Thoughts As A Teacher

I have not blogged in almost a month because I've been busy with "end of year stuff," but I felt (to keep the wheels rolling) to post a blog on a couple things I have learned in the classroom during this Fall Semester. Google Classroom and Technology Since we do not have "one to one" technology, and have to rely on whatever devices students bring into the classroom, but do have access to laptops I can check out from the library once a week, I have learned not to "put the cart before the horse," when it comes to technology.  Let me explain.  I was so excited to get my students into Google Classroom and "blended learning" that I assumed most students would smoothly start using Google Classroom with their smart phones.   I learned my lesson after a bad walk through (received comments like "most students were not on task").  Students just got confused and started doing what a 14 year old typically does with a smart ph...

"...give a shout out to 3 other blog posts that you read from other participants..."    The first shout out is for  Theresa Ducassoux who is a music educator in Northern Virginia.   Her post " #IMMOOC Wrap-Up" is linked here: https://offthebeatenpathinmusic.com/2017/11/05/immooc-wrap-up/ I was impressed with this post, because she sees what I see; empowerment in the classroom unlocks true learning.  The second shout out if for  Kristen Kilgore Nan who is a 3rd grade teacher.  Her post " #IMMOOC Week 6: The Impact of Others" is linked here: https://kristennan.com/2017/11/05/immooc-week-6-the-impact-of-others/ I was impressed with this post by how stunning the blog was!  Mine looks so drab by comparison (but I'm working on it with my growth mindset).  I love the energy of this post! Lastly, a shout out to  Kieron Eaglestone, who works at an   international school in Jakarta.  His ...

"You can't get there from here." I heard a story where a woman from the country got lost in the city.  She stopped and asked  a man for directions.  The man keep starting and stopping his instructions, confusing himself in the process.  Finally, after much frustration he blurted out; "you can't get there from here!" Sometimes we go down the wrong path with a lesson.  Maybe it's a PBL or Genius Hour lesson we have started with our class and don't know where we are or where we need to proceed to.  You really have two choices in a situation like that.  Either we can (easiest) 1) Give up and say "well at least we tried, maybe next year." Or 2) We can t ake a few steps back and try again from another angle until we get our bearings.  The later is the harder approach of course...but wouldn't we be modeling for our students the old saying; "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again (and it's OK to make mistakes)?...

“We must create interdependent relationships to be considered a team.” ~ Rick DuFour Relationships is the oil that turns the gears of collaboration.  In does not matter if the collaboration taking effect is between a married couple, a family, a corporation, a military unit, a group of educators or a group of students.  The stronger the relationship, the more effective the collaboration.  Unfortunately, many organizations (and Schools are no exception) spend very little time on relationship building (also known as "team building").   They feel that "people will naturally click" because they are supposedly working towards the same goal.   If a relationship is not strong; people will not trust each other.  When people trust each other a strong relationship is built.  People who trust each other allow themselves to be vulnerable to one another.  They let their guard down and share things with others in their group.  This breeds...

Urban areas have many problems such as overcrowding, crime, poverty, and pollution, but they have advantages as well, such as people's innovation and creativity. I believe that urbanization (which is the human movement from the rural or farming area to a urban or city area) has brought the explosion of innovation we have seen in the last century.   For centuries, people lived in rural areas until the Industrial Revolution.  In 1900 only 15% of the world’s population lived in urban areas; but 107 years later in 2007 over 50% of the world’s population does. 1  So what happened when human beings who for centuries only knew a handful of people their whole lives suddenly started interacting with hundreds?  Increased collaboration happened, that’s what.   Now, Collaboration is a “purposeful relationship in which all parties strategically choose to cooperate in order to achieve shared or overlapping objectives." 2  When people get together, the...

First of all (to hopeful clear up any misconceptions and false perceptions), I am in no way knocking Educators that were good at "doing school."  You know; the ones who got all straight "A" were always on the Honor Roll and graduated Valedictorian and so on.  My early life would not have been nearly as hard if I had done all that (or at least graduated).   Now that I've (hopefully) cleared that up... I was never good at doing "school" myself.  If I could get out of doing school work I would.  Homework was a terror at my house, especially math homework.  My dad would yell at me when I got a problem wrong (it was the 70s) and I got to the point where I would hide my homework (until my dad found out).  In middle school, I gave the teachers such a hard time, they started "passing me" just so they didn't have to deal with me the next year.  In High School my wicked ways caught up with me.  First I repeated the 9th grade, then after star...

There I stood with one of my student’s phones in my hand eight months ago (who I was helping that had trouble signing into Google Classroom; an iPhone 6s I believe); it buzzed, pinged and vibrated as text message, snap-chat, and other forms of electronic communication and social media came in every few seconds or so.  I then noticed she had a folder on her phone titled; “F*** IT!”  The student clearly was embarrassed by this, but I looked at it and busted out laughing to which she started laughing too (us Teachers have to take advantage of these relationship building moments you know).  I told her, I was there to fix her phone and unless it was illegal, not judge her on the contents (of course the teacher in me advised her that such words were beneath her). Anyway, I became transfixed at all the social media pouring in on her phone to the point it became a “eureka moment” for me.   It dawned on me; “This is the world my students live in and this is the world we...

August 8, 2017 Time Is Ticking... Well, it's less than two weeks until school starts and (like many of my fellow educators all over America and many parts of the world), I'm both excited and nervous (not unlike going up the steepest incline of a roller coaster ride right before it goes over the top).  I want everything to be right...right for my students...right for their parents/legal guardians...right for my Administrators...right for my fellow teachers and right for myself. I want this to be the year of "student empowerment"  I want to be able to take my State's Standards (the Texas TEKS) and reword it for student understanding.  I than want to give each reworded standard to the students and have them figure out a way to learn/understand it.  Crazy?  Maybe, but I keep reading of outstanding educators (like George Couros) who have done this very thing and have seen their students take OWNERSHIP of the their learning. Would this not be the truest example...