Please be safe and warm

While I am very excited to get an early start on my holiday vacation, I am just as worried about some of the children and their families in my classroom. Did they have places to be this past weekend to wait out the harsh weather? Were those places warm and safe? Did they have and will they continue to have plenty of food? I know some of the families will be okay. But there are a few that I worry about. The worrying doesn't change their situations or improve the weather conditions. I do not have decision making power in my district and I personally did not choose to call of school Friday, today and tomorrow.

I am a little sad that I did not have the opportunity to give them their holiday presents. I also have a special something for the most awesome para educator ever, Miss A and presents from the Sunshine fund to the administrators in our building that I was in charge of passing out. I guess this year, many people will be receiving happy new year/welcome back presents. Additionally the kids had been working hard to prepare for the winter concert for their parents.
We had a non-holiday themed set of songs, complete with costumes. Hopefully, we can put something together in January.

For those of you not from around this part of the country, it basically snowed from Friday midday through Sunday afternoon. Then it rained briefly and the temperature dropped rapidly. Voila- ice, everywhere! My district called off school for today due to all of the ice on the roads and the safety concern of getting such alarge number of children to school. They then decided that tomorrow would be a "waste of resources" to go to school for one day since Wednesday is when Christmas vacation was supposed to begin. I'm thinking about this "waste of resources" idea and I am not sure that I agree completely. Even if the days before vacation are stereotyped as "light" academic days, students still receive breakfast and lunch at school. Students are still in a warm building. Students have an opportunity to share holiday traditions with one another. Teachers usually have the opportunity during these days to provide extra one-on-one attention to students because other students travel during the break. So that is all "not worth it?" I have a hard time coming to terms with the idea that providing two meals to students and a wamr space and extra attention is not worth it.

From the district's point of view, many of the buildings are old and cost a fortune to heat, especially with the heat being off since Thursday night. It be very expensive to heat them for just tomorrow. That is in addition to clearing off all the roads in front of the schools so students can board and unboard the buses safely and clearing off all the ice from all those buses so that they are safe to operate. Well I don't know what the "right" answer is, but I am grateful that I don't have to make that decision. It seems no matter what the decision is, some people are not happy.

Be safe and warm K1 children and families and enjoy the vacation and time together.

Block Area Creations

Two of my students have been especially interested in the block area over the last few weeks. One of them has access to blocks at home and reports using them frequently with a parent. His structures are often intricate and intriguing. The other is very interested in 2D and 3D shapes. He has also recently begun to explore symmetry in design. He tends to build the same 2 structures repeatedly, but labels them differently each time. So when these two wanted to play together in the block area the other day, I was excited to see what ideas would develop.



After several discussion with each other, a few questions posed to me, the assistance of another student, and the majority of wooden unit blocks in the block area, the students had constructed a rather elaborate track that included tunnels and bridges. They took out the toy cars to test it out. After several minutes and laps around the track, one of the students declared that he needed "a tire change." The other student said "Oh, it is almost winter. You need snow tires." The second student went on to explain how snow tires would help him drive in the snow by keeping his car from slipping. Is this knowledge from a conversation he had with his parent, an observation he made when someone was talking to his parent or a commercial? I do not know, but their conversation continued and I was too intrigued to ask.

The first student said that he did not want snow tires but wanted fire tires. Now I was intrigued enough to interrupt. "What are fire tires?" I asked. By the tone of his voice, it was obvious that I should have known that "fire tires get real hot, like fire. When you drive in snow ice, they melt it." With a wintry mess upon us this weekend and into the school week tomorrow, "fire tires" don't sound like such a bad idea.

Random notes and the evil Jingle Bells

The classroom smells delicious, thanks to using Gingerbread playdough all week. I think I may use the snow day tomorrow to make my house smell as just as delicious. Except instead of playdough, I may make actual cookie dough but I need a good vegan soy- free recipe. So if you have one, please leave a comment. If Mr K1 teacher's class is also canceled tomorrow night, then we will decorate these little bits of yumminess.

One of the parents in the classroom does not celebrate Christmas. That's fine and doesn't bother me. We have talked about some of the holidays celebrated during December but most of our discussion around the holidays has been initiated by the other students in the class. The mother came to me all frazzled becasue she was watching TV with her child and he heard "jingle Bells". He told her he learned it at school Yes, the kids have been singing it to each other and no, I havent asked them to stop because it is rather joyous. Ok so I talk to her and explain this to her she seems ok, but still a little perterbed.

Later that same day her sun is using some of the yummy-smelling gingerbread playdough during center time. He has made several gingerbread cut-outs and then beigns using the letter shaped playdough cutters. He arranges three certain letters and then proceeds to name the letters and say the word that those letters make. On one hand, he correctly identified the letters and knew the word. On the other hand, HOW DOES HE KNOW THAT? He is four years old and can barely manage to write his name independently and follow well-established classroom routines! That is certainly not in our curriculum nor have any of the other students started discussing it.

Sometimes, I have to just scratch my head in wonder and amazement.

Eyes

They stare at me always

sometimes wide and eager

other times with sad and vacant ones

sometimes still its hard for them

those tired heavy eyes want to close

but still they stare

They take it all in

facial expressions, print, illustrations

hand gestures weather, classroom changes,

nonverbal cues, routines and directions

They convey to me joy and sadness

hunger and fright

anger confusion and comprehension

amazing depth already

Their eyes bore deeply on my soul

always looking, looking and needing,

needing and searching, noticing and hoping

brown and dark

Their eyes

The beginnings of division

I recently read The Doorbell Rang to my class and it introduced the concept of dividing a fixed amount by various numbers of people so that each person can have the same number of cookies. During small groups this week, the students worked with paper cookies and bananas and needed to share them with the hungry monkeys. I reminded the students that each monkey needed to have the same number of treats, that they needed to do a "fair share". All 11 of the students were able to divide an even number of cookies or bananas between the two monkeys. Some needed me to hold the cookies while they passed out on at a time, but all were able to do it. When I asked how they knew it was a "fair share", many of them counted the cookies that were distributed to each monkey and commented that each one had the same number. Some of the less verbal children lined up the cookies that each monkey had and pointed to each line, saying "they same size".

Wanting to push them further and challenge their thinking, I gave some children an odd number of cookies to divide between the same two monkeys. I wanted to know what they would do with the remainder. I had modeled sharing one thing between two people by cutting the paper in half earlier in the week and was curious to see if they would apply that strategy or what other ideas they might generate. The students divided the cookies evenly until they got to the remainder.

One student gave the cookie to one of the monkeys, thus creating unequal piles. When I asked her about, she said she was going to eat the extra.

Another student said that he needed to go to the store to buy another cookie.

One student moved the remainder cookie back and forth between the two monkeys several times and then put it in the middle.

The final student in the group suggested breaking it so each monkey could have a piece. We talked about the concept of half and how we would break the cookie so it was fair.

Then on Friday, we acted out the book with real cookies and a real bell. After shopping in the wee hours of the morning, I found the package of cookies at the store with the closest number of cookies to the number of students in my class. There was one cookie left over after everyone had one. The students noticed and asked what they were going to do with. I was just thinking I would put it back in the package and nibble it after school, but since they had noticed, I had to do something. So I asked them what I should do with it. Almost instantly, they told me "cut it to same size pieces". It take them a while to determine how many "same size" pieces I needed to cut it into, but they got it and i successfully cut the cookie into twelve approximately equal pieces to share with each of them.

Overall, they got the basic concept that when you divide something, you breaking it into equal parts. I was impressed by and proud of them. Some of them struggled with the vocabulary but they were still were able to express a fairly complex idea for their age. Go K1

Students' solutions to an annoying problem

Yesterday, I did one of the things I always tell my students not to. I put a cap on a dry erase marker and went to snap it shut. Having my hands full, I pressed the cap against my body to close it that way. Well the cap went one way and the marker made a nice black dot on my lovely white sweater. I tried to smile and tell the kids that's why I tell them not to do it. Being the super wonderful class that they are they offered me the following suggestions as to how to "fix the problem":
"put white glue on it"
" Cut out a piece of paper and tape it on. then draw lines"
" Spray hairspray on it. That's what my mom does to get dirt out of clothes"
"Turn your shirt inside out then it wont be dirty no more"
I tried to blot the stain with a wet paper towel, which had no effect. A few of the students said " That's because you used a brown paper towel, you need to use the white tissue.

I love to hear the ideas and their thinking about a topic or, in this case, a small problem that turned into a whole class discussion on the best way remove a stain.

Violated and angry

My bank cards were stolen while I was at work today. I feel unsafe now and wonder what else has been stolen or messed with that I am not aware of . Obvious things like my license and credit card are still there. If it was just one bank card that was missing I would think that I had lost but both are gone. I give my whole heart, a lot of my time, all of my effort, and most of the contents of my wallet to that classroom. The fact that someone in the community would take my bank cards infuriates, scares, angers me beyond words.

Giving beautiful thanks

In preparation for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday, I read the book Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks to the class. We had a class discussion about what it meant to be thankful and students cited some examples from the book. Always curious about and moved by how they think, I wanted to have time gather their responses. I have listed some of them below:

" I am thankful for rainy days"
"I am thankful for bike rides with my dad in the park"
"For hugs and kisses from Mommy"
"toys"
"my friends. They play with me at school"
"family"
" Playing outside at recess. It is fun"

This was a challenging question for many of them, as it is a little abstract. I was impressed with their answers and surprised to see how many of them chose non-material things like hugs, friends, and bike rides with a parent. I am also impressed with their language skills. We have been working on adding detail to our drawings and sentences. Finally, many of them were able to sound out some of the words and use inventive spelling. At this age, when they are just learning letters and sounds, the willingness to try to sound out words and commit your attempts to paper is a huge risk. Go K1!

As the holiday approaches, I hope that each of them finds a few moments of joy and quality time with their families.

Happy Thanksgiving

What do you eat at your house and theres an /s/ in that word

Somehow or another my kids work food into many conversations and activities. Recently one of the students said " We eat lobster and crab at my house". Puzzling. Very puzzling and a completely unexpected comment. I know the family and some of their financial situation pretty well and wouldnt expect them to be able to purchase these foods, which are slightly more expensive then some other foods.

Many of the kids asked what lobster is. The kids have been talking about lobster and looking for it amongst the food in our dramatic play area. I brought in some books about lobster, most of them showed lobsters in the ocean or in traps and not necessarily on someone's dinner plate, so I am not sure if they made the connection.

Fast forward a few days and we are talking about the letter S and the /s/ sound. The kids are thinking of words that begin with /s/. I am writing down their ideas on the white board. The list includes "sit" "Sunday", "soup", "sauce" and the names of classmates whose names begin with S. A student who frequently struggles with letter-sound acitivities raised her hand and said "there is a /s/ in lobster." The lobster surprised me again! Typically students recognize initial and final sounds of words long before they hear and discriminate the middle sounds of words. THis particular student has tremendous difficulty with beginning sounds and I was surprised about her fairly higher level answer. I stretched out the word for the kids, exaggerating that sound so that more students could hear it. I wonder if she really recognized and heard the /s/ sound in lobster or if she was just guessing that the word began with that sound, and it was just coincidence that there was a /s/ sound in that word she chose. I wish I had asked her more about her thinking so I could better understand and help her.

The whole experience reminded me not to make too many assumptions about my students' experiences outside of school. It also made me think more carefully about this particular struggling student and what I can do to modify phonetic awareness activities to increase her success and ability.

Image is from http://www.sealifegifts.net/user_images/lobster4a.JPG found on 11/22/08 AT 3:15PM

Parent teacher conferences

This past week I wrapped up my parent teacher conferences at school. I had a good turn out, as I met with 10 out of 11 families in my class. Some good, most were productive and of course there were some just plain old odd things that came up.

In general, I think parent teacher conferences are important. It gives parents and teachers valuable one-on-one face time with each other. As a teacher, I get to talk about how the child is doing at school, what progress she has made and what some of the next steps are for that child. Just as important as all of that, I also get to listen. I get to listen to the parents share their observations of their child, I get to listen ask they ask questions, and I listen to their non-verbal cues as well. What are they "saying" about school by how they are sitting or standing? How does their facial expression change when I say their child is doing well with language skills but struggling mathematically? Do they frown or avoid eye contact the whole time? Are they eager to be there and showing evidence of active listening themselves? Do parents see the value? Is the information I share with them as helpful as the information they share with me? The bigger question for me is whether I can gain insight about the children from interacting and observing their parents?

While I see the value in meeting with parents and our principal encourages it, he does not provide logistical support to make it happen. We have to open houses a year and parents come whenever in the two hour block. Because of the open- ended structure it is nearly impossible to meet individually with parents during that time to discuss student progress. So because I believe conferencing with parents is vital to student success, I need to use my own time to do it. Conferences were set up for before and after school times and also during my planning period. Added to that was the fact that the parents perceive time differently than I do. If I have arranged to have a conference with you at 800 am, I will plan to arrive at 755 just in case I'm late. That was not the case. People arrived at 817 for their 800 conference and then wondered why I had to be extremely brief. I use my personal time because I am committed to and value the idea of working with parents, however, the net result was that I was exhausted. I was going in even earlier so I could do more work BEFORE the conferences started and so on.

One of the parents said that he and his wife were delighted with their child's progress. He pointed out specific examples and talked about how happy his child seems. It can be so rare to hear things like this from parents so I figured I would celebrate this comment by shairng it here. The purpose of sharing these comments is not toot my own horn, but simply to pause and reflect. So often we are unsure of the parents' perception of the work we do each day with their children, that these comments are heartening, inspiring, and helpful to me. Another parent said that her daughter goes home and sings our classroom songs and talks about specific things I said to her during the day.

A few parents seemed appreciative of my reccomendations for home. While each kid received individualized recommendations, if one parent does one of the recommended activities, it could be THE thing that makes a difference for that child. Go Parents!

One parent, who was a bot confrontational at the beginning of the year, was on board and open to my ideas. Her observations were similar to mine and I feel that we are going to be communicating better with each other. We now understand that we both have the same goal: helping her struggling child to succede in school. I was apprehensive about that particular conference but grateful and a bit surprised that we saw eye to eye.

Of course there are some low lights. The parent who came in her lingere and flannel pajama bottoms. The parent who thought I would provide free private tutoring before school to her struggling child. The parent who asked me what she was supposed to do with her child when school is closed for upcoming muchly needed Thanksgiving recess. The parent who couldn't be bothered to actually stop her cell phone conversation. Anyway, I do not want to dwell. I do feel that, overall, despite some low lights, it was a valuable investment of my time and effort. I know that I am doing my part. I have provided valuable information to parents on their child's individual progress and gave suggestions to how they can help at home. It was a lot of work and I truly was wiped out by the middle of the week when conferences ended, but it was all worth it.

30 Hours: Thoughts about having a pre-prac student

I have a student in my room from a local college doing observations for her intro to special education class. This is an observation- based field assignment for her before she does her full time student teaching next semester. I was excited to have a college student in my classroom for a variety of reasons. First of all, its an extra pair of hands and eyes, lowering the student to adult ration in the class. Secondly, they say that you learn something best when you have to teach it. So I think I get to further my own learning and development by trying to explain the classroom and all of its goings-on to someone new. Finally, hooray, someone else wants to enter the profession, and I am in a position to help this person.

Then I got nervous. I thought about all of my field placements during college and graduate school. I thought about teaching related employment experiences that I had before my current position. I started remembering some of the high and low lights of these various experiences when a thought occured to me: Am I responsible for this person's learning?

I know that I am responsible for my students' learning and progress. I also know that I am responsible for supervising and supporting Ms. S (a.k.a para of the year) and her interactions with the kids in the classroom. Am I also responsible for learning and development of this college student? Or am I just responsible for supervising her in the classroom? I mean its a big thing to be responsible for someone else's learning and development. Then I started questioning myself: can I really teach someone how to do what I do each day? Do I really know enough to teach someone who is just starting out in the field?

After a few days of thinking about this, I have come to several other thoughts and possible conclusions. First of all this college student is an adult and she is ultimately responsible for her own learning. That's the thing about adults. My role is to provide an environment that fosters and supports her learning. I can set up certain experiences for her and provide feedback. I can create opportunities for her to observe me and work successfully with students. I can answer her questions and encourage her to ask questions.

I am thinking of KW, whose class I student taught in my senior year in college. KW taught me so much about this age and continues to serve as an inspiration to me. I was amazed as a student in her classroom with her engaging and far reaching curriculum. KW let me take as much responsibility as I was comfortable taking. I am also thinking of Mr BR who provided a lot of feed back to me in graduate school. Under his supervision I really felt like I was able to sharpen and refine some very specific teaching skills that I continue to use today. Thank you to these wonderful cooperating teachers who later became mentors and friends. Your work continues to motivate and inspire me and I strive to provide as high quality of a learning experience for the college student in my classroom as you both provided for me.

The kids said:

Today, when we were talking about the election, one of the students referred to Barack Obama as "Rock yo mama".

At the end of the day lat week, as I was saying bye to the student, she said "Who is Bye?" I explained that goodbye is what people say when they leave each other ( and not to mention that I always make a point to emphasize greetings and farewells each day).

While playing in the kitchen area, another child said "I'm sick of you, get out of my house"

Finally, a former student of mine today ended the school day by telling me this fantastic story about a motorcycle, a chair and 3 eyed red monster. He was so animated while he was talking. I wished that I had brought out paper and pencil so I could jot down his story and so that he could illustrate what he was saying.

Just wanted to share some kid thoughts

Field Trip pictures

Teaching the kids to notice and appreciate the beauty of nature on a brisk fall morning.  Everyone was bundled up because it was very cold, though most of the kids were dressed appropriately for the weather and did not complain about the cold.  Here are some the things we found.  I used the camera to document the trip, to take picture of the things that they saw.  The photos posted here serve as a record for them and inspiration for me.  Other pictures show the kids  really touching the bark of a tree, throwing leaves, comparing two different leaves, noticing a crack in the path we walked on and so much more.  We concluded the field trip by giving each student a clipboard to write about the favorite thing they found during the trip.  Students first tell what they are going write about, then draw their picture, and then retell it to a teacher who takes dictation.  This week my students were working on adding detail to their drawings and their statements about the drawings.  I did see a lot of progress just from last week to this week.  I really want them to develop the idea that they are writers.

With each passing week, I am more and more excited about the digital camera.  It is such a powerful tool to use in the classroom.  Last year I used it to document student work that could not be saved in a folder. Block towers and writing on white boards are two examples that come to mind.  This year, I am using the camera to document more and more student work that can't be put into their work folders in addition to photographing more activities in the classroom.   The city was gracious enough to purchase laptops for all of the teachers last year so I am experimenting now with video documentation and hopefully will attempt video modeling for individual students later in the year.  The students love to see themselves.  The students are excited to look at the class photo album or be part of a movie. 

Farewell, Mrs. F

She was always there. Welcoming me when I first started. Listening without judging. Providing encouragement. Sometimes just nodding and smiling or sending a sympathetic look my way. Leading. lasting. caring. She started her retirement this afternoon and she will be deeply missed not only by her students but by the whole school community as well. She wants to come back to sub so I know its not good bye just farewell for now. I told her she could sub for me anytime.

Many of the more senior teachers in our building have said that it is refreshing to see so many newer teachers in the building recently. Some have said that retirement has approached quickly. Another teacher friend from another district told me that she spent more time in her life as a teacher than in any other role besides from a daughter. This particular woman was a teacher longer than she was a mother or a wife or anything else. That is pretty amazing and I guess its true for me too, though I am no ways near retirement age.

When I talk with other teachers who are at a similar point in their career as I am, retirement seems a whole life time away. An eternity. I cant even really imagine it. I have gone through some motions and with Mr.K1 teacher's help, set up a retirement savings account. But what does my retirement look like? Will I be in good health? Will I still be working alongside some of the teachers I work with now? On a more practical note, will the state run pension system still be operational?

By the way, retiring at this age is not called retiring. Its simply called quitting. Thank you Mrs. F for everything. Enjoy retirement and whats in store for you. Live it up

Looking forward

This week I am looking forward to taking the kids outdoors for writers workshop on Monday. I will be introducing clipboards this week and I hope it goes well. I am also looking forward to our upcoming field trip. We will be exploring a local park and taking a nature walk to observe all the changes that fall brings to our area. (we will revisit this place in the spring to see the differences.) Also this coming weekend is the first weekend in three that I haven't had class on Saturday, and it will be the ONLY weekend in November except for Thanksgiving weekend that I don't have class. Hooray!

building changes

October and the coming months will bring several changes to our building in terms of staff. First and foremost the beloved secretary, Mrs B, left our building for a position else where in the city. She gave seemingly short notice to all of us teachers. That's OK, it is her business. Each of us needs to act, at times, in our own best interest. It is odd not hear her voice in the morning, telling all of us that "it is a lovely day out". When I walk by the office now on my way to the copier, I don't smell the all natural air freshener or hear her humming quietly while she works. The students and other staff miss her too. I know that she is much happier in her new position than she was in the old one at our building and so I wish her well.

A 5th grade teacher in our building will be leaving to begin her retirement this coming Friday. Hooray for making it to the end of one's career. Maybe it is just the end of her teaching career and she is on to other careers. Maybe she is truly going to retire. She is a wonderful teacher who has been very kind to me since I started in the building. Her students will miss her teaching and the building will miss her kindness.

Another teacher will be going out on paternity leave in mid-November and will not be back until after the new year. Hooray for welcoming a new life into this world. This is his third child and he and his wife are expecting a boy.

Finally, one primary grade teacher may be be retiring in December. The details here are still fuzzy though so I will elaborate more when I am sure of the facts.

So this raises the question in my mind about what will be done about these openings. I know I am not an administrator and it is not technically my responsibility to worry about how these vacancies will be filled, but it could impact the climate of the building, which will effect me. If it were up to me, I would give the soon to be 5th grade opening to Mr. Y., who was a long term sub last year in the building. Several teachers thought at the end of last year that Mr Y should have been offered a position for the current school year. Mr. Y worked many of the kids in our building last year as a music sub, a long term 5th grade sub, a science sub and finally a 5th grade sub again. He raised the bar and stepped up to all of the occasions that were thrown at him. His work deserves recognition and he deserves a permanent position in our building.

The secretary position has already been filled, however the new hire is unable to work during all of the school hours.

In terms of the paternity leave, I think it would be reasonable to hire a long term sub for that opening as it will have a shorter duration than the other two positions. Finally, I wonder if the principal is aware that one of the teachers plans to retire in December. If he is aware, he should start looking for qualified candidates now and really should plan on hiring a teacher and not sub.

Update

The student mentioned here on this blog is still in my room. His parents have decided to sign him out of special education but have not yet registered him for a new placement. I worry about him both staying in my classroom and not getting what he needs because, try as I may, it is not an appropriate setting for him and I also worry about him going to yet another classroom this year. I respect the parent's right to choose, but wonder when their rights infringe on the education and overall well being of the child. Where is the line and who determines when that line is crossed?

October is professional development month

Or so it seems. Started an early childhood outdoors writing class, finishing up a math class from this summer and a new math class begins this coming weekend. So yes, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed but I am also really excited to be learning new ideas and continuing my development as a teacher.

The outdoor early childhood writers' workshop class meets on Wednesday. I am really excited about this class because I enjoy writing as an adult and feel strongly that the current curriculum does not provide enough opportunities for students to write to convey meaning. The curriculum seems to emphasize letter formation over story telling and I feel that there is a place for both. So I signed up for this class. I am hoping to learn some new ideas and techniques for inspiring young children to write. How powerful would it be for them to see themselves as writers? If that perception was cultivated and developed from an early age, perhaps there would not be so much anxiety around writing for standardized tests, college applications, written reports later in life. Of course, it would also be wonderful if students chose to write more creatively, for pleasure.

I have posted previously in this blog about my mathematics courses from the summer. The one I am in the process of finishing has a been a wonderful and inspiring class. I actually posted that I thought math was cool, which is a huge shift in my personal thinking. If I am excited about something, I think my students will also be excited about it. The class that begins this weekend will be dealing with shapes and I hope to generalize some specific ideas from the course content for my classroom.

Those classes listed above are in addition to all the school based professional development, which can hardly be called professional. Knowledge of dancing with the stars does not improve my teaching. It is not my month to lead our grade level and professional development meetings but I feel like I do. I am trying to encourage my colleagues to think and share information. I try to ask questions and facilitate conversations. Next week, I am hoping to teach people how to use their digital cameras to document student learning. I wish that the school based professional development was somehow more meaningful and productive, but thankfully I am able to seek out classes that meet my needs and interests.

Need to finish my homework:)

In the best interest of whom?

Apparently, when a parent rejects a current IEP and that IEP also involves a change of placement, the last IEP is the one that is followed. In other words, one of my students from last year was placed in a new setting because he was aging out of my program. It was determined at the meeting that the child still needs services and would benefit from being in a sub-separate classroom. A placement at another school was assigned over the summer, but somehow or another the child showed up here at the beginning of the year and was placed in a regular education classroom. Eventually, this mistake was realized and actions were taking to place the child in the appropriate setting within our building.



The child's parent thinks that placing the child in the recommended setting is ridiculous and he rejected the IEP. He does not think that his child needs services. He feels like he could better educate his child at home, or that a private school would better meet the needs of the child. The parent was advised by the special education liaison in our building to think about the best interest of the child. So the IEP is rejected and the child is placed back in my classroom, making it his third classroom in the first month of school. So whose best interest are we acting in here? Certainly it doesn't make sense to be disrupting the child's education like this, bouncing him from classroom to classroom? It has to be confusing for him as well as possibly creating a sense of personal rejection.

I tried to welcome him this morning as best as I could. I want him to feel comfortable, but on the other hand, I don't know how long he is going to be there, or if he will even be there tomorrow. Its not the child's fault, but he is stuck in this battle between his parents and the school system. I think the child is a wonderful kid, but that doesn't help him too much in the overall scheme of things does it?

Thanks Mom

My mom did not send me to preschool. I went to kindergarten at age 5, I went to kindergarten with knowledge of specific things. For example, I knew what my name looked like in print. I knew that used tissues did not go back in the box they came from. I knew that when I washed my hands, the soap was not for eating. I knew that when it came time to sit at the table, I was expected to eat my food with an appropriate utensil. I knew that licking my food out of the carton it came in was not appropriate. I knew to use please and thank you when I asked for something. If I forgot to use those words and an adult gently reminded me to do so, I didn't scowl at them.

Its not that my kids have come in this year not knowing a thing, it's just that they are coming into school knowing very different things then I went to school knowing. Its a different time, different families are raising their children differently than I was raised. That is OK. But the question is then what is considered basic information and what is considered cultural differences? Are there skills that are considered basic throughout many different cultures? If so, what are they? Is it a question about skills or expectations? Who is responsible for teaching appropriate manners and behavior in public settings? Who is responsible for the more academic skills like name, numeral, and shape recognition?

I know I try to tell the kids that "in our classroom we do X...". In saying this, I am hoping not to negate any specific things their parents may have told them at home. I don't want to create a contrast and conflict for them between school and home, but on the other hand, there are certain ways of behaving that are not acceptable for a group setting, or that make it more challenging to be part of a group. I think that it is part of the teachers job to explain to children how to function in the world, how to function as a member of a community. Especially as an early childhood educator, I think that I am forever balancing teaching appropriate social skills with teaching academic skills. It is my hope that the social skills and manners taught and practiced in my classroom will serve the children in many settings beyond the classroom walls, but whose to say that I am not just imposing my cultural views on my students?

Sleepy little ones

Parents tell me that their child seems tired. Some children are sleeping on the bus in the morning. Others still have a hard time waking up from rest time in the the classroom. Some kids are so tired in the afternoon that they are not able to participate in the afternoon activities with their peers. Sometimes I think that if I let certain kids sleep after lunch until they woke up on their own, then they would sleep until the end of the school day.



I have talked to a few parents about the seemingly excessive sleepiness of their children. In the few conversations that I have had, I decided to do some research of my own. Some people learn by talking and some people need to read information in order to process it. So I found a few articles on the web that provide specific recommendations on the necessary amount of sleep that children of different ages need. The articles can be found here and here. It is recommended that preschool age children sleep between 11 and 13 hours each day. 11 and 13 hours each day! Wow, I know that there are days when I would love to sleep that much, but thankfully I am an adult and can usually function on much less than that.

Sure it varies by child and some kids totally can function on less sleep. Other may need even more. Parents need to be observant of the child's behavior. Parents need to put children to bed when they are tired, and not when a certain show is over, or a more convenient time arises. Consistently and routines also play a big part in children's sleep. Is bed time at the same time every night? Are there bed time rituals that are in place?

As a classroom teacher I always wrangle with when to wake a child up. Most of the students in my group this year sleep as soon as rest time starts. Should I wake them up or let them sleep when rest time is over? If I let them sleep, will that make them less tired in the evening? If I wake them up, will they be so tired that they wont be able to participate in the afternoon? And so goes the sleep dilemma.

The pasing time and other non-child specific things

It is the first full week of October. Classroom routines have been established. I consider myself to be incredibly fortunate this year. As a group, the kids seem to have good temperments. They are a happier group than I had the last few years. They come to school each day and most of them are eager to learn. Perhaps it is the time of year, with darkness coming earlier and earlier. Perhaps it is simply just the week before a long weekend, but I feel as if this week is moving particularly slowly. At the end of the day today I turned to the best para ever and said "Ugh, it is still Wednesday". Its not that I want time to fly away, but I don't want it to drag on either.



Also, new furniture has arrived in the teachers room at school. It is not something I would personally choose for my house, but it is a much needed improvement. It does look nice and many staff members have been excited about it. I cant help but wonder if we as a school have no money for basic supplies, then how was this furniture paid for? I guess not being an administrator means I don't have to worry, but if there was money somewhere for furniture, then is there other money for supplies? Were there trade offs that had to be made in order to get three new chairs and a table in the teacher's room? I personally would rather any extra money in the school budget be used to buy supplies (including tissues and hand sanitizer) for the classroom. I mean I spend my money on classroom supplies anyway, and all I really need in the teachers room is a clean table and a chair so I can eat my lunch.

I am very excited to note here that the school parking lot is finally finished. The parking space lines appeared this week. This is a cause for celebration. Parking is limited and the lines in the parking lot provide helpful guidance about where people should put their cars.

The bucket book and other thoughts

I don't usually use this space to discuss curriculum because some of the other blogs where teachers just post and describe lesson plans don't seem that interesting to me as a reader. However, I am trying to work on a specific idea with my kids and decided I could use some input. So there is this children's book : Have you filled a bucket today: A daily guide to happiness for children that is really awesome. A summary can befound here .



So I introduced this book in my classroom several days ago. When I first showed them the book, they made predictions about what would fill the bucket. We have read the story several times, during whole group and small group instruction. We have started a bucket in the classroom that we are filling with positive things. Some examples of things that fill the bucket include greeting each other respectfully, helping someone up after they have fallen during recess, and giving a friend a hug when they are sad. As a group, they are excited to work with each other to fill our class bucket. They tell me when to write something down and look eager as we review the contents of the bucket a few times a week. However, when they are asked individually what they could do to fill the bucket, they start talking about mud, sand and water again.

So for them, there is a disconnect between this very tangible bucket in 0our class with little small postive notes in it and their own individual thinking about this concept. I want them to realize the value of being a good person. I want them to have an awareness of what it means to be a good person. Perhaps the concept is over their heads so early in the year and we can revisit it later in the school year. Perhaps we will just stick with addressing it as a whole class. Perhaps I can explain it to them in another way. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the subject of teaching character education in a school building where so much time is devoted to reading and math and very few other teachers make the investment.

Shout out time

Ten schools days have already passed. Too much time has gone by without me giving a special shoutout to the paraprofessional, Ms S., who is working in the classroom with me this year. She is supercalafradulisticexpeealadoucios! And I mean it! She was thrown into the position from a very different and possibly much quieter position elsewhere in the building. As last school year drew to a close, she made comments about not really wanting to have the classroom position and intending to use ALL of her accumulated sick time this year. So I was a little nervous at the start of the school year.

Ms. S. has shown up each day with a willingess to work hard and a sense of humor that gets me through some tough times. She has asked questions about the things she doesnt know and has truly risen to the occassion. She should have switched over to this type of position years ago. And the best part of it all? She said that she is surprised that she actually likes what she is doing. Go Ms S.!!!!!!

Hooray for competent and enthusiastic people!

We will be....

We will be safe. We will be respectful. We will be listeners. We will be learners. Four simple ways of being in a community. A community of learners. Four simple things that 11 four year olds need to be explicitly taught. I love what I do but then a day like yesterday happens and Im left reflecting on how much they need to be taught and how I taught it to other groups of students in the past.

Yesterday the kids seemed rowd y and some of them were down right rude. It was our tenth day together as a classroom community. Prior to yesterday it felt as if everything was going smoothly. The kids seemed able to adhere to the simple we will be's described above. The kids seemed eager to be at school and even more eager to learn. Yesterday felt like the first day of school all over again. Why? What happened?

Well for starters the newest and also the youngest member of our community joined us at the beginning of the week. While I don't like the way the administration handled it, ( with no specific advanced notice, just brought him down in the middle of the morning. I mean I was told that he was coming but was never told when), I would rather have new students NOW when everyone is still sort of new then say in February. As great as this new person is, his presence still affected the group dynamic.

Additionally, there were two students in the classroom who were each absent for two days. One student was absent on Monday and Thursday. When I spoke with the parent about this she basically lied to me. Her statement was very contradictory but she was unable to realize the irony of what she was saying. Another student was absent for health reasons in the middle of the week. This second student is particularly active and loud. So when they both came back on Friday, I think they had forgotten some of the "wewillbes" in class. Also, it appeared that the other students had partially forgotten them, and treated them like a novelty.

Finally there was all the bs that doesnt pertain to children directly. On Monday, I learned that a class I had signed up for through my school district was cancelled. If I had learned this before I left the building it wouldnt be a problem. But I only found out after taking the train into downtown and wasting some time and money. On Tuesday we had open house. It was wonderful to see some parents, but of course I did not see everyone or the people I actually wanted to see. Thursday we had professional development and it was truly ridiculous and wasteful of valuable time. So by Friday, I was tired from a normal work week plus a little mentally beaten down from all of this other stuff.

The first week of school

Ten small bright faces staring up at me. One new to the position but not to the building paraprofessional working with me. one little kid who shows up on the bus on the first day of school, carrying in his arms a package of diapers and a boc of wipes in his Gerber bag. He arrives with no name tag whatsoever and is unable to say his name. 3 phone calls from a neighboring school district about a former student of mine. one angry parent complaining that the room is dirty and student work is not displayed on the second day of school. Several conversations with my principal about the needs of very young children. One student from last year who may be returning due to some complicated special education laws. Countless questions from some families, not yet a word from others. One open house to plan for already. 5 graduate credits signed up for so far. An empty ink cartridge at home. Smiles. lots of hugs. A few tears. Some anxious moments. a few sick stomachs and a couple of sleepless nights. Overall, it was a wonderful first week back at school, though extremely exhausting.

I consider myself really lucky. I love the age of the students that I teach. At this age they are still curious, still eager, still so full of magical thinking. I love that I get to help develop their oral language skills through songs and storytelling. I am always at amazed at how vast their differences are when school starts. I have kids who have come in this year writing their first and last names, and one ( who is starting is 3rd year in my classroom) who is reading simple words. In the same room, sitting at the same table are who kids who hadn't seen their name in print until they walked into the classroom on their first day. Some of them haven't yet separated their name from their picture and are not yet making letter like marks on their papers.
I am looking forward to the year, teaching the students at all of their different levels, and developing relationships with their parents.

Shennaningans

I was at the local office supply super store purchasing a few choosy items for my classroom. Ordinarily, no one bothers me when I go in and I have to say, I really appreciate that. This was not the case on my most recent visit however. Within 30 seconds of entering the store, a small child grabs my elbow. When I turn around, he is holding a tissue paper flower with a pipe cleaner stem. He asks me if I want to buy the flower from him for a dollar. So he can buy his mother a birthday present. I tell him no thank you and send him on his way.

Not more than a minute later these three kids, who look identical to the child I just spoke to approach me. They are carrying a large container of the same tissue paper and pipe cleaner flowers. They ask me to buy a flower so that they can have some money for school supplies. I point out that their brother just asked me for money to buy a birthday present. The kids deny relationship to the first child, but then add that they bought their mom a present last month. Uh-huh. Sounds suspicious to me. I ask the children what kinds of school supplies they need. They start naming off their list : Digital cameras, post it notes ( we were standing in front of a display featuring many different shapes and colors), Mp3 players... their list went on with seeming NONessential school items. I told them I wasn't able to help. I hoped they would leave me alone and I could get the things I needed and leave.

The kids approach me again after a few minutes to ask if perhaps I have changed my mind. No i have not. No, I most likely will not. I am at this fine establishment buying school supplies for my classroom. Not for me. Not for my personal use, but for the use by and education of my students. In someways, I feel like buying things for my classroom and my students is a donation of and in itself. I am not trying to sound selfish at all. Its just that so much of my daily success at work is dependent on purchasing materials I think schools ought to provide. (Basic markers, for example). I know also that there are many people less fortunate than I am. I feel that donating to charity with time or money is a civic responsibility. However, these kids seemed as if they were running a scam. Especially since they asked an older woman for money and had yet a third story for her. They asked her for money for their grandmother's surgery. Uh-huh

Getting Ready

The air feels a little colder, even though I don't want to admit it. I also can't seem to ignore the oversize bags of orange and black wrapped treats that are appearing in all the drug and grocery stores now. Empty buses practice their routes. Fliers fill my mailbox with "back to school specials". I am finally allowed back into the school building where I work. The beginning of a new school year is upon us and I want to begin the work of setting up the environment.

The environment is crucial to a successful classroom. This year, I have decided to add a feelings corner/peace keeping area to the classroom. I went back and forth in my mind about this decision. On the one hand, students need to be able to express their feelings and demonstrate problem solving skills all over the classroom, the school building and their lives and not just in one tiny corner of a classroom. On the other hand, it seems as though the kids get overwhelmed by their emotions, especially at this young age. One small conflict can cause a major melt down. I wanted to create an area in the room where it was safe to talk about feelings and to work out conflicts with peers without the distraction of other materials or students. I want it to feel homey and comfortable. I found some great children's cushiony chairs on sale and covered a small crate to make a little table. As of yet, I haven't been able to decide on a name for this area. I have made some other tweaks to the environment as well but this feels like the major one for the year. Please send suggestions for names and other props for this area. Additionally, check back to see how the kids are using it.

One final thought about getting ready for school. I am amazed at how different people get ready. Some of us think about the classroom, use the summer to locate deals on necessary supplies not provided by our student and our truly ready to go back to school in mid August. Others of us have not yet made an appearance in the classrooms where we have to spend the next 180 days and school starts in less than a week. Still other people in the school building seem to be busying their days doling out supplies and others still are busy reapplying seemingly endless coats of paint and wax to the walls and floors. Finally, the people who are working on the parking lot for our building seem to be making good progress, so I am hopeful it will be ready for the first day as well.

Look for future posts about the attempted scam at my local office supply store, and various other thoughts about the first day of school.

A Teacher's Prayer

Many of us head back to school soon. I found this online sometime during the long gray winter days when the idea of one more indoor recess feels like a death sentence, and I needed all of the help that I could get.

A Teacher's Prayer

Lord, let me be just what they need.
If they need someone to trust, let me be trustworthy.
If they need sympathy, let me sympathize.
If they need love ( and they do need love), let me love, in full measure.

Let me not anger easily Lord, but let me be just.
Permit my justice to be tempered in your mercy.
When I stand before them, Lord, let me look strong and good and honest and loving.
And let me be as Strong and good and honest and loving as I look to them.
Help me to counsel the anxious, crack the covering of the shy, temper the rambunctious with
a gentle attitude.
Permit me to teach only the truth.
Help me to inspire them so that learning will not cease at the classroom door.
Let the lessons they learn make their lives fruitful and happy.
And Lord, let me bring them to you
Teach them thorough me to love You.
Permit me to learn the lessons they teach

I found this prayer on http://discovery.bits-pilani.ac.in/discipline/csis/kiran/teacherprayer.htm and this link is valid as of 8/6/08

Teaching, in a very different setting

This past week, I got to spend with my nephew. Granted he does live with me and I am blessed in that way because I do get to see him often. However, this past week was unique in that it was our first week long "adventure" together. His mother was off on vacation to meet her boyfriend's family. After thinking about the week carefully, I decided not to send him to day care. I thought I could provide enriching and educational experiences for him and did not want to spend my hard earned dollars on gasoline to drive him back and forth.

We visited with my mom, picked fruits and vegetables at a local farm, went to the library, played in the yard, looked for slugs and worms, did puzzles, marble painting, used the playdough extensively, went to the beach, visited the zoo and ran a few errands. Over the course of the week, he became very interested in cloud formations so we spent a little time doing some research. He learned the first letter of his name and almost how to write it. He learned the first letter of my name, his uncle's name, and that M is for Mommy. He learned to listen to my rules (only after testing them a few times to make sure that I meant what I said). He learned that he can count on me to meet his needs. He is beginning to learn to say excuse me during conversations. Together, we came up with a manageable way to handle transistions using a timer.

I learned a few things too. I re-learned what a fantastic kid he is. I also relearned that it is so important to offer choices and stick to your limits. I learned so much about what he knows of this world and how he thinks. I learned the importance of the saying "sleep when the child sleeps" and gained new appreciation for nap time. I also learned that my husband is fantastic and that we worked well as a team most of the time during this week. He was able to take the nephew outside while I set up a project indoors. He was able to manage the early mornings so I could have a few precious extra minutes of sleep. I gained new appreciation for my sister, and the other single parents in this world who actually do a good job at the most important job, being a parent.

I started thinking this week about background knowledge and what a child comes to school already knowing. Background knowledge is important for school success but the amount and quality of background knowledge students have when they enter school varies. Take the clouds for example. My nephew and I yesterday spent some time talking about clouds, doing some web research and then going outside to see what types of clouds we could find. He was so excited to learn about the clouds and had so many questions. When we talk about the weather at school and I point out clouds to the children, many of them act as though they have never seen a cloud before. Yet most of the students in my classroom will be a year older than my nephew. Its not to say they come into school knowing NOTHING, just different things.

For example, I am always amazed when students recognize brand names of cars, sneakers and clothing. For some of my students, this is their background knowledge. The question is, how to turn this knowledge into a thirst for other knowledge, how to relate their knowledge to academic interests and subjects?

Let me not get too carried away, it is after all summer. I enjoyed my week with my nephew we both learned a lot.

Summer courses

Math is cool! I have already completed one math course and am in the process of completing a second one this summer. Perhaps if I had been taught math the way that I am learning to teach it then I would have done better with this subject in school. Who knows, perhaps I would have persued it further when I was in college.

End of year staff meeting- official and unofficial

The official end of the year staff meeting occured on the second to last day of school, immediately after dismisal. The majority of staff were tired and somewhat distracted by all of the work they had left to do. In our district, our classrooms need to be completely packed up at the end of the year ( i feel that this process creates unnecessary extra work, but I will write more about that at another time). As we took our seats in the corwded computer lab in the library, my eyes noticed the agenda, with a list of items all the way to the bottom of the page.

One of the the items was field trips. The boss seemed pleased that so many teachers were taking their students on field trips. He noted that a few years ago, people were reluctant to take their students out of the building. He went on to say that he is bothered by the fact that some students were left behind this year and that next year all students needed to go on the trips. He said that when students don't go on trips they feel unloved and unwanted. He said we are not providing the same quality of education. I raised my hand and tried to make the point that it does not make sense to make a broad ruling when there are so many individual situations. I added that children who are safety concerns should not be taken out of the building, and that children who are safety concerns are different than children who are annoying or simply misbehaving without endangering anyone. Well this opened quite a can of worms.

One person said that if these kids are so dangerous they dont belong in our school. This may be true but it is out of our hands as teachers.

The boss suggested that we tell these kids parents that they need to come or that the child will not be able to go. In theory thats a great suggestion. In reality it doesnt always work because parents say they will go and then don't show up at the last minute, cannot take time out of work, or are unable to pay the money for chaperone entrance. Some people said that they had better luck getting certain parents to attend the field trips. Others added that those kids who were challenging in the classroom did much better on field trips. Someone suggested that we actuall pay parents as an incentive to get them to participate on field trips.

That is absurd. parents should not be compensated for doing their job. I know of another city were parents are paid for taking their children to the pediatrician's office and keeping immunization appointments. I think that is ridiculus too. When you decide to become a parent, there are certain responsibilities that come with the job.

So a lot of people had something to say. A lot of people had a reaction about field trips and the best way to handle that. Debate is good and healthy, if we listen to and carefully consider all of the points that are being made. The boss said that we would need to continue the conversation when school resumed in the fall.

Having had a few days to think about this, I have formed some opinions:
I think that if I as the classroom teacher feel that one student is unsafe in his behavior, that those feelings and appropriate documentation should be considered before the boss rules that all children must go on any particular field trip.

I also think that parental involvement with these particualr children is especially crucial but I also recognize that not all parents can or want to be involved as a chaperone.

So we will see what happens to this conversation in the fall

The unofficial meeting, when a few of us went out after the last day was a lot less heated and a lot more enjoyable. Good food, stories, and laughter. It was so relaxing to be out with some of the people from work.

End of the year

Tomorrow there is no breakfast or lunch at school, yet some people will still send there children to school without anything to eat all day. First of all, as a parent, if i absolutely had to send my kids to school under these circumstances, I would make sure that I sent them in with something wholesome and nutritious. Unfortuantely I know some parents will not provide for their children in this basic way.

Secondly, I dont understand why the schools are not providing breakfast and lunch when they did today. Today was also a half day. All year long we hear about how we need to do a universal breakfast program because we serve children of poverty and they may not eat otherwise. Well are they suddenly not children of poverty because tomorrow is the last day of school?

As their teacher with this information, I feel conflicted. On the one hand, I know that if they don't have anything to eat until 1pm tomorrow then they will be cranky miserable hungry children. I know I can't go all day without eating so why should they have to? On the other hand, I don't necessarily think it is my responsibility to feed them. What is a teacher to do? Feed them makes sense but it somehow doesn't seem fair that I should have to spend my hard earned money to feed them ( and provide for a basic need ) when I really think it is the primary responsibility of their parents or the public institution (school)

Upcoming posts include thoughts about the end of year cleaning, the last staff meeting of the year and a final farewell

Just another day in June

The kids did a wonderful job at their concert/ end of year celebration. Way to go K1 class!

The end of the year is on one side logical and on the other very emotional.

I logically know that I have to pack up my entire classroom ( even though it feels like i just unpacked everything) so I can stay in the same room and unpack it in September. I know I need to finish up their student narratives and sign off on the cumulative records. I know I need to package up each student's work sampling folder. I can move myself through all of those motions easily enough.

Then there is the emotional piece. Teaching young children in an inner city school makes me feel like I am sometimes so much more than just their teacher. I feel like a mother, a nurse, a psychologist, a coach, a friend, a role model, counselor, and so many other job titles on any given day. I have seen them grow so much, which is a good thing. All of them have been with me for 180 days or so and some have been with me for 360 days because I had them last year too. I know that the profession comes with these send offs. I know the kids who are moving on are ready, but I will miss some of them. I worry about them as they go. Where will they go? Will the other teacher be able to reach them? DO they have the necessary skills to be successful in their new environment?

Adding to all of this buisness is the tidbit that we had no drinking water in our building today. We literally had none because all of the water coolers were empty and we don't have any bubbala's in our building and the kids are not allowed to drink the tap water. If I were a parent and my child said that he couldnt get a drink of water at school today because the school ran out, I would be pretty upset.

Wrapping up the school year and wondering

These hot days seem to drag on. Some of the kids, like some of the adults, respond better to the heat than others. Some of the kids seem to become even more energized, while others appear lethargic and cranky.



Yesterday it topped 100 degrees here. One of the parents sent her child to school with long black corduroy pants on. She said " Iput him in pants today because I did not want him to get a skinned knee". I have not read of any child who has ever died of a skinned knee. In fact, I think it is sort of a trademark of childhood, especially the childhood of an active healthy child. Black corduroy pants when it is a hundred degrees is ridiculous.

Someone told me that I should type up a fake letter and tell the familis that this coming friday is our last day. It is completely unethical and I wouldnt do it. But it does sound tempting. This person I was speaking to suggested that no learning was happening anyway, so what was the point. I like to think that we are still learning. Today we are getting ready to compare to similiar stories using a Venn diagram, which is something they haven't seen yet. But I do wonder, if I am as tired as I am, the kids also must be tired.

Also some of the kids' stories break my heart. They come to school so needy. Even on a bad day, school may still be the best thing they have going on in their lives. Even when I've lost my patience and raise my voice too much, for a few of them, that is still better than home. Some of them need to be loved and cared for in such a profund way, it exceedes what I am able to do in the classroom. Then their lives are really complic ated and somehow or another I try to get them to learn, to make progress and not only reach the state standards but to go beyond. And somehow I am left wondering if that is enough. If they can come to school to learn when they are coming in the door with so much.

Looking forward to staff end of year party tomorrow.
Tanya

The sweetest thing, and right when I needed it too

Mrs. B, a long term substitute who was in our building from mid-fall to mid-April came by today to visit. She is a woman who I truly admire, who I think is an amazing teacher and fantastic person. During her time here, she helped me realize so many things about the art of teaching. Anyway today she visited with her students, brought me some books for my collection and told me that I should "teach forever" I am "just what the kids need". She went on to say that the profession as a whole needs more teachers like me. I know its such a simple sweet thing today, but it was truly perfect timing as today has been a little difficult.

A trip to the aquarium

Field trips are always so much work. But we go because of the learning experiences. OK so the driver did not know how to get there. I learned that I can give decent driving directions in a city where I normally take public transportation or walk. When we finally arrived, we were faced with a long wait because we were late. The first thing we did when we finally got in was see the jelly fish. Jellies are thing for one of my students with Autism, so he was quite excited. He was actually able to tell his friends that some jellies are poisonous to humans, and that there are many different sizes and types of jellyfishes. He was talking in sentences and making eye contact, which is huge for this particular child.

Some of the penguins appeared to be miked, so their calls to each other were quite loud. My students had theories about what the penguins were saying:
"He is saying he wants his dinner"
"Oh. Well the one who is on top of that rock says na na na you cant get me"
"The one with the feather in his mouth says he wants to play"

Some of the kids would touch the star fish in the touch tank, but no one wanted to touch the hermit crab

I felt bad for the kids because I was pretty hypersensitive about safety, and sticking together. There were so many people there and some of my students are runners and just plain good at hiding. I felt like I was constantly counting heads and reminding them to stay with their partners and assigned teachers for the day. When I think back about it, I feel maybe like I reminded them too much. But everyone was safe, no one got lost, and everyone made it back to the bus. So maybe it was OK to be hyper vigilant about safety, head counts, and partners.

The bus was incredibly late picking us up from the aquarium. I tried to keep the kids busy with movement games but then it got to be very difficult. Many of them were tired and wanted to sit down. All of them were hungry, and half of them needed to use the bathroom, despite the fact that we had all used it less than hour before. When the driver did finally arrive, he did not remember how to go back to school. I was embarassed by the way that some of my coleagues handled the situation. Many of them were yelling being down right rude to the driver. I knew that if we wanted to get back to school safely, I needed to handle the situation in a different way. I asked everyone to sit down and quietly take a breath. Then I spoke calmly and quietly to the driver. When I returned to my seat as the bus was turning around, some of my kids started clapping. When I asked them why they were clapping they said " you solved the problem", " you used your quiet voice" and "good job". Yes it is true that we have been working on solving problems and using a quiet voice all year. Yes it is also true that I still do not see too much progress in that area with some of them. But I was also surprised by their comemnts, which shows me that some of my efforts have not been wasted.

Going the wrong the way

The countdown to the end of the school y ear is posted and it has been posted in the teachers room since we got back from April vacation. Do you remember when you were a kid and you counted down to summer vacation or something exciting like your birthday? Did the adults ever tell you that it would make it go by faster? Do you think having a countdown actually makes time feel like its going by faster or do you think it just answers the question that everyone is asking in their heads: "How much longer?" I think it answers the question but seems to make time drag on.

I don t remember being this tired at this time last year. I remember thinking that we still had plenty of time. Now I feel rushed, I feel really annoyed with some of my students, especially those few with the quirks. And I feel bad for feeling that way. I am here, trying my best. Greg says that is all that any one person can do. But sometimes I feel that my best is not enough and then i bring that home and worry about it and thens tart the new day feeling tired and stuck. Greg reminds me that I have kids who can read and are learning how to add. He reminds also of how much progress has been made in addressing disruptive and inappropriate behaviors. Yes. He is right, I suppose. I guess sometimes its hard to see the forest from the trees

The city sent us worms last week. Unfortunately they did not surive the weekend. It was disgusting. they turned blue and fuzzy. Must research creating a better worm habitat. Because I feel bad for the sudden death of the worms, I am considering catepillars. We did them last year and they were relatively clean, easy to care for, and ultimately a valuable learning experience for the kids.

Look for posts later this week about our field trip and family night

the week after the week we get back from vacation

I thought the week after vacation was supposed to be really challenging and sometimes it is. But this time, it is this week, the second week back. This is week is so much harder than last week was and I don't know why. Last week the kids were too tired to cause stress? This week they are too tired from coming back last week? Is it a full moon? Have I sprouted a second head? Do they know something I don't? Is the curriculum not engaging enough?

I guess if I knew then I would be able to fix it.

One of the kids who typically wheres a platinum halo told me today that I can kiss her ass. Yes she is four years old. No she did not learn it at school. Yes I sent a note home to her parents. But still, this honestly the first time she has acted like she has today.

The kids are really tired now that I think of it. Kids who never sleep have been sleeping straight through nap time. they are difficult to wake up and then unwilling to participate in small groups. some of the kids have been coming to the work table, putting their heads down during the introduction and dozing right off. Yeah the weather is nicer so maybe they have been outside more but that can't explain all of the tiredness ...

Anyway still no word about the nomination mentioned in the last post, stay tuned

Nomination for what?

After school today my princiapl asked me how many years I had been teaching in my district. So I answered his question and then realized I had a question for him : "Uh Why are you asking me this NOW?" So I asked him if everything is okay and he mumbled something about "some nomination from the DOE or the state" He then got sweeped up in the end of the day activities. So now my mind is wondering.... and hoping that it is not a nomination for a pink slip

More quotes

"my shadow looks like Darth Vader"

"change the channel. I don't like this program" This is actually what one of my students said to me when I was reprimanding her for inappropriate behavior!

"DO you know how to play dead?" One of my students asked another student this very important question

" I know how to spell all: "a- l-l"
Me: If you add a "T" to "all", what word do you get?
Student: Tall!
This exchange continued using the letters h, m, c, and b. this is really advanced for the age and i was excited about his progress

Differentiated instruction at professional development too

As teachers, we are expected and required to differentiate our instruction each and every day. In doing so, we need to teach all of our learners. That means that we need to challenge those students who have solid background knowledge and are beyond the benchmark. It also means that we need to modify our instruction even further for those students who are struggling with the content.

Given what we are required to do all day, is it unreasonable to think that we could possibly participate in differentiated instruction ourselves, as learners during a professional development seminar? Our professional development yesterday afternoon focused on technology and using some newer technology that our district recently recieved. Prior to the training, all of the teachers were asked to fill out surveys related to the technology that ranked our skills. While completing the survey was time consuming, it was more frustrating that the information was not used to inform instruction.

SO there were people like myself with some technology-savvy skills. Then there were other people who were asking basic, basic questions. It would have been a more beneficial use of time to look carefully at people's skills as measured on the survey and then divide people into groups. I for one would have been good if i didnt need to listen to how to turn the device on for 20 minutes and instead got to learn how to use one of it's applications.

Just a little a rant. I am excited about the technology and the potential impact it has on teaching and learning. I am grateful for whatever monies purchased it. I just wish to be taught at my instructional level, thats all.

"Excuse me, what do you do here?'

Someone at school actually asked me that this week, but that is besides the point.

So on Tuesday, all of the teachers and the principal receive a memo from the speech therapist. She has listed out all of the kids she has to evaluate between April and May and then proceeded to state that she wouldn't be able to provide services to children during this time period. This is ridiculous:
1) First, I think it may be a violation of the students' privacy for her to put out a list like that
2) 2 of the names on her list are students who are in my classroom and she has already done their evaluations
3) Hello, I still have 6 more special education evaluations to complete before mid May, but that does not mean I can stop providing special education services to the children in the mean time.
4) The principal has not and will not confront her on this
5) She may actually have time to service children if she arrived at work on time, took a reasonable amount of time for lunch, and actually worked to the end of the school day. To be more specific, school begins at 830 and she typically arrives at 9, claiming that it just takes her too long to get to work and she cant possibly be there on time. Then she takes over an hr for lunch! By the time she returns from lunch, she works an additional 40 minutes and then leaves about a half hour before the school day is over.
6) And even though she lives too far away to drive in on time in the morning, she drives home for lunch almost each day. In a hummer!

There has to be a better way. its not right that children miss what they are legally entitled to for two months. that lapse in service ultimately effects their progress overall as well as their performance on the evaluation. Furthermore, the majority of our parents don't necessarily advocate for their own children. So it falls on the lap of me, the children's teacher to advocate on their behalf. There has to be a way for her to do both service and evaluation. I have to do it so why shouldn't she? Incidentally it takes about 4 hrs of contact time for me to do each evaluation, not counting observations or writing up the report. Her evaluations require an hr or so of contact time.
End of rant

glimmer of hope

one of the people who is leaving today, who is fabulous, wants to co-teach with me. There are very few people that I give the satanding-O to in terms of job performance and professionalism, but this woman is excellent. SHe is working as a para right now and is actually certified as a special education teacher. She is competent and intellectual, intuitive, kind and gentle... I would be blessed to work with her, and she has so much to offer the students. I hope that THE BOSS is as enthusiastic about my latest plan as I am and that somehow, from somewhere, he finds the money to create this position.

It is sad that she has to leave our building next week because of her current assignment with the city. I hope he scoops her up because she can and would make a difference for the students in this school community

Maximizing Instructional time...

...or not. So one of my students, we will call him Abe, consitently leaves early and arrives late to school. Yet he has significant delays and his mother expresses concerns about his progress. This morning he came in at 9:15, which is a full forty five minutes after the school day begins. He typically leaves 45 minutes before the end of the school day. That means that he will loose an hour and a hald, a full 90 minutes of instructional time today alone. When you take out 45 minutes for lunch and 45 minutes for art, that is another 90 minutes, which only leaves three hours in the da. It would be frustrating of and in itself, but then the mother is complaining about his lack of progress.

Rethinking a behavior plan

I know I need to change the behavior plan for one of my students, we will call her Bianca. the current plan is only in place during part of the day, the part of the day where she was originally having the most the trouble. Now, after a few months, Bianca seems to be doing an excellent job during that one part of the day, but her behavior is not so great during the rest of the day! The question is how do I transition from one plan to the next? And also, when considering Bianca's specific situation, how do I determine if the behavior is a result of her disability or if it is a result of the recent stressful and traumatic events in her life? Does the distinction matter? If it is coming from the traumatic events, should I be more lenient with her? Trying to sort all of this out is a challenge. The counselor told me that she does in fact have PTSD and here is a link to an article about that:
http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/posttraumatic_stress_disorder_ptsd

ok well i just needed to try to sort some things out this morning before heading in. I will review this article and some others at a later time.

Frustrated and job searching

The meeting for the child sucked today! As a teacher I feel that my opinions and experiences with the child should count at least equally to that of the hoity toity school psychologist who met him twice, once to test him one-on-one and once to observe him for a whopping ten minutes. Since this child was with me last year as well , i estimate that I have over 1600 hours of contact and interactions with this child. 1600 hours! Which looks like a lot more than 2 hrs of testing and a ten minute observation.

based on the tests I gave and my daily interactions with this child, I reccommended a special education setting that was substantially separate for the 08-09 school year. I recognize that the child has strong accademic skills however his behavior interferes with his learning. In other words, he is CAPABLE of doing far more work than he actually does as a result of his intensive behavioral needs, which can include bolting and hallucinating. (Note that both of these circumstances require individual attention over a sustained period of the school day to ensure the safety of the student).

However, his academic skills were good so "the team" feels that this child will do better in an inclusive classroom. The inclusive k2s in our district have 18-20 kids with one aide and one teacher. I believe that these numbers will be too stressful for him. Currently we have only 14 kids with one teacher and one aide and there are days when those numbers are too much for him to handle. He gets nervous with lage numbers of other kids, his behavior his disruptive to their learning as well as his own, and he requires intensive individual instruction. how exactly will that happen in a classroom with only 2 adults and 20 kids?

I tried again to state my point, that his disability his behaviorally based and NOT ACADEMIC. however the other members of the meeting were only focused on his academic skills. i know that his academic skills are in the low average range for his age, but i also know that his adaptive skills and social skills and behavior are significantly below average for his age. I honestly feel that placing him in a larger setting is a disservice to the child and asked that my feeling be recorded in his file.

At this point, I was asked to leave the room and rethink my feelings! What?!?!?! Are you kidding me?!?!?! that is ridiculous since I am the child's special education teacher and i am required to be at the meeting. I wasnt yelling, but I was fighting passionately for this child and his well being. When I returned, the faciliator said "that if in fact we are making the wrong decision by placing him in a larger setting, then they will have a meeting on it" Yeah I know how that goes and what a process that is. It can take a whole year. If it is the wrong placement for the child, then all we are doing is wasting time! Education is valuable, and especially for students with disabilities, every second counts. and how can the team make the decision to take the chance? In our large district, if a child is in the wrong placement, the teacher bears the burden of proof. Gathering the evidence, scheduling the meeting, testing and retesting the child, it all can take a whole school year!

Whats more enfuriating is that I had spoken to the mother before the meeting. She agreed that he needed a smaller setting, and restated her concerns for his safety and the need for her son to work on behavior and adpative skills in the coming year. At the meeting she clammed up and did not voice the concerns she shared with me. she did say that she wanted him in a smaller setting for safety reasons and the other members of the team did not even acknowledge that she spoke. I repeated what she had said to have the other professionals repeat themselves about his academic skills

WHY is it that a decision was made without a consensus?
Why is it that my opinion was completely disregarded even though I spend the most time with him?
Why did the parent feel intimidated and back down>

I just want this child to get what he needs, and I want my district to recognize that behavior can be a disability when it interferes with learning

its not just reading, writing , and mathematics


trying to calm down...