Unexpected Lessons

 Lessons Learned from a Good Walk...

Two months of a complete change of pace while watching my mother slowly deteriorate has taught me important lessons.

Yesterday, I went for a long (17+ miles) walk and as I walked, notes down lessons learned to share with the photos on Facebook. This morning, as I planned my blog, I thought about how my walking notes connect with much deeper learning about how I must change my life - how I can embrace what has made me so happy here despite the personal heartache and missing husband and dogs 🐶 

So, here we go - from my walking notes as posted on social media, to the life connection.  Well except for #8.  That just is how it is!

1. Don’t worry about how the app works, just focus on the map. Bring a charger 🙃 
• Don’t waste so much time, energy, and emotion on being clever - get the basics right first!
2. Pack a spare pair of socks. And a T-shirt. And pants. Heck, bring the whole change of outfit 👖👚🧦Yes, one of the tracks in The FIRST mile got me soaking wet 😳 
• Plan for the unexpected, and learn from every adventure to be better prepared for the next.
3. Keep your eyes open! Lots of vegetation change, and the occasional pony🐴 in a field. Always a surprise for both of us. Oh, and the field of bullocks was a bit unnerving 🐂. 
• 
  Don’t miss life as it flies by. I love waking because you notice things you miss from a car - like an apostrophe on the Bishop’s Hull name sign I spend my life rushing. It needs to stop. I need to breathe & take a walk. I need to watch out for and enjoy the little things. 
4. Put your raincoat on when walking through thick, wet, nettle-laden vegetation. 
• Think ahead. ‘Be prepared’. Remember #2 above!
5. Always stop for a castle 🏰 even if it’s only a fort & nothing much is there. After all, you don’t want to miss anything 🤷🏼‍♀️. 
• When you think there might be something special ahead, make time for it. Don’t miss out. Don’t try to squeeze it in. Let it be special. Life truly is short.
6. Bring a towel to sit on 😀 
• Always think about the tools you’ll need and find a nice spot to sit to watch life unfold. Don’t always stand up.
7. Don’t press stop instead of pause ⌚️, when you stop to eat a sandwich 🥪. 
• STOP RUSHING to do things quickly. Savor the moment. Take your time. Do it right.
8. Road miles are hard on the knees. 
• Well, they are 😂
9. 2 bottles of water are enough for only the first 10 miles  💦💧 
• There seems to be a lot about planning ahead for success here, doesn’t there? But it’s key - as is hydration! Always have water to drink and a kettle to boil ☕️. Have a cuppa at 4pm and give yourself a brain break 🫖. The G&T at 6pm seems like a smart move too 🍸. Just one - after all, “Everything in moderation.” 😂
10. Bring your bandaids 🩹 & nettle sting spray ✅. 
• Sometimes you have to cover up mistakes made when you take the wrong route. Sometimes you make a boo-boo! Be ready to think about how to fix it if you need to - and remember that it’s the mistake that teaches you how to get it right next time.

Going on a 17-mile hike is very different than a 5-mile walk. Wet feet for 16 miles creates an issue. But I learned. Being away from home and not working for 2-months, moving your Mum who has worsening dementia, and living in a relative’s home is very different than day-to-day living as a teacher in Cumming, GA. But I learned. I’ve discovered a calmer and more thoughtful self. I’ve reminded myself how much I enjoy rambling and tramping around the countryside. I’ve reconnected with British habits that I truly enjoy - so what if they mark me as eccentric in the US 🤷🏼‍♀️. They are me. They are my culture. I’ve always tried far too hard to fit in, to be liked. 

I’ve learned to embrace ME. 

        To enjoy ME. 

                To BE me.

Long may it continue.

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum is a good message, but there’s more than one way to do your best!

And God Save the Queen 🇬🇧

What Should 'Grace' Really Mean?

I have been doing a lot of mulling over the catch 22 that they call ‘grace'. Allowing teachers room and understanding that the environment is tough is good - but it’s not quite the same as lowering expectations...is it?

Differentiation for ME!

We are all taught that differentiation is key. We teach to the child, correct? With personalized needs and responses, and remember that the playing level isn’t always flat. That’s what we do.

So having said all of that, I should explain ME and my nature. After all, it's my reflection, and I am the one feeling that something is missing.

My thoughts and dilemma are that I am coming from a place where I need goals and expectations. I believe strongly that I am a professional, and should always strive to be better than I am today. Maybe sometimes ‘better than today’ is just a little bit better, because of the time, climate, and situation. Perhaps better is a complete change in my pedagogy. It depends.  Regardless, for me personally, for my nature, I need to know that I am considered as a professional and that it’s understood that I will work best in an environment with a clear mission and strong support along the way.

It’s how I roll.

Last year wasn’t just exhausting because of the sheer workload. It was also tiring because I often felt on my own. Gone were the days of professional learning goals and team-think.  As much as I might’ve moaned at the time, had they been enforced - with 2020 hindsight, I really missed them.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do think that society doesn’t recognize what we do. And I know we are tired.  But I also believe if we want to be perceived as professionals, we need to act as professionals. Almost everyone in the world has been burdened by this Covid thing, and now we’re at a stage where sadly, it really is more of a new normal than a shock response.  We need to take stock, set goals among the new parameters and strive to be better at our craft…even if it’s only a little bit better.

I create the eye roll

I'm THAT teacher. The one who suggests that it would be good to dig deeper into the standards and think about how we can always be better.  I see the eyes rolling at meetings.  But I'm on Twitter, I talk to people, I see the world around me. I know that I am not the only teacher who believes that learning and growth are a part of his/her very being.

So what's the answer?

I make my goals and I try to keep to them. I seek out help and stay deep into the Twittersphere. I search locally for my people and strive to be better.  But I am not giving up on my peers - if there is one person who wants more, I will be there for and with them.  We grow better together.

My word for the school year was Joyful.  Learning and improving makes me joyful - and makes life a lot more joyful for my students too. So, here we go. Supported or not, pushed or self-motivated, it's time to up the ante and aim high.

Joyful Anticipation

My mind is whirling with goals, plans, intentions, and all the things that happened at the beginning of a new school year.  There are so many ideals and ideas, there are so many things I would like to achieve.  

Just an average August in a teacher’s life!  

I do always say that one of the joys about teaching is that you get to reinvent yourself every year, you get to have new goals and thoughts, you are able to create the very best you can be and make it better every single year.

This year is different for me, I have a new role. One I’ve been striving for a couple of years, one that while I know I can do - one I also worry that I’m not ready for.  There is a complete mix of emotions rummaging around inside me right now. 

One, I’m still a teacher, and I need (as always) to strive to be the best I can be to support my kids. My first goal of doing everything I can to make learning joyful for both students and teachers, holds true for whichever role I am focusing on. 

Joy. There needs to be more joy.

Two, I’m there to support our newer teachers.  Lead, guide, coach. I’ve trained for this, I’ve practiced, I’ve read the books. Now it’s real. I’m excited to share my passion and ideas. I’m ready to research and do the work.  I’m also nervous because this could be a massive first step towards my future - but a lack of perceived success will mean that the opportunity will no longer be there next year.  Reality is though, I can’t think that way. If things don’t work out, it’s because it’s not meant to be. If positive results don’t abound then our collective thoughts about what role is best for Bridget, and how I can best help the team, are not correct. I know that I’m a good teacher - now I need to work on being a good teacher of teachers…

I must believe

I must focus on what they need and remember that I can only change myself

I must remember to be joyful 

Let the journey - and joy - begin

#joyful #teachersupport #leadingandlearning

ELA - Enough of the Essays!

I wonder how many more ELA teachers we would have if we didn’t have to grade essays. 

No really. 

I’m serious. 

I myself am looking for ways to continue my love of literacy and teaching children the joy of reading and writing, without having to be an ELA teacher. 

Because I love it. 

Yesterday, we literally geeked out about syntax and diction as we looked at Langston Hughes‘s poem, Mother to Son, and talked about the word choices, and painted pictures. 

The prompt was simple, “What’s the story?”

The kids loved it, I loved it. 

They wrote such amazing things. They found passion, made connections, related. And I did nothing but give them the moment.

It was one of those, what I call, Robin Williams moments. 

But then I came home and spent two hours immersed in essays. Essays that have created pressure in my life to get graded and back. 

We’re on a timeline, have expectations. The kids need to hear feedback about their work. Parents want a grade. 

It's not fun. 

And yet, I love to work with writing. That’s fun. The building, the improving, the idea-sharing. 

It’s time-consuming but satisfying. Hard work but pleasing.

But then there are the 140+5 paragraph essays to give a final grade to.  

Yes, the hard graft is done, and these are much quicker to check than when I had to get feedback on the introductions, the body paragraphs, the conclusions.....and therein lies the rub. 

It isn’t so much the grading of the essays, it’s the fact that I’m grading these essays the week after I’ve been up late every night giving feedback on the rest of the writing.  

And of course, with the virtual students, the issue that they keep working according to the plan, ignoring your feedback.

It’s why people don’t choose to teach ELA. How many great teachers opt out because of this?

Because there is little I like more in life than sharing great writing with kids, giving feedback, diving in, and analyzing. That’s fantastic. The kids love it, I believe it makes them better students of everything. 

Imagine a world where the focus was on that. Imagine a world where we created better readers and writers by studying and enjoying great writing.  

But they have to write, right?

The only way to become a great writer is by writing. And that writing needs to be shared and the craft grown through advice and suggestions. And that’s my job.  But there has to be a better way to do this. 

I talk to people all the time who say they would’ve taught ELA if it wasn’t for the grading. I talk to people all the time who now teach different content areas but miss ELA. They just had to switch over because of all the grading. These are good teachers who would’ve made a difference.  They are still good teachers. They are still making a difference. 

But the world of ELA needs them.

Oh I know, there are plenty of tricks and strategies - plenty of ways to just focus on part of the essay, to divide up the feedback, to use peer feedback....and if we could build our units with more writing time, perhaps that would be doable. It’s time to sit and redesign.  To be honest though, whenever I do that, the load seems greater. And even more to the point, in our current virtual reality, the amount of feedback needed to support our young writers’ growth is immense.

The grass is always greener, right?  I look with envy at other content areas. What was I thinking not transferring my social studies and science qualifications to Georgia?  

But then I have lessons like that one this week.  

Well, enough musings...I have essays to grade. 

Good Teaching Things from 2020

As I looked at all the comments, memes, and hashtags on New Year's Eve, I saw the worldwide desire for 2020 to end. 

I get it. Man, do I get it.  I could blog about having to cancel the longed-for trip to Perth to see my daughter, or about the constant concern about my 88-year-old mum in England, 2020. 

I could write about the woes of virtual teaching and hybrid schedules. How exhausted I've been, how scary teaching in a pandemic is...

But I’m not going to.

No, I’m going to celebrate the good stuff.  Because through the lows came highs, and when I look back in the future, I’ll find plenty of commentary on the negatives, but I don’t want to forget the gifts that 2020 unexpectedly handed me.

Hey!  I like my own company!  

You ask anyone who thinks they know me, and they will say that I am very social, always want to be in the midst of things, love to talk.....and sometimes that it is true.  What isn't always understood is that is my defensive go to. If I'm uncomfortable, I will talk.  If there is silence, I will make noise.  One thing that was accentuated with the initial lockdown, lack of social endeavors, and then having more virtual classes than face-to-face, is that I like being alone. I actually enjoy my own company.  At first that surprised me, then I thought it out. As a kid, I played for hours on my own, that was when my imagination would blossom and ideas would come. Kind of like when you think of things in the shower - noting interrupts the mind and the creativity are allowed through.  The pressure to accomplish was gone. The stress of feeling the need to prove myself was taken away.  No one was watching. I could be the best I could be for ME and my students - and no one else.  No criticisms to hear or tensions to feel. 

I guess that I'm more sensitive than I knew.  

Virtual teaching is cool 😎

When we went 'online' towards the end of the 19-20 school year, I discovered a new form of pedagogy that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I could find needs and support individuals - personalization was so much easier. I wondered how it would be with students I hadn't met though.  After all, how do you forge relationships online?  I wanted to find out though - I was excited about the possibilities.  When given my 20-21 schedule, I was delighted to have 4 online sections as well as my one face-to-face class...but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous.

Fears were increased when I saw the number of students I was to have, and the first two months were quite honestly horrific. Far worse than being a new teacher, the load was immense.  Sleep was an optional extra and online devices were my constant partner. The first month of school is always tough - I describe it as our tax season - but this was ridiculous.  But then I began to find a rhythm - learned some 'tricks' - found ways to better balance my time.  I was still working most weekends and some Varying amounts of time every night, but it wasn't as all-encompassing.  All of a sudden I wasn't racing through dinner to get back to work.  I knew that I was enjoying elements of teaching virtually, but I begin to really feel that I had found my element.  I saw my kids take ownership in the same way I encourage them to do in the classroom. They took roles, shared the load, made choices.  It enriched the experience for all of us.

It has been so gratifying to feed their thirst for attention and fun. I can be whoever I want to be online, taking on whichever persona each child needs at that moment - and I have time to plan and think in ways a classroom teacher never can.

• Personalizing is simplified
• Helping students to 'learn how to learn' is actually realized!
• Watching students find independence and not relying on everything being done for them is powerful
• I can focus my time on when I am at my best, organizing accordingly
• It became a simple task to meet with parents and students, and so much less formal than when they make appointments to come to school
• I can give students special attention (positive or not) - without anyone knowing
• Experimentation and having fun with trying new things is a daily adventure

Discovering strengths ✊

I would say that my greatest strengths as a teacher are communication and giving students ownership. Both play right into the hands of virtual teaching. I found that my love of sharing the space with students in the classroom translates into the virtual space too. I quickly developed a help committee, a joke committee - these kids love to be involved with making things better. I enjoy experimenting and trying new things - every day my playground can be more fun!  I listen to others, learn, hear new ideas, learn...and try everything I can! 

And as for taking the focus away from grades and right onto learning - this is the place for that!  "Oh, they won't work without grades and deadlines!"  My kids have truly appreciated the opportunity to try, to experiment, to be bold - without fear.  It was harder at first because I had to compete with other teachers reporting more grades and with firmer deadlines, but I stayed true to my beliefs and the kids came through. They always do.

A vision of student tech reality - and taking responsibility 🖥

We are always told our students are digital natives. Then we went virtual. I had NO idea how much I had done for my students.  I was shocked at their inability to find solutions, stunned at the lack of initiative.  Were these REALLY the same kids I had had in my classroom?  I made video after video showing them how to share files, how to create hyperlinks, how to make copies, how to copy and paste - things that I always helped with unthinkingly. All of a sudden, missing knowledge was glaring.  I realized that I hadn't been helping my students to grow, I had just been helping them to 'get the assignment done.' What an eye-opener. 2020 has helped me to understand how I need to focus more on teaching students how to find answers - that's going to create much better learners, after all.  As we finished up the 19-20 school year, my focus was on developing ways to help students START the year learning how to find solutions and how to use basic skills.

Being able to have appointments, eat healthily, and even use the bathroom 😂

As a teacher, it's always hard to live a healthy life.  It just is.  Classes are back-to-back with no break in between.  You can't eat and teach (well, you can, but not if you are truly hands-on).  Being able to schedule breaks, make appointments - wow! What a gift. I can have a live meeting with my kids from 6-7pm on a Thursday night and enjoy a fun, relaxed teaching environment.  I can make choices that work for me - giving my kids the best of me.  There is no doubt that I became healthier - I even lost weight (a lockdown weight loss? Apparently a rare thing!).

The biggest 'aha' of them all was visiting my doctor, who asked me to learn from this and consider options to reduce stress in my life moving forward. I listened. I made changes. I learned.

Taking my puppy to a wedding 🐶

Virtual weddings, family Zoom meetings, watching soccer with friends in England.  Opportunities have been created that were never there before  - and I hope to goodness they stay. I would assume that wedding photographers have already got price lists out there for virtual options - and you would guess that they will keep them. Brides no longer have to have sleepless nights over those peripheral friends - everyone can share in the special day. With family in far-flung places, I have enjoyed more contact and conversation thanks to renewed effort and options. 

And then there are all the curb-side options. Pick up instead of delivery.  Drive-up options. This is good stuff!  The best drive-through of all though? That was our friends' wedding. We watched it virtually, then popped into the car with our new puppy, drove a few miles, and then got to congratulate them in person, with Toffee-Girl briefly becoming the star of the show (although she did not, of course, eclipse the bride!).

😊Final Thoughts😊

Yes, there have been glitches and headaches. Of course, there have been students who have struggled or refuse to respond to communication.  Technology has not always been my friend.  Some things are amplified where others are muted.  It's been a different teaching world for sure...

I hope to find ways to continue to teach online.  Who knows what's out there for me in the future?  I have goals and ideas and am ready for new challenges...but I am so grateful to have discovered this new way to share learning with students.  Despite the horrors of the year and the terrible reality of the pandemic, I am grateful for having been handed this unexpected opportunity.  Now it's up to me to keep learning and continue to make this the best experience I can for my kids - and me!

Teaching is Everywhere

I’m not the only one who sees teaching connections wherever they go am I? 

Some of them are obvious. Like when we are at puppy training, and there’s a comment about a puppy having learned to refuse to do something, because it just wasn’t fun. Ha, sound familiar? We have to learn to do things that aren’t fun, but perhaps we can find fun ways to learn how to do them! 

But then there are less obvious times, like when the vet tech comes outside to pick up the puppy – in these COVID times things are aa little different – and I find myself telling her glowingly about my puppy, about how she knows how to sit, how she’ll behave better if she’s bribed with a treat, how she does have ‘down’, but she won’t stay there very long… I’m pretty sure that the vet tech knows all these things. I’m also fairly certain that every puppy owner believes his or her puppy is the cutest and best puppy in the world. Yes. There’s a definite connection.. I felt a little bit like multiple parents at open house 🤦‍♀️

Then there’s those things that you see, that you’re experiencing, and you think… Oh my goodness, how can I integrate this into my teaching? Like lines at Disney. Instead of being bored waiting, we are engaged and interested by the by-play, the characters, the little signs… We know exactly how long we’re probably going to wait, and there’s something in between this sign and the next sign, and we’re ready for it. The ride is such a small part of the whole experience. Well, how can I replicate that in my teaching? How can I make the boring slow learning the engaging part, so the ride is the cherry-on-the-top. I might add, that my husband was not amused by all these musings while at Disney.

Then there are dining experiences, obvious things like creating a playlist that’s like a menu, but then more importantly, how to entice… How to tempt the customer to try something new? How to use images and word play to make something sound more interesting?. Taste tests, samples ... so much that can be brought into our teaching.

What about arguments, threads on social media? How do our interests and passions direct our thinking? Can social media commentary be used as a tool?  I saw the quiet kids participate when behind a screen (during distance learning), so there’s an important connection there too.

Everywhere I look, I see something that ties to my teaching.

Everywhere.

Ideas to grab interest. Real world connections. Valuable to me. Connecting with my interests. 

My husband calls it an obsession. I call it good practice. If it isn’t interesting or relevant, if there is no purpose ... then how do I compete with everything else out there? If students are enticed into the learning, if they see a point in the content, if they are shown how this is replace them to their lives - if all those factors are in play, then I’ll have success.

Online Blogging

There isn't always time to write - but there is always time to talk :)

So, I have started a YouTube channel for some personal reflection and musings.  Now I have two ways to reflect, two ways to share!  I don't know if anyone reads them but me, but... 😃

Here is my first post - on feedback using Google Classroom Rubrics 

Here is my second post - on extended learning lessons learned and types of learners in my virtual classroom:  

What Happened?

It's been a strange year.  I mean, REALLY strange.

You think that I'm referring to the extended online learning, COVID 19 and all of that?

Nope.  It was weird long before that!

• I found it much harder to build the kinds of relationships with kids that I am used to - parents too. 
• I felt much more of an island in my teaching, but at the same time more accepted by our faculty (she's weird, but she's one of our own?!).
• Our administrative team remains awesome, but I haven't had that person to sit and share with the same way that I had in past iterations of a leadership team. Is that a criticism?  Not at all, more to do with personalities.

You can tell it was different. I haven't blogged. I haven't found the same sort of excitement in sharing my learning. 

So, that's the negative (heck of a way to lead off, huh?).

Now to the positives!

I adapted my schedule, my hours, my intensity to allow myself more me-time.  I focused on being with Paul and my football (soccer) family.  I decided to ride my horse for the joy of it, rather than continually setting goals that were beyond us both (as a relatively aged pair!). We created a date night that both of us adhered to until the restaurants closed...but have ordered in food ever since. I've allowed myself to create and enjoy, but have focused on finding ways to think about which feedback matters the most, ways to give feedback in class, creating student reflections to allow THEM to make comparisons between exemplars and their own work.

Honestly, its been kind of awesome.

So, as I said - a weird year!

And now we are teaching from home, and a new challenge arises.  And you know what, guilt fills me as I type this, but I am enjoying it. A lot.

Oh yes, it was horrific at first.  All my work time rules went to heck in a hand-basket as kids were reaching out 24-7. Desperate to support them in whatever way I could, I spent hour making videos for kids, videos for parents...anything I could do. It was exhausting.  But then things began to find their rhythm. Then I realized that I was sleeping at night. Next thing that happened was that I could come off my prescription medicine for GI issues.

I discovered just how much stress I layer on myself - What do other people think? How can I fit in? Why do they laugh at my ideas?  All gone. One fell swoop. Just left with me and my (virtual) classroom.

Am I worried about the 2-3 kids who have gone missing? Yes.  Am I frustrated by the kids who have apparently forgotten how to access work and apparently have told parents that we never did it this way? You bet I am!  Do I get bothered by the students who do as little as possible, but then turn in their work to avoid that MISSING notification? Of course I do!  Am I super proud of my kids who are THRIVING with independent learning and far more time for one-on-one supports?  Yes I am.

Every day I am learning about things that will change in either my virtual or real classroom.  That's exciting, invigorating, and just plain good learning.

So, strange year indeed.  I last blogged in the fall, Now it's April and we are teaching from home.