This year I'm going to change someone's life for the better. It might be a student or it might be my own life. Either way come the first day of school I'm dialed in to be an Effective Teacher day 1.
I'm sure all teachers know about Formal Observations. For all the rest of you it's the time when your administration stops by your room for 30-60 minutes and evaluates your teaching. For some it's pretty stressful. For others it's just another day in the classroom.
No matter how you deal with the evaluation there is a factor you can't control, students. They may do exactly like they do any other day OR they may do exactly as they do any other day. As a teacher there is no worse feeling as watching your evaluation start to fade away as little Johnny and Sally stage a coup.
So here's my question; how do you prepare your class for the observation? There seems to be 3 schools of thought.
1) Tell them that this is an observation for THEM and that they administration wants to see that each of them is ready for X grade next year. Point out that they need to be on their very best behavior to show Mr./Ms. Principal that they're ready for the next grade.
2) Tell them that this observation is for you the teacher and it could bode well or bad for you if the kids don't do their best.
3) Just let the chips fall where they will. Don't make a big deal out of it. Act as if this is a surprise to you and pray the shock will remain through the entire session.
I can see the merit and the ill with all three of these tactics. I'll tell you what I did when I see how it goes tomorrow.
In the mean time let me go workout so I can relax and be ready for show time.
This week was so draining. I don't want to drone on and on about how this week was a BEAST. You don't want to hear that.
What I will say is this, no question this week built my faith. I have been working on building margin in my life. Even with this week beating me up I didn't get to my limits. I know this week coming, I'm going to be pushed more than last week. Thankfully, I've already planned for it and I feel grace to do it. I can see that consistent on going improvement will yield huge results.
To give balance I've found it really tough to plan/think LONG term about my lessons and class learning. I talked about in in my Avengers post aout making the lessons catchy to get the kids excited about the next lesson. I've had some success in my re-growing veggies lessons in science, but not so much in my other lessons. Just need to work on this for sure.
I have an evaluation this week and I feel good about it. I picked up some great skills at a workshop a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, I've been kicking it hard so Monday will be the best teaching anyone has seen cause I've been doling out the best daily.
Crossfit this week was strong. I didn't make it to Crossfit South Cobb everyday, but I was able to sneak into Basement Crossfit and keep my goals in line. I've been juicing well. It's not hard now at all. I'm down nearly 13 pounds. I hope to be able to plant our garden next week or the following week.
I'm heart broken for the parents, communities and children of CT.
I'm not interested in prayer in schools.
What?! Every Christian with a bible is ranting "God has been removed from schools and that's why we're...." Yes, I've heard that argument and I've even made it a couple of times. However it's wrong and it's not very smart. There is a talk show host who went as far as to say the reason this horrible event happened is because God has been taken out of schools.
What most people are asking for is a teacher-lead, school-lead time of prayer during a time of the day. 30 seconds during announcements, before lunch or something like that.
Putting prayer in school is opening a box to so many other things that teachers will have to tend to. I'm surprised no one has said it. We're already, Parents, Coaches, Advisers, Counselors, Teachers, Nurses and Referees. Now you want us to be Pastors, Priests and Rabbis?
Let me just wave a magic wand and "put prayer in school". Can't you see/hear all the howls from some parents because "you prayed in Jesus' name, we pray in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit".
...or You prayed in the NIV, but we only accept the KJV.
How about this one, ...We're Southern Baptist and you're a Mormon teacher, What Jesus are you talking about?
These are just a few, a very small few complaints out of the bag of insane complaints we'd hear. Let's not even talk about the fact that now America is a sort of kind of Christian. So many assume we're talking about praying to the Judeo-Christian God. Ok, but what about when America becomes a majority non-Christian nation? Think you'll be ok with us praying to another god that you don't think is God?
Ok, people, we're tasked with such a weighty chore that adding one more layer is going to only add more strain to the profession. I challenge that there isn't one profession that has so much heaped on it from all sides as teaching. If you know of one, please let me know.
For quite some time teaching has been the surrogate parent of the community. I know a lot of folk aren't going to like this, but you're welcome to comment. We've become EVERYTHING to these kids and it's made really, seriously...LAZY PARENTS. Yes, I did call most of us lazy. We drop our children off at school with very little and want a college bound, scholar in return. This might be shocking, but it's not going to happen. Neither is prayer in school.
If you want prayer in school send Prayers to school. Send kids who cherish the honor of speaking to an ever loving, God. Drop off a child who are confident in themselves, because they know that no matter what they're accepted by God and that He thinks they're pretty neat. Send students who much rather quote Be Attitudes than cop and attitude. We'd welcome students who rather than pick on each other and name call understand that everybody needs love and acceptance and they've found that in God. How do we get that, Jason?
This is going to REALLY make some people mad, so feel free to log off. In order to get the kind of student I'm talking about many parents need to parent and pastor their OWN kids. You're going to have to put prayer, God and all that in your home. Put it in your heart and in your kids hearts. I can tell you that the Love of God is absent from my community. I can see it in the words my kids use with each other and adults. It's obvious in the MIA status of support at home. I as a teacher am not going to do it for you. Sorry, but it ain't going to happen. What I will do is pray silently that you get a clue that these are your kids, your future and that you need to make the most of it.
I choose to make my wife and my faith a center of our girls' growth. If you don't that's on you. I simply believe it's much easier for you to raise your child than for your child's teacher or school to do it for you.
I year ago I read a book called "Quitter". The short premise of the book is that we as people are doing to much. We need to start quitting things that we're not going to be excellent at so we can focus in on those few things that make us stand out. *I never said I was a book reviewer. I just like books a lot
So this week I made a list of things I quit.
I quit making sorry excuses for being lazy.
Oh, yeah, not wanting to be original. I gave that up, too.
I quit giving myself permission to not be a really good teacher.
No reason to come to me with gossip. I quit that as well.
Oh, you want me to bend over backwards to please you? Snap, I just quit that.
I take my life far more seriously than I did a few years ago before I quit being a pitiful dad and husband.
I quit beating myself up when I don't do something perfect. Hey, I'm moving aren't I?
I quit NOT doing a budget. This flying by the seat of my pants is for the birds! Going back to doing a regular budget every month.
I quit thinking that each of my students come fro backgrounds like mine or my own kids. They need a lot more TLC than I may require.
Being that I have a house full of little girls, I quit focusing on the boys behavioral issues over the girls attention issues.
Yeah, that yelling thing. I gave that up, too.
I'm a contract employee with sarcasm, but I'm planning on dropping my 2 week off soon.
I've almost finished reading and re reading Og Mandino's 10 scrolls from the Greatest Salesman in the World. Each day for a month I've read the small chapter 3 times. I'm on 8 and I have 2 more chapters to recite. It's been really helpful. Might start over again just because it's been such a habit.
I also need to come up with a seriously fun activity for Friday. I want to tie in all the concepts we did this week and make it LIVE! Let me process that for a minute.
Been at Crossfit South Cobb a lot more. The first part of the school year was beating me up, but I got in the habit and I was in there 4 times this week. I feel so much better and I think it's showing in my mental game. I have a lot more to do on my physical game, but my mind and heart are in the right place.
I've been talking to a few of my teacher buds who've shared with me some sad news. Many of them are meeting parents of students in their class for the first time DURING AWARDS DAY or End of the Year parties. That's just sad. Many express that they've reached out to them, called them, left messages, but they've never met the parents. That is until the end of the year.
I have another friend who told me that she has a child in her room that really requires a lot of Love and Grace. He's a handful. Come to find out that he has a sister in a lower grade and she's a jewel. Here's the kicker, the mom has volunteered in the sister's room as recently as this week! Never has she done so for the brother. SHE'S BEEN IN THE BUILDING WHEN MY FRIEND HAS CALLED HER ABOUT HER SON'S BEHAVIOR. Amazing.
Now, I'm not calling for the OverDue parents that over due everything. They fuss and cuss about everything under the sun about their child. Such that you start to think this is a personal issue for the parent rather than the student. I mean the kid did miss 8 questions o the spelling test. A grade of "B" is the right call. Moving on.
I'm sure any parent would be all over if their kid got into Harvard or some IVY league school on a full scholarship. There'd be a bus carry all the family members who'd show up when that same student became a doctor. You know like I know that if a student signed on with a professional sports team they'd have to have a security guard to protect them from all the family that would come out of the woodwork. However, a 7 year old can get on the bus, ride 10 miles to school, interact with 19 or so other 7 yr olds and multiple adults, eat 2 meals, and get back on the bus a all without a parent. Then the kicker is parents not show up until they do so with flowers and balloons for awards day? SERIOUSLY?!
I can't believe that. Thankfully, I met most of my students parents at least once. I'd much rather more interaction with them, but that's another point. Being a parent isn't spectator sport. I'm not sure exactly what analogy I'd use, but I can certainly tell you that it's not drop in one time a school year. Being and Being Present are two different things all together.
Rant concluded. Jason steps down off his soap box to enjoy Day 99 of the Burpee challenge. Working my crossfit plan. I need to improve my eating, but that's certainly another post.
To many this is a Starbucks cup with pencils in it. To my students is the Cornucopia in the Hunger Games. Everyday it's a battle for pencils. You'd honestly think there was a competition to see who could use up the most pencils in a day.
My Pencil policy is this:
I sharpen about 20 or so pencils in the AM. The kids are welcome to trade out one of their not sharps for one of mine. If they don't have a pencil at all (often) they can take from another cup of sharp short pencils I freely give away. Multiple times during the day I sharpen the pencils in the cup so there are sharps for the dulls the kids have. The trades happen through out the day as the kids need a pencil.
Why do it like that, Whitaker?
This keeps the kids from making a game out of killing my pencil sharpener.
The personal sharpeners are a disaster! Pencil shavings are all over and they make the floor horrid!
The kids don't have to fidget with the sharpener.
The sharpener becomes a noise distraction as well as a movement issue. Sadly my students can't take the freedom of 1 person sharpening 1-2 pencils and sitting down. I'd have so many kids "needing" the sharpest pencil all day it would be craziness.
I thought this would quell the foolishness that I saw when I came into this class. But really it hasn't. Just new foolishness has arisen.
I have the black market personal sharpeners. Shavings everywhere!
Kids stealing my pencils. I give them for free just don't take 8!
Kids not even trying to bring a pencil to school. "Whitaker will take care of that for me"
Kids bringing 10 pencils and swapping all 10 out first thing in the morning, thus depleting my stash for the other students.
I know this seems so simple, but what do you all do to maintain Pencil sanity in the class?
I don't think my students listen to preaching at and droning on and on. Matter of fact I know they don't listen. They might hear, but it's 1/2 hearted at best.
All that said I had to go there today and make this statement.
"Do you realize that right now today you're better off than great grand parents or even grand parents? (Took a quick break to talk about ancestors since that was talked about earlier in the year) What do you thin I mean when I say that you're better off?"
"We have more stuff."
"We have more money."
"We have things."
"Ok, that is all true, but let's talk about something else. Since we talked about technology in reading. Do you think your grand parents when they were in 2nd grade could reach out and talk to someone in China and video chat with them?"
"No cause that stuff just started. It's new."
"Exactly! What about cell phones, email, books on CD, audio and stuff like that? Do you think they had that?"
"No."
"What do you think your greats or grands would do right now if they could be 7-8 years old and be in your seats? Write it down."
Here are two responses that show that I'm not living in vain.
"If my grandmom was in your class she'd listen a lot and do her work. She would pay attention and not be bad."
"My mom's mom would like this class. She would want to work on the computers and go to the media center. She would want to go to the reading center, too."
Teaching is a BEAST sometimes. The effort/energy to motivate the unmotivated is exhausting. The more we as parents do to help our kids see the blessedness in being able to learn the better off they'll be. If possible allowing them to meet/talk to those who don't have the same opportunities as they could be enlightening.
Felt like I didn't hit a home run today, but I did DESTROY my workout today at Crossfit South Cobb. The better I eat the better I feel. I think this grass fed thing will work out in the long run.
So far the kids have really taken a liking to the room decor. Nothing is broken. I took my wooden caddies home this weekend to paint. The kids immediately had to touch and play with the newly painted distractions on their tables. The Home Depot aprons with the classroom job on them are a hit. I just never expect the kids to be able to rip, tear and ruin them like they have. I need to wash them every so often, too. The classroom jobs, however I tough for my kids. You couple having a responsibility, with ClassDojo and the everyday off-taskness of 2nd grade and you understand why I'm re posting a job every week.
I've received some big compliments from my peers about my room.
What's been the biggest challenge is to get them to appreciate it and realize this isn't for my health. That's what Crossfit's for. They're really sweet kids and they've just not met a person like me before. I don't yell. I'm stern and as tough as a rattle snake. I don't care if little Johnny hit you. I don't care who's talking about your mom. I don't care whatever your problem is. Your biggest issue is that you're in a 2nd grade chair and I have to prepare you to get out of that chair and be able to hold down a 3rd grade chair next year. Oh yeah, not having a pencil isn't going to cut it.
I'm also getting much better at organization and planning. These have to be my bottom tier skills. Under any other circumstances I'd preach the Gospel of "focusing on what you can be a 10 in". Not sure how much I will improve in this area, but I have to improve on it. I'm so not good at it that any change can only make me look like some kind of hero.
One more area I need to step my game up in is reading everything I can related to what I'm expected to teach. Not sure if I'll ever be able to spout lessons off the top of my head like our coaches do, but I could at least sound better intuned with what's going on.
Notice I don't blame the kiddos. They're not my problem. They're doing exactly what kids should do. They're scream at the top of their actions, "Mr. Whitaker, you must keep me engaged! You can't give up on me!" The better i get at asking good questions the better I wll be at finding the solution to these little ones needs.
Alright enough of that. Let me go swing a kettlebell.
Earlier this week I set my kids up to listen to some unique songs, Bob Marley and some Shawn Brown. They had to listen to the 3-4 minute songs and write three facts and opinions about them. It was a lot of fun. Listening to the kids explain and defend their thoughts was refreshing. One song has become our Official Unoffical after lunch song. It kind of cute listening to them sing it throughout the day. Ok, back to lesson plans for next week.
When I get really beat down and don't feel like anyone understands what in the world I'm going through, I recite this to myself. "I have the heart of a teacher and I'm making a difference for many generations to come".
Today I recited that little bit more than a few times. It was tough, but I had to keep reminding myself that I'm getting through to these kiddos. I chose to suspend Fun Friday this week. It wouldn't have been beneficial to only have a celebration for just a few kids. This week the goal was 11 ClassDojo points. Some of my kids not only weren't on track to hit 11, but they weren't on track to get 3 points this week. I let Monday spoil me since everyone was on their game. I reminded them yesterday during our end of the day reflection time that they needed to make sure they pushed to get as many points as possible Wednesday. To many misunderstood me and came in to get as few points as possible today. I don't think enough of them believed that I would cancel it. So they had to see that getting the core content was far more important to me than anything else.
I also threw my hard cases a curve. I called everyone of their parents this afternoon. Many was on the phone with me when the offender walked in the door from the school bus. I wouldn't have minded seeing their faces.
This week has been good, even with today being a tough one. I'm ready to start tomorrow anew. Back to the grind.
Great Crossfit workout today. I feel like I was run over from the heavy front squats Monday, but that's why we do it.
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