Fear

This summer, I am working with the Central Texas Writing Project, a program at Texas State University that is focused on the premise that teachers are better teachers of writing when they are writers themselves.

We focus on strategies and reflection, on pedagogy and educational theory. We work with teachers to strengthen their craft by connecting them with research, writing, and a network of other teacher writers. We work with teachers that are working desperately to reconcile what they know is true about children with what is true about teaching public school. How writing with passion can coexist with writing to a prompt. How informed writing for authentic audiences can accompany writing for a state accountability system.

Something I find over and over as I work with teachers is the unspoken, ever-present idea of FEAR. The fear of not doing enough for our students. The fear of doing so much for our students that we neglect our own families. The fear that high-stakes testing beats the joy out of school, for us and for the students we love. We fear litigation and not being able to provide for our families. We fear what happens to our students when they are not in our care. We fear what might happen to our jobs if we speak up for our kids, for our profession, for each other. We are scared. 

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Well said, Lee S. Shulman. Teaching is so technical that it is way more than a profession. It is as much art as it is dance as it is theory and surely adding countless young humans (and their parents) into that equation is terrifying. But, dear friends, identifying the fear is not enough. We are frightened, but as every brilliant teacher knows, it is not enough to sit paralyzed by that monster under the bed. We have to be BRAVE.

B: Be informed. Brave teachers are learners. They know what the issues are, and they know where to find answers. They have studies and articles and professors and other teachers to pull from, count on, and lean-in to. This community is in person and online, it is found in PLNs and podcasts, in classrooms and Voxer groups. This community gives teachers a collective voice to call upon when they need back-up from an educational posse of committed professionals who all want what is best for kids.

R: Reflect: Brave teachers are highly reflective. They are constantly asking themselves what could be improved. They are quick to identify when something does not work and they are committed to finding a better way. They know when a lesson goes haywire. They do not continually search out people to blame: kids, parents, administrators, a flawed system, but instead think about causes and practical solutions. Brave teachers open themselves up for reflection by talking to others: colleagues, coaches, and administrators. They are humbled by the enormity of their power as a teacher, and are continually looking for ways to empower others.

A: Accept reality: Brave teachers understand that there are certain things that cannot be changed. Initiatives, mandates, state curriculum guidelines, your class list- lots of things are just reality and time is wasted when we fret over them. Jim Knight, a research associate in the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning and director of the Kansas Coaching Project, talks about the, "current classroom reality." When teachers are open and honest about what the realities are, they are better equipped to take targeted action towards strengthening instructional practices and ultimately, improving learning environments for our students.

V: Voraciously read: Brave teachers are readers. They read blog posts, journals, and Twitter feeds. They read e-mails from parents, administrators, and colleagues. They read children's books and YA books and Bluebonnet books and graphic novels to share with reluctant readers. They continually sift through a never-ending feed of words and phrases and information and research and opinions and must be cognizant of what is worth paying attention to, and what needs to be dismissed. Education is a rollercoaster of a profession, with jargon, acronyms, and buzzwords that are gone as quickly as a teacher's lunch break. Brave teachers consider this reading work necessary to their effectiveness as educators, and it has always been one of my favorite parts of the job!

E: Engage: Brave teachers are engaged. They engage with their students, their colleagues, and the families they affect. They are engaged in the process of teaching and learning. They are engaged in local policy, in weekend soccer games, and in the communities where they teach. They do not get to disengage at the grocery store on the weekend. They do not get to disengage when they do not feel well. They engage in relationships and hard work, in problem solving and celebrations. They stay engaged because they love what they do.

I'm so humbled to work alongside such brave teachers each day. Teachers who believe Haim Ginott's quote and live out the implications of such beautiful and powerful words:

“I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.” 

― Haim G. Ginott

Be brave, teacher friends. We are all standing behind you.

Brave teacher books...

                        

101 Books to Read Before You Grow Up

Call me nerdy, but one of my favorite weeks of the year is when the Scholastic Book Fair is at our school! I'm not sure if it brings back memories of when I was a kid, or if it's just the colorful headers and beautiful displays, but I get giddy when the trucks drop off the cases and our librarian gets to work. This year, one of my favorite finds was this gem by Bianca Schulze.

This book is a graphic delight. It is divided into age groups and provides suggestions for picture books, historical and realistic fiction, poetry, and even a few graphic novels. Each page gives a quick summary, fun facts about the author, and (probably my favorite) a What to Read Next feature with four books that you're sure to be interested in if you enjoyed the featured story. There are also insets that highlight powerful quotes from the books, a place for you to rate the story, list your favorite characters, and a few lines for notes.  

                            

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As a child and an elementary teacher for the last 19 years, I have already read many of the books included in this resource. I plan to read the stories that I haven't, but also involve my children in this process as a summer project. Once we read the 101 on the list, I'd like to explore the What to Read Next selections, as well as use it to stretch ourselves as readers. My daughter tends to prefer realistic fiction and my son likes fantasy, but I think this format will allow us to have conversations that solidify why we like what we do and connect over stories and shared experiences. Great work, Bianca Schulze! 

                           

Of course, I have a book fair shirt from The Wright Stuff. Check it out here!

A Squiggly Story

One of the things I miss most about the classroom is reading to children. There is such power in telling a story well, and read-alouds afforded me the opportunity to use all those skills I learned in high school speech and performance classes. An enjoyment of reading, paired with a well-written children's book can set the stage for a host of learning opportunities, as well as (and equally as important) provide a warm, special experience between a teacher and her class.

Read-alouds build classroom community, provide common experiences, provide models for fluency and comprehension, and are just plain fun. Reading Magic by Mem Fox is one of my favorite books for adults that sheds light on the importance of read-alouds. In it, she talks about the classroom read-aloud and how it's ultimate design is to mimic the loving shared reading experience between a child and parent. Over my years as a classroom teacher, I've accidentally been called, "Mom," over a hundred times, and I truly do believe in the power of books that are read aloud by a trusted adult.

Every so often, a read-aloud comes along that makes me ache to have my own classroom again. A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen did just that. It came up in my Amazon list of books I should (of course) want to buy and I fell in love with the believable story line, the darling illustrations by Mike Lowery, and the myriad classroom implications. As the co-director of the Central Texas Writing Project, I am always on the hunt for books that highlight and celebrate the writing process of children who are not yet writing conventionally. This book is now one of my very favorites, and I cannot wait to share it with teachers this summer.

I borrowed a kindergarten class at the campus where I am the instructional coach so I would have a chance to try this book out with real children. After reading A Squiggly Story (which the kids LOVED by the way), we brainstormed a list of things that the kids may want to write about. In the book, the main character's older says, "It's easy, just write what you know." During this time, I modeled stretching out words and spelling phonetically since kindergartners often get hung up on writing because they want you to tell them how to spell everything.

I am so thankful I work with teachers who open up their classrooms and share their learners with me. 

I had such a fantastic time in kindergarten this week! 

Companion pages for A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen

Beginning of the Year Read-Alouds

Like most educators, I am slightly obsessed with bookstores. I love the way they smell, I enjoy watching people browse for just the right book, I love hearing the conversations between parents and their young children as they discuss authors and characters, and I get excited every time I find perfect books for lessons I want to teach or share with the teachers with whom I work.

The other day, I was in Half Price Books and found two gems that I am excited to take with me to school this year! Elementary teachers spend considerable time at the beginning of the year building community with their classes and setting the stage for future reading success. It is important to share special books together so that students can anchor their learning to mentor texts, establish norms and procedures for working closely in a shared space, and simply adjust to their new learning environment with the presence of quality children's literature. 

Wise teachers are very intentional about the books they choose at the beginning of the school year. They read books that are funny, books with characters that help children make connections, and books that model expectations in easy, relatable ways. Teachers understand what feelings and anxieties students may bring into their new classroom and can leverage read-alouds for a positive start to the year.

There are classic read-alouds that I have always read to my kids at the beginning of the year, but I get giddy when I find new titles that I can add to my coaching room for teachers to share with their new groups of kiddos. Here are two finds that I highly encourage you to check-out!

The Book That I Love to Read by Joe Fitzpatrick. This is the cutest read-aloud ever! The main character is a boy who has found the PERFECT book. It kind of reminds me of The Monster at the End of This Book because each new page has fun surprises that primary kids will LOVE. Selfishly, I want to keep this book for myself when I do read-alouds in classrooms the first few weeks of school year to introduce myself to the kids. But, if a teacher REALLY wants it, then (of course) I will concede!

How to Read a Story by Kate Messner. This is quite possibly the most perfect book to read to kids before a lesson on choosing a Just-Right book. It is versatile enough to read at home with your own kids or to your class as you establish norms for independent and partner reading.  It is kind of a clearinghouse of all beginning of the year reading mini-lessons, as it addresses everything from choosing a place to read, to changing your voice to match the characters, to boldly exclaiming, "The End." Just precious. Amazon recommends this book for K-2nd grade, but I would read it to third graders in a heartbeat. If I had to choose a similar book, it kind of reminds me of Wolf! by Becky Bloom.

As the new school year quickly approaches, I will continue to find books to support the teachers and students I get to work alongside all year. What are your favorite back-to-school read-alouds?

School's First Day of School

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Looking for a fun new read aloud for the first day of school? Check out this cutie by Adam Rex. The story is told from the perspective of the actual school building...his floors are getting waxed and buffed, he's not sure about meeting the children, and he has a charming relationship with the school janitor. School overhears a big kid saying he doesn't like school, and his feelings get hurt, but then he witnesses a shy, upset kindergartner change throughout the story and get excited about coming back the next day. 

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In First Day Jitters fashion, this book tells the story of back-to-school nerves from a perspective other than a child, with the clear goal of helping students identify with a character without admitting their own nerves. This is a must-add to your first-day read aloud cue! 

If you like School's First Day of School as much as I do, check out my resource pack for some fun ideas to use after reading the book to your new class.

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I have a few more back-to-school read aloud ideas coming up soon...What are some of your favorites?

      

I Like Picture Books and I Cannot Lie

One of the things I miss most about teaching my own class is reading aloud to kids. It would be fascinating to know the actual amount of hours I have read books aloud in my entire teaching career. When I was pregnant, my own personal children got to hear my voice ALL.DAY.LONG. as I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, and The Magic Hat by Mem Fox.

The rhythm, cadence, and magic we find in picture books does so many great things for children. Reading aloud models fluent, passionate reading, it builds classroom community, it provides children with mentor texts they can emulate in their own writing, and it builds context for the rigorous content and complex social situations that kids must tackle on a daily basis.

Who was Sojourner Truth and why does she matter? 

Let's read a book about her.

Why do I need to understand probability? 

Let's read a book about it.

What is the effect of sunlight on plants?

Let's read a book about it.

How can a poem and a caring teacher change a student forever?

Let's read a book about it.

I've tried to be sneaky and get into classrooms as much as I can to read to kids. Readingrockets.org is a great website with lots of information for parents and teachers about the power of reading. Regarding read alouds, it says, "Reading aloud is one of the most important things parents and teachers can do with children. Reading aloud builds many important foundational skills, introduces vocabulary, provides a model of fluent, expressive reading, and helps children recognize what reading for pleasure is all about." 

Isn't reading for pleasure really what it's all about?

For more information on the magic of reading aloud to children, check out the Ten Read-Aloud Commandments by Mem Fox. She's my literacy idol, introducing me to Radical Reflections, Tough Boris, Where is the Green Sheep, Reading Magic, and countless others that my kids have heard over and over and over.

Have you read to a child today?

Magical reads...

                    

Growth Mindset Monday

This year, our campus is focusing on Growth Mindset, an idea proposed by Carol Dweck, Stanford professor. In her book Mindsets, she puts forth the idea that the way we approach life can be based on how we view intelligence and learning. People with a fixed mindset generally believe that intelligence and ability are inherent and can't really be developed. Those with a growth mindset believe that hard work, determination, and repeated attempts at learning actually contribute to one's success. This brief video sums it up...

At our school, we have started Growth Mindset Mondays. We show a quick video clip in each classroom, the teachers pose a few discussion questions, and everyone reflects on how our mindsets affect our work. This Monday focus sets the tone for the week, and teachers can refer back to ideas, videos, and discussions as they work with students each day.

Our campus is working on a book study of Mindsets in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci. This book explores the idea of mindsets specifically in the education setting. We hope that continuing to explore these ideas will cultivate a culture of endurance and perseverance that we want for our students and ourselves.

 

As we continue to work toward guiding children to have a growth mindset, we hope to have more discussions in various arenas: in classrooms, with families, and with teachers. The goal is not to just simply talk about a growth mindset, but to collectively embrace the ideas of persistence, problem solving, and resolution, and to model those ideas in our own behaviors.

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Click here for the newest book for parents!

The Space Between: Dave Matthews and Public Education

I am a word girl. I appreciate stories and poems and lyrics and speeches. I love reading clever books, I enjoy snarky stand-up, and I love having fast-paced conversations with people who are smart and sharp and funny. I treasure the familiar refrains of stories I have read to children for years and years; the two that I have raised, and the countless others that I have loved, fought for, even grieved over, one academic year at a time. I even asked a new teacher this week if I could share a Valentine read-aloud with her class because the thought of not reading Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink by Diane deGroat to a class for the first time in 18 years almost made me weepy.

Every once in awhile, however, familiar pedagogy collides with satellite radio, and a song I have heard over and over finds me in a new way. Perhaps a result of nostalgia or frustration or grief, maybe a byproduct of love or hopefulness or joy, a song will sometimes reach out and pull at the parts of me that I often hide- from my acquaintances, my friends, and maybe even myself. Not to sound dramatic (ha), but songs get to me. I will laugh out loud at a lyric and I will silently sob to a song that hits me in a weird way, whether it be from my past, my present, or what I think may be my future.

Today, I heard, "The Space Between," by Dave Matthews. A song originally released just two years into my teaching career hit me in a new way as it played in my car leaving the school parking lot. As an instructional coach, I have so many opportunities to experience the things that are hard about education. Too many expectations, too little time, too many meetings, not enough funding for resources or training or support. Teachers are often exhausted and struggle with EVER PRESENT guilt: they feel guilty that they are not doing more for their students, or they feel guilty that doing it means they are not devoting fair amounts of time to their own lives: their own families and friends and interests.

Teachers have to battle with the expectations of a Pinterest world: perfect lessons and papers with darling fonts, activities that are inquiry-based and hands-on and differentiated and scaffolded. Classrooms must be stocked with materials that are pleasing to the eye and functional, but not cluttered. Oh, and buy all the materials yourself, because the bookshelf that comes with the classroom is nice, but the alphabet that hangs on the wall must be purchased by the teacher. The school day must include enough movement opportunities to meet the needs of your kinesthetic learners, but three others prefer calm, quiet environments, so kindly do your part to meet the needs of each child's unique learning style. Please also make kids care about non-renewable resources, dividing decimals, and that M really does come before N in the alphabet. And do it with a smile, with an even, composed spirit, and answer all of the e-mails you get about transportation changes and reading level changes and home-life changes in a timely manner. And do not mix anything up.

What does this have to do with Dave Matthews? Nothing really, except that the teachers I know keep showing up for more. Some move locations and some move on, but very few of the people I do education with can stay away from school. WHY? Why do so many teachers stay, when it's such an overwhelming career?

"The Space Between."

It really makes such good, good sense. 

"You cannot quit me so quickly...The space between the tears we cry, is the laughter that keeps us coming back for more."

I love school. I love talking to kids and the adults that care for them each day. Today I got to hear about stock shows and fractions and how to find the main idea and what sound the sh-digraph makes. I got to give no less than 76 hugs to kids that think I am a custodian because I help with lunch duty. I got to help a gravel-dusted boy get an ice pack, hold a baby brother, and calm a mom who was having a hard time with her kindergartner having a hard time.

And I laughed. I laughed with teachers and parents and to myself as I overheard kid conversations at lunch and while fifth graders filmed a PSA about renewable energy sources. I was photobombed by a former student. A first grader snuck up behind me to scare me. Awhile back, I wrote a post that explored the identity crisis I was facing as I prepared to leave the classroom. It has been hard and weird. It has also been rewarding and exciting and so fascinating. I have learned SO STINKING MUCH. What has surprised me the most is that there is a much broader picture now that my world is over 600 children instead of just 22. I have learned that it takes parents and teachers and administrators and support staff to provide an environment that is good for kids. I was recently reminded by an education mentor that, "You're not a fixer. You're a leader. Lead people to love this profession again."

Beautiful, right? It's the space between. 

"The space between the bullets in our firefight is where I'll be hiding, waiting for you." 

I have chosen to believe that means that with all that is wrong in education, there is so very much that is right. The right people. The right passion. Finding the joy in a job that matters. Because our kids matter. They deserve grown-ups that will fight. Maybe not with fire, but with a burning desire to try. To the teachers and the others that I serve in this position that I am still struggling to figure out, what I can promise is the last line of the first stanza of a song that hit me today...

"But I got all the time for you, Love,"