New Year's Challenge: Update

On January 3rd, I wrote about my New Year's Challenge of leaving my bag at school. I know to some of my readers that goal seems silly, but it really was a challenge for me.

On January 4th, the first day of my challenge, I walked out of my classroom with only my lunch bag and purse. I actually felt a little anxious leaving the bag at school. There was plenty for me to do if I brought the bag home, which meant there would be plenty STILL to do if I left the bag.  I know the goal of the challenge was to see if I could be more productive during the school day, but that first day back I still had lots to do that evening. 

Still, I closed my classroom door and left the bag there. The next day it was a little easier, but I still felt anxious about leaving the bag at school. When Friday afternoon came and it was time for me to leave, I debated whether to take the bag home again. I decided I had prepped enough for Monday that I didn't need to take it home. And, I didn't. Over the course of the next two weeks, I continued to leave my little bag behind. 

I learned a lot about myself during this challenge. I learned I can relax in the evenings with my family. It felt good to be present with them in the evenings. There wasn't a bag of work looming that kept my attention divided. 

I learned that the school building won't fall in if I leave work undone overnight. Imagine that. 

I also learned that I was more relaxed during the school day despite not completing tasks the evening before. This sounds contradictory, but I think knowing that I was going to have a respite each night from work allowed me to focus more during the day. 

I hope to continue leaving the bag at school. I know there will be times when it is more difficult to do, like when my students' essays come rolling in next week, but I hope to figure out a way to leave the bag at school and rest in the evenings. 

Maybe this will be one challenge that becomes a habit. 

New Year's Challenge: Leave the Bag

It's the evening before school starts back after winter break, and I find myself reflecting on how I can do my job more effectively. How can I use my intellect, experience, and resources better? How can I use my time more wisely?   

Selfishly, I want to free up some personal time that I feel has been sorely lacking in my life. It's a sad fact that I have read very few books, written very few blogs, and have been too exhausted to help my own children with their homework in the evenings this past year. That has to change.

I know there are some routines that I could put into place to help me achieve a better balance. I just need to figure those out and start implementing them. As someone who loves my job and has a tendency to be obsessive about it, cutting back on my hours will be difficult. Yet, I know it is something I have to do. Somehow I need to find a way to do my job well without sacrificing my personal life. 

I spent a couple days over break researching ways to be more efficient in grading and organization. I had many virtual chats and  read several others' blogs about having a work-life balance. Many colleagues  mentioned the guilt of the school bag. If you are a teacher you know what I am talking about. It's the bag that we stuff full of work--unfinished lesson plans, papers to grade, or notes to write--and then drag home after we leave our classrooms at 5 p.m. We plan to get caught up in the evening, only to find that our family needs us to be present, so we lug the bag back to school and feel utterly exhausted and guilty. 

Several teachers mentioned that they stopped taking the bag home each night. They found that it forced them to be more productive during the day.  At the very least, they stopped feeling guilty when they brought the untouched bag of work back to school. 

I find the idea of leaving the bag at school intriguing. At the same time, this idea makes me a little squeamish. That is why I know I need to do it. I know it sounds ridiculous to some, but for me this will be a true New Year's challenge. Leaving the bag will force me to stop working when I leave the building. That is tough for a type A overachieving teacher, but I feel it is necessary. 

This first week back from break, I am going to leave my school bag at school. I'll check back next week and let you know how it went.

In the meantime, what do you do to set parameters on your work time? I would love to hear your tips. 

Dear New Teacher

First, let me say "Welcome to the Profession". You have chosen one of the most important fields to work in. I really believe all those wonderful quotes people say about teaching. You know the ones about lighting a fire and how our influence lasts long after our students leave us. 

Earlier in the summer, I attended a conference and was introduced to a couple of new teachers. We chatted over our lunch and discussed the sessions we had attended. At some point, we began discussing our first year of teaching. The new teachers talked about their plans, ideas, and hopes for the first year. The experienced teachers shared tips and self-deprecating humor about their first year. 

All of our tips and advice could be put into five categories.  

1. Be Resourceful

There is great need in our buildings. Our resources are stretched to the max. Teachers can't wait around for an infusion of funds to place new books, supplies or technology into our laps.  If you or your students need something, ask for it. The worst that can happen is you will be told "no". If told "no", get creative. Offer to pilot a new program. Write a grant. Find a sympathetic alumnus. If it is important for your classroom and students, find a way. 

2. Get Connected

It is easy to make the four walls of the classroom your entire world. After all, many of us spend ten hours a day there. The truth is that this job is tough to do alone, yet many teachers are isolated--by choice or school design. Find like-minded teachers in your building and form a learning community.We need others for support and to bounce ideas off of from time to time.  Don't be afraid to reach out to teachers in different subject areas or grade levels. If you don't have like-minded teachers in your building, reach out to others through social media. Many teachers use tools like Twitter and Pinterest to enhance their teaching. 

3. Be Flexible

Have a plan, but know that it can be altered at any time.The Internet will go down. A water pipe will burst and flood your room and you will have to relocate your class for the day. A maintenance worker will be in your ceiling fixing your HVAC while your students work huddled in one corner of your room. A mouse will fall out of your ceiling and onto your students' desks causing complete chaos. Yes. All of those scenarios have really happened. Your day can change quickly, you need to be able to adjust and deliver instruction and care to your students. 

4.  Keep Learning

Despite the slowness of our schools to transition, the way students learn is changing. We have to re-imagine and re-create our curriculum to help or students learn. Likewise, we have to stay current on the culture of our students. In order to do that, we must keep learning. Read books. Attend trainings. Ask questions. 

5. Get Involved 

Get involved in your school community. Students love to see their teachers at their concerts, plays, and athletic matches. You not only will see a different side of your students, but you also will get to know their families better. Better yet, sponsor a club, coach a sport, or direct the choir. Interacting with students without the pressures of testing, bell schedules, and curriculum pacing is very rewarding and helps create a positive student-teacher relationship. 

There are many more tips and advice I could post here, but I want my readers to weigh in. What is the best advice you were given as a new teacher?

Teacher Dreams Do Come True

In February 2012 I was asked to participate at the national ECET2 conference in Scottsdale, AZ. ECET2 stands for Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers. Aside from the beautiful venue and the thrill of escaping the chilly Kentucky air, I was amazed by how well we were treated. This was the first conference I attended where someone wasn't trying to sell me something. We were told  that we were important and needed. We were sung to, fed amazing meals, allowed time to make connections with teachers across the country, and treated professionally. All of the plenary and breakout sessions were relevant to my teaching. All sessions were led by teachers. There were many sessions to choose from and I had difficulty choosing sometimes. My colleagues and I kept looking at one another and wondering how did we get here.  It was sad that we were so surprised by the attention. Indeed, we left the conference and felt "celebrated and elevated". On the flight home, I began to dream about what it would be like if an ECET2 conference could happen for Kentucky teachers.

Eleven months later my dream started to come true. It began with a tweet. Within seconds of wishing for a Kentucky version of the conference, we had a planning team pulled together. While many logistics needed to be worked out, we were on our way to bringing ECET2 to our Kentucky colleagues.

On January 25, 2014 the dream became a reality as the first annual ECET2KY was held at the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky. Despite a wicked snow storm, teachers gathered to be elevated and celebrated.

Like the national version of ECET2, we had a mix of break-out sessions and plenary sessions. We had our very own emcee in Mickey Campbell, a Lexington teacher, who playfully and professionally guided us throughout the day.

We were first greeted by Barbara Bellissimo, the executive director of The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky. The Fund served as the sponsoring group for the conference and supported our planning team with resources and encouragement. She praised the work teachers are doing in Kentucky and pledged to support teachers and innovative teaching practices. 

In the first plenary session, Irvin Scott from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation opened up our conference and told teachers that isolation is the enemy of improvement in our profession. He encouraged us to reach out to our colleagues to problem solve issues affecting our students and schools. 

Next, I spoke to the group about UP³. Teachers need to Get Up. We need to remember why we started teaching and find ways to rejuvenate so we can continue the work. Teachers also need to Team Up. It's important that we connect with one another for support and growth. Finally, teachers need to Speak Up. We need to find our voices and share our experiences with those outside of education.

During lunch we heard from Megan Allen, the 2010 Florida Teacher of the Year. Megan reminded us of several things. School is like a rock to our students, a place of stability and safety. Teaching moments are important and can't often be measured on a bubble test. We need to look within our classrooms for solutions. Finally, we need to build on our commonalities and use our voice to speak up about our experiences.

Our closing speaker was Josh Underwood, a Kentucky science teacher. Josh reminded us of the importance of saying yes to learning and leadership opportunities. He reminds us that we need to broaden our circle to include teachers of all content areas. He told us that there is power in a unified effort and that teachers' voices matter. 

In between the plenary sessions, we attended breakout sessions and met in colleague circles to discuss teacher leadership. The breakout sessions explored how teachers can improve their practice through collaboration, leverage their voices, become teacher leaders, and communicate with policy makers. 

For me, the most rewarding times were sitting in the colleague circles and watching teachers encourage one another. My teacher soul was fed as I watched connections being formed. This is tough, rewarding work and sometimes teachers need a lift. One teacher said she was glad to know she has a group of teachers that she could reach out to when she needed support. This support is important and necessary for effective teachers to remain teaching. Sometimes the support is a kind word, e-mail, or tweet. Other times the support is more tangible, like pushing a colleague's car out of a snowy parking lot. 

Teachers, it is important to dream, and dreams can come true. My ECET2KY dream came true with a lot of help from colleagues and community partners like The Fund, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,  the Center for Teaching Quality, and the Hope Street Group. 

I am looking forward to what my colleagues dream up while we are waiting for the next ECET2KY. If you are on Twitter you can follow the conversation at #ECET2KY. 

Summer Reading

During summer I often encounter friends and family that I haven't seen in awhile. As we catch up on one another's lives, they inevitably ask me one question: What have you been doing this summer? The simple answer is that I have been doing "lots".

Like most teachers, I spend time catching up on all the things I can't get to during the school year. This includes doctor appointments, household projects, and reading the newspaper while sipping tea on my front porch. And, like most teachers, I spend a good chunk of my summer working on my craft--reading books, attending conferences and PD sessions, planning lessons and engaging with my Professional Learning Network (PLN). As July wanes and my school's August 14 start date draws closer, I have been reflecting on my summer experiences and trying to capture the significance of each. This will be the first of a series of posts where I reflect on my summer experiences. My first reflection involves my summer reading.

Most of my summer has been spent reading.  I have read books that I can recommend to my students in the upcoming year and professional books that I believe will help me be a better teacher. I have always been a reader. Reading feeds my need for learning, while providing a relaxing break from the stresses of my day. During the summer I am able to read 2-3 books a week. I try to strike a balance between reading for fun and reading to grow professionally. Below are my top three picks in each category.

Reading for fun:
These books are a departure from my usual sci-fi choices. I read a lot of fiction so I can help students pick books during the school year. Former students will often visit me to see what I am reading and to recommend new books to me.

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin
          --historical fiction based on Anne Lindbergh's life

Where Did You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
         --fiction centered around a comically dysfunctional family

You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin
         --fiction centered around a high school clique-entrenched murder mystery

Reading for professional growth: 
These books reflect my professional growth goals for the upcoming school. Once the school year begins, I have little time for this type of reading, so I try to read as much as possible during the summer. 

Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath
               --discusses practical ways to work through change

Everyone at the Table: Engaging Teachers in Evaluation Reform
by Ellen Behrstock-Sherrat, Allison Rizzolo, Sabrina Laine, & Will Friedman
           --focuses on getting teachers involved in conversations and decisions around teacher evaluations

Classroom Discussion by Dixie Lee Spiegel  
           --offers detailed examples, rubrics, and tips around conducting classroom discussions

So, reader, I am curious. What are reading this summer? What books get you ready to enter your buildings recharged and renewed? I am always looking for a good book.

Busyness of Teaching

Today is National Writing Day, so I must write. Thank goodness I have an excuse to take a break and write. I have missed it, but I have felt guilty if I found myself daydreaming about composing my next blog. After all, there are papers to grade, lessons to plan, meetings to attend, and many forms to complete. I am sad to say that it has been a few weeks since I have blogged. The busyness of teaching has caught up to me. It happens.

Usually by October I am in full consumed-by-teaching mode. Coming early and staying late to grade, meeting with parents or students, planning lessons, and completing paperwork. This gives me very little time to interact meaningfully with my colleagues. During the past two weeks, I have found myself more and more isolated --very typical at a high school where "teams" are not the norm.  If it weren't for the various mandatory meetings on Tuesdays, I am sure I would not see most of the teachers in my building until graduation. Sad, but true.

This past week several of my colleagues' personal situations have reminded me that I need to slow down and take care of myself and my colleagues. We cannot get so busy with the day-to-day teaching that we don't recognize a colleague in need of kindness and support--personally or professionally. We need to come out of our rooms and check on one another. We need to send notes of encouragement, offer to help in their classrooms, laugh with them, and eat lunch with them. If we don't, some of those colleagues will not return to teaching next year. Our profession cannot afford to lose great teachers.

So, reader, I challenge us to find moments to reach out and connect with a colleague these next few weeks. Likewise, let's take care of ourselves. If, like me, you have fallen off of the exercise wagon. Get back on.  Take a break from the busyness of teaching and do something you enjoy: write, read a book, shop, or do yard work.

After this post, I am going to snuggle up with my kids and watch cartoons. I am not going to grade a paper or check an e-mail. At least, not today. 

Teaching is a difficult job, we need to take care of one another. Our students need us. We need us.