teacher Archives - Teacher's Planning Partner

Must Be Nice…

May 30, 2017 by Instructor

Ugh! Teachers are subjected to the words,”It must be nice,” each time summer vacation arrives. I could reply with the list of all the work teachers do during their summer “break,” but we teachers are well aware of the planning, classes, and meetings that fill our two months away from students. Non-teachers just think we sound whiny and defensive.

Believe me, I’ve done my share of defensive whining, but I must admit I love that we have this time to recharge, reflect, and reboot. The beauty of this job is that we have multiple opportunities for closure and fresh starts. We get fresh starts each quarter and semester as well as at the end of each school year, and summer break is the mother of all closures and fresh starts.

I just cleaned out my work emails of parent contacts, training requirements, meetings, evaluation updates, and all the other job requirements that have clogged up my in box. No wonder our teacher brains are fried. Taking time to recharge is not a luxury, it’s essential. My brilliant coach, Reggie, has said it’s all about choices. I choose to spend the beginning of summer relaxing. I address the heavy reflection and rebooting later.

(So I don’t forget important points, I do take a few reflection notes at the end of the school year). For example, one of my coworkers taped her students when giving their practice speeches. This gave students an opportunity to evaluate themselves. I would like to try this approach next year. Verbal feedback is more effective than written feedback. I would also shorten the time spent on my narrative unit next year to allow more time for their learning organizing writing and research.

As the end of the school year approaches, this summer can’t come soon enough. I just completed my evaluation year – Whoa! – I’m glad this happens only once every three years – There were new curriculum, new procedures, and new teammates – you get the idea. I want to reflect on the year to gain clarity on what worked and what I could do better. Then I need to pack up my stressed out brain along with my classroom. I’ve set a date in July to revisit my planning. Until then I am going to nurture creativity. I’ve created a summer bucket list of things I want to try, such as: finding a new bike trail, bowling again for the first time since forever, planning a friends’ night out and trying an art class. Nurturing personal creativity helps me foster my classroom creativity.

My teacher husband and I always plan an escape on the last day of school. The moment we walk out of the school doors, we jump in our pre-packed car and head to Eagle River, a pine-scented haven. Before sunset we are on the pier with a favorite beverage in hand. For the next few days we hike, swim, read brain candy, and shed stress like a Husky sheds its fur each spring.

Money experts will tell you to pay yourself first, so why not pay your mind, body, and soul first. Take time to recharge. If you can’t get out of town, then play cards with friends, visit a farmers’ market, do something that makes you happy. These happy deposits (another Reggie bite of wisdom) that you pay yourself will make it easier for you to give your students your best.

When the next person aims the jealousy fueled words, “Must be nice,” resist the urge to punch them in the throat, and respond, “Yes, yes it is,” and hand them a brochure for a teacher certification program.

What do you have on your “Summer Bucket List”? What would it take for you to give yourself the time to truly enjoy yourself over the summer? What do you anticipate getting in the way of your “Summer Bucket List”? What steps can you take to make this happen for you?

How would you respond to these questions? We would love to hear from you. Reply via Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn

Actions That Sabotage Teaching

May 4, 2016 by Instructor Leave a Comment

While waiting in line for a tasty gyros sandwich, I watched a mother and a little girl in front of me. The girl was about three years old, and she was desperate to climb to the top of the counter. I watched as the girl reached while grunting and groaning to get to her destination. Her mom told her that she should not sit on the counter; the girl continued to struggle. Mom repeated that the girl should not be on the counter – more grunts and groans. Dumbfounded, I stared at Mom as she reached down and picked her daughter up and placed her on the counter. Speechless…simply speechless…

How many times do we place the kid on the counter? We tell our students one thing while our actions enable our students to continue the undesirable behavior. The following is a list of moments that reflect my own struggle with the temptation to place the kid on the counter:

Wanting students to listen to directions, but giving directions without waiting for their attention.
Telling students to not interrupt the lesson, but allowing the interruption. For example, when students forget supplies, how often do we disrupt the whole class to address the missing pencil?
Expecting students to be ready for class on time, but not following through on consequences when students are tardy.
Requiring students to participate in group work, but allowing them to coast by rewarding them with the same grade that the rest of the group receives.
Allowing students to bully us for an answer the moment the work becomes challenging for them.

Why do we do this? It’s easier than teaching appropriate behavior and following through on expectations. We want the annoying mosquito buzzing in our ear to immediately go away.

Are we more concerned with reaching the finish line than we are with stopping to take precautions like a review of classroom expectations? Bottom line – stop rewarding unacceptable behavior; stop giving in so that the buzzing will stop. Be mindful, and for heaven’s sake, don’t put the kid on the counter!

Desired Outcome

January 27, 2016 by Instructor Leave a Comment

When we teach lessons, we need to be really clear about our desired outcome, even when the desired outcome isn’t clearly Common Core related.

Recently my coworker Jennifer received a donation of free t-shirts from a friend of hers. This donation was generous, as her friend offered to design the shirts with our students’ mascot, Shakespeare, on the front. It was pretty cool. Jennifer worried about how to hand out the shirts so that she didn’t hurt anyone’s feeling s about sizes and such, and because she is an experienced teacher, she worried that a few of the “cool” kids might not be impressed and let the other students know that this was not a cool thing, anointing the whole business as nerdy, geeky, and filled with cooties of uncoolness.

When the morning came to give the shirts away, most students were excited to get the t-shirts, and the shirts were politely received. Jenifer’s concerns were realized. A couple of students rejected the shirts, and a few students even refused to wear them. It created a ripple effect as news caught on that maybe the shirts might have nerd cooties. We were crushed. My coworkers were stunned and decided they just didn’t want to address the issue as they were feeling too emotional. I work with wise people.

Initially, I wanted to let my students know that their actions were cruel. I stifled that desire…thank goodness. What did I really want? What was my desired outcome? I wanted them to learn how to receive a gift. I didn’t really want to crush their little hearts, or damage the relationships I had built. I wanted them to learn how to receive a gift with grace.

I started with a story about the joy of giving someone a gift and how a gift giver gets a lift from bringing joy to someone else. I asked them if they ever received a gift they didn’t care for. Heads nodded around the room. How do you handle that? Based on their feedback (some said they would tell the person they didn’t like the gift), it was clear they didn’t know how to receive. I allowed them to discuss some feasible options. They came to the conclusion that they should thank the person for their thoughtfulness and keep the negative comments to themselves. It is not necessary to lie or gush over an unwanted gift, but acknowledge the thought that goes into the gift. I explained how excited their teacher was to make them happy, and perhaps they could return the happiness gift by thanking her for her efforts and thoughtfulness. The students took in this information without feeling cruddy; instead they were armed with new information. Some took it upon themselves to thank my coworker.

Later in the day, she told me how one of our students went out of her way to thank her for the work she put into getting the shirts. Jennifer told me she wanted to cry and hug the girl as she was the first student to thank her that day.

Yeah, I could have stomped on their little hearts, made them feel awful, but I’m glad the students and I had a positive learning experience. Also, the students improved their thinking and problem solving skills; sometimes Common Core comes in through the back way as students used collaborative skills to draw conclusions. The desired outcome….check and done.