A writer’s work is never done. Can’t make any promises that this is the last and final reflective ‘closure’ post.
Before I dive into the organizing, exercising, fantasizing, and socializing this summer break, a few notes about the end of the school year. (Yes, I’m going to a new school/position, am hopeful and pragmatically optimistic.)
Relationships: we teachers are told to build ‘relationships’ in such a ubiquitous manner the practice becomes distorted. What we adults don’t say, but may assume, is that relationships are not linear, but orbital. During the last big awards assembly of the year, one with parents, siblings, relatives, etc., one of my students was asked to give the student speech. I had no idea. If I had known, I know…I KNOW…I would have told him he’d be great, he could practice with me, I’d give him some public speaking tips. He is a great storyteller. I told him he should start a podcast or Youtube channel with his stories. Are they all “school appropriate?” No. But this is his writing and his work. Instead, he disappeared from the building right before the speech. I never got to ask him why, or say it was okay, or give him a side-hug and tell him he’s going to be okay. And when I say this next thing it is not a criticism, but hindsight: I wish the admin would have told me, his ELA/SS teacher, he was giving the speech. She’s the one who chose him. I’m sure she believed she was raising his status, giving him a chance to shine, etc., and all that is true. What is also true is I knew him well, and could have helped support his jitters and reinforced and bolstered him. Lesson learned? Work with admin to support students outside of class hours, and demand admin work with staff. Seems like a no-brainer? Something I won’t take for granted again.
Clutter: my classroom had too much. It did. I admit it. When I took it all down and moved it, I thought to myself, “Ya know…maybe there’s something to just focusing on color, lighting and books.” Next time.
Time well spent: keep the fast finisher idea bins stocked and ready. Just — do this. DO THIS.
Be healthy: no more excuses. Be cool. Be calm. Stress (personal and professional) took a heavy toll on my body this year. I gained too much weight, my arthritis really #$!!! hurts, and I am way too cute to not feel my best. Some issues that plagued me for over a year are somewhat resolved, I am moving on, and now I have a few weeks to reset my biology and spirit.
Oh, and the picture? Notebooks once again that went in recycling. I put together (with their help) lists of things to do over the summer (free/creative), a list of “ready for high school,” and their folders of work. Every year I swear to use notebooks more intentionally, and this next year I’ll get my wish and way.
Now to tackle one mountain of mess in my house at a time.
The little dog stays.
P.S. Also: note to self. MAKE SURE TO CALL THE PARENT OF THE CHILD YOU’RE GIVING AN AWARD TO.
A look back on last year, and how I can remember what I learned and grow.
I have a new gig, one I’m excited about. My feelings and response to the next phase are filled with gratitude. Closure, however, is healthy. Some of the things that happened this past year act as a wedge, preventing the door from fully closing.
The year began so positively:
What went wrong? (and what can go right)
Evaluation biases: Someday I may obtain my administration credentials. Not sure if I want to be a building principal; however, when a colleague who’s older and mostly certainly wiser than I told me she saw me in that role, and how good I would be, I took notice. She said I had a way of understanding how to support teachers and students alike. Maybe I am couching this next bit, or hesitating to sound too critical versus a critique, and there is a tinge of fraudulent intent in this next piece: my evaluator this year struggled with the evaluation process and her own newness in administration. Her understanding of the process came from last year’s work where, in her opinion, many teachers in the building received inflated “Distinguished” ratings, and she could not justify Proficient or Distinguished ratings when the school’s test scores were (and remain) low. And though I provided ample evidence and coding about practice, we never spoke to those artifacts or evidence in our discussions. At one point, we union representatives invited an HR representative to our building to discuss, with transparency and objectivity, how the evaluation systems are to be handled. I have yet to get a definitive answer why this didn’t happen, and we were sent an email instead. There is that old joke about meetings that would be better in an email, but this wasn’t one of them. The staff needed to hear directly from him how the evaluation system works. It is very similar to how my previous district handled it (the protocols) and yet in practice, in the building, became a professional boondoggle. For next year: over the summer, one area of practice is to create a means for my own style of work that combines the evaluation system and solid pedagogy. I’ll share. The current evaluation system and how it can be mishandled and weaponized is a hill I will die on. I believe it we can do better to create better teachers and learning.
Note to self: keep track of lessons and artifacts for the TPEP evaluation for next year. Keep a journal of practice, and strive for personal objectivity and reflection.
Building: The space is old. Decrepit, even. I didn’t realize how much that would affect me. The previous building was also old, but had been remodeled and updated. Now I understand how children around the country feel about the crumbling infrastructure of the schools they attend. The carpet is filthy. There is no central air in most of the buildings. The bathrooms have no ventilation. The ceiling rains dust (asbestos?) The staff bathroom comprised of three stalls, one for disabilities, so the other two are so narrow a larger woman such as myself can’t turn around in them. The staff bathrooms are by the front office, so a quick trip to relieve oneself is impossible (we had two minute passing times). But this isn’t about my comfort or convenience. It’s about how students must feel, day in and day out, and how no matter the bulletin boards, posters, etc., they feel disrespected and marginalized every single day: the destruction of what others create is relentless. No bulletin board stays unripped. Well–okay –except for the HOPE(squared) one–interesting when students put up work there is less of a chance it’s destroyed.
If a building is old, make sure the students are given as much opportunity as possible to create cleaner, better, improved spaces. Work alongside them to create the space. The goal is space for them, their work, their ideas.
Guaranteed Viable Curriculum (GVC): I’m not going to spend too much time on this one because I might go insane. The district adopted the EL Education curriculum. The idea was to keep everyone within a two-week schedule, four novel studies per year. Lessons that require full week(s) would be scheduled for one or two days. Learning was rushed. Students in a constant state of confusion. I longed for the simple framework curriculum of my previous district and feel embarrassed for having any issues with it. A huge ‘be careful what you wish for’ moment. Academic freedom trampled, and no in-depth learning happening. The woeful lack of writing instruction is academic malpractice. But due to the GVC standing as a behemoth between me and my students, the reading and writing workshops suffered grave harm.
Make a curriculum framework for next year, and then continue to work with colleagues and district leaders for the best, most equitable access for all. (Since I’ll be teaching high school ELL, be patient with self, and enjoy this new challenge!)
Reading: Never having taught a whole-class novel before, and knowing the GVC included 4 (we got through 2), I immediately purchased A Novel Approach by Kate Roberts (which I highly recommend whether you teach whole novels or not). The best success I had once when I went rogue and used The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas paired with the mandated text, To Kill a Mockingbird. My schedule included two ELA classes, and three History/IRLA classes. We were given 1/2 hour for US History and 1/2 mandated IRLA time, to be used for silent reading, conferencing, and tracking students’ reading progress. There are a lot of positives about IRLA, but “leveled books” translates to “leveled readers” in the minds of students. Breaking down that concept that books are meant for burning questions and purpose, not for levels, was next to impossible. All of the time and energy spent reading Donalyn Miller,Pernille Ripp, (and more than I can name right now) felt put on hold.
However: I am not giving up. The cataloging of great reading resources is a passion project for me. #ProjectLit,#disrupttexts, #educolor, #decolonizeED, #NCTE, #IBPOC #writingproject are top search tags for powerful conversations about equity, anti-racist. Follow each woman who began Disrupt Texts. Follow @mrpranpatel. Follow @larryferlazzo. Follow @TheJLV And for love and inspiration, follow @MrsHallScholars (!) (I am following almost 3K on Twitter, so a shortcut to these and other amazing educators @mrskellylove)
Keep following those who help with curating excellent books!
Advice: start your own blog and keep these resources handy. Twitter and other social media sites become tangled and distorted.
Writing: There is little or no writing in the curriculum. No space. No time. Misunderstood. Things that worked in my “studio” space of creativity (workshop) withered on the vine this year. I am distraught. That’s all I can about this now.
Make a plan. A REAL plan for writing instruction. Guard it. Protect it. Fight for it. (And keep writing that book. There is space for it.) For me: keep writing and replenish and return to my writing life.
I am feeling enthusiastic: as Mrs. Hall inspired me this morning, what we look forward to in the coming year is our love language for teaching! (And this is a great idea!)
Woke up this morning with this thought: next year I will ask my scholars to purchase a sketchbook (instead of a traditional notebook) for my class…
Many teachers around the country are out for their unpaid, too-short summer break. We’re not. Due to snow days and very cautious safety folks, we’ll be in until the 27th of June.
Now, assuming you’ll be back next year, and in these days that’s a mighty big ‘if’ for many educators, what do you purge, prioritize, or plan for? How do you manage your ideas for the next year?
Since my last post about the things I hoard, I’ve given a lot of thought to the methods of my madness. Yes, there may be hoarding, for sure, but like the Great Repurposing of Vinyl CD Covers of ’17, hoarding isn’t all bad. It is the art of finding potential in an object. However, going on my 12th year of teaching, it’s time. Some things just don’t fit anymore or can be amended to suit. (I am never getting back in that wedding dress: it did its job, but no need to unbox that baby.)
Here are some tips to how I manage the “next year idea bucket list:”
Cute, functional and sturdy journals and good writing pens handy.
The trick? Make a “date” with your notebooks and clean and out and highlight key thoughts.
Reorganize digital files: just like when you’re going through your closet, do the same for files. It is time-consuming, but sketch out a plan of attack:
Writing
Sub-folders per lesson
Folder for Grammar, Punctuation, etc.
Student Samples
Sub-folders per lesson
Reading articles/pdfs
Sub-folders for genres
Sub-folder for graphic organizers like the What It Says document
PowerPoints and other media for flipped learning
Tried-and-True:
Annotation Lessons
Argumentative Unit
Burning Questions Unit
Journey of the Hero Unit
Salem Witch Trial Unit
Horror/Fear Factor Unit
Zombie Unit (needs work)
Listening/Speaking ideas
Engagement Ideas/Ice Breakers
General forms, contacts, etc.
District curriculum information
Teacher Evaluation information
Create a year map: highlight some pitfalls or plan for times of fatigue. Things always look a little weird in January, so put a random event on a calendar to brighten your day.
Organize a list of links and ideas from things saved on social media or bookmarked for later.
But one thing — one very important thing — I suggest to all of my colleagues and administrators, please read this:
Knowing where we’ve come from helps us avoid future disasters. Teachers tend to be organized, creative geniuses. Right? Yes! We are the original “makers” in our “spaces.” Keeping track of hundreds of souls is not for the weak. And like the lady said, “Let those teachers go home!”
