...a story of connection....I knew I wanted to be a teacher by the time I finished the first grade. While I don’t remember any of the teaching strategies that my first grade teacher, Mrs. Moore, used or any of the content even; she made such a profound mark on me that I knew when I was 6 years old what I was going to do with my life. What I remember about her class was that I loved being there. I remember she loved cows and had cow decorations all over. I remember that she talked to me and engaged with me about things that were happening in my life. I remember that I knew she liked me. My younger brother was hospitalized during this year as a result of having a stroke, so Mrs.Moore frequently entertained me after school during the times that my parents had obligations at the hospital. Reflecting back on Mrs. Moore, and adding in what I know now, I can see that Mrs. Moore excelled at relationship building and that set her apart from my other teachers. While I have always enjoyed school, that first grade year I remember with such fondness. The following year my younger brother (who made a remarkable recovery from his stroke) had Mrs. Moore for first grade as well. Over those two years, my mother and Mrs. Moore had developed a friendship. I remember going to her house to go swimming and being delighted that her house had an equal amount of cow decorations as her classroom. However, that year Mrs. Moore was diagnosed with cancer. While I do not remember the details of her cancer, I know it was quick moving as she passed that school year. Her funeral was the first I ever attended and I remember that despite my sadness, I wanted to be just like her. Flash forward many years, and I remember thinking about Mrs. Moore the day I walked in my college graduation with my bachelors degree and my multiple subject teaching credential. I remember smiling that I had completed it despite many people trying to argue me out of it because “teachers make so little money.” I knew from my first grade experience that I was not going into teaching for the money, I was going into to make a difference for kids. So bottom line, how are you communicating to kids that you like them? That they are valued? How do you create connection with kids? 3 Tips to Creating Connection 1. Greet them at the door and look pleased to see them. Not kidding. Kids want to believe that each and every day you are just as equally happy they are there as the day before. 2. Ask them questions and listen to the answers. For real. Ask them what they did on the weekend. Listen to their answer. Then ask a follow-up question. Remember what they told you on Friday about the weekend, then ask on Monday about it. 3. Be neutral in the face of crisis. Kids want to be heard. They want you to be on their side. When a student is reporting their version of events, be as neutrally pleasant as possible and seek to understand and make them feel understood. (ex: "Wow, yes. I can see why you felt so offended when that child looked at you funny. That must have been really hard.") Do you have tips? Share them in the comments! #bettertogether
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The #youredustory blog topic for this week is to write about the top 5 things you love about teaching. There are many things I love about teaching, and I think my favorite parts evolve and change. So these are my "current" top 5 loves. 5. Makerspace: Our school recently re-launched our library as a combined library/Makerspace. All classes now have extended library time to allow students time to check out books and time to create. My students have truly loved this change. They ask me everyday if today is the day we go to library! Our librarian/media specialist has introduced them to Makey-Makey, Little Bits, circuits, insulated play dough, and more. Their vocabulary expands during each visit, truly amazing to see. Our Makerspace has a website, check it out! http://mvitmakerspace.weebly.com/ 4. Student Centered: As I have grown and evolved as an educator, I have learned that I spent many of my beginning years teaching relying on my ego. My reading, growth, and PLN have helped to soften that in myself. I have learned to let go of things that I once held fast to because it was in the best interest of my students. One of the student centered things that I started this year was Genius Hour. My students pick a topic each month that they want to learn about. They spend a week researching and reading, a week taking notes and thinking about how they want to teach, a week developing their presentation and then the last week they practice their presentation and then present! It has had its ups and downs and I realized they needed some more explicit direction due to their age, but overall it has been transformative to their speaking and listening. I had students who would barely talk above a whisper, now fully reading and presenting. Not only does it address CCSS, but it is a tremendous boost to their self-confidence. 3. Digital Portfolios: I have only recently started these, but am loving every second. I am working with students individually to set up their Blogger sites and so far it has gone well. My students especially love the comment feature and I am enjoying teaching them how to leave feedback. I love seeing how excited they look when they realize someone has left them a comment on their posts. Here is one example: http://andreslearning.blogspot.com/
2. My coworkers: I have been teaching at Mountain View for the last 7 years. Over the past year or so our staff has truly "owned" our school and has started a grassroots movement to evolve. We launched a Makerspace, teachers have moved to flexible seating classrooms, training for or passed the Google Certified Educator exam, and we aren't done. Our principal is working on a proposal for our school that would extend what our staff is already doing. I love watching our staff and our school evolve. You can expect future posts about that! 1. My students: They are why I teach. I love that I can help students to see school a different way when they arrive at my door. This is why I continue to learn, to read, to grow. I know I have not yet arrived and that I probably never will. My hope is that I continue to evolve as an educator to let go of things that are ritual or "just because" and to continue to move towards a classroom that puts students' needs first. This school year has seemed to be a series of events that have led to one word. I started the year in a portable since my building was under construction. I decided to move my classroom to a flexible seating room. I taught a staff professional development for the first time. The beginning of January our bi-monthly district Twitter chat (#svtchat) was on Risk Taking. At our staff meeting this month, Cori Orlando guest hosted and asked us to do a collaborative Google Slides activity where we all identified our ONEWORD for 2016. We then had to find an image that supported that as well. My One Word? Risk. Here is my slide. This new blog, this post, it seems like a culmination of this word. I am about to start Digital Portfolios with my students by way of student blogs and I realized I was going to ask them to do something, to be vulnerable, in a way that I myself did not practice. How would I be able to coach and guide them? So this is me, taking another risk by writing. I would not call myself a writer, but how do you learn to write? You write. Then you write some more. The posts that appear on this blog will be honest and heartfelt. They will be an extension of what I am doing in my classroom. They will reflect on ongoing learning and evolution as an educator. But, they will be messy. This will be a reflection of my growth in progress.
This is risk. Come join me. |
Ventura County Teacher of the Year 2016.
On a journey: Special Ed Teacher, Mentor, EdTech Advocate, Book Nerd, Knitter, Risk Taker, LA Kings Fan, #Whole30 lover, #SVTChat, GCE Level 1, Daring Greatly Categories
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