Spring Fever!

 Spring Break.

Always a defining moment.

The week before break:

Student - "What do I need to study for Milestones?"

Teacher - "You don't need to study for Milestones, you are being tested on the Georgia Standards of Excellence, which is what we have been working towards all year."

Student - "Instead of this project, can I study for the Milestones?"

Teacher - "Working on your project IS studying for the Milestones..."

I think that this year it was stronger than ever - especially from our virtual students.  For a while there we didn't believe that there would be state testing, so now it has crept upon us all.  Students who haven't been as focused as they might be in their virtual world are suddenly realizing that their parents didn't 'waive' them from testing - and they can't hide anymore.  But I always wonder why they still think that the state test is more important than their sixth-grade results.  How do we communicate this so badly?

On the other hand...

Some students decided to stop working the week before break. It made their life a bit tough.  The week before break I gave them a week to research for an explorer project, time to Flipgrid their ideas for me to give them feedback. Time to design the future website, think about the theme, images, and audience engagement.  Time to give feedback to each other.  Then the week after break, they have had the entire week to put the website together.

Balance your time and the process was smooth.

Balance your time, and you have the space to create a wonderful website.

Do very little, don't respond/read the feedback, site creation becomes a lot of work.  Oh dear!

We keep on keeping on...

But of course, the majority of students fell somewhere in between.  Most of them followed the plan, many jumped on to all of the extra time that I gave for website check-ins.  It might have felt the most repetitive 4-6 hours ahead of my time, but so worthwhile for teaching, supporting, and continuing to build relationships!  And boy!  There are some awesome sites being created!

See the project HERE, to include photographs from the room transformation for the face-to-face students.

But what about the teacher?

I always find this an incredibly hard time - not because I am ready for the year to end (I still don't relate to that), but because I am excited for the new year ahead!  It's time to reflect on what worked...what didn't...what I wish I had started earlier...what I plan to change....

All made far more interesting this year because I have no idea what my job will be next year.  Will I be teaching 6th grade at DeSana?  Will I be teaching 7th grade? Will I be teaching on-level or advanced?  What's the plan. 

I have no idea.  

Will I find a way to follow my dream of finding somewhere filled with professional collaboration and the opportunity to be a literacy leader?  Will I be able to make use of my new coaching endorsements and online learning skills?

One of my favorite things about being a teacher is the possibility to reinvent yourself every year.  You can always be better.  You can always make change.  You can always make it a better learning experience for your future students. 

Hey kids!  The future is golden for all of us. Your testing is just a snapshot of a year, and we can keep working together towards greatness.  I have the last opportunity to cement relationships and grow an intrinsic desire to learn in my current students.  And next year will be what it is - and will always give me an opportunity to find a new and greater version of myself as I strive, always, to be the very best version of an educator that I can be.

Let's keep on keeping on!

Chasing Dreams!

 We can always be better. It doesn’t matter how good you are at teaching, how good your classroom management style is, how well you engage your students, there’s always more to discover and achieve. There are always better goals, there are always loftier heights to reach. And there are always dreams.

A couple of years ago, my principal shared an idea with me – what she thought would be the perfect job for me. A mix of literacy coach and media specialist, allowing me to extend my love of learning to many more students, to help coach teachers to bring literacy into different content areas, and to give me more freedom that the ELA curriculum does not allow.  I loved the idea, and it seems that many other people agreed that this would be the perfect fit. The problem was finding the principal who would be willing to create the position. Someone who would give up that allotment, to allow a vision to occur.

Sounds great, doesn’t it?

We almost thought it was going to happen. It was so close. But then, it ended up that the job didn’t happen. And the little fledging dream was crushed, as they so often are.

But the beautiful thing about dreams is that you are never stuck with just one. Dreams are yours, no one can stop you from having them, and they can be as elaborate — and detailed — as you would like them to be.

I like making up dreams. I like to think of possibilities. I like to imagine just what could be achieved in the right climate💡 

Of course, this is one reason sleep is often overtaken by ideas 🛌 

The old cliché is always true when one door closes, another one opens. But I also think you have to look for that door. Maybe you have to push that door a little, give it an extra nudge, make things happen.

So right now, I’m at that stage where I’m creating dreams again. Thinking of how I could find a way to move out of the strictures of the fixed curriculum and into a world of digital citizenship, real-life research, and authentic project-based learning. How can I bring that to students?     There’s limited scope as the traditional ELA teacher, but maybe there are ways. Would I be able to find that job in a not-so-traditional environment 🤔 Can I integrate more into ELA without competing with common assessments🤨

It’s ‘crazy season’ in our world right now

🤪 🤪 🤪 🤪 

COVID or not, we are hiring and planning for next year.  Teachers are shifting roles and competing for positions. There’s a fine line between 'speaking up’ and ‘being pushy.’ But then there’s that feeling of, “I was professional before and that got me nowhere...”

So I’ve had a suggestion made to me, one that I really like. I countered with one that I like even better, and that’s as far as it can go right now.

I really want to believe that my dream was taken away because there’s a better one around the corner. And maybe the corner isn’t going to be this summer, maybe it’s going to be next year, but at least I have begun to sow some seeds, and people who have the power are listening.

In the meantime, I have a simple job, to be the best teacher I can possibly be to the students that I am lucky enough to have🤷🏼‍♀️

But no one can stop me from dreaming 💭💭💭

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. 

These Digital Natives are Struggling

 So, in the world of digital devices....I am apparently the immigrant, and they are the natives. All the experts say that those younger generations are digital natives.  

Wait, my students?  the ones I teach?  The ones who don’t know that they should probably name a new document, don’t know how to copy a document, can’t find the document, can’t make a document… OK, that sounds a little bitter. I guess I should back up to where this all comes from!

Our current unit is about argument. We are arguing whether technology is helpful or harmful in the world today. That’s the ending question, the essential one, that they will answer in the form of an argument essay. So, they are collecting evidence, they are building a personal website to reflect their thoughts, log personal use of technology, find evidence, etc., etc. They love building a website, they adore the topic, but there is still the school side of things to work on.  But it seems that instead of spending time on the writing, an inordinate amount of time is spent working on technology 'how-tos'.

This week, in a special help session I do for struggling kids, we read an article about technology together. The article was all about digital natives. As I read it, I had to keep my thoughts at bay. Why? Well, on Martin Luther King day (just one small example), I spent 90 minutes helping one of these so-called digital natives find his files in his drive, name documents, move files, share work, and so on and so forth. 

90 minutes.  

Well spent because he's caught up now, but WOW, 90 minutes!  

Now, let's put this in perspective. This is our second semester of digital learning. Finding out a student didn’t know how to do these things was a little scary. Now granted, from the commentary in the background, clearly, his mother has been taking care of assignments beforehand, so this was 90 minutes showing him how he COULD work independently, how he was able to do the work! Regardless, clearly no signs of a 'native' here.  But that’s just one kid, so how about the others?

Here's the bottom line,  My students know how to play with technology, and when are motivated, they can figure things out adeptly.  But if the interest, engagement, purpose is not there, then the lack of basic skills shows through.

So, what's the lesson here?  First, don't expect that the students know how to use technology in the academic arean.  Second, if you want them to figure out the ways to make their digital work shine, they need to be interested - engaged - and have a reason to want to figure out the skills, have the desire to put the time and effort in to learn a new digital skill.  And I have to say, our technology unit is making waves with them - they are loving building the website, motivated to share properly because they want me to see it, focused on creating professional hyperlinks so that their work, "Looks cool!" and on it goes.

It's not a huge goal, but one thing that I am determined to achieve this year is for all my virtual students to really take full advantage of the situation and know how to use simple Google skills WELL by the end of this strange and interesting year!

Making Connections

One of my goals for this year is to increase personal communication. It's all part of my #oneword - CONNECTIONS.  Too often I think, “They know I care, ” or, “I texts them, ” or, “I commented on Facebook.”

Really?  So, from colleagues to students to family, it’s time to reconnect in a more authentic way.  I want to show that I care through effort. I'd like to let others to know how much they mean to me, how much their support has helped me, how their presence makes a difference. It's good for me to feel that glow of giving thanks or growing a relationship, but even greater is the joy this can bring to the recipient. 

I am writing letters to my mother instead of emailing (insert vision of her re-reading multiple times as she tries to remember, "What Bridget said!"), sending a gratitude card each day to someone who truly makes a difference in my life, and sticking to my postcard/day to a student - which I have always done, but not always stuck to religiously!  

It's been so fulfilling for me to focus on what other people have done for me - and to share my gratitude with them.  Hearing/seeing a reaction when received is the icing on the cake.  Last week, I wrote a very heartfelt note to a neighbor friend, who just happens to be a teacher, who has started walking with me every weekend.  We share our highs and lows and brainstorm teaching.  Just telling her how grateful I was filled ME and knowing that she will be getting a surprise note through inter-office mail added to that high.  

From a student perspective, having them get a postcard in the mail (that their parent sees), thanking him or her for something done for their teacher, or a moment of support to the class, or a massive (or small) success...its massive. It fills my cup to overflowing when the surprise and joy is shared with me. It's a relationship builder, and considerable ‘Brownie points’ too!  Most important though, it recognizes the kids and builds their pride. I've had special cards, printed by Vistaprint, for years. This year though, my focus is on consistency, truly penning that note at the moment it's most deserved - and making sure that I catch that moment for every student.

I know how much it means to me when someone takes the time to write me a note - it brings such joy. It's my turn to go and give that gift to others.

Let's connect 💙

Forcing the Learning

 I love to share.

If I hear about an idea, a concept, a strategy - I try it. I love 'new', I thrive on experimenting.  Let's give it a shot - after all, you learn whether or not things go well - I would even posit that I have learned more from mistakes and awkward moments than I ever have from smooth sailing.  There's nothing quite like that moment where you look at the kids, they look at you, and we all decide, "Well, that didn't work!", we decide why, we find a better solution, and the learning is stronger than ever.

I thrive on discovery

I just wrote my mid-year reflection for our professional learning goal at school. I was feeling a bit guilty this year - national pandemics and political upheaval have meant that my goals haven't had the laser focus they normally do, the team goal we developed in those heady first days of school never really connected with my on-going personal learning goals...and with 170 students during those first couple of months, who had time to focus on professional learning, literature to support a goal, finding new podcasts or webinars to support learning...and all that jazz.  Not me!  The good news for my conscience was that I have actually done quite a lot of professional learning this year.  Well, it's really my hobby - so it might not have been as purposeful as I would like, might not get me those Brownie points since the learning doesn't really connect with our team goal, but there's a lot of reading, watching, and listening going on in Bridget's world.  

Forced Learning?

Two of the items on my list of 'personal professional learning' are the endorsements that I am in the midst of.  One is my Online Teaching Endorsement. A last-minute addition, I only just made it into the course.  I did 3 different courses over the summer, anticipating a virtual class-load this fall, and I loved every moment of the learning.  The endorsement is a logical step to produce the best teaching I can for my online students.  I had no idea how different the teaching needed to be, and everything I learn is instantly integrated into the classes I lead. That's the best kind of learning.  My other endorsement is Coaching and Support Endorsement, and ... well, sometimes having the opportunity to find that something is not for you, is as powerful as finding the right fit. How much of it is because of the year it is, I don't know - but making time for something that feels like a burden and that keeps you up at night, is not something that fits well with 2020-21 teaching. But funnily enough, it's helping my teaching...immensely.  Focusing on something you don't want to do and can't escape - it's not engaging. It's frustrating. You seek help that might not be there. You aren't available when others are there to help you. You feel alone. The instructions don't make sense.  

Wow. Makes you think, doesn't it? 

We need to remember, our students haven't chosen our courses. They aren't there because they want the learning. They aren't excited to see what the new lesson is. They aren't leaping to the computer for team meetings...unless we make it that way.  

My experiences right now are reminnders every day.  Make my course the one that the kids are interested to visit, the one they want to find out what's next. the meeting that they set the timer for.  That's a good lesson.  I don't want my students to feel the struggle the way I do.

So, instead of 'encouraging' work submission by penalizing grades, I'd rather add opportunities for choice and conversations about what we 'want to do'.  Instead of mandating and threatening calls home, I'd rather find out what they want to do and what would make meetings fun.  Breakouts for social time as well as collaborative work. Singing happy birthday and creating birthday message Jam Boards. A joke committee to find corny jokes and annoying riddles. Wearing silly hats, having pet day, hosting a lesson at a local barn. After soul searching about those students who struggled virtually last fall and what opportunities for success I truly gave them, I've added a special live meeting - "Let's Get Started." Every Monday, the group of 12 or so students is invited to work with me to start the work together.  Let's get stuff done.  Let's get started together.  My strugglers seem excited. They were delighted to get personal invites in the mail. We will see how it goes.  

Ever since reading Shift This by Joy Kirr, I have sought ways to give students ownership over their learning. Slowly, gradually, I am finding ways to do this virtually - and it feels good.

So every time I sigh and open up my course to stare blankly at the screen and try to figure out what to do, I purposefully flash a mental picture of my students and think, "What can I do to make sure that this doesn't happen to them?

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!