From the mouth's of babes

You never know what kids will say or do. Just make sure you know when you can laugh. Over the years I have bit my tongue so many times it should be Swiss cheese.
When I was subbing I had a kindergartener who came up and gave me a hug and asked me when my baby was due........I was only about 20 pounds over weight.....
When I was teaching kindergarten in my own classroom, we took the kids on weekly field trips. We played tapes for the kids to sing along to while we drove. One tape was the Chipmunks and the kids would start chanting for us to play the "Devil Song". I always wondered what the parents thought when their kids asked that. The song was the chipmunk version of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia.
I often laugh out loud when grading writing assignments. The things the kids will write, especially when they bring their personality to their writing, can make the tedious job of editing/scoring writing just a bit more fun.
There is humor in teaching. Sometimes it's a laugh out loud must share moment. Other times, it is a quiet moment of laughter to yourself. It keeps you going.

I take it personally

I consider my students my children for the 9 1/2 months they are in my classroom. I demand the best of their behavior and efforts. I set the bar high and then help them to achieve to the best of their ability. I celebrate their successes, fight for their rights, and cry with them when they fail- then help them pick themselves up and start again.
Am I tough? You betcha. Ask my son- he'll verify it for you.  But my students appreciate me for it. Maybe not this year, but next year, when middle school is suddenly easy because they have the skill set they need to survive while they watch their peers struggle, they will come back and thank me. Several usually do. More proof is in days like today. "I missed you" was spoken by a majority of my class, accompanied by a hug, as we came back from spring break.
Yes, I am emotional. Those emotions help ME help my students. Yes, I wear my heart on my sleeve. My students KNOW I care. Does this mean a less emotional teacher cares less? Perhaps. It is not up to me to make that judgement call. I just know that is how I am wired.
I CARE....and my students know it. It makes a difference- and I take it personally.

It must be great.....

Usually those words are followed by "to be a teacher. You get summers off, you work a regular work week, and you get all those vacations." That couldn't be further from the truth.
Summer vacation? Oh, you mean that time when we are attending workshops and classes to improve our practice and keep up with the latest research, or take college classes to advance our certification.
Vacations? Oh, that would be when we have all of our doctor appointments, meetings, and other personal chores that we put off the rest of the year so that we don't have substitute in the classroom.
Regular hours? Sure, if by regular hours you mean a 10 hour work day. I arrive over an hour early in the morning so that I can get to the copier and work on prepping for the day. Sometimes that time is used for teaching intervention classes to help students who are on the border of failure on state assessment tests. After school, I stay for meetings, lesson planning, and correcting. If, by some chance, I leave before 10 hours is up, I take work home with me.
Sure, it's great to be a teacher, but it has nothing to do with "time off". It has everything to do with  making the difference in the life of a child.

What is teaching?

Is it imparting knowledge to waiting minds? Is it leading children to learning? Is it providing opportunities for children to learn for themselves? Is it back and forth conversations between teacher and learner?
I think it can be all of these things or none of these things. Each year I teach, the class dynamic is different. So different in fact, that even though the curriculum is the same, the method for teaching it can be vastly different. Each student's needs require me to analyze what it is that I am teaching and decide what is the best method for that class. I may even decide to change what I am doing based on the class dynamic for the day.
So what is teaching?
I guess for me it is the day to day interactions with the students that result in the students retaining knowledge. How this is accomplished depends greatly on the curriculum and the students, but one thing is certain: the days of lecture and note taking or drill and kill worksheets for ALL concepts is a thing of the past.

The hazards of spell check

My first year of teaching in public schools., I had my students writing legends. I had a list of titles I gave them such as; "Why the Shines" or "Why the Raven Calls". My students had some time in the computer lab (we had a dozen Apple IIe that they used to type them up. When I was reading their papers during their Math work period I had to leave the room to show another teacher. We both ended up in the hall laughing until we had tears running out down our faces. The title of the story was supposed to be "How the Octopus Got Its Tentacles", but the student had misspelled the word and then used spell check. The title was now "How the Octopus Got Its Testicles." The saddest thing of all is that most of the story worked either way!! Lesson learned. I no longer allow students to use spell check. They must use old fashioned dictionaries.
Life can be like that. We really should give ourselves a "check" once in a while. Spell check, reality check, or whatever check makes sense. Rushing through life without thinking or reflecting causes problems, big and small.
Teaching can be the same way. The reflective teacher is a teacher who will be able to change his/her practice in ensure the students get the best education possible. Rather than plow through the lesson hoping for the best, ask yourself if the students are "getting it" or would changing something help them make sense of what you are trying to teach. Not every lesson  has to be a major Broadway production, but every lesson can be adjusted to reach every child.

So many things

Lots of things happen during the course of a day, month, and year in school. After 18 years of teaching, I have seen and I have learned. I thought I might blog about some of what I have learned from students over the years as well as share some humorous moments. I am new to blogging, so have patience. :)