am trying to work on is balance between my teaching responsibilities and my family responsibilities. To this end I am really trying to work on ways to recharge over the break so I am ready to go when it is time to come back to school!

Here are the ways I am going to work on recharging and we would love to hear from all you on how you recharge over the semester break. 
​MAKE TIME FOR FAMILY/FRIENDS ONLYBasically I have a ban on work once the semester ends through the 26th of December. Those days are for family and friends. I spend my time baking, hanging out with my family, wrapping presents, and all of that stuff. My family always appreciates this, because they have my full attention and turn off my teacher brain for a little while which I think is really important. It helps clear my mind and allows me to come back to my work with a fresh start. 
​
SPEND SOME TIME/ENERGY ON MYSELFThis is just as important as spending time with family and friends. I need some time for myself, so I don't feel like I am going to go crazy and snap at people. This can be as simple as reading a book for an hour at night or my favorite is a day at the spa. To me, if we don't do this we are really hurting ourselves, family, and students. We can't take of others if we don't take care of ourselves. We just need to find a little bit of time for ourselves, so we can give the best version of ourselves for everyone else. 
​TAKE SOME TIME FOR GROWTHI have lately really become aware or rediscovered how important it is for teachers to keep learning. When we do this, it keeps us growing which is important considering that is what we want from our students. I have also found that it just gets my creative process going and helps me think of new ways to do things and new ways to solve problems I have been having. 

So during my break I am going to finish reading a book on differentiated instruction which is a huge focus for me right now. I have already started it and the ideas are already flowing! 
​TIME CHUNK YOUR WORKThis is strategy that we use with kids all of the time, but I found that it works for me as well. When I am on break, I find that I like to schedule time for work or a specific task and then I make myself take a break and do something completely not related. I will take time and play a game with my kids, watch a movie with my husband, or have lunch with a friend. This allows my mind to take a break and process anything that I was working on and then I can come back to it or start a new task. This also helps me keep some perspective and not get overwhelmed by all of the things that I want/have to get done. 

Also this process helps me keep my work goals realistic for the break. It is a break after all and if schedule chunks of work then I am forced to prioritize my work and really see what needs to be done before I go back to school in January. 
​
FOR THE OVER-ACHIEVERS OUT THERE...Get some work done BEFORE your break. For those intense planners who won't be able to really check out of work, try to get the first 2 weeks of the 2nd semester planned and materials ready BEFORE you leave work for break. If you know that the first two weeks are all set to go, you may be able to unplug better and really enjoy your break!
​
YOUR TURN! HOW DO YOU RECHARGE OVER BREAK?
0 Comments

Giving and Getting Informal Feedback from Other Teachers is so worth it!

11/26/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
This image popped up on our twitter account and it was one of those that made me stop and think. 
I read it and then reread it. Would I be up for doing something like this?

I personally enjoy having teachers come into my classroom. I attribute this mainly to the amazing learning coaches that I had my first two years of teaching. They would pop into the classroom and observe me, take a few notes, and give me constructive feedback in between classes. As a new high school teacher, I loved getting the feedback during my morning classes because I could improve that lesson that very day for my afternoon classes! I could feel myself becoming a better teacher in the course of one day and it was so empowering!

Fast forward to a year later when I was taking classes to earn my Masters in Administration. For one of the courses I had to observe and fill out an evaluation form for two different teachers. My stomach dropped upon hearing about the assignment.

 I felt a little bit better when everyone else in my class also shared the instant stress over having to ask a fellow teacher if we could observe and evaluate a lesson. Part of my personal issue was that I was new to teaching. Who was I to assess another teacher? It made me incredibly nervous and it got even worse when I actually had a teacher tell me they would rather I not watch their class after requesting to observe them. 

Why can it feel so awkward to be watched? And is it worth pushing past the awkwardness to help each other grow to be better educators?

To that first question - It is easy to feel like your techniques are being judged. What if someone decides to come watch that class?? You know, the one with ALL of the kids who have to be told a million times what to do. That class is a rough part of your day already and now you’re inviting an audience?!? 

And that, in my opinion, is the real issue here. If someone is just coming in and purely watching, that does absolutely nothing to help you and it is DEFINITELY awkward!  It is completely one sided. The observer may have learned something or been given an idea to use in their class, but you are left feeling like they came, they saw, they judged, the end. 

It is all about the conversation afterwards.
If you are the observer, ask yourself questions like:
  • Are the students engaged?
  • What is going really well?
  • What could use some work?
  • Is there something you've done in your class that may help this teacher?
  • Is there something that this teacher is doing that you are planning on trying in your own classroom?
and be ready to share the answers to these questions in a constructive and encouraging way!

If you are the observed teacher:
  • Teach your class
  • Be ready and open to some encouragement and advice when you're all done!


 If we commit to that 2-5 minute conversation after class breaking down what happened and how it could be better, we all benefit from it! We can bounce ideas off of each other or even relate to having a challenging class together! We could learn a new behavior management technique from the person we are observing OR as a suggestion from the observer! There is so much to be gained from this conversation compared to so little to lose! 

So to the second question, yes. If you and the observer can both commit to having a conversation about what went well and what could improve, it is 100% worth the initial awkwardness! After 3 or 4 of these types of observations, it may even start to feel pretty normal! 


Give it a shot and let us know how it goes! Is it awkward? Is it worth it?
0 Comments

Being a Reflective Teacher

11/19/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
As this semester draws to a close, it is natural to begin to evaluate it for its successes and challenges. I start thinking about the changes I want to make to next semester and what I wish I had done differently and reviewing new tools that I have found over the past months. 

I feel like this is a natural process that all teachers go through as we approach the ending of semester or school year. Being reflective is something that is ingrained in us by our desire to do better for the students and any teaching program I have ever heard of. We recognize the importance of being reflective and intuitively practice it. 

My semester has been one of challenges to be frank. I have had personal challenges and professional challenges that have really highlighted the need to be purposeful in the classroom, my reflections, and reactions to my reflections. 

I feel like this year I fell into the trap of reflecting but not acting. I was thinking a lot about what was happening in my classroom, but not taking the time to process my reflections and create an action plan around them. Those last two steps are really important to being purposeful as a teacher and reflective professional.  The failure of not processing and acting on my reflections is one of the reasons, I continued to struggle.
​


THE IMPACT THIS HAD ON MY CLASSROOM
  1. More Chaotic than Normal. As you all know I am pretty dedicated to student-directed learning. I feel it allows me to differentiate more and meet the needs of students easier. This semester though my classes felt much more chaotic and stressful, because even though I was noticing students struggling and myself struggling with certain aspects of the content or the classroom, I wasn’t able to turn my observations and reflections into change fast enough. I think a part of me felt that I needed to let things play out and see where they went or I thought that there wasn’t anything I could really do in the middle of a semester and would have to wait till the typical end of the semester to reflect and make changes.
  2. Increase of Classroom Management Issues. This is really tied to the chaos one as well, but I did have more issues with classroom management this year than I had in last two semesters doing the self-paced, student-directed learning. I feel that this stems again from students not feeling as secure in their learning and my inaction. 
  3. Students not reaching Content Mastery. This is the one that really hurts the most. I don’t feel like my students this semester are really gaining a mastery of the content like they have in semesters past. My students this semester struggled in a way that I did not really anticipate and because I was not purposeful in my reflection, process, and action, the learning I feel suffered. This does not take responsibility away from the student-learner because they are also part of the equation but as the teacher I needed to be more proactive.

​Reading this, it probably seems like I am being really hard on myself and that it could just be one of the groups of students that struggle and no matter what I did in the classroom, those students were going to struggle. That could very well be true, but I also feel like this semester was a humbling, challenge that reminded me of two very important things about teaching.

  1. Be present, reflective, purposeful, and proactive. I will admit to coming into this semester with a feeling of “I’ve got this”. I can handle anything because I am amazing and I don’t struggle with little things anymore. Well that is not the case. Just because I am senior teacher in my building and have a successful track record doesn’t mean that I will not struggle with things like classroom management and low-achieving students. This semester my students needed me to be more firm and more hands-on than I was prepared for in my student-directed system and I didn’t act as quickly as I should have to get them where I wanted them to be. If you find yourself struggling, a teacher needs to be proactive and take the time to reflect, process, and form an action to help alleviate the problem. This could require assistance from your teacher tribe and that is definitely O.K. I would actually encourage it. My teacher tribe is what has helped me the most this semester in figuring out what to do in my classes.
  2. Keep Learning. As teachers we have to recognize that there is always something new to learn or sometimes relearn. I realized in the middle of this semester that it had been awhile since I had brushed up on my classroom management techniques and philosophy. I had not taken time to really read any interesting articles on teaching practices. I didn’t take time to bring up those issues in my PLC or with my other teacher colleagues. Teachers are learners. We need to keep learning to keep our skills sharp and focused on the best practices we know about and looking for new ones to add to our tool belt.  ​

​
MY PLAN MOVING FORWARDI do not want to make the same mistakes I made this semester, so I have reflected, processed, and developed this action plan for next semester to make sure that I am being the best reflective and purposeful teacher I can be. 

  1. Schedule time to reflect and process before I leave school everyday. This is going to be a big thing for me. Often I am running out the school door when the bell rings because I have automatically shifted to wife and mom mode. I have discovered this doesn’t work for me because I need to take at least 5-10 minutes at the end of the day and jot down my thoughts on the day. This should help me remember things that I need to focus on for the next day and add to my game plan. I typically do my best planning in the morning and I get to school pretty early because I realize that this works for me. The only problem is I don’t always remember exactly what my thoughts were at the end of the day by the next morning.
  2. Schedule Work Time and Home Time. All teachers know that it is virtually impossible to 100% keep your school work at school and not bring it home. I know this, but what I plan to work on is being more thoughtful about my time. I need to schedule those days with my family if I know that I need to spend one or two saturdays a month on school work to keep myself ahead of the game. Then I that should free me up to really enjoy the time I have scheduled with my family and friends. I won’t be stressing about the work that I need to do or the problem that I need to solve at work. Finding a balance is difficult, and as a person that needs structure, I need to create my structure.
  3. Don’t Wait to ask for help. This semester, I sat alone in my bubble for way too long and did not call on my teacher tribe. I know that they are there for me and I need to ask them for assistance. I am actually going to have as many people as possible observe me next semester and look for the key things that I am going to work to change in my class. This way I will have a bunch of people to talk to about my class and what I want to do. This has included all of our building administrators as well. I want their input.
  4. Keep learning. I dragged my co-blogger Becca in on this one. We are going to start reading education and teaching practice books to review for ourselves and for our readers. We want everyone to keep learning. I am also planning to be more active on Twitter for edchats and reading new articles instead of just bookmarking them. ​

​Teaching is hard, but it is also amazing, fulfilling, and incredibly important. I want to be the best I possibly can be for my students and I think that doing these things will help me do that. I hope that you take away from this post that it is O.K. to struggle, because when we struggle we learn things about ourselves. That when you find yourself struggling at school take time to reflect on what is happening, but don’t just stop there. Take the next steps. Process your reflections and develop an action to help or celebrate if needed. Lastly, don’t forget to keep learning. Learning is essential to great teaching!
0 Comments

HACK YOUR SCHOOL CULTURE!

10/29/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
​ I spent the past Thursday and Friday at an Educational Technology conference in Springfield, Illinois and it was amazing.
So many times when signing up for a conference, especially when it means missing instructional time, I hesitate. Will it be worth missing the time? Writing the sub plans? The cost of registration, travel, and stay?
The Illinois Education And Technology conference this year was worth it all several times over. You will probably see me reference something from this conference for weeks and months to come! And I LOVE when this happens! So often when we hear “professional development” it feels like a bad thing so I love love love when I can share about a great experience. IETC, you guys are doing it right! 👍🏼
There were several sessions I went to that I felt were worth the full amount of money and time spent, but one seems so fitting for this time of year.
I’m drained. My co-blogger has had a couple of really rough weeks in a row. I’m feeling a bit run down and discouraged myself. Neither one of us is one to start complaining hard about kids or school but it sure helps to have at least one of you in a good spot during one of those low points. Lately for us, that hasn’t been the case. My conference time started off that way. I drove about 30 minutes towards the conference before realizing I’d left my luggage at home and needed to go back for it. When I checked in, they let me know there’d been an error and my room was booked for the following two nights. They were able to get a room for me, but it was quite the process. I checked in and thought, “what a great start this is”.
But that didn’t matter because when you attend conferences like this, you are surrounded by teachers who love their jobs and want to be life long learners! That energy and attitude is contagious!
My favorite session(s) from day one were led by Joe Sanfelippo, a superintendent from Wisconsin. You may recognize him from some of his videos on his district's facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/FallCreekSchoolDistrict/)
​
This guy was so awesome that I attended his morning session, heard him as the lunch keynote, and then went back for his afternoon session. I felt so energized and ready to role after all of it that I knew ole Joe would get his own honorary blog post (I'm in the Joe Sanfelippo fan club now! Go Crickets!) Below are some of the takeaways from attending his sessions.
​
HACKING LEADERSHIP
​The first session I attended was titled "Hacking Leadership", titled the same as his book (which I bought and have already read because wow). 
He focused on a cyclical model for healthy and productive schools revolving around being intentional, opening doors, and building staff. 

 
So often I feel bogged down by trying to make a change by contributing to a positive culture but Joe mentioned that upon entering a school building that had had 4 principals in 5 years, he was determined to change the culture 30 seconds at a time. 30 seconds at a time...now that I can do. I think I need to do some huge thing that in the end is too overwhelming to actually happen. Instead, I can commit to smile at people in the hallway, converse with co-workers and students, and making positive calls home. 
​As a group, we came up with these other ways to be intentional
  • Give chocolate!
  • Find out staff favorites (drink, food, or snack) and deliver them (or gift cards) every now and then
  • Give students and staff high fives and smiles
  • Play upbeat music
  • Cover another teacher's class when they need it (or maybe when they need a break!)
For Administrators
  • Plan out time in your day to take walks through the building with NO AGENDA
  • Call spouses or parents of teachers to let them know how great your staff is doing (or write letters)
2 tips that stuck out to me that I would like to make a habit:
  1. Start the day with 2 positive notes to staff or students
  2. Make 5 positive phone calls to end the week
How smart is that to start every day and end every week with something positive?! So smart! And it doesn't even take that much time! AND if you are doing it regularly, I would expect you would start to be looking for the positive so that you can plan out your morning notes and weekly phone calls. So smart. And such a little thing. I will be doing these things starting today. Anybody else up for that?

TELL YOUR STORY At lunch Joe spoke more about his specific experience at his K-12 school of 800. He spoke about the importance of sharing your positive school story. The negative talk seems to be a lot louder and said a lot more often. We need to drown that out with all of the truly terrific things happening in our schools. Even the people making most of our decisions (the school board) only ever get to hear about the three B's: beans, busses, and balls (food, transportation, and sports). If we want the real story to be told, we have to do it!
He started broadcasting all of the important things happening at his school on instagram, twitter, facebook, and through podcasts. While school newsletters are useful for some, we need to meet our community where they are at. After surveying the community, Joe found the majority of our student's parents are more likely to read from facebook because they already spend a few hours there daily.
​
If we want to communicate with our community, we need to find out where they are and GO TO THEM! They can't only hear from us when we need something. They should be hearing from us all the time!  Find the best way to start and then do it! Tell the story of your school and why you show up to work and others will want to be a part of the story!

BE A SOCIAL MEDIA SUPERSTARSchools are scared to use social media. What if someone sues us for posting a picture of their kid? What if someone posts or comments something horrible? 
Joe spoke about overcoming both of these issues but more importantly, he tied it back to telling a story and loving what we do. People don't know why we became teachers. They don't know what the day to day looks like inside a classroom. And a lot of those people are not reading that newsletter you send home once a month or quarter by mail. We ask ourselves, "How do we share with people what is going on and how incredible these kids and teachers are?". We already know the answer: social media. But there are so many!!! How will we ever have time to spend on all of the social media? We won't have time to do our own jobs! Well you don't need to learn ALL of the social media outlets, just find where your community lives. Most commonly the kids are on instagram, the parents are on facebook, and the alumni are on twitter. Lucky for us, instagram allows you to post to all three with one click which means it is no longer about managing a million apps. Just start documenting all of those amazing things that are already happening!
But what about kids who don't want their pictures taken?!?! Joe operates on an opt-out clause meaning students have to sign a sheet of paper in order to say that they don't want to be in pictures the school may post. For the few who do sign it, Joe contacts them personally to talk about why they want to be able to share the story and include the students. More often than not the parents didn't read the paper and just signed all of the papers sent home the first week of school...which doesn't speak so great for that process either but that's not what we're talking about this week. :) For the families who truly don't want the picture and aren't able to connect through e-mail or social media the school sends a paper newsletter. The goal to communicate with parents is prioritized. 
What about when someone comments something nasty?!? Now that's on our facebook page!!!!
True. Joe suggests replying to it with something like, "I'm sorry you feel that way. If you would like to talk more my number is ___________. This is not the place to have that conversation but I would be more than happy to speak on the phone or in person."....then he runs around and takes 8-10 pictures of the amazing things happening in classrooms and posts them so that the ugly comment gets buried in all of the great things happening. 
It's all about the story we're telling. It's too important of a story to not tell because we're scared of a couple of people who are going to complain no matter what. So often the negative comments are the ones heard the most. Change the culture by drowning them out with all of the incredible students and teachers and staff that make up your school building!
There is a reason why many schools hire someone specifically to run their communications and social media: it's important. 

I LOVE JOE! GO CRICKETS!I listened to Joe for about 3 hours. I could have listened and talked to this guy for days. Lucky for me (and you!) he has his own website with tons of resources. I know I will be checking it regularly!
Lastly, please please please feel free to ask me if I've written my notes for the day and how I'm telling my story. It is way too easy to go to these conferences and feel the mountain top experience for a couple of days and then....

But culture change doesn't happen that way.  It happens consistently....30 seconds at a time. 
0 Comments

HOW TO: Bounce back after a rough week

10/22/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Teaching is really, really hard. When you take your college classes and visit classrooms for observations, you really don’t appreciate how difficult it really is. Then you start your teaching career and assume the responsibility of applying all of your knowledge from college as well as worrying about how to make the lives of students better while trying teach them your content. Reality sets in and you realize how hard it is to balance everything that comes with your job. 

Every teacher is going to have a rough week. Some years, you may have more rough weeks than easy ones. I am personally coming off one of those rough weeks. I have obsessed over the events and struggled with it to the point where I didn’t want to see my students. How do we come back from those types of weeks and keep our love for teaching and students? I can’t speak for everyone, but these are the things that I need to do when I have a week like this past one.

  1. Cry. I am not going to lie, crying helps me release my anger, frustration, and sometimes hurt. I try not to do it in front of my students, but there have been times where my students have seen me emotional about their behavior or interactions that occurred. I think that it can be good for students to see that we have serious emotions about them and that they affect us. I know that many of the things students do in the classroom are not personal and typically have nothing to do with us, but they also tend to think that their actions do not impact us either. 
    1. A couple of years ago in my advisory class, I had a student that struggled in school. He was always in trouble and I was one of the few people that he respected and would work with. There was a time though when he started to abuse that relationship and began lying to me about what was going on with his classes. I was so frustrated with him and his behavior to the point of tears and I finally let him see that emotion and frustration. That to him was a wake up call that his behavior mattered to me and that the relationship worked two ways. 
  2. Check out from school. No matter how much work I need to do when I have a bad week, I try to take time to completely check out from school when I get home. I do something with my family or friends and try to spend some time by myself. This week my choice was to have a family movie night in bed and take a long bath watching old Will and Grace episodes. It was what I needed to keep myself from obsessing and to recharge my batteries. I think we all need something outside of work to be passionate about or love to do. This helps us fight burnout and gives us a release from our work stress. We all need to find things to do outside of the classroom. It can be exercise, reading, a hobby, a sport. Really anything that takes us out of the teacher role and into just be a person. Along with this take time to be social. Try to go out with your significant other, friends, or both and connect with people outside of school. 
  3. Talk it out. One of the most essential tools in your teaching toolbox is a group of fellow teacher-friends that you can talk to about what is going on without judgement. You need a group that supports you and helps you see the successes when you only see failure, that help you problem-solve and understand you as a person and teacher. This group doesn’t always need to be teachers, but I can tell you that no one is really going to understand what is happening in the classroom than another teacher. 
  4. Personal Day. In extreme situations I have taken a personal health day. I know that it is something that can be hard for teachers, because it is typically harder to be gone than show up for school but if I am seriously struggling with my work/life balance I have to take care of myself. If I don’t make an attempt to take care of myself then I struggle even more in the classroom. When I do take a personal health day, what normally happens is a complete day of nothing. I do the things I never have time for that only focus on me. I have found that this helps me center myself and then I can properly address any specific issues I am having in the classroom and the balance of my work and personal life. 

I have been teaching 10 years and the process of taking care of myself so that I can be the best I possibly can be at my job is something I am continuously working on. I don’t know anyone that is perfect at finding a balance between being a good teacher and being a person. It is something that I will continue to strive for. So far doing some combination of the things above have helped me come back year after year to teaching and allow me to gives kids a fresh start every week. I don’t wish any of these rough weeks on anyone, but the reality is that we all have them and it is nice to have a plan of attack for those days, weeks, months, or years. Hopefully some of these strategies are helpful to you when you go through those times, too. And for me, writing about all of it was one more release! 

What ways do you intentionally de-stress after a long week? I am open to any suggestions! 
I hope you have a fantastic week! And if you don’t, try a few of these steps and don’t forget that you get a fresh start next week. 
​
0 Comments

Parent Teacher Conferences

10/8/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
   For teachers, conferences are both something to look forward to and something that we dread. They are necessary so that we can talk to parents about their students progress in class. They are difficult because those conversations can be hard, awkward, and sometimes confrontational. At the secondary level it is also a struggle to get parents to come to parent-teacher conferences at all. It can start to feel like a waste of time when there can be so much preparation involved. 

Both of us (Danielle and Becca) have conferences this week and we assume that they are fast approaching for others as well.  Maybe you are a first time teacher or maybe you just continue to be on the struggle bus with conferences. Either way, here are our thoughts and ideas about have successful parent teacher conferences.

To start, many schools are different in their opinion of how to structure conferences. Some schools want students to be there and have student-led conferences and some would say it should be just parents and teachers present for conferences. Is it open house style or do you need to schedule times with specific parents? What materials do you need to have ready for parents who do attend?

The best conferences I (Danielle) have ever participated in were the conferences my building did when I taught middle school. I taught at a true middle school where we had two 6th grade teams. Every teacher had a homeroom/advisory class. When it came to conferences we would schedule conferences with the parents of our homeroom class. The school scheduled one day after school for conferences and then on the next day the students did not have school and we were there until 4 but we were open all day for conferencing appointments. We scheduled an appointment with those 20-25 parents of students in our homeroom. Then my 6th grade team would meet and discuss which conferences we wanted to have as a team. If there was a student that really struggled or had specific behavior issues, we would all block out that time slot to have a team conference with that parent and student which was student-led. 
 
​In the weeks leading up to conferences, we would take time in homeroom to organize a portfolio of work from each class and the students would write reflections on their work that they would go over with their parents during the conference. I would discuss any issues that had been brought to my attention by the other teachers and answer any questions I could. If the parent wanted to talk to a specific teacher, then they could also schedule time for that during conferences as well but the main responsibility was for the homeroom teachers and meeting a different teacher was more of a special case.  When we did it this way, I felt really supported since I had my team and a lot of preparation ahead of time. The responsibility was really on the students because they were leading the conference and they knew what issues they were going to have to talk about with their parents. 


I (Becca) have not had experience with scheduling conferences, though that sounds like it may make it more worth the time! I try to have some candy available as well as a folder for each student containing student work and some student reflection. As parents arrive, I offer candy, ask them to sign in, and show them student work along with their grade. Most of the time the student is not with them. I explain how the grade is calculated, how their student behaves and performs in class, and how they could get better. I express any concerns I may have and check for questions. With any time left (many times the parent is trying to get around the building to see 6 other teachers and may be in a hurry), I make sure they understand our LMS so that they can have as much information about their student’s grades and attendance as possible!

The few times that the student is with them, I always include the student in the conversation. I have found that students are much more likely to say what they may need to be successful while sitting one on one with a parent present. While many would not pull you aside in class and tell you then need help being reminded what to do or would like more examples, they might in a conference setting! I have seen many students take some responsibility when I can tell both them and their parents what I think their strengths are. If their grades are not correlating well with their ability, they more often than not will take responsibility for their part. I would much rather have that conversation than just talk to a parent about what their student communicates to them versus what they communicate to me. Again, those are rare occasions for me, to have students present. 

When it comes to conferences and if your district is considering any changes to your conference procedure, I would suggest the following:
  • Student-led. When students lead conferences there is some investment from the students on conference. It also allows and sometimes forces the student to show ownership for what they have or haven’t done in the classroom. It is always good to hear from the student perspective how things are going.
  • Scheduling Conferences. If you are a school that has a homeroom or advisory type class, scheduling conferences with those parents could increase overall attendance to parent-teacher conferences. It could also free you up to focus on those conferences and then attempt to schedule conferences with other students that you really need to see.
  • Team conferences. If you have teaming or a structure where teachers have the same students, you might consider having team conferences when needed for students that are really struggling or have a particular behavior issue. The key is to view this session as a problem-solving session of how to help the student be successful and not let the student play teacher off teacher.

If you don’t have control over your structure of conferences, try to find ways to work within your system. 

  • Make sure you have a sign-in page. It is nice to keep track of who you talked to and get up-to-date contact information.
  • Have handouts of any really important information. You may even use the same types of handouts you had available for open house. There is a good chance you will see a lot of the same parents, but it is always good to have those essential handouts available.
  • Maybe have candy or mints for the kids and parents to sweeten the conference.
  • Consider having students create a portfolio to share during conferences. It can be something basic or even some kind of reflection that they write that you can share with parents when they come to conferences.
  • Make it an event. Make a game out of it or have some kind of challenge that could be done during the conference to liven it up. I would suggest that you do not make attending PT Conferences extra credit or worth any part of their grade. There are some cultures where students have no chance of getting that extra credit and it will only set your rapport with them back for not understanding where they are coming from personally.
  • If you feel like you need support, it is ok to ask for it! Talk to other teachers or your administrators for help!
  • Use this as a time to build community within your building by playing a game amongst the teachers during conferences like Parent-Teacher Conferences Bingo! You would have a board either electronic or a traditional paper board and play it during your conferences. You could have prizes for the number of Bingos achieved during conferences. It is a nice way to build some community, de-stress, and in some cases liven up a potentially stressful event. Check out our Bingo Board on our TPT store! 
0 Comments

How to: Have a successful Curriculum WOrk Day!

9/24/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
​HOW TO: HAVE A SUCCESSFUL CURRICULUM MEETING12/4/2017
0 Comments

 

​Our first day back from Thanksgiving break and I had a sub. No, I wasn’t sick, I was at a curriculum meeting. It’s at this point must of us are rolling our eyes and thinking, was that really necessary? Could we have met for an hour or just used email and Google Apps to communicate? I’m right there with you. I hate missing a school day unless I can be sure that what I have learned or accomplished will positively and directly impact students.last Monday was one of those days and I think there were some really important components necessary for any department who wants to have quality curriculum that result in tangible accomplishments.​​


Have a clear goal.
We were trying to find a better way to place kids in the correct class as freshmen. We had way too many students who were moving to a lower track and a few moving to a higher track of math during the first semester of school. When almost 20% of your freshmen class are changing tracks, something is wrong with the placement method. We all knew that it was an issue and needed to find a better way to help transition students into the correct high school math course.
​
Include all the key players AND be sure they have a voice.
​How many of us have been given notes from a meeting we weren’t present for containing some sort of directive or decision that directly impacted us?  I’m sure there are some out there that are totally fine with this but I’d argue that making real change means all parties involved in implementing the change need to be present and in agreement about the changes made. How can we be 100% clear and in agreement, ready to implement or enforce something when we weren’t there?
This particular curriculum meeting was great because all of the freshmen math teachers were there as well as the 8th grade math teachers from each feeder middle school. Even better, we were trusted to get the goal accomplished, which brings me to the next point-​​
​
Remember, it isn't an admin meeting. 
I have nothing against administrators. I would love to be an administrator one day! In fact, great administrators helped this meeting happen! Most would admit however that admin meetings have a reputation for being a lot of talk and jumping through the hoops states put on public schools. This meeting wasn't like that. We started by talking about how each of us grade and what students need to know before they enter our classes in order to be successful. We used Google docs and collaborated. There was one goal and that was to understand the expectations for enterering high school math classes and to create a placement test and criteria for placing students correctly. We had an entire day to complete the task and our administrators simply poked their head in every now and then to see if we needed anything. We weren't given additional tasks. No one walked in and said they would have to check with another higher up before we'd have an official answer. We had the autonomy to make final decisions and simply report back how the day went!
​
Give mutual respect and desire open communication.
During the first hour of the meeting, we were trying to sort out how best to spend the day and accomplish the goal. We began to discuss the gaps we were seeing at the high school. Kids didn't know the difference between slope and plotting an ordered pair or they were lacking number sense, etc.  It would have been really easy for for the 8th grade teachers to take it personally and shut down but they didn't. We were not attacking them and they trusted that. We knew they had pressure to teach the standards and push kids the same way that we did and we were determined to respect and work together to do what was best for our students. 
​

Make decisions with kids in mind.
Again, near the beginning of the morning we were talking about the standards assigned to each of our courses and the amount of pressure we felt to speed through it in order to "cover" everything. I know we are not alone in this feeling and the fact that none of the schools were accountable to each other by being in the same district could have made the conversation worse. Instead, we were able to communicate respectfully and come to the conclusion that we were professionals who could take responsibility for specific standards and be accountable to each other. We didn't work in the same town or within the same district but we served the same kids. In the end, what was best for them was for us to trust that the person coming next would do what they said they would do. For example, I will teach students how to solve multi-step equations. The 8th grade teachers who have the students who will enter my track would then be sure that the students have become masters of solving one step equations and using the order of operations. Rather than pushing those kids through solving different equations, they would leave that to me and spend the time being sure they had the prerequisite skills mastered. No more rushing kids through standards. They need to become masters of the material and that doesn't happen by reviewing fractions for one week every year. As hard as it is to make these decisions, they have to be made because it is what is best for kids. 


Communication doesn't end after the meeting does.
Finally, one of the most important steps to a curriculum meeting is that the discussion that began does not end. After completing our goal for the day and creating a placement test that we agreed on, we discussed what we needed to do as a follow up. 
When would it be given? How would students review? How would it be graded consistently across three different middle schools? How will they be sure their prerequisite standards would be mastered before students got to 8th grade?
We set a date to meet again after the test would be given so that we could grade it all together and agree. The 8th grade teachers said they planned on speaking with the lower grades to have similar meetings about mastering standards. 
The key here is that it wasn't over. We didn't pat ourselves on the back and move on. We gave each other high fives for the day and planned to meet again and email in between meetings. 
​
WHY DO WE EVEN NEED A CURRICULUM MEETING?Curriculum is the plan for what we will teach kids. If we don't discuss it and work to make it the very best it can be, what are we doing? We owe it to our profession and to our students and community to talk to each other. We need to be willing to have the hard conversations about what we are doing and whether or not it is the best for our students. We may feel like we have kids all the time but in reality, that 45 minutes that I see students 5 times a week and 9 months of the year flies by.  
​
Picture
0 Comments

Being a great Mentor/Getting the Most out of your mentor!

9/3/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
BUILDING FUNDAMENTALS: BEING A GREAT MENTOR8/28/2017
0 Comments

 

Teaching is a hard profession to enter. No one can deny that. Teachers tend to have a burn out rate of 5 years. One of the best ways to help get past this is having a support system in your school. This usually starts with a mentor in the building. Most districts have a new teacher program that pairs new teachers with a mentor in their building. This mentor is the first line of defense and support for a new teacher and is an incredibility important relationship. 

The quality of the mentors used in a school seem to have a direct relationship to new teachers staying in the profession and staying in that specific district. 

What makes a good mentor? What qualities do mentors need to have to be what they need to be for new teachers?

  1. Positive - Being positive can really help a new teacher feel welcome and help them get past the rough spots that can happen during a school year. Negativity is a killer in our profession. When a teacher gets to that negative point, they can be poison to a new teacher. This doesn’t mean that a mentor shouldn’t address and recognize problems, but work on a way to solve them in a constructive way without negativity.

  2. Open - It is also good for the mentor to be a person that is very open. They share with their new teacher all of the parts of the job. Everything they need to know whether it is good or bad, new teachers need to know it so they can prepare a plan to deal with it. A mentor should have an open door policy in their classroom for the new teacher. Observing other teachers is a great way to learn and the mentor needs to open to discussing what they are doing. Being able to share what is working well and what is not working, can be a good learning tool for new teachers. 

  3. Inclusive - Isolation is hard to deal with and even though a teacher is in their own room most of the time, doesn’t mean they want to feel isolated in their building. Having a mentor that invites them to school functions and functions outside of the building will help that new teacher feel connected to the school and community. That can go a long way in retaining teachers. 

  4. A Coach - The mentor has to be able to acknowledge when a new teacher has a classroom challenge and being willing and able to address that challenge with the new teacher. This takes many observations, discussions, and strategies with the new teacher. A new teacher is never going to get better if they don’t work on their skills. 

  5. A Listener/Sounding Board - New teachers need someone who will really listen to them and not judge them. Someone they can talk to about ideas, celebrations, challenges, and life in general without judgement but support and guidance. It is important for you to ask questions to get new teachers to be reflective about their practice. New teachers will also need you to keep them informed on school policies and practices. They will not know the ins and outs of the building. They might not even know what to ask, so they will need their mentor to give them a heads up. 

  6. Long-term - Being a mentor is a multi-year job. New teachers are not going to be suddenly a master after one year and will need guidance for the first few years. You could say that a teacher always needs a mentor no matter how many years they have teaching. 

Our profession is very important and we should do all we can to keep quality new teachers in the profession. Having a mentor with these qualities can go a long way to helping a new teacher grow and feel welcome in their school.  ​
Picture
   So you’re a new teacher! You may be brand new to the career or maybe you’re just new to the building. Either way, you will most likely be assigned a mentor to help you settle in and learn what you need to about the school and the culture. 
My advice to you in getting the most out of your mentor is to ask questions! Ask them all! They are there to help you adjust and answer questions. 

For brand new teachers specifically, you may have a million questions but these are the ones I suggest you ask early!
  1. What do you do for classroom management?
  2. What do I need to have prepared for open house or parent teacher conferences?
  3. What is the first day of school like? Are there any changes to the schedule?
  4. What kind of classroom procedures do you have?
  5. How do you build relationships with students?

For all teachers new to a building, you’ll want the answer to these questions!
  1. Where do I need to go to get copies?
  2. Where do I go to pick up or send mail?
  3. How often will I be evaluated and what does that look like?
  4. What are the procedures for when I have to be absent?
  5. Do I need to submit formal lesson plans to someone at any point?
  6. What type of communication with parents is expected?
  7. What technology and other resources do I have available for use?
  8. Who do I go to if I have a question about technology?
  9. What behavior constitutes a detention or trip to the office? (What are classroom behavior expectations as a building)
  10. What is the dress code? (both for you and for students)
  11. Who do I talk to about additional ways to get involved i.e. coaching, clubs?
  12. Do you allow teachers to use public social media accounts?
  13. What kind of professional development is offered in the building? What is focus for your building or district?
  14. What are the rules on room decor? Can I paint my room?
  15. What are the safety procedures? Tornado, fire, intruder, etc.

These questions are not all encompassing. You will continue to have questions. Keep asking them! Other than those specific questions we suggest you:
  1. Meet with your mentor at least once a week, even if it’s just a walk past their room during a passing period or special and letting them know how your week is going. Reflection is key to improving yourself as a teacher and having a conversation with your mentor about what is going on in class will help you process!
  2. Go see them after a particularly good or bad day. If they’ve been chosen as a mentor, they probably are experienced and generally positive about their jobs. Celebrate with them in the good and lean on them when it’s bad.
  3. Observe your mentor often and have them observe you often. Observing other teachers and discussing what you see with them is a great way to learn.
  4. If your mentor is not giving you what you need, seek out someone else who can. This can be hard when you don’t know anyone, but keep an eye out for positive teachers. They will most likely reach out to you, but don’t be afraid to approach people in your building to help you.
  5. Seek out a community. Inside or outside of school, you need more people to bounce ideas, victories, and failures off of. Finding some more people will help you get the most out of your first year as well as your mentor. The more you can reflect and improve, the better your year will be!

   We hope you have a terrific first year teaching or first year at your new building! It can be a roller coaster but having a mentor and truly using them can make even the roughest of years a great experience in the end! Stay strong! Let us know how the years goes and any other advice you have about getting the most out of your mentor!

​​
0 Comments

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

8/13/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture

 
WHETHER YOU'RE FEELING LIKE THIS......

OR THIS

THE BIG DAY IS APPROACHING QUICKLY!

​The first day of school! I don’t know about everyone else, but that day still makes me nervous every year. In the beginning it was straight up nerves but now has shifted to more nervous excitement. A new year! What will this year be like? What will the students be like? How will all of the changes I made to my curriculum work out? There is a lot of potential on that first day of school. 
​
There is a lot of prep work that goes into the first day of school and the beginning of a new year. There is the room set-up, curriculum, school and department meetings, and so many other details that work up to this day. I know that the first day looks different at different grade levels and  I will admit that I really only familiar with the secondary set-up. Regardless some of it is the same and most classes are trying to get the same types of tasks done:
  • Learning student names
  • Introducing yourself as the teacher
  • Presenting classroom procedures/rules
  • Building classroom community
  • Assessing prior knowledge/skills

For the new teacher, the first day of school can definitely be a day that is filled with excitement and nerves. 
​

Here are some tips/things to know about the first day of school:
  1. Breathe - The first day is both chaotic and exhilarating. You have put a lot of work into this day and school year, so take some time to breathe and enjoy it. There is a lot going on. Students are reuniting with friends and old teachers as well as a bunch of new people. The same can be said for teachers. Basically, there is a lot going on and that’s exactly how it is supposed to be so take a second, breath, and enjoy it. ​
  2. Have extra activities ready as well as a plan to shorten your time with students to the essentials. Nothing will run on time. Students are late, nervous, and usually lost. I typically wait about 2 minutes after the bell to begin my class because it never fails that a student will walk in late because they got lost. Bells may not work that day and lunch will take forever. The best thing is to have backup plans for when things take forever or go way faster than you planned.
  3. Have some activities that involve student interaction and movement - I don’t know anyone that really likes to just talk at students on the first day. Focusing on the student interaction and movement that day is a nice way to break the ice and get to know your students.
  4. Stop, breathe, and make some mental notes. The day will go by really fast - It always seems to me that this day is one of the fastest days of the year. With all of the new things happening, it is just a blur. You will experience many first days of school and in order for them to improve each year, you need to be able to reflect and react to how it goes this year.
  5. Wear comfortable shoes - The first day of school  and parent-teacher conferences are days when teachers tend to dress up more than usual. I am no different, but on this day when you know your feet won’t get a break, it is a good idea to wear comfortable shoes. This is a day where I don’t get a break from standing or walking. And I don’t have a day off to rest tomorrow! Wear comfortable shoes! Trust me, you’re feet will thank you!
  6. Smile!- I have never really been one for the old advice to be super stern the first day/month to get students to take you seriously. I want students to trust me and work with me, not fear and resent me. This doesn’t mean they get to walk all over me. Being firm and consistent in your procedures and rules is super important, but doing that doesn’t mean you can smile and welcome students to your room. You can be both approachable and respected. Have clear expectations, but smile and have fun, too!
  7. Have fun! - Try to take time during the day to take it in and enjoy doing what you have been working towards. You have started your first school year! That is a big deal and should be celebrated!

​The real trick to having a successful first day is to have activities where the focus is on the students and not the teacher only talking at them all day about rules and procedures. It’s an easy trap to fall in, especially in the secondary classroom, spending every class reviewing the class syllabus, rules and procedures of the class. This is boring for the teacher and the students. 


I have tried many different things for the first day to keep the focus on them and not me. There are so many different ways to approach this and it really depends on what you want to accomplish on the first day. Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and other social media outlets are filled with different ideas for what to do on the first day of school. 

Here are few ideas that we like!
  1. Stations - I love stations for class activities and I switched my first day to stations after finding a package on Teacher Pay Teachers and I have loved it. It allows me to get a lot of things done in one day and then jump into other community builders and reviews for the rest of that first week of school.
  2. Content Game/Challenge - You could create a game or challenge that is focused on your content. This would be a great way to see what students know from previous years and get the students interacting.
  3. Class scavenger hunt - This is also a way to get students interacting and learning the ways of your class. Students could have tasks that take them through the class procedures, syllabus, work areas, and resources of your classroom.
  4. Four Corners - This is a really easy way to have students moving around the room, talking about the class, and thinking about the course. You could adapt this to anything really. You can break up the syllabus into sections and have students discuss and rotate around the room and report out. They can create hashtags, posters, memes, really anything based on the content you want to cover and the corners you want them to work on.
  5. Gallery Walk - Students can create posters or other visuals that represent content, procedures, syllabus, etc that can be used to create a gallery walk for that day or for the second day of school to review.

The first day of school is a chaotic, nerve wracking, and exciting day. Take time to enjoy it whether you are a first year teacher or veteran teacher. It is a day filled with promise, new beginnings, and new opportunities! 
Above are just a few ideas on how to make the most out of your first day of school. If you have any other ideas, please share them below!

​
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture

    Signup for our newsletter!

    Signup for our newsletter and receive the latest promotions and updates!
    Email address
    *
    campayn
    SUBMIT YOUR "AMAZING CLASSROOM"!

    Archives

    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    Categories

    All
    Amazing Classrooms!
    Building Fundamentals
    Classroom Pick Me Up
    New Teachers
    PD That Works
    The Self Paced Classroom
    Useful Tech Tools

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • WWATD Blog
  • Educator Resources
    • Building Fundamentals
    • Classroom Pick Me Ups!
    • PD That Works!
    • The Self Paced Classroom
    • Useful Tech Tools
    • Math Resources
    • Social Studies Resources
  • Signup for Freebies!