Why Do I Teach?

Do you wonder why you do what you do?  Do I really make a difference?  Do they really get it?

Today, into my office strolled a former student from St. Mary’s.  He was dressed in his full Marine dress blues.  This was a student I spent A LOT of time with…and when I say A LOT of time, I mean A LOT of time.  One constant was that he always wanted to be a Marine.  I told him it was my job to help get him there.  That me calling him out on things was helping to prepare him for that step…teaching him to be respectful was so he would be able to tolerate it when a drill sergeant was yelling at him during boot camp.  I always told him I would be proud to see him serving our country and I hoped to shake his hand as a Marine one day.

And today I was able to shake the hand of this Marine.  Ok…I hugged him too…and cried.  He told me, "Thank you Mrs. Neill."  He told me how he was appointed as a squad leader thus receiving a promotion right out of boot camp.  He walks taller and he talks like an adult. 

He made my day.

This is why I do this job…when I want to pull my hair out and scream…I will remember today.  This is why I am an educator.

What is it like to be a student?

Most of us think we remember what it was like to be students...I mean, it wasn't that long ago was it?  A lot has changed since we all sat in those desks.  Not just in terms of educational opportunities, technology, and standards....but also in terms of the socioeconomic status of families, the number of parents in a home, residency...the list goes on.  Have we taken the time to really think about what it is like to be a student in 2014?

Our job is to educate the mind and body, but we need to take a few seconds and think about the soul that is sitting in that chair and the obstacles they had to face to get to our room today.  

Please see the attached information graphic and think about what you have (or haven't) done in your classroom to help educate our ever changing population.  We cannot do what we did 20...even 10 years ago...and expect it to work.  The demands on our kids and what they are exposed to has changed dramatically.  This information graphic touches on only a few of these things.  I am sure we can all think of many other facts that effect students and their classroom performance.

My Favorite Teacher

I always loved when my first graders came up to me and stated, "Mrs. Neill...you are my favorite teacher!"  I cherished those words, but often in my head laughed a little as they had only had one teacher before me...I thought it would only mean something if they said after they had graduated from high school.  I have now watched three of those first grade classes walk across the stage and receive diplomas.  While I am sure they probably don't remember me as their favorite teacher at the point, I am sure they probably do remember some of the things we shared together for that year.

What qualities does it take to make you the "favorite teacher"?  How do you get to be "the one" that kids remember when they have left these halls and become members of society?  This clip from SoulPancake's "Man on the Street" gives us an idea of what it takes.

What Students Really Need to Hear

Ah...don't you love it when someone with more talent than you can say EXACTLY what you are feeling.  I must admit...I am struggling this year with feeling like I am reaching some of our students.  

This teacher (Chase Mielke...a 2014 Michigan Teacher of the Year nominee) is saying exactly what I (and all of us) are trying to help our students learn...become...and be.

Opinions...

Everyone has opinions on what is right about the education system...and of course, everyone has opinions about what is wrong with the system too.  While I find myself reading opinions about education that closely align with my views, I think it is important to also read what the "other side" is saying.  People who do not share the same views as you can be well educated, can make some good points, and can make you think.  It is really hard to argue a point if you have not taken the time to educate yourself.

"The man who graduates today and stops learning tomorrow is uneducated the day after."-Newton D. Baker

Check out these opinion pieces on our educational system, as well the Common Core and the upcoming election.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/06/opinion/sahlberg-finland-education/index.html?hpt=op_r1

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/05/opinion/kralovec-ban-homework/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/29/opinion/navarrette-common-core/index.html?iref=allsearch

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/07/politics/rand-paul-common-core/index.html?iref=allsearch

Monday Pick Me Up

There have been some great pep talks out there.  

Here is another great one that occurred after a Friday night football game:

Find a way to inspire our kids to think positive and give 100% each day!

Back Into the Swing of Things

We have made it through the first week!  It is exciting to think about where these next 35 weeks will take us.  We all have BIG goals for our students and ourselves.  We must look at our practices and what we are doing to have students meet educational goals.  We must be willing to think outside the box, see problems in a different way, and put in some extra hours to ensure success...isn't this EXACTLY what we ask our students to do?

The link below list habits of highly effective teachers.  These are things many of us are doing, but at the beginning of the year, it is always good to have a little refresher on what can do to ensure student success!

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/25-things-successful-teachers-do-differently/

Welcome Back

New year...new goals...new insight.  What are you going to do this year to inspire your students?  Inspire each other?  What will it take to make you "the teacher"?  You know...the one who all the student talk about, even after graduation?  The one who students say "I learned so much from"?  For me, it was Carol Hefling.  I don't remember all the vocab words from her class or how to diagram a sentence, but I remember what she saw in me and cultivated in me.  She knew I had gifts in areas that were not athletic and in activities that were not on everyone's to do list.  She pushed me...she yelled at me...she picked me up when things didn't go quite right...but she encouraged me every step of the way.  I am unsure if I would have discovered that side of me (or one of my all time favorite books "To Kill a Mockingbird") without her.

See the link below to 23 defining traits of your favorite teacher.  The GIFs with these show some of the best teachers to hit the big and small screen.  Are these defining traits part of you?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/defining-traits-of-your-favorite-teacher

Let's have a great year!

PS...I wrote this blog the last week of July.  I waited to published it until we got closer to school.  Yesterday, Robin Williams died.  He gave perhaps one of the most powerful performance of a teacher out there.  If you have NOT seen "Dead Poet's Society", SEE IT.  It is amazing.  You should watch the clips in the link below in the following order:  the last clip FIRST and the first clip LAST.  The text contains additional quotes from the movie that are inspiring.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/robin-williams-best-dead-poets-society-quotes-carpe-hear-it-carpe-carpe-diem-seize-the-day-boys-9663800.html

Cultivating Thought

We often think of thoughts as facts and knowledge to fill our brain.  I often find myself seeing the thoughts of some people as more than just facts.  There are thoughts that people have that inspire us...make us laugh...move us in some way.  These thoughts often come to us when we need them the most and can be the thing which helps us forge ahead or take a risk.

The Mexican restaurant chain Chipotle understood that sometimes you needs those thoughts when you are stuffing yourself with a burrito with extra sour cream and salsa.  The company has gathered the thoughts of deep thinkers, funny thinkers, and inspirational thinkers and put them on their chain's bags and cups.  Their CEO looks at the "cultivating thoughts" as "little gifts" to people while they eat their lunch.

Take a look...they may just cultivate some thought in you...

http://cultivatingthought.com/

Have a great summer!

Inspiration

It is that time of year.  The time of year when our candle is being burnt at both ends.  Where the words "testing", "students will be dismissed at 1:00", and "orders must be submitted by May 15th" cause panic, frustration, stress, annoyance...the list goes on.  If we feel this way, imagine how our students feel!

It is the time of the year where we need those extra doses of inspiration to keep us going.  Always remember...someone out there has it worse than you.  And many of them are doing GREAT things.

Here is a dose of inspiration for today.  Enjoy!

Movies Are Much More Than Entertainment

Movies are my great escape.  Before my daughter was born, my husband and I were often the people who went to a 7:00 showing of one movie and then followed it up with the 9:30 showing of a different movie.  Our summers were planned around the blockbusters coming out (this summer, it is all about "The X-Men" for us).  Our time in the movie theater is a little more sporadic and our movie watching has now been reduced to watching DVDs after the little one is asleep...if she falls asleep before 9:00.

While I have an allegiance to many current movies (Yes...I stood in lines for midnight showings of "Harry Potter"...didn't everyone?), there is nothing out there today that compares to the 80's and early 90's movies.  (There are some of you reading this blog and your exposure to these movies have not been through the theater but rather watching them on VH1 or TBS.  I will not judge.)  Nothing ruins my plans for Saturday cleaning like a John Hughes marathon.  I cannot seem to pull myself away from the TV even thought I KNOW that at the end of "Sixteen Candles", Samantha gets to kiss Jake.  But I am starting to realize there was a bigger lesson there than making sure EVERYONE knows it is your birthday.  The blog I am sharing with you today details the lesson a mother would like her own kids learn from some of the best 80'sand early 90's movies out there.  The lessons she exposes for her children and herself in each movie are dead on.  Enjoy!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allison-tate/10-things-this-child-of-the-80s-wants-her-kids-to-know_b_5081160.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

It's Such a Good Feeling

My earliest TV memories center around a few things..."The Dukes of Hazzard", "Little House on the Prairie", and "Sesame Street". But there is another that stands out, and perhaps it does for the rest of you-

Yesterday, Fred Rogers would have turned 86 years old. I have yet to view a person who showed such compassion and love for children as he did. This soft-spoken man guided and helped many children and adults through the comfort of their living rooms. We learned about feelings, about science, and about playing. We also learned that a good cardigan is the perfect attire to relax in.

After Sandy Hook, his words rang out again, to comfort us...a quote from Mr. Rogers, some 10 years after his death, gave us a way to explain to our children about that tragedy:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers--so many caring people in this world."

There is a new generation of children Mr. Rogers is beginning to touch. "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" began airing in 2012 on PBS. It features the characters Fred Rogers created (and voiced) in the Land of Make Believe. The red trolley plays an important role and in the Neill house, you can find Khloe singing the theme song, as well as playing with her own red trolley. It warms my heart to know that she has been touched by his work, so many years after her Mommy was.

If you need a little inspiration, here are some great words of wisdom from Fred Rogers:

http://mashable.com/2013/12/26/mister-rogers-quotes/

http://mentalfloss.com/article/31936/20-gentle-quotations-mister-rogers

And I will end with this:

Be Inspired!

I didn't think that the CBS Evening News could make you cry.  Yet, I find myself often viewing "Steve Hartman's On the Road" through tears.  Many times, I find my tears flow because of the beautiful things beautiful people around us are doing.  More I often, I think my tears are because I find myself not coming CLOSE to the amazing things the people they feature do.

Here are two recent segments that highlight educators.  Their stories are amazing...and inspiring...

  

Is This Going to Be on the Test?

Ah...the question teachers constantly hear...which translated means, "If I am going to have to regurgitate this information for you later, I am going to pay attention.  If not, I am going to mentally replay last night's episode of "One Tree Hill" in my head."

As educators, we should be asking ourselves questions about assessment. This year, we have taken the time to have discussions on assessments as a large group.  We discussed formative and summative assessments and how they should guide your instruction.  We have also taken the time to talk about the weighting of categories and if we choose to have over 50% of a student's grade to be assessments, we should have more than two assessments.

This article contains seven great questions you should be asking yourself before giving an assessment.  It drives home some of the points we have discussed earlier...your assessment should be measuring SOMETHING and be worth the time you and your students put into it.

http://www.edudemic.com/assessment-questions/

Do You Remember Where You Were?

There are points in history that you will always remember where you were at when they occurred.  For my parents generation, it was John Kennedy's assassination.  For the generation after me, it was 9-11.  For my generation, it was when the space shuttle, Challenger, exploded right after lift off.  Today marks the 28th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy.  It was an exciting time in education, as teacher Christa McAuliffe was on board and was going to do lessons from space.  I was in the 4th grade at Ellsworth AFB and some students went down to the library to get a TV.  They returned to the classroom and told our teacher that our librarian said the shuttle blew up.  I remember watching it over and over that day (as I remember with 9-11).  It was hard to believe it had happened...

http://voices.suntimes.com/news/28-years-ago-today-the-challenger-disaster-touched-the-nation/
 One of the things I remember the most about that day was watching what President Reagan had to say that evening.  Even now, his words are powerful and moving.  

As educators, we are preparing the next generations of explorers.  Perhaps 28 years ago today, there was someone who watched these events unfold and decide to be a teachers, an engineer, or a NASA scientist.  Know that what you do in your classroom each day and how you guide student through historical events, like this one, help shape the world of tomorrow.

Change Can Be a Good Thing

Change can be difficult.  It is uncomfortable.  It can be messy.  It can be well received or it can tank.  Part of our job is to evaluate our performance in the classroom that day and determine if there is something we need to change.  Maybe it was the way you presented a lesson or the manner in which you asked students to relay information back to you.  When we first start out in education, our professors made us write reflection upon reflection, determining what, if anything, we should change about a lesson.  As we do this job longer and longer, we often do not take the time to reflect and see what we should change.  I encourage you all to take 5 minutes at the end of the day to reflect on what occurred in your classroom that day and what, if anything, you should change to ensure success for your students.

We are being asked to implement a lot of different changes within our schools.  These changes have caused all of us to re-evaluate how and what we instruct our students.  It has meant sitting through in-services and workshops and many times feeling overwhelmed.  We have thought, "Are you kidding me?"  or "There is no way I can do this!".  But after stepping back and taking a deep breath, we realize this is what our reality is.  We either accept the change and do what is necessary or we put ourselves and our students at a HUGE disadvantage.

Like I said, change is uncomfortable...being pushed out of your "safe" zone is not always a good feeling.  BUT...many times that push will lead you to bigger and better things.  And we can all change.  Change what we do...what and how we say things...and most importantly change how we are instructing this generation of students.  Sometimes the smallest of changes yield the biggest results.